We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide To Social Media (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
When I see a book like this rated 4 something with over 180 ratings it makes me sad. It means a website like Goodreads is not really useful as a tool to evaluate our next reading. It's not even subjective. The book is bad. I quit reading when I was on 50% of it. Unless the author was waiting for the second half to offer the lost gold - which I doubt and either way shouldn't happen - this is just bunch of hollow words, teaching nothing. I got my first alarm when the author mentioned... PDA's! Hold on... we are on the year of 2013. PDA's are out of our lives for a couple of years now. This was just the opening tone... it doesn't get any better. Hey, I have something else to tell you: MySpace is dead and buried. There is no way I can give credit to someone who takes MySpace seriously. This is not my personal opinion. I have nothing against MySpace. The project is really over. Anyone dealing with technology - and social media is strongly connected to technology - knows things are moving. And part of the last 4 years or so was the death of PDA's and MySpace. These are details, but more than hat, are the essence of the book: outdated and useless. "We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media" by Kristen Lamb is a very good book for any writer looking to use the social media sites facebook, twitter, and myspace to build relationships and ultimately sell more books. The Foreword is written by Bob Mayer, author of "Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed" and "Warrior Writer," two books I've enjoyed. So I wanted to read this, and am glad I did. The book was published by Mayer's Who Dares Wins Publishing, as was Warrior Writer, and the format and layout is similar. I don't think it is the greatest on presentation, in relation to other publishers, but the content of this book I really liked, and that's what you are buying the book for anyway.Lamb writes in a conversational manner with jokes and kidding thrown in every once in a while. The book is very easy to read. She also provides some very practical and specific advice aimed at authors wanting to use social media to create and build a brand. And her advice on what brand you should be building is very good. Should you brand yourself, your book, your characters, or something else? Lamb explains the differences and lays out some excellent advice on why you should brand you, the writer, but also provides some exceptions. And once you have determined to brand yourself, the writer, Lamb provides assistance in how to do so, including writing your bio.Not only does Lamb tell you what you should do and why, but she provides basic guidance on how to get started. Sure, there are books solely devoted to different social media sites and how to use them, and you might want those texts to go beyond the bare bone basics Lamb provides. However, I liked that she does provide the information needed to get started.Many businesses are discovering the power of social media to increase sales, and there is no reason authors can't capitalize on these technologies too. And writing is a business, at least it is to many. However, the writing business is a little different from other businesses, and therefore it is really nice to have a book written for writers, by a writer, that focuses on social media strategies specifically for writers wanting to build a brand and build a platform through social media. Highly recommended for writers wanting to maximize their use of social media sites.
What do You think about We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide To Social Media (2000)?
Excellent book. A must read for anyone trying to figure out how to use social media.
—Kaialbright87
Very informative... snappy and at times funny. Kristen keeps it interesting!
—Xab
Excellent book on social networking. A must read for writers.
—Azarael
Invaluable tool to writers everywhere. Read it!
—poop
