How I Manage Twitter & Make It Work for Me

Social media is this year's marketing buzz word for authors, hammered home at conferences, via publishing houses "how to" workshops (yay, Harlequin), on writers loops where many authors have, until now, felt at home and safe, on the internet and connected, but connected primarily to their writing kin. Now editors and agents are telling them to get out there, be available. Problem is, it's really tough to be OUT THERE while at the same time be IN HERE where all the story ideas are. Social media can be a time suck and a major distraction and a HUGE creative interference, but it's also great fun and an easy way to combine a work break with promo.

Instead of using the website, many folks rely on Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to access their Twitter and Facebook feeds. I don't. I've used Tweetdeck, and found it took me twice as long to get through messages. But that's because I don't sit at my computer to work. I'm the pen and paper, Alphasmart, iPod, Blackberry writer. Anywhere, everywhere, and I manage Twitter the same way. My favorite app is Echofon for my iPod, though I'm about to try Seesmic because I've maxed out Echofon's font size and still have trouble seeing. On my Blackberry, I use UberTwitter, though it's far from perfect. It has a great adjustable font and syncs the last tweet read, as does Echofon. Those two items are my deal breakers, and I've gone through multiple apps looking for the porridge bowl that's just right. But I've also set myself several rules that allow me to keep Twitter from taking over my life, while still making it work for me.

1) I keep my follow list small.

I want to interact with everyone I follow. To do so I can't follow more than around 135 people and remain sane. When I used Tweetdeck, I followed tons more and organized them into groups. It was still overwhelming. By sticking close to what experimenting has revealed as my magic number, I can pay attention to everyone on my list. But think of all the people you're missing, you say? I do, which is why …

2) I switch out who I follow on a regular basis.

I want to be entertained, to learn things, to be taken to links with even more entertaining and educational info. If I only follow the same core group, Twitter becomes the equivalent of a clique with friends chatting back and forth – which is fine, but I already belong to email loops where that happens. Twitter gives me the world! I've hooked up with readers I would never have met elsewhere, and met other writers, not all in my genre, who make me want to read their books.

3) I don't follow everyone who follows me.

See above re: the manageable list. But I do check all my replies and mentions, and respond as necessary. Sometimes it's those replies and mentions where I'll find new super interesting people to check out! And a whole lot of these people mention reading books I would never even have heard of. Oh, and any book that is mentioned? I immediately go to my Kindle app and grab a sample! Social media as promo at work!

4) I don't follow people who retweet more than tweet.

And the reason why is because I've most likely already seen those tweets. Multiple times. I do retweet, yes. But I'll often wait a day so that the info may hit followers who didn't see it the first time. Since the dynamic of Twitter has people with the same interests (readers & writers in my case) all following one another, retweeting results in a barrage of the same info hitting feeds over and over again. I scroll past, no problem, because it's part of the game, and because I've made sure the people I follow also tweet original thoughts. Twitter is about TWEETING first, retweeting second.

5) I don't follow people just because I know them.

It's the email loop comparison above. I may see some of these people on the web at blogs, or in other group situations online, and what they're tweeting is information I've already seen them share. I love following people I don't know. This is what makes Twitter so much fun and opens it up as a way to reach new readers.

6) I don't follow authors who talk about nothing but their own books.

Of course authors talk about their books. But to talk about nothing else? To use Twitter for NOTHING but promo? That's missing the whole point of social media. It's equivalent to spamming and I already get way too much of that, thank you.

7) Sometimes I just take a break.

Nothing is going to happen on Twitter than I won't hear about soon enough. If I don't see this all important "thing" mentioned in my replies, or in a gossipy email after the fact, I'm surprised. If something newsworthy happens, I'll learn about it sooner or later. And signing off for a long weekend, or even a middle of the week break, can be a writing sanity saver. My brain can only hold so much input before exploding. ;)

8) If someone's tweets raise my blood pressure, I unfollow.

I love snark as much as the next person, but I don't love agendas, or superior attitudes, or rude condescension. If someone I'm following hits my hot buttons, I unfollow. There's no law that says because I'm an author I have to follow everyone who's anyone in the publishing industry! I cause myself enough stress already. I don't need to volunteer to be stressed by others when unfollowing is a click away.

9) I don't tweet just about publishing or writing.

TV, food, cooking, movies, naps, dog walking, stupid human tricks, the weather. I cover it all. It may seem like writing is my life, but it's really not. And how boring if it was. ;)

To make social media work as a promotional tool, authors can't just hang out and follow other authors, or author friends, or authors in their genre only, or publishing houses, or publicity firms, or editors, or agents. That's a very insular way of using Twitter. Social is a much more encompassing term, and encourages interaction outside an author's circle of friends, and often outside an introvert's comfort zone. Be yourself, but be smart. Would you want to be spammed by nothing but promo posts? Would you want to be unfollowed because you copped an attitude? I mean, there are no rules, so anything goes, but I've been on Twitter since July of 2007 (and that after canceling my first account because no one was there to talk to) so have paid attention to what works. And most of it is common sense and good manners. ;)

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