Twittequette Tips Part 2

by Jemi Fraser

Last year, I posted some Twittequette Tips (Etiquette on Twitter). If you're new to Twitter, you might want to check some of these out, especially if you're considering interacting with agents/publishers.

Today's rant topic is DMs. DMs are Direct Messages, private conversations between 2 Tweeps.

If we've only just met (meaning you followed me, and I followed you back), there's probably no need for us to have a private conversation yet. Let's get to know each other first!

I've had plenty of DM conversations with people I know well on Twitter, but for the most part (for me at least), Twitter is about having fun and making connections with other people, and most of those conversations can be carried on in public. DMs are a great way to warn Tweeps when their Email accounts have sent me spam, to ask/send email addresses, along with other more obvious uses.

(Warning: Personal Pet Peeve Rant Ahead)

If we've just met, please don't send me a DM and:

• ask me to buy your book or other product
• link me to where to buy your book or other product 
• ask me to give you money through a fundraising link
• ask me to like your FB page

If you met someone in a coffee shop, on the street, or at a friend's house, would your first sentence to them, your first conversation, be to ask them to buy your stuff???? I sincerely hope not!

Don't do it on Social Media either.

I've bought dozens of books written by friends I've met through social media, probably well over a hundred by now. NOT ONCE have I bought a book by someone asking me to do so via a DM.

Marketing is tough. Lots of our authors here at FTWA have posted advice on that, and will continue to do so (click on the Marketing link in the sidebar!). Maybe this seems like an easy way to promote, but, for me, it has the exact opposite effect.

(Okay, rant complete)

What do you think? Are automated DMs requesting a new follower buy something okay or annoying? Have you bought anyone's book that way? Or (like me) have you unfollowed people who pester in DMs?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of contemporary romance. She blogs  and tweets while searching for those HEAs.

Twittequette Tips

by Jemi Fraser

I remember joining Twitter a few years ago and being completely overwhelmed. I've seen/heard/read a lot of questions popping up here and there regarding Twittequette lately so I thought I'd tackle that today.

Twittequette Tips for Interacting with Agents & Editors

• Is it okay to follow agents and editors on Twitter or do I need an invite?
• Absolutely okay to follow them!
• Is it okay to talk to agents and editors on Twitter?
• Yes, but don't be pushy. Start small - retweet what appeals to you, answer questions they ask. Personally I suggest doing a lot more lurking and learning than interacting.
• Is it okay to ask agents and editors business questions on Twitter?
• Not usually. If there's an #askagent #askyaagent or similar chat going on, go ahead, but don't be a pest at other times.
• Can I pitch agents and editors on Twitter?
• NO!!! Absolutely not.
• Unless it's a contest, then check out the rules and feel free to participate.

Twittequette Tips for Self Promotion

• Is it okay to promote my book?
• Yes.
• I sense a BUT... coming, what is it?
• But... don't do it very often.
• A standard tip I've seen is to have at LEAST 5 tweets (10 is probably better) about something and/or someone else in between your tweets about you.
• Don't promote every review you receive but when something genuinely excites you go ahead and post it! (Need I repeat... not too often.)
• If all you talk about is you and your books, you'll soon be talking to yourself.

General Twittequette

• Follow people because you're interested in them ... NOT because of what they can do for you.
• DON'T unfollow people shortly after you've followed them to inflate your numbers. Nobody really cares about numbers and this makes you look like a dweeb.
• Listen to Mrs. Rabbit. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
• having said that it's OK to be funny and snarky ... just don't aim at a person. I follow some hilarious people who are incredibly snarky but they're never mean. If you don't know the difference, err on the side of caution.
• Be yourself and relax. Twitter is all about fun and connections.

Any Twittequette tips to add? Any questions to ask of our knowledgeable readers?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of contemporary romance. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.

Assessing the Value of Tools

by Matt Sinclair

What sells you when you decide to buy a book? Perhaps you were drawn by the cover art. Did the title catch your eye first? Was it a blurb on the back? You may have read a review and decided long before you ruffled the pages that this was the next item for your to-be-read pile.

As an author, all these are valuable tools to employ. Some are harder to come by. Not everyone is going to see their book reviewed by the New York Times. For self-published authors, a mention there might happen only if the book becomes a surprise hit and warrants a news story. To be sure, that’s quite valuable in itself, but again not a likely outcome.

Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are something all of us should be seeking for our books. But even these might be hit or miss. To be sure, it’s nice when people indicate a book is now on their “Want to read” list, but it’s more significant when “AvidReader123” writes a three paragraph review of glowing praise, especially if Avid has written half a ton of other reviews that people found helpful.

Let’s go back to the blurb. These are certainly nice to have. And for the unknown writer, they can be more than just nice. Imagine how helpful it would be if your publisher got Stephen King to blurb your debut psychological thriller. That could certainly translate into sales. It could even generate buzz.

But blurbs from brand name authors are awfully tough to get, too. Agents know to protect their authors from blurbing too often. I know writers who are kept on a strict one-blurb-a-year diet.

Ok, so Stephen King won’t blurb your book and neither will his son Joe Hill. But what if one of those guys tweeted your book’s debut? Might that be worth something to you? What if George Takei shared mention of your novel on Facebook? Think his followers might take notice? Honestly, I think those might be more valuable than a blurb these days.

Of course, such electronic real estate is also hard to come by. Heck, finding a twenty dollar bill on the ground might be more common. But it still might be easier to get a tweet than a blurb.

Think of your own social media habits. Don’t you share things you found interesting? You’re writers: what are you reading? That’s a form of endorsement in itself. If you tweet out what you’re reading, some of your followers might check it out, too. Perhaps you’d enjoy sharing a bevy of your favorite covers on Instagram.

The key is having a well-stocked toolbox. Some tools are sharper than others, some cost more or have limited use. But assess what each one can do for you -- and for others. In the end, you get back what you give.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available viaAmazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, andAmazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

The Opera Disease

by Jemi Fraser

My dad was a straight-shooter. If you did something he was proud of, you knew it. If you ticked him off, you knew that too. He didn't pull a lot of punches - ever.

One day he grumbled about someone having the Opera Disease. When I asked him what it was, he asked me if I'd ever heard an opera singer warm up. Um. No.

He said when they warm up they sing, "Mi, Mi, Mi, MI!"

It took me a few seconds - come on, I was a kid! - before I realized what he meant. Me, Me, Me, ME!

In the Twitterverse lately, I've come across a few folks inflicted with this hideous disease. You know the ones:

• every tweet screams Buy My Book! Look at Me!
• they never talk about anyone else
• they don't have real conversations
• they tweet their own links continuously
• they unfollow you a week or two after they follow you so they look important ... at least to themselves

Thankfully the Opera Disease isn't contagious and, if you take sensible precautions, you won't be infected.

Have you seen any breakouts of this terrifying disease in your Twitter travels?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of contemporary romance. She blogs and tweets (responsibly) while searching for those HEAs.

Save the Snark (and the Hate)

by R.C. Lewis

I've been on Twitter for a few years now, almost exclusively for the writing/publishing side of my life. If you've been around the Write Angle for a while, you know several of us are big fans of Twitter as part of a writer's social media package. Jemi Fraser recently did three different posts on great Twitter hashtags for writers, and Calista Taylor laid out the basics in Twitter 101.

You can get amazing things from Twitter—camaraderie of other writers, news on industry trends and events, and insider tips straight from agents and editors. Amidst all that, you also get what people are eating for lunch, who's coming down with a cold, and complaints about weather/mass transit/utility companies/anything else that can be annoying. Part and parcel.

Here's a small subset of the tweets out there—writers snarking at those industry insiders, especially agents.

They come in several forms, but the underlying sentiment always seems the same. Agents are evil, money-grubbing, elitist jerks. They only want crap from celebrities anyway. They won't take a chance on anyone new.

Now, hang on.

There's nothing wrong with going it alone, whether by self-publishing or working with publishers who take unagented submissions. Many writers find that's the right course for them. For others, the efforts of querying and securing representation are worth it.

Whichever course we choose to take (or maybe both!), why sling hate at the other?

By and large, agents work hard. They often hold down other jobs to pay the bills, essentially working for free on the hope that the books they believe in will sell. I certainly couldn't do what my agent does (fair enough, since I'm pretty sure she couldn't teach my math classes, either).

I imagine there are some agents who are jerks. After all, you can find a jerk or two in just about any group of people. And yes, we have the right to be ourselves and say what we want.

But what possible good comes from being rude (and even at times downright hateful) toward anyone in an industry we hope to be considered professionals in?

