I admit it. I'm a Twitter N00b. So far I tweet, but I'm worried that maybe I'm not using the site to its full potential.
Many writers say it's crucial for their networking, but I can't help but wonder--am I doin' it right?
A lot of you are internet experts and navigate social networking sites with the greatest of ease. How the heck do you guys do that, already?
Stealing a page out of Nathan Bransford's book, You tell Me:
How do you utilize Twitter as a writer?
How has it helped/hindered you?
I'd love to hear from you!
Thank you in advance for your brilliant comments :).
8 comments:
For me, it's about not trying to hard. My biggest gripe about social networking gurus is they are full of strategies and tactics, but seem to lack humanity. Be a person. Gripe a bit, crack jokes, engage in conversation. Twitter can be a place to make friends. Then, when it comes times to do a little self-promoting, it's about telling your friends.
I do probably one tweet in two or three hundred that's specifically about my books, but when I do, instead the reaction being, "Bleh, more blatant self-promo," it's positive. I do tweet about process sometimes, but it's often as part of a larger discussion.
I've also held a couple of twitter contests, very low-key short duration games with a book giveaway at the end. One was a call for Worst Christmas Story Ever in 140 characters. I gave one book to my favorite story, and one to a participate whose name I drew at random. It was fun, low-impact, and didn't fill the twitterstream with useless spam. The stories were interesting in themselves, irrespective of the contest.
But even that is something I will do maybe once a quarter or once every six months. Ultimately, I just try to be myself. I leave the strategies and tactics to all those people who I find myself needing to block.
Umm...I use it to stalk people. That's pretty much it.
Mostly just for stalking. I'm a noob too. :D
I use Twitter for writing only. I know some people link their facebook and their twitter, but I'm not one of them. Because facebook is more personal for me. Sure, I use it for writing too, but my tweets are almost always writing related.
I use it to stalk agents, agencies, etc. But the biggest reason twitter is valuable to me? The # things. Like #askagent or #queryfail. You can go back and read these anytime you want and the information in the feeds is INVALUABLE.
I agree. Stalking and twitter just go together. It's a lovely creation.
I like yabbering about progress on a wip, or just what I'm doing during the day. Or if I've put up a new post on my blog.
Bill--This is some great insight. Thank you for stopping by!
Elana--I just discovered the # chats! Awesome stuff!
L&L, Abby, and Sam--LOL! I've been trying to resist stalking Neil Patrick Harris on Twitter...I'm sure I'll cave soon ;).
Yuna--that sounds like what I've been doing, too. Good to know!
I could follow/stalk people, but generally it'd be more procrastination from writing :)
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