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    Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer's Guide
    Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer's Guide
    Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer's Guide
    Ebook214 pages1 hour

    Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer's Guide

    By Marcy Kennedy

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    About this ebook

    Building a thriving social media platform doesn’t have to steal all your precious writing time or cut into your time with your family. Twitter for Authors is about building a successful Twitter platform that’s sustainable for busy people.

    Twitter often gets a bad reputation from people who don’t understand it or don’t know how to use it to its full potential to build an author platform. When used correctly, Twitter can be one of the best tools for increasing traffic to your blog and gaining new readers for your books. And it’s fun!

    In Twitter for Authors, you’ll learn...
    - essential Twitter terminology,
    - how to set up your account,
    - the differences between TweetDeck and Hootsuite,
    - techniques for staying safe on Twitter,
    - how to build columns and lists and use them to find readers,
    - the value of link shorteners and hashtags,
    - what to tweet about,
    - the most common mistakes writers make on Twitter,
    - how to run a successful Twitter event,
    - how to manage your social media time,
    - and much more!

    Twitter for Authors contains helpful advice for both Twitter newbies and long-time Twitter users who want to take their platform to the next level.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMarcy Kennedy
    Release dateOct 13, 2014
    ISBN9780992037154
    Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer's Guide
    Author

    Marcy Kennedy

    Marcy Kennedy is a speculative fiction writer who believes fantasy is more real than you think. Alongside her own writing, Marcy works as a freelance fiction editor and teaches classes on the writing craft. You can find her blogging about writing and about the place where real life meets science fiction, fantasy, and myth at www.marcykennedy.com.

    Read more from Marcy Kennedy

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      Book preview

      Twitter for Authors - Marcy Kennedy

      TWITTER FOR AUTHORS

      A Busy Writer's Guide

      Marcy Kennedy

      Copyright 2014 Marcy Kennedy

      Smashwords Edition

      Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer’s Guide

      First Edition

      All rights reserved.

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. This e-book may not be re-sold, as a used file or otherwise, and may not be given away to other people. Purchase and download is a one-time final use of this product. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Editor: Christopher Saylor

      Cover Design: Melinda VanLone

      Published October 2014 by Tongue Untied Communications

      ISBN: 978-0-9920371-5-4

      INTRODUCTION

      Seven Reasons Why Every Writer Needs to Be on Twitter

      Twitter often gets a bad reputation from people who don’t understand it, misunderstand it as full of spam and celebrity stalkers, or don’t know how to use it to its full potential to build an author platform.

      When used correctly, though, Twitter can be one of the best tools for meeting new readers and increasing traffic to your blog. And it’s fun!

      Don’t believe me? Well, let me prove it to you. I have seven reasons why I think every writer should be using Twitter.

      Reason #1: Twitter has over 100 million active accounts, and is still growing.

      Whether you’re seeking traditional publication or plan to self-publish, whether you’re a non-fiction author, a novelist, a poet, or a short-story writer, you need a platform to sell your work. Your readers are on Twitter. You just need to know how to meet them.

      This is true even if you write children’s books or YA. If you write for kids, your readers might not be on Twitter, but their parents and aunts and uncles and even grandparents are, and your books might just be the perfect gift they’re looking for.

      Reason #2: Twitter allows you to build a following faster than any other social networking site.

      People who find you on Facebook usually already know you or know about you. People who find you on Twitter are more likely to be complete strangers (at first) because of the ability to participate in conversations through hashtags.

      Reason #3: Twitter makes you a better writer.

      Twitter gives you 140 characters to work with. Not 140 letters or 140 words, but 140 characters. Spaces count, and so do punctuation and URLs (links).

      Working within those constraints forces you to write tighter. No purple prose allowed. No weak verbs modified by adjectives. You need to figure out exactly what you’re trying to say. Those skills translate directly into better writing elsewhere.

      Reason #4: Twitter brings you the news faster than any news site can.

      Twitter is real-time, which means that, while reporters are putting together their stories and getting approval from their editors, normal people on site are tweeting. In August 2011, Twitter lit up like a firefly on crack about the magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia—before the news stations could catch their balance. My husband called my mother-in-law right away to make sure she and the rest of the family there were safe.

      In the plague of tornadoes that rolled through Texas in April 2012, Twitter might have even saved lives. So many tornadoes hit the Dallas area at once that meteorologists couldn’t keep up, even if people still had electricity and the ability to check their televisions, use their computers, or tune in on the radio. But what everyone could still do was tweet using their phones. People banded together to warn others and report sightings, keeping all involved safer than they could have been alone.

      Reason #5: Twitter allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of the publishing industry.

      Twitter is like a writer’s Mecca because you can quickly find out about interesting and informative new blog posts (already vetted by others); keep up on industry trends and new releases; and get tips on writing and publishing from agents, editors, and best-selling authors. No searching involved. It comes to you in a bite-sized 140-character nugget. If you decide you want more, you click the link.

      Reason #6: Twitter helps you research.

      In her bestselling book We Are Not Alone: A Writer’s Guide to Social Media, Kristen Lamb tells the story of how she needed information on bounty hunters for her novel. Rather than wasting hours trying to sort through results on Google and still not coming up with what she needed, she tweeted about it and received replies from actual bounty hunters willing to answer her questions.

      But it’s not only facts you can research on Twitter. If you’re not sure your main character’s name is a good fit for their personality and job, ask. If you want to know what writing software other writers actually trust, ask. (I did, and fell in love with Scrivener.)

