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How To Succeed at Twitter Without Really Trying
Yesterday on twitter, I happened upon a tweet stream discussing how not to behave as an author: when you get a big book deal, or a big-time agent, don't forget about your pre-published writer friends. More importantly, don't intentionally cut them out.Here is the Storify link to the tweets I'm referring to.
Bad advice is everywhere, and especially when you get into social media management. You may find advisers suggesting you pare down your lists of followers, that following more people who follow you looks bad. You may even hear a suggestion to cut those who aren't "influencers," meaning users who tweet/post often and have large followings.
You never know where your fans are. There are people I've barely corresponded with on twitter whose books I've bought. There are people whose classes I've promoted, whose causes I've championed, because I've seen them be awesome within the writer community (and beyond). What's worse--showing a lower number of people you follow vs. who follow you, or losing a potential champion for YOUR books/teaching/author brand?
The IWSG community is great--I doubt anyone here would drop writer friends once they got a book deal or a hot shot agent. But apparently some people do this. I am a big proponent of using twitter as it was meant--SOCIALLY. When you interact and don't auto-tweet, you are engaging as a real person. When you don't cull your follow list with an automated-tool based on "influencer" quotients, you keep real people who may not be social media stars, but who may actually buy your book. When I sift through who I follow on twitter, I cut people who aren't following me whom I also rarely interact with, or who themselves are rarely using the platform.
Think about it. If your mom is on twitter and follows two people, one of whom is you, do you cut her? Or is she your biggest fan waiting for the chance to shout your praises?
I love to hear from you! Please share in the comments a time where you made an unlikely social media connection!
Writing Workshops and More Blogging:
YA and Middle Grade Writers: Looking for feedback on your first pages? The First Five Pages Workshop is held monthly as part of the Adventures in YA Publishing blog. The March sign-up is this Saturday March 5.
Stay tuned tomorrow on my blog for a cover reveal by a fellow Pitch Wars mentor Kelly Siskind, for her second New Adult romance!
One last thing! I joined The YA Buccaneers, a Young Adult blogging collective. Here is my intro post, plus I'll be posting What the Heck Makes a Good Book this Friday for our month-long Spring Cleaning theme. Please stop by!
Posts
I'm still a beginner when it comes to Twitter, but I LOVE how unlimited it is as far as reach. As other social media sites have put in checks and balances, it seems twitter is the only true free source out there. It's definitely my favorite forum for connecting.
ReplyDeleteI love twitter for connecting with writers and keeping up with what's happening in the world. I am a list fanatic. i always use lists in twitter.
DeleteI'm still sort of getting the hand of Twitter but every once in a while I do look at my followers. Those who didn't follow back, I try to engage them and when they don't I unfollow them. But my mom? I couldn't unfollow my mom! lol
ReplyDeleteThere's so much advice out there about how we 'should' use social media, what we should say, who we should follow, what we should retweet--I say BLEH! Be nice to people, use it to be social as it was intended, and don't post a bunch of inflammatory stuff unless stirring up trouble and arguing is your idea of fun. Simple as that.
ReplyDeleteYes! I've been reading a lot of marketing articles lately. I try to remember first I am a person not a product, even if I will have a book as a product. Person first. The social media strategists who keep that in mind are my favorite.
DeleteAnd we want people actually buying our book!
ReplyDeleteSome of my greatest supporters, fans, and opportunities have come from places I'd least expect. If I'd limited my contacts, I would've limited those, too.
I am still trying to figure out Twitter. I know I am probably making all sorts of mistakes. I still haven't mastered the social part of it. Someone once compared Twitter to a cocktail party where people slip in and out of conversations. Well, I hate cocktail parties so I tend to stand there and listen to other people talk until I have something cogent to say.
ReplyDeleteTwitter chats can be helpful for that, or trending hashtags for things you're interested in. The book community is HUGE on twitter, and for the most part very welcoming. Let me know if you are looking to be involved on twitter more and I can send some resources your way :)
DeleteYep, I'm with you. Tweets from a real person are much more interesting than the obviously churned out stuff.
