Hello, my name is J.H. and I’m a Twitter-aholic.
It wasn’t always this way. Until recently, I was on Team Facebook. I didn’t see the point of Twitter. Then a friend told me about TweetDeck and I was forever changed (Thanks, Drew!). HootSuite will suit you just as well, if you prefer.
Why am I suddenly so obsessed? For one thing, Twitter is awesome for writers. Here’s five reasons why.
1) Time on Twitter, wisely used, instantly pays off. In just a few weeks, I’ve more than doubled my followers. A good percentage of my blog traffic now comes from Twitter. I have four new blog followers and a ton of opportunities have come my way. I could be on Facebook all day, everyday, and not get the same result.
2) #MSWL: This stands for Manuscript Wish List, and it’s the most brilliant tool for writers I’ve ever seen. When a #MSWL Twitter party is on, agents, editors and publishers (mostly agents) tweet what types of stories they’d love to see cross their desks. It’s a great way to find agents who are a good fit for your work, and I’ve also gotten the idea for a new novel from it. It’s a vast wealth of information for authors that you simply can’t find anywhere else.
3) #pitmad: Pitch madness is another Twitter party where writers can pitch their work directly to agents and editors. If an agent “favorites” your pitch, they want a partial (sometimes even a full). It’s an amazing way to skip over the slush pile. There are pitch parties for various genres at different times of the year. #AdPit, which is for any book intended for adults or New Adults, is going on today! I was so excited about it I found it difficult to sleep. I’ll be pitching Dragonfly Summer there all day.
4) #tenqueries: Participating agents go through ten queries on Twitter, tweeting about why they rejected each one or–in rare cases–asked for a partial. It’s invaluable information.
5) The writing community on Twitter is very strong. We support each others’ launches and blogs, share information, and just connect with each other. If you follow a writer on Twitter, nine times out of ten they will follow you. It’s not like Facebook, where many people don’t feel comfortable friending someone they don’t know personally. This opens up an entirely new world where you can easily find like-minded souls who share your interests and cheer you on.
What’s been your experience? Do you Tweet? Have you found it helpful? Why or why not?
If you’re a writer with a finished adult or new adult novel, make sure you take part in #AdPit today. It could be the opportunity of a lifetime!
And, oh yeah…please follow me on Twitter! @Holli_Moncrieff
Following you now! @MysticShanyn
Thanks for sharing this. Also another GREAT thing about Twitter is it rocks for poets. Sharing, celebrating and working our craft. Check out some of my tweets and discover some poetry!
Shanyn, you’re back! Welcome. Good to see you here again, and thanks for your comment.
I didn’t think about the Twitter/poetry connection, but I know I’ve seen a lot of haiku on there. It’s a very creative idea. Thanks for following me–I really look forward to your tweets.
Hugs!
yes, twitter has a great writing crowd. I learn a ton (and waste too much time there). I found your blog from Michelle D Argyle’s blog. You guy post was awesome! Off to follow you on twitter:)
Hi Robin! Welcome to my blog, and thanks for commenting. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Twitter…or here again.
I’m surprised with how many people I’ve gotten to know a bit and how much I’ve learned and gained from Twitter in just a few short weeks. But you’re right, it definitely is a time suck. Maybe I need to write Five Ways Twitter Sucks for Writers. 🙂
I hate Twitter, sadly. I’ve tried very hard to like it, but I just can’t. I do use it, and I’ve seen it help with marketing, at least. I just don’t spend much time on there at all. For me and my personality, it’s just too much all at the same time and I freak out. I’m totally weird, lol.
Glad Robin found you! I love Robin. 🙂
I love Robin too! 🙂
I used to hate Twitter (or at least not really get it) until TweetDeck. But everything has to suit your comfort level when it comes to marketing.
I love how many hilarious people are on Twitter. It always makes me laugh. How many genuinely great people, and all the awesome writing opportunities. But one size definitely does not fit all. Thanks for your comment!
I know this was posted a year ago…But in the past year I have been followed on Twitter by an increasing number of authors/writers….This has resulted in me finding some great new books to read and for the most part it has been a good experience.
It works like this..I have a new follower and then when I check them out I usually follow back. (That’s how Twitter works, right?)
This is then followed by said authors promoting their works in the form of tweets…
I have unfollowed three of them for the following reasons: Two of them were tweeting/retweeting every 6 or 7 minutes. My feed was completely junked up by repetitive promotion. The third actually gave me a free book when I followed them…Unfortunately the book was only a partial one (and very short at that) that ended in the middle of a chapter with the comment that if you bought books 2 and 3 you would get the rest.
I understand that authors require marketing in order to sell books, but I thought this was unfair.
Just my 2 cents on Twitter…Overall, I find it quite entertaining!
Hi Lisa,
Comments are always appreciated, no matter when I get them. I’m glad you’re getting some use out of Twitter.
The problems you described are very common, and they happen because at least 90% of writers have no clue how to use Twitter. They think they should just advertise their work ad nauseum, without realizing how annoying that is.
I follow back a lot of writers, so my newsfeed is a jumble of ads for books. Because of this, I rarely look at it. Instead, I make lists of people I’m interested in keeping in touch with, and hashtags I’d like to follow. #askagent and #tenqueries are good ones.