Good morning, Romance University! I’m excited to introduce you to a fellow RWA chapter-mate and Golden Heart finalist Debbie Pfeiffer. As a newbie writer, I had plenty of questions about the publishing industry stored up and Debbie has always generously answered any I put to her. And today’s post is just another example of her unfailing kindness to those who wish to learn more about this ever-changing business.

Debbie, the floor is yours!

I’m a Facebook addict. I freely admit it. I’ve been hooked ever since I set up a personal profile in December 2007. I’m also a writer. To me, the two go hand in hand.

Why? Because Facebook helps you connect with people important to you on a deeper level. It allows you quick, casual contact with your peeps–that is, the people you select. As a result, you generally build a deeper relationship with your friends than you would’ve had before, and are able to bond with them in a more meaningful way when you next see them in person.

Let me put this another way: Say you have 100 friends in your email address book. Some live close by, others live many miles away. Some you see regularly, others you see once a year. Do you have time to email or call each of these 100 friends weekly and connect with them personally? Of course not.

But let’s say those 100 friends are your Facebook friends. Now, suddenly, you can catch up with all 100 of them, weekly, even daily, just by scanning their status updates, checking birthday notices, and browsing posted photos. You can do this in 5 minutes, whenever it’s convenient. How cool is that?

So what does that have to do with you as a writer? Everything. Because those core friends are your tribe, your viral marketers, your best braggers. Then factor in that, the way Facebook is set up, if your friends are talking about you, their friends hear about it in their news feeds too. Then you start to see how Facebook epitomizes viral marketing and networking.

Also, once you set up a personal Facebook account, you can create what I call a “fan page.” (Facebook refers to it simply as a Page but this gets confusing.) It works and looks much like your personal Facebook profile, but is set up as a public persona–for example, Betsy Bestseller, the world-famous author. Find more info on setting up a fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

For those of you who already have fan pages set up, here’s a Page you can “fan” that will keep you updated on the latest tips and features available to add to your own fan page.

The best way for you to understand how Facebook works is to experience it firsthand. Then you start to see the possibilities and can use its many functions and applications to fit your needs–both personal and writing. For space reasons, I’ll skip the details, but if you go to www.facebook.com, and follow the prompts to create an account, you should get through fairly easily.

Now to the fun stuff! Here are my top 5 fun things I suggest you do right away to connect you into your growing Facebook community faster:

1. Post a profile picture. Please don’t be shy. Your profile pic allows people to see you and thus connect with you. It’s a mental thing, and believe me, it makes a difference. If you don’t post a pic, Facebook slots in a placeholder that looks like a silhouetted Kewpie-doll head. When I look at a FB friend’s status update or profile page and see that icon instead of a friendly, identifiable face, I don’t immediately recognize who it is and tend to not emotionally connect. It also tells me that person is not active on Facebook, so probably won’t see my comments to them, which makes me less likely to post. The fun of FB is the interacting.

2. Post a status update. You can post your status update a few different places, but for starters, go to your Profile page. You’ll see a blank box at the top of the page with the prompt in it, “What’s on your mind?” (This box is also called your Wall–fodder for another blog.) Fill in this space with something about yourself, something “right now.” Be creative. Your friends on Facebook will see this status update when they log in and go to their Home page. Seeing your status is a nice way for your friends to keep tabs on what’s going on with you, and may even prompt them to comment. And update your status update occasionally. Try every time or every other time you sign in.

3. Check out your News Feed from your friends. On your Home page, you will see the status updates your friends most recently posted. This is a nice, concise way to catch up on what your friends are doing at any given point in time. If you have more time, you can easily comment on your friends’ status updates. (Be aware that your comment will be viewable by all your friend’s friends.) These mini chats can be a lot of fun and are also ways your friends can get to know each other, another great networking aspect.

4. Fill in your birth day in your profile info. (Note you don’t have to fill in your birth year.) Facebook generates an automatic reminder to your FB friends. Trust me, this is fun–and it gets conversations going on your profile page/Wall.

5. Find friends. For your first week on Facebook, try adding a friend a day. After that, try to add a friend a week. You can search for new friends several ways. Facebook will suggest friends to you on your Home page. These are just recommendations. I would advise only accepting friendships for people you definitely know. (Generally speaking, if you add someone you’re not sure you know, they are able to view your Facebook profile and other posts.) Another good way to find friends is to look through your current friends’ friends list. You can also use the Search box in the upper right-hand corner of any Facebook page.

There’s so much more I can tell you about Facebook, but again, it’s best left until you start exploring it for yourself. I’d love to answer your specific Facebook questions this week, or feel free to “fan” my Facebook Page, Deborah Pfeiffer, where I have a Discussion Board set up for Facebook questions. Hope to see you on Facebook!

Thank you, Debbie! How about it folks – do you have any burning Facebook questions for Debbie? Ask them in the comments section below and Debbie will help you become a fan of Facebook, too.

BIO:

Deborah Pfeiffer was dragged kicking and screaming onto Facebook in December 2007 and has been a self-admitted Facebook geek and avid proselytizer ever since. When she’s not commenting on her friends’ statuses, she’s writing fiction–young adult, women’s fiction, and romantic comedy. Her single title contemporary romance, Dreams Come True, finaled in RWA’s 2004 Golden Heart awards, and she’s had young adult and women’s fiction entries win and final in other writing contests. With 20+ years in the publishing business, she also runs SWYM Editorial (“Say What You Mean”). You can find her at Deborah Pfeiffer’s Facebook Page.

Be sure to stop back on Wednesday to find out what author Marie Donovan has to say about Harlequin Blaze heroes.