Shelfari, Unbound and You

Image via WikipediaProbably all of you have heard of Shelfari, based on their early spamming of all your friends' address books. Yeah, ok, that was kind of bad, but Shelfari has managed to come into its own, and I think the most exciting feature about Shelfari is its Unbound section. It's basically a huge author wiki (a web page that can be edited by anyone and everyone) where you can find out all about your favorite authors. TechCrunch described it as possibly becoming the IMDB of authors.

So what does this mean for you, the eBook author? Possibly nothing. For now, it looks like anything that's not on Amazon pretty much doesn't get on Shelfari. I tried submitting my own short story titles and cover art to Shelfari but never heard back from them. Perhaps this is something that will change in the future, so keep an eye out.

However, if you do have a Kindle or print version of your book at Amazon, you are likely already in Shelfari's Unbound section.

Your options:

1. Edit your own Unbound page. You'll have to sign up for a Shelfari account, but you never have to use it except to edit your Unbound page, if you don't feel like it. Just add all the info you want to add and you're done!

2. Link your Shelfari profile to your Unbound page. If you like the idea of Shelfari and think you'll be able to connect with your readers based on what you're reading, go ahead and create an actual in-use Shelfari profile and link it to your Unbound page. Look for the small, "Are you the author?" link at the bottom of your Unbound page.

Have fun!

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