Aren’t You On Twitter?

I have been on Twitter for a while now. I took to what was then a relatively new experience in August 2007, which now seems oh so long ago!  I would recommend that if you are an author, you really should be on Twitter too. If, however, you already are on Twitter, then much of what I have to say may already been known to you. If on the other hand, you haven’t yet experienced Twitter, here are a few points that may persuade you to do so:-

• It is becoming increasingly important for authors to participate in all forms of social media, Twitter being one such platform. Here is what one of today’s social media gurus, Guy Kawasaki has to say about authors and social media.
•  Over time, you can develop your own band of “followers” on Twitter. Use this forum to keep them informed of your ongoing projects, your new publications or indeed on what you plan for the future.
• You can subscribe to and feature in “lists” which enable you to keep abreast of what others like you are doing.
• Using hashtags on Twitter , you can go straight into topics that interest you and avoid wading through reams of stuff that comes out on Twitter every minute. I have found #writing, #writetips, #books and #authors are some of the hashtags I use and follow.
• You can in turn follow many authors and experts in the business of writing and publishing. There are far too many to name but I would specifically urge you to follow Jon Winokur, Joanna Penn and Rox Morris.

You begin with choosing a name for yourself on Twitter. This is called a Twitter “handle.”  Mine, for example is @premrao . Some writers, I find, choose to preface their names with “Author” on Twitter but I don’t much care for the idea.

In my experience, I have gained a lot by being on Twitter: I have made new contacts, built my social network and participated in communities   primarily related to authors and writing. In doing all this, I have picked up a huge amount of knowledge for free.

What more can anyone ask for? It takes a few minutes to set up an account on Twitter. Go for it and I hope you will mention me in one of your  tweets.