Marketing Your Writing Like a Genius on MySpace

High-school and junior-high kids come home from school, get on their computers and talk to their friends. Teenagers might as well own the rights to MySpace for as much as they use it. And as many see it, they don't use it for anything productive.

But something else is occurring beneath the fold of fifteen- and sixteen-year olds that dominate here. On MySpace, it's a revolution of artists (painters, song writers and musicians, writers and poets), and it's something to jump in and take advantage of.

What is happening? Simply that writers are flocking to MySpace to claim their destiny, much like men once grew beards and moved to California to stake their claims in the gold fields. MySpace is giving something incredible to the authors who are willing to accept it.

What is MySpace? It is a social networking website where anyone, from any vocation, from any ethnic, social and political background can come and communicate with anyone else. It may very well be the largest, most advanced and popular social network on the web. Anyone can open up shop (build their own web page) and begin making friends by selecting from others who share their interests.

What advantages does MySpace have for writers? There aren't many avenues for authors to sell their books. Bookstore shelves (brick and mortar and Web-based), commercials on the web, in newspapers, and on TV, word of mouth, book signings, and book clubs are the biggest ways to sell. The problem is that for many writers, not all of these outlets are accessible. It's expensive to buy ad space, and it may be expensive to travel to book signings. Book clubs are hard to get into if you don't have the backing of a medium-to-large publisher, and without a good sized publisher, your hopes of getting onto a bookstore shelf is seriously hampered. Even having a web presence can be hindered by your ability or inability to manage Web design.