No matter what the industry is doing, and no matter our course within it, behaving like a professional will always be in fashion. The same goes for more than agents—editors, fellow authors, and readers deserve it, too.

There's plenty to be gained by developing a reputation of respect.

R.C. Lewis teaches math by day and writes YA fiction by every other time. Her YA sci-fi novel Stitching Snow will be published by Disney-Hyperion in Summer 2014. Meanwhile, you can find her at Crossing the Helix and on Twitter (@RC_Lewis).

And 3 More Twitter Hashtags

by Jemi Fraser

Wow! You folks are amazing. I've learned a lot about hashtags over the past couple of posts! If you'd like to see the first 2 posts in this hashtag series, check them out here and here.

1. #writetip, #editingtips, #pubtip & #querytip

I hadn't thought of leaving TweetDeck columns open for these hashtags, but several of you have mentioned them and they're great! I think their names are self-explanatory - give them a try & see what you find!

2. #nano, #nanowrimo, #wordsprints & @NaNowordsprints

It's November, so these are appropriate right now. If you don't know about National Novel Writing Month, check it out. It's a great place to meet other writers crazy enough to write a first draft of 50k in 30 days. I've participated in NaNo several times now and it's always a lot of fun - and very productive. Most days, you can find people willing to do word sprints with you to boost that word count. These sprints can be for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. Sometimes they'll even throw in a dare to include in your sprint. Last year's "add a wild animal" dare added a great scene to my novel!

3. #mywana

I learned about this from the lovely Darke Conteur. WANA stands for We Are Not Alone. It's similar to the #amwriting hashtag in that it's a conversation place for writers - a great place to find other writers and the support we all need from each other.

I THINK this will be my last hashtag post for a while, but if you've got any further suggestions, let me know! And if you're a fellow NaNo nut, add me as a buddy - we need all the support we can get! I'm jemifraser over there too :)

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of romantic mysteries. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.

GET YOUR QUESTIONS READY!

In an upcoming post From The Write Angle contributors will answer your questions. What's it like to "get the call" either from an agent or a publisher? How do I get my MS in to Hollywood? How do historical writers do all of that research?

What are your questions for our contributors? Keep an eye out for our upcoming call for questions.

3 More Great Twitter Hashtags

by Jemi Fraser

In my last post, I talked about 3 hashtags I enjoy using on Twitter. I asked what other hashtags you were using and got some terrific suggestions!

1. #10queriesin10tweets

Sara Megibow runs this one. Sara is an agent at Nelson Literary Agency and she is fabulous! Usually on Thursdays, Sara goes through 10 queries in her slushpile and tweets the genre and whether she's passing or requesting pages. She also includes her reason for her decision. It's amazing how many people query her with genres she doesn't represent. I don't think I've ever seen her have less than 2 or 3 in the 10 - sometimes as many as 5. Crazy. Not researching agents is a waste of everyone's time!

2. #1k1hr

I hadn't heard about this one before (thanks Viklit!). I've used word sprinting hashtags during NaNo before, but I hadn't used them elsewhere. I will from now on. Word sprints are a great way to get a boost in your word count. If you haven't used them before, you send out a tweet asking if anyone wants to sprint (use the hashtag!). When someone else is sprinting with you, it's great motivation to get those words down.

3. specific chats for genres and age categories and one for self pubbers

I think these were my first introduction to chats and hashtags. They are Awesome!

#yalitchat
#kidlitchat
#mglitchat
#nalitchat
#chicklitchat

#indiechat - this one is great to meet writers who have chosen to self pub. They cover all kinds of great information and you get to meet all kinds of interesting people!

I don't know all of the writing chats (obviously!) but try a search with your genre combined with chat and see what pops up. I've learned a lot by participating in and lurking at these chats. These chats often move QUICKLY!! Using TweetChat is very helpful as it stays on the chat only. It also inserts the hashtag for you so you don't have to remember!

 I've got one more post on hashtags up my sleeve. What would you like to see on it? Do you use any of the ones I've mentioned today?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of romantic mysteries. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.

3 Great Hashtags for Writers

by Jemi Fraser

Many writers have Twitter accounts and we use those accounts for all kinds of reasons. Calista Taylor did a great Twitter 101 post a while back.

