Let's talk Twitter. I'm on Twitter (@ShoshannaEvers), and if you follow me I'll follow you back.
This is an excerpt about Twitter from my #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller in Authorship book, How to Write Hot Sex: Tips From Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors. There are 12 essays from best-selling and multi-published authors in this book, and this excerpt comes from my essay "Getting Published".
***
Oh wait, you say you’ve never heard any of these terms bandied about because you’re not in any publishing circles? Let’s get you connected really quickly then. Join Twitter.Don’t tell me you don’t “get” Twitter. Simply put, if you are an author or are aspiring to be one, you are shooting yourself in the foot by avoiding Twitter. You don’t need to have a fancy phone or be able to text (myths that kept me off Twitter for years).
Just go online to www.Twitter.com and use your pen name as your Twitter handle. That way you’re building name recognition every time you Tweet. I like to use TweetDeck, a free software that makes Twitter really easy to use.
You can set up searches for hashtags, which are topics. On TweetDeck, I create a separate column for each of my favorite hashtags: #amwriting #amediting #amreading #askeditor #askagent #writechat and #pubwrite.
Just like that, you’ve found other writers and authors and publishing peeps online to connect with.
One thing I’ve heard over and over again is “I tried Twitter, but I have nothing interesting to say.” No! You’ve got it all wrong. Twitter isn’t about shouting into the Universe, it’s about listening.
Follow anyone you like. Follow Publisher’s Weekly. Follow all the big literary agents. Follow your favorite authors—and tell them they’re your favorite! We love that. Really really truly.
***
Read the intro to How to Write Hot Sex here.
How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors is available now for only $4.99 from Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.com.
Hi Shoshana! Just wanted to pop in and say hi! I love Twitter and if they aren't on Twitter yet, they NEED to be. I notice a drop in sales if I'm not tweeting daily! I retweet for my fellow author buds and try to help new author buds. Like Shoshanna says, use the hashtags because that will get you into the new papers authors are doing at paper.li - check it out if you don't have one or aren't showing up in one!
ReplyDeleteAs you know I took the plunge and am now occasionally tweeting. Do not understand but will learn. Janet
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Tonya and Janet! Janet - you'll figure out the Twitter thing in no time :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! I'll confess that I'm totally addicted to Twitter. I love using it to keep up with all my writing buddies and favorite authors and I always get a little giddy when one of my favorite authors or an editor I admire responds to one of my tweets.
ReplyDeleteNetworking is key!
I feel the same way about @ replies! :)
ReplyDeleteI was hesitant to join Twitter too, but it's the best thing to do for new and aspiring writers. The industry people, the newbie writers, the best-selling authors...All of them are valuable resources!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Shoshanna. I never used hashtags until recently and picked up a lot of great followers. I love how the Twitter platform connects people who would have never had the opportunity to know each other. And I, like Ana said, get giddy at the retweets or responses as well!
ReplyDelete