Twitter...I did it. What now?

[Sheri Larsen]

After reading Laura's questions about Twitter, I decided to take the plunge and make an account. Here's my location on twitter: http://twitter.com/sherilarsen71

I'm still not sure how it works, though. How do I start interacting with others? Do I just go to the home page and start commenting? What about these widgets or tweet me gadgets? There's a bunch of them. 

I'd be forever grateful for any advice you'd pass along. 

Thank your from a mom (x4) who's desperately trying to leave the rotary phone behind and jump on this new bandwagon. :)

Sheri 

[Sheri Larsen]

Heather, that's awesome. I felt stupid posting this discussion, but honestly I was lost when I first set up my account. I did start following a few people but as their posts went by I thought, 'K, this is fun, but what purpose does this really serve? Thank you for your help. :)
Sheri

Heather McCorkle said:

Welcome to Twitter Sheri! Once you get the hang of it you'll love it. I've met a lot great writers, agents, and editors there. Hashtags are the way to get people to find you. Just post on your main page and use one. Such as: #writing #writetip #writegoal those are a few off the top of my head that a lot of people check up on. When you use a hashtag your tweet will show up on a search for that tag. Then you'll start attracting followers!

[Shari A. Brady]

Hi Sheri,
I just signed up last week and wondered the same thing. Thanks for starting the discussion. I understand now how to get myself started!
Shari

[Sheri Larsen]

No problem. When you figure out any 'secrets', be sure to pass them along. :)

Shari A. Brady said:

Hi Sheri,
I just signed up last week and wondered the same thing. Thanks for starting the discussion. I understand now how to get myself started!
Shari

[Sheri Larsen]

As I'm becoming more acclimated with Twitter, I'm finding more questions. What's with the lists and favorites? I'm on peeps lists and have no idea how I got there.

[Georgia McBride]

One good way to get started is to join the YAlitchat twibe. Follow those people. They follow a lot of people in our industry and vice versa. You will immediately become immersed in YA culture. Follow the #YAlitchat hashtag. You can follow it HERE directly within NING. On the socialize link above, you'll see a link that says, "twitter tracker." we track the YALitChat hashtag there. DUH. What else would we be tracking? LOL. That is the quickest way to get acclimated to the YA culture on twitter, find out who's who and who's talking about what and to whom. Have fun, good luck and PLEASE do not worry if someone you tweet does not respond to you. Part of the game of getting to know someone on twitter.

[Mary Brebner]

Hi! Welcome to Twitter! I've really enjoyed using it this year. When I first started, I was just as lost as you (everybody is, so don't feel silly asking questions).

What I did was find some authors in the genres I was interested in then check out who THEY were following--and followed those who looked interesting. Be sure to check out their profiles & make sure they're not just retweeting (RT) or promoting their blog/book. The best tweeps I've found are those who post interesting links, retweet good posts, and have fun comments themselves.

My two fave chats are: #YALITCHAT (of course!!) on Wednesdays at 9pm EST and #kidlitchat on Tuesdays at 9pm EST. They both last about an hour and go super-fast. You can find a ton of great people to follow there, too.

Finally, don't forget to fill out your profile, link to your blog and put a picture of yourself so we know you're real.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions--I'm more than happy to help you! Have fun!

Mary (www.twitter.com/marybrebner)

[Sheri Larsen]

Georgia and Mary, you've both been amazingly helpful as has everyone else. Hotheads to you!! (Inside joke between Candyland and me. Also a fascination of one of my characters. LOL) My twitter location has changed. Here it is for anyone interest: http://twitter.com/SherWordsGirl My other one was too blah....

Thanks for all your help and if I can ever be of any assistance to any of you, call on me. I'm your girl. ";-)
Sheri

ps: Mary, I'll go check you out right now.

[Sheri Larsen]

Thanks. I'll add you. :)

Rachel Lim said:

Looks like you're getting a great start already! I started following you, Sheri. I'm @thelifeofwords.

[Rachel Lim]

Twittering is a lot of fun! I'm following you now -- I'm @thelifeofwords.

Rachel

[Jo Hart]

I was exactly like you when I started using Twitter, I started following a couple of people (mostly celebs) and thought "What now?" But I've now realised what a fantastic resource Twitter can be to us as writers. I actually wrote a blog entry about how Twitter is a great resource for writers only the other day:

http://thegracefuldoe.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/why-twitter-is-a-gre...

In it I cover the different ways I've discovered Twitter can benefit aspiring writers. I include several hashtags I've found to be useful and several agents I am following who tweet great insight into the query process. I hope it helps other writers out there use Twitter to their advantage.

[Sheri Larsen]

Thank you, Jo. I'll definitely check it out.

Jo Hart said:

I was exactly like you when I started using Twitter, I started following a couple of people (mostly celebs) and thought "What now?" But I've now realised what a fantastic resource Twitter can be to us as writers. I actually wrote a blog entry about how Twitter is a great resource for writers only the other day:

http://thegracefuldoe.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/why-twitter-is-a-gre...

In it I cover the different ways I've discovered Twitter can benefit aspiring writers. I include several hashtags I've found to be useful and several agents I am following who tweet great insight into the query process. I hope it helps other writers out there use Twitter to their advantage.

[Clara W]

Wow, I too was having a hard time with Twitter, thanks for this great tip!

Heather McCorkle said:

Welcome to Twitter Sheri! Once you get the hang of it you'll love it. I've met a lot great writers, agents, and editors there. Hashtags are the way to get people to find you. Just post on your main page and use one. Such as: #writing #writetip #writegoal those are a few off the top of my head that a lot of people check up on. When you use a hashtag your tweet will show up on a search for that tag. Then you'll start attracting followers!