Ah, the joys and frustrations using Twitter! Whether you are simply branding yourself or pushing promotional snippets to sell your books, commenting on the weather, burnt toast or having to go shopping, opening the Twitter page without a safety rope is like diving into a bottomless well. You won’t be coming up. Believe me, I know the feeling. I got a real warm fuzzy when I started my Twitter account, thinking I would meet lots of fellow authors facing similar problems with their writing, editing and publishing, and agents eager to snap up my books. Well, that feeling cooled quite rapidly. Sure, there are lots of writers to connect with on Twitter, and agents, publishers, promoters and people keen to take your money to promote you, but like any social environment, it can also be a minefield for the unwary.

So, what is Twitter supposed to be? Reading what some of the pundits have to say, Twitter is an online social networking medium where people can connect and interact. That’s pretty cool, no? It also means that you have to be ‘social’, and wade through a lot of comments that have little relevance to anything. That can be a problem for writers, as being social does not necessarily equate to the type of personality of some writers. Okay, how ‘should’ writers use Twitter to brand themselves and promote their books?

– Tweet about your interests, your writing, and your experiences as a writer.
– Reply to people who follow you and their retweets of your posts.
– Provide information others want to know and share.
– Build up your followers.
– Follow back when someone follows you, but only if that person is of interest to you.
– Use hashtags.
– Retweet other people’s posts.

There is lots more out there on this, but you get the idea. Some of the things you shouldn’t do?

– Don’t push yourself or your book down people’s throat.
– Never beg for somebody to follow you.
– Don’t make your tweets too long – which shouldn’t be a problem with only 140 characters!
– Failing to respond to mentions and being favored.
– Don’t repeat the same tweet over and over.
– Never flood your tweet with hashtags, which hides your message – if there is one.
– Don’t just tweet quotes; express your own beliefs, feelings and views.
– Never buy followers!

Well, that’s what the pundits say, anyway. Some of the stuff even makes sense, and Twitter would be great if more people followed these guidelines. The other morning, I opened Twitter and started scrolling down the page, getting increasingly dismayed at what I read. Somebody posted that the cat was sick, the car broke down, she had a new cake recipe. There were also lots of ‘shouldn’t do’ type posts. It was a relief to come across a genuine comment to which I could respond or retweet, encouraging me to post something creative of my own. After all, I’ve been in the writing game for some time, and I have a few things that might interest others – or not. Sometimes my posts generate a warm response, and sometimes prompts a discussion, which is good. If I get a new follower as a result, I consider it a bonus.

Many people believe using Twitter to sell books, branding and promoting themselves, is a waste of time. They have a lot going for that opinion. I had it for a while myself. However, as somebody told me, I can still sell my books by posting ‘about’ the books, rather than simply saying, ‘Check out my new novel on Amazon’, or ‘For this week only, it’s .99 cents’. A few catchy phrases about the book might pique somebody’s interest enough to prompt them to check my website, and perhaps end up buying the book. Composing such tweets takes a little bit of thinking and effort, but I think there is something to it. The thing is, to build up followers and become known to the point where followers just descend on you takes time – a lot of time, and some frustration in between.

At one point, I almost gave up on Twitter and Facebook, which is another medium where you tear out your hair, and developed a philosophy I think just might work for me. For a while there, I wondered what was the point of accumulating 10,000 followers. I will almost never respond directly to all of them. But, with more followers, I have a broader audience with whom I can exchange views and learn from. That has to be a plus. So, this is what I decided to do:

– Write about my experiences as an author, editor, book reviewer, on publishing.
– Provide what may be helpful hints to others.
– If I like something, I comment on it, retweet or favor other people’s posts.
– I always thank somebody for following me.
– I don’t get psychotic about it!

Will this help me sell more books? I’ll just have to wait and see. When all is said and done, Twitter is another tool that can be used to advantage, or abused. It is no use blaming the little blue bird. It’s not its fault.

Happy tweeting!

I must express my thanks to Debra Brown, Editor at Madison Street Publishing (@kescah) for steering me in the right direction.

Some useful hashtags to consider among the available plethora:

– #IARTG – Independent Author ReTweet Group
– #ASMSG – Authors Social Media Support Group
– #BYNR – Book Your Next Read

Styefan’s Twitter handle: @stefanvucak