ReplyDeleteStill getting the hang of hashtags though :(
I don't use twitter as much as I should. Sometimes I'm there twenty times per day and other days I don't even stop in. I have lots of lists so when I do go, I get to interact with the people I want to talk to.
ReplyDeleteSame,I check in with my lists. :)
DeleteI'd never cut my mom or anyone else. 'Nuff said. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
I don't worry about all that fuss. I think it makes a person too crazy, and it doesn't really apply to me. My mom doesn't even own a computer, but if she was the one person who followed me, on line or off, I'd feel successful. Keep doing what you're doing. I love reading YA books. I'm writing plays right now, but I've had my eye on YA writing as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. Mary at Play off the Page
IWSG co-host
I wouldn't cut people off at all! It is because of their support and encouragement I've gotten this far. I've made quite a few friends via Twitter, and I met one of my critique partners on a link that paired writers as partners from Twitter. We work together wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective on Twitter. I've never used it and don't know much about it. Crazy to think that folks cut followers from their list - like you say, it doesn't seem very social. Cheers - Ellen
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I think a lot of people feel like they have to cut people out once they become a "bigger deal" by getting books out. But the people you were friends with before you got books out are the most important! I'd never cut people off to try and look like I'm following less people than are following me.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Beware of social media experts who advise otherwise :)
DeleteI wouldn't cut people off. Those are my peeps. I'd hope to give back as much as I've gotten from the writing community, always!
ReplyDeleteGood advice. When I first started twitter I was silly enough to think it was about numbers. Now I have more people than I can manage in my list and I don't know the majority of them--and it's overwhelming. I've stopped going for numbers and started attempting to be more social. My problem is that I don't give Twitter enough of my time... bad me.
ReplyDeleteI started to enjoy Twitter a lot more when I stopped worrying about numbers. I'm taking that horse to water approach. I'll provide the water and hope some horses come along, but I'm not going to drag them in. That's no way to get them to stay.
ReplyDeleteI've dabbled in Twitter. I'm not on there as much now, but I did make some good writing connections, especially when I was entering contests. I'm an introvert, so the way I approach Twitter or any social media is just focusing on finding a few people to interact with. I guess I do promote my blog on there sometimes, but otherwise, when I'm on (which isn't often), I mostly respond to other people's tweets.
ReplyDeleteContests are so great for interacting on twitter. :)
DeleteI have yet to jump into Twitter even though I did set up an account years ago. If I ever "make it" as a writer, I know it will be with the help of others in the writer's community. I would hate to become a snot.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to jump into Twitter even though I did set up an account years ago. If I ever "make it" as a writer, I know it will be with the help of others in the writer's community. I would hate to become a snot.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine dumping people because they aren't "influencers." That sounds so snobbish to me. I haven't gotten into Twitter much yet, but when I do, I'm not going to worry about the numbers. As you said, it's the social aspect — the people — that are important, not the numbers.
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ReplyDeleteOn my Twitter, I am currently following more people than I am followed back, and I'm fine with that. It doesn't matter to me if someone I follow is or isn't an "influencer." Besides, we never know who the "influencers" really are because not all influencers are name droppers.
ReplyDeletethere are third party apps that can scan your twitter feed and tell you who the influencers are, and even auto tweet their stuff or responses to them! I signed up for a free version of one of those thinking it was more like a tweet management app verses whatever weird thing it ended up being. I hated it so much and disconnected the account after a day. Maybe those work if you're a big corporation, but as authors, we're human!
DeletePotential readers (and friends!) are EVERYWHERE. It's always a good idea to be kind and generous no matter the venue or situation. Why is it we've determined that social media excuses us from basic human decency?
ReplyDeleteHi there... this was my first month to participate in the IWSG... but that's not where I found your blog. I saw your post mentioned on Google Plus today! I've been using Twitter a lot more lately. Over the years it has become more useful, and I love that we can post photos there now! I will definitely take your advice, and not worry about the numbers. I don't think I'll ever be the type to watch Twitter all day long, but for a daily visit, it is kind of fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for finding me! I used to see more IWSG-ers on Google plus but it seems to be waning. I don't use it much but I do connect with some writers and bloggers over there every few weeks or so :)
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