Today, I thought I'd focus on 3 Twitter hashtags I find fun and useful.

1. #askagent

There are a LOT of agents and editors on Twitter and they often have impromptu chats under the #askagent hashtag. There are some variations on the theme (#askyaagent, #askeditor) as well. The #askagent chats aren't scheduled and the agents, editors and other publishing people who attend them vary. I keep an #askagent column open on Tweetdeck so I can catch the ones that happen when I'm available too. Sometimes there are rules about what not to ask ('trends' & 'what are you looking for?' come to mind), but generally it's an open chat. Another rule (and good manners) is to never pitch an agent or editor during a chat (or any time that is not a contest). I've learned a LOT from lurking and participating in these chats.

2. #editortips

Adrien-Luc Sanders is an editor at Entangled Publishing and he runs this hashtag. Many week nights at 7:00 p.m. EST he will post several editing tips. As an added bonus, he's hilarious. His Twitter handle is @smoulderingsea if you want to follow him (which I'd highly recommend). I keep this as an open column on my Tweetdeck too.

3. #amwriting

A lot of writers use this hashtag to connect with other writers. It's not a chat or an advice column, more of a communal meeting place for writers to chat, vent, share, ask for help/advice, and have some fun. Johanna Harness (@johannaharness) created the hashtag and the website that goes with it.

I'll do another post on other hashtags one day. Any ones you use regularly you'd like me to include? Do you use any of the three I've mentioned?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of romantic mysteries. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.

The Line Between Being Yourself and Being Professional

by R.C. Lewis

There's no doubt social media has changed the world in a number of ways. A particular difference that's struck me lately is the blur between the personal and the professional.

If you're on Twitter, you probably follow some industry professionals. Sprinkled amongst the #pubtip and #askagent info, you'll see tweets about this agent's cat, that agent's kids, and everybody's shoes. In some ways, it's nice to see that personal side. It makes the pros more real, and when querying agents, those little things can give us some clues about whether they're someone we'd want to work with.

Then again, I know I've unfollowed a few who went too heavy on the non-business side, particularly when those personal posts consist largely of rants and general negativity.

We can learn from this as writers. Should we keep our tweets (and other social media content) to all business, all the time? No way. There are approximately a gazillion-and-one of us out there. If we only talk writing, we'll likely blend into the background noise.

Personality is a good thing. It helps us stand out, create an impression, be memorable. Industry pros and readers alike can get to know us as people.

Where's the line between enough personality and too much? There may not be a hard-and-fast rule, but maybe we can come up with some general guidelines.

Sharing something quirky that happened to you today—Good Idea.

Sharing anything that prompts a "TMI" reaction—Bad Idea. (Mindy McGinnis manages to bend this one occasionally, but she's a professional. Don't try this at home.)

Discussing personal opinions—Good Idea ... within reason.

Discussing why every published book in your genre is terrible—BAD IDEA!

You can see I didn't get very far before I stumbled into the fuzzy gray area.

Maybe there is one rule we could follow, or at least a question we can ask ourselves. If an industry professional looked at our Twitter stream, what impression would they walk away with? Is it an impression that (1) reflects who we are, and (2) could lead them to want to work with us?

What falls on your own Do/Don't-Do list for social media? How do you show some personality and stand out without becoming unprofessional?

R.C. Lewis teaches math by day and writes YA fiction by every other time. You can find her (hopefully behaving herself) at Crossing the Helix and on Twitter (@RC_Lewis).

Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling

by Stephen L. Duncan

I had this whole post ready for you about the Writer’s Wall inspired by a fairly brutal editing session I had last week. No, not Writer’s Block; this is something totally different. Writer’s Block you suffer from. Writer’s Wall you crash into.

We’ll come back to it next time, once the bruises fade a little.

It’s a happy week and I’m in the mood to focus on something positive and Writer’s Wall, dear friends, is not something positive. Therefore, I'm calling an audible.

So this week I came across Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats' Twitter feed. On it, she has listed out, one post at a time, Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling, as you might have guessed from my title. Probably not Official in the sense that these rule are laid out in some company policy manual somewhere, but there is wonderfully sound advice here that is definitely applicable to us hopeful scribes. If there is anything Pixar gets right, it's a great story.

