Are you tweeting yet? Not yet on the Twitter bandwagon? Jump in, please.
I think Twitter is a very useful resource for writers. It’s really not about telling the world what you’re up to every single second of your day. Nobody cares about that – not even your mother. So, don’t even go down that road – it’s boring.
What do you use Twitter for, then? I use it to network with other writers, keep track of the latest news (in the writing and ‘real’ world), get to know people in industries that I might try out sometime in the future (bookshops, publishing, literacy), follow some politicians and witty stars like Stephen Fry.
With Twitter, I can, for example, ’follow’ Hope Clark of Funds For Writers. She posts updates on her newsletter releases, so I know when to look out for them. I can interact with her in a casual way that makes email feel stuffy and formal. You don’t have to reply to every ‘tweet’; that’ll soon get you blocked for being a pest.
Through Twitter, I have made several new connections in the writing world. I have got new ideas, discovered new markets, found out about world events before my local TV channel picked it up. It’s so easy – even my baby has a twitter account (updates currently limited to things like “sleeping now” ,”zzzzzz”, “will give Mama a break today” etc)
Do you tweet?
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If you’re still trying to understand what Twitter is all about, try Maria Schneider’s (formerly with Writers Digest, now runs ‘Editor Unleashed’) series of posts on Twitter.