      In my co-written novel, we mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah, and we debated whether enough people would know what we meant. So I asked, and we ended up leaving it in the book.

      Reason #7: Twitter gives you a support network of friends.

      I’ve left this for last because, to me, it’s the most important. Writing is solitary. We sit at our computers and play with our imaginary friends. Which is great, but also leaves us without the support network we need if we want to make writing a long-term career.

      On Twitter, you’ll find someone to talk you down off the ledge when one too many rejections or poor reviews leave you wanting to quit writing altogether. On Twitter, you can make writer friends who’ll run word sprints with you to help you keep on track. On Twitter, you can make reader friends who’ll be excited to go out and buy your book and tell everyone about it.

      HOW IS TWITTER DIFFERENT FROM FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES?

      I’ve hopefully convinced you of the value of Twitter, but you might still be wondering how Twitter is different from all the other social media sites people are telling you about.

      Let me quickly walk you through the major sites, how they’re different in tone and focus, and why I love Twitter the best.

      LinkedIn is like a professional networking event. You go there to get references and endorsements, pass around your resume, and keep your tie straight. Personal and professional boundaries are firm.

      Facebook is like a backyard BBQ. People come for an hour or two. They sit. They chat. They swap baby photos. People expect you to be there.

      Google+ is like a convention—techies, nerds, geeks, graphic designers, photographers, gamers, college students, and writers. In the same way that conventions are about people connecting over a shared passion, so is Google+. What works on other social media sites doesn’t necessarily work here.

      Pinterest is the salon. You swap recipes and fashion and beauty tips. It’s pretty and soothing and very visual.

      Twitter is the workplace water cooler, which is why, in my opinion, it’s one of the most valuable social media sites. You can talk work. You can talk news. You can just chat about your weekend. You don’t need to be there for large chunks of time. You stop by a couple times a day, chat with new people each time, and go back to work.

      What more could you ask for?

      HOW THIS BOOK IS SET UP

      I’ve designed this book so that you’ll benefit from it no matter your experience level with Twitter.

      If you’re brand-new to Twitter and don’t even have an account, just start at Part One, where I walk you through setting up your account, and keep going at your own pace. This book will work best if you apply the contents of each chapter before moving on to the next. I’ve packed this book full of information, which means you’ll probably feel overwhelmed if you try to read it straight through from cover to cover. It isn’t meant to be read from cover to cover in one sitting. It’s meant to be worked through as a practical guide, with Twitter open in front of you.

      If you have some experience with Twitter, this book will help you improve your knowledge of what Twitter has to offer and help you use it more effectively. I still recommend that you start at the beginning and at least skim the set-up chapters to make sure your foundation is solid before moving on, but you’ll find the freshest information in Parts Two and Three.

      Here’s what you’ll find in the rest of the book.

      PART ONE: Getting Started

      Chapter One: A Philosophy of Social Media

      Chapter Two: Getting Signed Up and Set Up on Twitter

      Chapter Three: How to Set Your Notifications

      Chapter Four: How to Design Your Twitter Page

      Chapter Five: Essential Terminology

      Chapter Six: How to Write Your Twitter Bio

      Chapter Seven: TweetDeck vs. Hootsuite

      PART TWO: Continuing Strong

      Chapter Eight: How to Stay Safe on Twitter

      Chapter Nine: Building Columns and Using Them to Find Readers

      Chapter Ten: Creating and Using Lists

      Chapter Eleven: Link Shorteners

      Chapter Twelve: Hashtags

      Chapter Thirteen: What Should We Tweet About?

      Chapter Fourteen: Writing Tweets that Get Clicked and Shared

      Chapter Fifteen: Scheduling and Automation: Evil or Helpful?

      Chapter Sixteen: Time Management on Twitter

      PART THREE: Advanced Techniques

      Chapter Seventeen: Using Click to Tweet in Your Blog Posts

      Chapter Eighteen: Figuring Out When Your Audience Is Online…And If It Matters

      Chapter Nineteen: Using Images on Twitter

      Chapter Twenty: Keys to Successful Twitter Events

      BEFORE WE GET STARTED…

      I know that, as soon as you have a Twitter account, it’s going to be tempting to start following every big name in your industry. Don’t.

      As much as I hate to say it, a big part of Twitter is the social proof of numbers. If you jump in and follow everyone and their neighbor, when those people get their notifications, they’re going to see that you’re following 100 people (or more) but only have two people following you.

      Do you know what happens to people like that? They get deleted. They don’t get the follow-backs they’re hoping for. Because everyone is suspicious about why no one wants to follow them.

      I’ll take you to the point where you can follow the bigger names without worrying about whether they follow you back or not, but there’s an order to things. So, once you get your account made, just sit tight. I’ll let you know when you’re ready to start tweeting and following.

      If you’re already on Twitter, keep doing what you’ve been doing and change what you need to as we work through the process.

      WHO AM I?

      Many people want to know the credentials of the writer of a book before they buy it. If you’re one of those people, this section is for you. Why am I qualified to teach writers about Twitter?

      I’m not a social media expert. I’m not a consultant who charges big bucks for managing other people’s social media accounts. I’m not even that good with technology.

      I’m a writer just like you—a busy person who needed to find a practical way to fit social media into her schedule so that it didn’t take away from her writing or her family.

      In the beginning, I didn’t want to be on Twitter. I was one of the nay-sayers. I only joined because my brother, who at the time worked with a website design company for small businesses, told me that I needed to join if I wanted my blog to get any traffic. So I signed up, but I was never there.

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