Google Tools for authors

Booknet Canada's blog post on effective Google tools for book publishing is an excellent resource for the publisher but there are a few other tools which suit both the author and the publisher.

Google Alerts

First, I heartily agree with BCNet that Google Alerts was and is an effective way to stay on top of book reviews and author mentions. Many lit bloggers, particularly of the librarian ilk, post "new releases" where they list books of the genre that interest them. If they happen to mention your book, send them a review copy. You might get the result you want - a review.

Downside for Google Alerts? Unfortunately, the title of my book, Girl #3, did not translate well into the Google algorithm. The "pound sign" (aka the twitter "hashtag") was ignored by the Grand Search Engine and would serve me daily dispatches from around the globe of unpleasant tragedies that had befallen three-year-old girls -- soul destroying. I turned it off and used my name instead as search term -- better results.

Creative use of Google Alerts? Use it in the research stages of your writing as well as to test out titles and subjects. I never would have guessed the return from my book title name when sent out over the "network". Come to think of it, it'd make a good premise for a short story...

I've never used Google Trends to track general trends. Instead, I go straight to Google's free keyword tool to uncover how la grand public searches for specific topics. You'll get search track, synonyms and more. You can also use it to select Google Adwords, if you decide you'd like to fork over cash in return for site traffic.

More Google Tools

Google Maps is a fun app for writers who use real life settings for their fiction. I Google Mapped the actual places in my novel where the most poignant action takes place. "Twas a fun exercise and while you're at it, you can add links to images and multimedia that add depth and background to your story.

You can list your upcoming readings and book tours on Google Calendar and share the information with the public at large or a select private group as determined by you.

There's Google Docs for those who like to collaborate on writing and sharing with editors.

And, of course, now we have Google Sidewiki - a fun way to respond to your critics, your fans, your peers and to share intel and creativity with everyone else.