Navigating the Twitterverse: Advice for Writers
Disclaimer: as with any platform, there will be endless opinions on how to use Twitter. Many folks may disagree with my approach. However, Twitter has been a successful medium for my writing development/promotion, so hopefully, I can assist others in finding a benefit! If you have other suggestions or your own perspectives, please share them in the comments!
Also, this is a guide for first-time/new Twitter users. For more advanced questions about using Twitter to network with literary agents, publishers, and collaborators, check out my follow-up blog post!
Several of my author friends have come to me and asked questions like "how do I keep up with agents and their submission schedules?" Or "how do I find beta readers?" Or "how can I build rapport with industry people?"
To me, all these questions (and similar questions) have the same answer: Twitter. Specifically, the writing community on Twitter. Before we start with the steps to take to build your author account, I am going to explain a few things about Twitter with the assumption that you are reading this because you’re a beginner!
Twitter facts and tips!
Twitter is organized into different communities, though not “officially”. Think of Reddit, or even Facebook groups. These communities have subs that are clearly defined. Twitter has groups and communities as well, but they have no barriers to access and participation. Knowing how to navigate and curate Twitter can help you to stay in the writing community while avoiding some of the “gross” Twitterverse you may have heard about (such as politics).
There is no “edit” function on Twitter. It’s best to spell-check every Tweet.
The 280 character limit might seem daunting, but if you have something long to say, break it up into numbered posts. You can do this by ending each tweet with “1/?” which indicates that more will be said in the next tweet.
Steps to setting up your Twitter:
Make sure your account profile identifies you as a writer.
When you try to add someone (especially someone with 1000+ followers) they may only glance at your profile name and description. You can add the words writer or author to your name, or make sure it’s within the first few words of your profile description. This will get you quick follow-backs (discussed more in a few steps).
Try to show what is unique about you at the forefront. It may be what you write or your personality, beliefs, etc. I have a pride rainbow emoji after my name, to show that I am LGBTQ, and I have a cross emoji to show I am a Christian. The LGBTQ Christian community is rather tight-knit, so this earns me follows from folks who are like-minded or interested.
Use a real photo of yourself, or a photo that identifies your work. Do this for your main profile picture and your “cover photo”. If you aren’t comfortable using real photos, use an app like BitMoji to make an animated version of yourself. All of this is preferable because it’s unique and shows what you look like. Accounts with profile photos of things like cats, flowers, sports teams, etc. are continually overlooked and will be harder to promote. Plus, you don’t want to look like a bot.
Start out by following as many writers as you can find. Use search terms such as “writingcommunity” or start typing the word “writing” and see what comes up in autofill (it may change based on what hashtags are trending for that day/week).
Make a few tweets to get yourself started. It’s good to start with things like “I’m so excited to become part of the #writingcommunity here on Twitter, I’ve been writing for __ years but never taken this plunge!” You can also tweet that you are looking to get followers and you will follow back. It is okay to start with semi-desperate sounding tweets like this, at first. Once you get over 1000 followers, it’s considered kind of cringey, but that’s a problem for later-you!
Participate in things like “writerlift” and “follow fridays”. These happen all of the time and are a great way to get loads of followers, right off the bat. You join this by searching for the hashtag writerlift, and then joining the thread. Use the @ symbol to tag people (but see step 8), or simply comment on the thread that you are new to Twitter and looking for followers. If you have the word “writer” prominently in your profile, people are much more likely to follow you back.
Retweet generously. If someone is promoting a new book? Retweet that. If someone makes a joke about books? Retweet that. Aim for about 10 original tweets/retweets per day MINIMUM when you are starting out.
Engage other people’s posts by commenting/”subtweeting”. If they have questions, respond. Do this especially if you have requested to follow them, so they will see that you are a genuine account and worth following back. Do not comment with irrelevant things, or being so obvious to say “please follow me back”, as that is seen as annoying.
Don’t tag people until you have built up some rapport with them, especially on follow threads. If you tag people repeatedly, they will unfollow or block you. Usually you get a few passes when it’s clear you are new, but the sooner you show “Twitter manners”, the better.
Keep tweeting even if no one is replying/liking your tweets, yet. Sometimes the algorithym isn’t going to be in your favor, and no one will see your content. But don’t get discouraged. The more you tweet, the better, and you will start to bring in people. Once you have a balance of content and engagement, you’ll become “popular” and you will bring in new followers without even trying!
Don’t be a jerk. Look, you might think this goes without saying, but apparently it needs to be said. It’s your personal choice, but I strongly recommend that you think of this as a professional account where you put your best foot forward. ALL your tweets can (and will) be seen, including replies to other peoples’ tweets. If you have an opinion that might be considered controversial, keep it off twitter. I have seen writer’s accounts “canceled” or “dragged” for comments they probably thought would be fine. Here are a few examples of things that will get you dragged:
Using hashtags meant specifically to promote marginalized groups that you don’t belong to. You can avoid this if you are careful to read about hashtags before you use them. For example, the tag “DVpit” is used to promote marginalized voices (LGBTQ, BIPOC, neurodiverse, people with illness, etc). Recently, a writer chose to use that tag when she knowingly did not belong to a marginalized category or identity. Needless to say, her account appeared in many screenshots with negative posts and she may even be losing her opportunity to be represented by a lit agent.
Don’t give critique unless someone asks for it. I made this mistake early in my Twitter experience, because I was used to writing groups being critique groups, where we gave commentary on grammar, sentence structure, etc. Twitter is not a critique group! Some people do not want to hear feedback on their writing. Many people on Twitter do not want to be corrected, at all. I love feedback, but giving unsolicited opinions or advice to the wrong person might get you dragged, even if you are right!
Check out what writing hashtags are trending, and use them to get more engagement!
Now that you are set-up, keep it going! If you are dilligent to take a few minutes each day and tweet, retweet, and comment, you will soon have an engaging and popular account. The key is consistency. This may seem like a lot of work, but the potential payoff is greatly worth your while.
In my next post I will talk about how to use Twitter to connect with agents, published authors, beta readers, editors, and maybe even a publisher!
This is my current profile. Notice that I put “book writer” in the description early. This is so people will see it when they get my follow request!
Writerslift are a great way to build followers - add people to follow that are tagged on the post, and they might follow you back!