Here Emma is in all her 140 character glory:

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on—it'll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d'you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

And lastly, just to keep with the Pixar/quality of storytelling theme, here's a link to Kelly Flynn, my wife's cousin (and recent Ringling College of Art + Design graduate) with her amazing thesis film STONE COLD. The storytelling is brilliantly done and follows every rule above, hitting all the right notes (though she does not work for Pixar). I dare you not to smile.

Stephen L. Duncan writes young adult fiction, including his debut, the first book in The Revelation Saga, due in 2014 from Medallion Press. You can find him blogging on INKROCK.com and on Twitter.

A Writer's Confession: I'm Shy and an Introvert

by J. Lea Lopez

I blog. I tweet. I Facebook. I also belong to almost half a dozen social networks for writers (some I participate in more frequently than others). I don't usually mind sharing some rather personal anecdotes when asked. For those familiar with me via my "public" online presence, you might also know that I write erotica without a pseudonym, never hesitate to speak up with advice or encouragement when my writer friends need it, flirt with strangers on Twitter and point out the hidden sexual innuendo in everything, and just last week I let loose with a scathing judgment of my own genre and a small group of writers within it.

Why am I telling you all this? Because despite that laundry list of putting-myself-out-there-ness, I have a confession to make.

I am an introvert. And you know what else? I'm a bit on the shy side as well. Does that surprise you? Let's talk about introversion and shyness, as it relates to being a writer, and then you might be able to see how all of those things I listed might actually highlight my introversion, without any of us ever realizing it.

First, I'll state that this isn't a post about marketing or promotion for introverts (our own Mindy McGinnis touched on some of that already, and there are other sites dedicated to the topic). This is just a tiny peek into an introverted mind so all my fellow introvert writers can say "I'm not alone!" And who knows, maybe some of you will glean some insights into the introvert mind that could help you write a character or two.

Introversion and shyness are not the same thing. You can be shy and and an extravert. You can be an introvert without being shy. Susan Cain spells out the difference quite nicely, and succinctly, as such:

Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, and introversion is a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments.

I won't lie, my shyness and introversion is a one-two punch that creates a lot of challenges for me as a writer. This blog post alone is proof of that. I've sort of stumbled onto a dry patch in terms of knowing what to blog about. I put a shout-out on Twitter asking for ideas, and then I also added that I thought my introversion might be hindering me in this area. In groups, I'm often slow to speak, or even completely silent, because I like to think for a long time and make sure I'm 100% sure of my opinion before I state it. I'm prone to moments of self-doubt where I'm sure there's nothing I could say that anyone would be interested in reading (don't even ask me how long it takes to write the first draft of a novel—good lawdy lawd!). I've been better about it recently, but my personal blog has sometimes gone weeks, even months, without a new post for this reason.

This same fear of negative judgment is (mostly) what kept me from self-publishing my first novel last year. It's not ready. It's not ready. I can't do it. Maybe it is ready. But what if it's not? What if people don't like it? I can't market. I can promote the hell out of other people, but not myself. What if my marketing attempts make me look like an ass? All of these things, and more, absolutely paralyzed me with fear. I often get great feedback from beta readers and writers whose opinions I respect. But my first instinct is embarrassment, which I quickly push aside. The second instinct is to seek out another, more critical reader. Why? To tell me I suck? It's not that I don't believe people when they say good things about my writing. I'm just a perfectionist, and I'm always looking for some other way to improve. And maybe I am looking for that one negative opinion to satisfy my own inner critic. Because I need to be right.

Do you know any introverts? Do they sometimes come across as know-it-alls, stubborn not only in their opinions, but also in asserting the "rightness" of those opinions? Not all introverts are this way, but a lot are, myself included. So forgive us, please. It's not that we think we're superior to anyone else in that way. But we spend so much time on reflection, introspection, and being an objective observer to (as opposed to participant in) the interactions around us that we're often so sure we know what's really going on in any given situation. And for me, that includes being sure I'm right about my own plainness.

Don't mistake this for simple low self-confidence, either. I like what I write. I even think I'm pretty damn fabulous sometimes. I just fear that other people won't like it as much as I do. Is that splitting hairs? Maybe. But I live with this type of cognitive dissonance every day. It's not one or the other, it's both—I'm confident in who I am, what I write, etc., but I still care an awful lot about what other people will think.

