Frowned upon? By whom? Perhaps by those who think books should only be promoted on large hoardings in railway stations. I suppose I could just afford one large poster on one rural railway station.
Perhaps an objection might be that those facebook and on other social network sites only go there to share family photos and learn of music gigs and so news of book releases and events might be intrusive to them? It doesn't seem like that to me - quite the opposite. Folk cheer when a family member has a book published and so do other writers. My fb friends are made up of about half friends and family plus former pupils I've taught, and the other half by writers, agents and publishers. Generally, they all mix and share funny photos and celebrate success. It isn't the panacea to sell a lot of books. I have about 700 friends and when I announce a new book, a dozen or so will buy it fairly quick and another dozen over the following months. In return I've bought books, or sponsored charity runs. Give and take. It's a friendly place to me and if someone gets carried away with their spam we can just block off their posts from your facebook page. You are your own censor

If you're new to it and have stories to sell, then its just another means of promo for you and fun to boot.
If you give it a go make friends with me
http://www.facebook.com/geoffnelder and my fb author page at
http://www.facebook.com/AriaTrilogy and I'll see you right
