This week on Hide and Create, Moses Siregar, Debbie Viguie, Jordan Ellinger and Joshua Essoe talk about how and why authors should use Facebook.

On this super-sized episode we have sad and happy news from two of our hosts. Another farewell will usher in a new host next week that we’re sure you will all enjoy. So listen on and say “so long for now” to a member of the team you’ve come to know and love, and congrats to another who got some pretty great news.

In addition to what we have to say in the episode here is a short list of faux pas to avoid when using Facebook:

— Do not post self-promotional messages or comments on other people’s walls or groups. Epitome of rude. I have an author in my feed who does this continually. In fact I rarely see a post from him, comment or otherwise, that doesn’t list his publications in a copy/paste list. It turns me off every time I see it, and I see comments from other people whom it has the same effect on. I don’t defriend him as a reminder to myself that I should never ever do that.

— Do not create Facebook groups, then add people to those groups without permission, for any reason — especially not to market and promote your work.

— Do not send private messages to your entire friends list, asking them to market and promote you—or to read your work. If you’re going to do something like that, the message should be personalized and directed toward a select few people.

— Finally, don’t send blanket invites to events!