After I mentioned my introversion and lack of blog ideas on Twitter, one friend (thanks, Lela!) suggested I blog about my struggles with being an introverted writer (hence this post). She said I could talk about the social media mechanisms I use to cope with my introvert tendencies and anxieties. I thought to myself, What if the answer is 'I don't cope'? Of course you do, Lela said. And I got to thinking about it.

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me mention the #goatposse. They're a group of writers who support and encourage each other, chat about writing (and silly things, too), post funny pictures of goats, and just have a good old time without taking ourselves very seriously. The #goatposse makes Twitter a lot of fun for me. I was sort of "enveloped" in the #goatposse phenomenon. I didn't really make a huge effort to insert myself into it—it's not really in my introvert nature to just jump into any group. I let myself be swept up in the fun of it. I've "met" some fun new people through the group. People I can "let my hair down" around. I chose the people I follow very carefully, and I interact with a lot of them (not just the #goatposse) on a fairly regular basis.

I've created my own introvert haven, right there on Twitter. I feel more comfortable speaking my mind, opening up, and sharing things with people I've come to know and like. Even online, in an otherwise very public place. It's also easier to let that sliver of extravert within me come out to play online, be it here, on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Yes, I put my real name and my real face online, but I'm (slightly) less anxious about looking like an idiot online than I would be in a face to face situation. Yes, more of my apparent incongruity there, but that's how my brain works.

Am I being deceitful, disingenuous, or otherwise "acting" if I behave online in a manner I probably wouldn't in "real" life? Absolutely not. You won't catch me giving praise where I don't believe it's due, saying things I don't mean (so pay attention to an introvert's carefully chosen silences), flirting with you if I don't think you're fun to flirt with (hey, I'm married, it's just fun and games!), or conforming to any type of groupthink because I want to be accepted and liked—even though I do want to be accepted and liked. Make sense?

Hang on with me just a bit longer, here. The navel-gazing is almost over, I promise. Going back to the list of things I mentioned at the beginning of the post. Can you see yet how they're all both indicative of and a way I cope with my shyness and introversion as a writer?

• Social networks—I belong to many. I'm more active on the ones where I've managed to build a close-knit network of trusted and respected peers (as opposed to a huge network of less well-acquainted contacts). I can get both the criticism and encouragement I desire.
• Writing erotica without a pseudonym—Doesn't seem like a very shy thing to do, does it? My quiet pride and self-confidence (definitely an introvert characteristic) wins out over my shyness here. Love it or hate it, you'll know I wrote it.
• Playful online flirting, joking around, and general silliness (such as with my #goatposse)—The obvious indication is that humor distracts both me and others from real issues—like whether I'm a judgmental bitch, or a talentless hack, or whatever my fear du jour might be. But it's also a great way to just relax and have fun. It relieves any pressure about having to "perform" (i.e., be an extravert) in a way I'm not comfortable doing. Plus we all need to laugh at ourselves once in a while.
• Sharing personal tidbits, giving advice when asked, incessantly pointing out sexual innuendo, and occasionally being painfully blunt—Yes, all of these things are related and belong in the same category. While introverts may tend toward the quiet end of the spectrum (and we generally hate—HATE—small talk), we can still talk your ear off when we're interested in or feel strongly about a topic.
• I mentioned a "scathing judgment" at the beginning of this post, which I stated on my own blog, knowing it might be an unpopular opinion, and could cost me maybe some respect, maybe some readers, I wasn't sure. I almost didn't post anything about it at all. It took me months before I did. But I did. Scared of negative judgment? Yes. But passionate and willing to defend my opinion? Absolutely. Again, there's that dichotomy of confidence bordering on arrogance and deep-rooted fear of judgment.
• I value honesty, and I'll give it to you if you want it. And if someone asks for my help, I have a near-pathological inability to say no. It makes me feel good, it makes me feel needed.
• I joke around about the unintended sexual innuendo I see everywhere—it's funny, of course, but this stuff goes through my head every moment of every day (right along with some of the judgments I mentioned a moment ago). When I point it out, you get my mostly uncensored thoughts at the moment—something that's pretty rare for me to give.
• And the part about sharing intensely personal bits of info? If there's one thing only you take away from this post, either for your writing or your real-life interactions with your favorite introvert, let it be this: learn to ask the right questions. I'll willingly share just about anything with anyone, if I'm asked, often despite my own shyness. We introverts probably won't offer up too many juicy tidbits of our own volition, but a few well-timed, appropriate questions can open the floodgates.

