Yeah, I’m on Twitter

I say that almost reluctantly. I know it’s hip, cool, or whatever word is used these days, but it’s awkward. Twitter is great for those people who have things pop in their heads and they just like to spout it off, but I’m more of a pipe-smoker. I have to think about something before I say it and therefore a simple tweet becomes a struggle. I type it, think about it, erase it, type, think, erase… after going through this a few times, I just drop it.

Twitter has become a popular form of social media, particularly among young people. Just as the youthful crowd was the first to move from MySpace to Facebook, often with the goal of escaping the prying eyes and gathering of parents and grandparents, they have migrated to this form of social media where they can tweet off any thought which comes to mind. With a language of its own, Twitter can sometimes be daunting to new users.

I ventured to this place under the direction of John Locke, who was the first independent author to ever sell over one million downloads. Following his “How to” instructions, I set up a Twitter account to build a following and hoping, along with apparently hundreds of thousands of other independent authors, to find readers for my books.

After being on Twitter for more than two years, it just hasn’t panned out that way and I find myself visiting the Twitter-world less and less often. Admittedly, my lack of success with Twitter Marketing largely has to do with my failure to implement the strategies which were suggested and are followed by most of the independent authors who use it. With over sixteen-hundred followers (small beans compared to most tweeters), you would think there would be at least a few who might be tempted to buy my books, but the problem with marketing on Twitter is that you have to buy into the whole idea of self-promotion for it to work.

Another problem with Twitter is that it is easy to find and follow people just like you, but not always so easy to build a diversified base. So, I’ve fallen into this Twitter Abyss, where ninety percent of the people who follow me are the very authors in which I find myself in competition with for readership, which wouldn’t be bad if the only goal was to find people with whom I could relate or when building a support network. However, when the goal is to find readers or market your work, this isn’t exactly the type of following one might desire

My Twitter feed is full of “Buy My Book” tweets from other independent authors who are all there for the same reason. I get so inundated by these endless pleas and painful reminders I am just a small fish in a giant pond; it just doesn’t capture me. Don’t get me wrong, it can be entertaining from time to time, but I can’t spend hours on it or even drop what I’m doing to check the feed.

Call me a dreamer, call me naive, paint me old fashioned, or simply call me stupid, but I can’t buy into the endless, non-stop, ticker-type stream of self-promotion. I don’t want people to buy my book because I bothered them until they did. In this world of videos and news stories gone viral, I want to be known for writing something which creates such an emotional impact it develops a groundswell of grassroots support. Obviously, I haven’t achieved that, but I can still hope. I want success upon its own merits. If the work isn’t good enough to gather that kind of support, then it simply isn’t good enough.

I still believe in readers. I believe in ‘real’ readers, book lovers, who get so caught up in a story, or are so moved with passion, that they can’t help but tell others about the experience. People like me who talk about how a story impacted them or are blown away that the author was able to paint such vivid pictures in their mind or develop characters who actually come alive.

I know they are out there, waiting for just the right story. I read it in the reviews of books I like. The same stories which touch me touch them. So, how do I find them? The only way I know how. I keep striving to write that special story which captures their hearts and loosens their tongues in a way that they just can’t contain how they feel about it. It may take several tries. There may be six, eight, ten, twelve books or more published before I find the right one. I’m not afraid of being a one hit wonder; it would be a pleasure.  Not that I’m naive enough to put myself in the same category, but if I could write a book which were to be talked about like To Kill A Mockingbird or Catcher In The Rye (which I actually never cared for), I’d be happy. Sure, Harper Lee only wrote one book, but everyone knows that one title. J.D. Salinger may only be known for one book, written in 1951, but it still sells an average of 250,000 copies per year.

Hey, I don’t want to sound like Negative Nelly here. There are some great things about Twitter, Facebook, and any of those other social media platforms. I’ve reconnected with friends from high school and college. I’ve met some really wonderful people. I have developed what I consider to be close friendships with people I’ve never even met. I’ve come across interesting topics and conversation. Through those interactions, I’ve learned so much more than I would have on my own. I’ve been exposed to other independent authors and come to realize there is incredible talent out there. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a book from a mainstream author.

So, yeah, I’m on Twitter, and you are more than welcome to follow me (@celemieux), though rather than endless tweets about my books you are more likely to find quotes I like, retweets from other authors I support, or humorous stabs at my kids. I slip in a reminder about my books once in a while, but it won’t be an endless feed of self-promotion.  It may even be a little boring compared to what you can find on Twitter. But I’ll engage if you engage, and I’ll keep looking for those illusive readers. I’ll stick with my naive and old fashioned ideas about what makes a book popular. To me it starts with the work and ends with the reader. If the reader finds value, it will get their vote, and if they do not find value, it is time to try again.

By the way, “Buy My Book, There’s Something About Henry. It’s on Amazon.”