I guess I have coped with my shyness and introversion fairly well in terms of making connections with people online. I'll have a brand new set of challenges to overcome later this year as I finally take the plunge into self-publishing and will be working on that self-promotion thing. Don't take this post the wrong way—there isn't anything wrong with being shy or an introvert. There are a hell of a lot of things right with it, and it helps me in my writing just as much as it challenges me. But I think that's a post for another day.

Are you an introvert writer? (If you are, you'll probably just nod your head and move along without commenting ;-) ha) What challenges does introversion or shyness pose in your writing life—either in trying to capture an introverted character on the page or overcoming challenges of your own introverted nature?

Twitter 101 For Writers

by Calista Taylor

As writers, one of the most important things we can do to ensure our success is to build a platform. And since these things take time, I recommend starting as soon as you're able, rather than the month before your publication date.

There are many ways to go about getting followers, but I have found the easiest way, hands down, is Twitter. Not only is it easy to get followers, but each of your tweets (if you've used your name/pen name) will add another hit for YOU when someone searches for your name on Google. Personally, I think that's HUGE, because if someone's trying to find me or my books, I want to give them the most avenues to me and my sites.

I cannot recommend Twitter enough, and when I do recommend it, I usually get the same response—"But I have nothing to tweet about, and I don't want to keep talking about what I had for lunch." Trust me when I tell you, we don't want to hear about it either. BUT that's not really what Twitter is about, and it's certainly not the way to use Twitter for effectively building a platform. Instead, why not tweet about a great blog post you just read, or tweet a snippet about what you're currently working on? Still too difficult? Then you can just retweet (RT) someone else's tweet. Best of all, it takes up very little time to build a following—15 minutes every few days is plenty—and at just 140 characters per tweet, it's quick.

Easy, right? Here's some information to make it even easier and to help you find your way around.

• Though Twitter is fantastic, I find it far easier to use a program designed to maximize ease of use. Here's a quick rundown of all the available Twitter clients, so you can find something that will work best for you. I personally like TweetDeck not only for ease of use, but because it allows you to add as many columns (for searches) as you'd like. Recent rumors also have Twitter in talks to purchase TweetDeck.
• In order to address someone in Twitter, just put an @ in front of their twitter name.
• The way to maximize the amount of people your posts will reach is to include hashtags (#) with your tweets. Hashtags are similar to category tags, so if someone does a search that includes the hashtag you've included, they'll see your post. There are several hashtags for writers. Here's a list from Daily Writing Tips. Hashtags are also used to conduct live chats, and Debbie Ohi has a current schedule at her blog (not to mention all sorts of other great Twitter related posts). The hashtags I use most often are #writetip, #pubtip and #amwriting. You will also see a lot of #WW and #FF. These are short for Writer Wednesday and Follow Friday, which are shout-outs to let others know the people in the list are worth following.
• I briefly mentioned RT's. Retweeting is a great way to pass on information you've found useful, and if you found it useful, then it's good to spread the love. It's ok to trim the tweet, as long as you don't alter the meaning of it. Just remember to keep the original poster's name in the tweet so they get credit. Also, if someone RT's something you tweeted, it's polite to thank them.
• Unlike Facebook, where someone friends/follows you only if they know you, that's not the case with Twitter. People will follow you if they like your tweet, your bio, or because of a #WW or #FF. They'll also follow you to try and promote themselves. Do you need to follow back? Not always. Also, you may suddenly lose a follower or two. Don't let it bother you. It's nothing personal.
• Make sure you complete your bio, and you add a link to your site or blog (if you have one). A picture or avatar is also a good idea, and remember, the picture that turns up is TINY, so make sure the picture you use can be easily identified and is a clear image. Also, I highly advise using your name or pen name, rather than something completely unrelated to your writing identity.
• A great way to get followers is to follow other people who you find interesting. For the most part, if you follow someone, they'll likely follow you back. Also, participating in the live chats and using hashtags to join in discussions are great ways to get followers and find like people to follow. And by all means, comment on other people's tweets.

I hope this makes Twitter less intimidating. And an unexpected surprise to come about after tweeting a while? It makes you damn good at tightening up your writing. Who knew?

Have you recently ventured onto Twitter? Or are you a longtime fan? Has it helped you build your platform?