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Tweet Tweet Goes the Twitter

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In keeping in theme with my online platform series today’s topic will be on Twitter. If done right any author can make this social media work for them. As mentioned in my post on online presence it was discussed how I started on Twitter. One little @ in a Writer’s Digest issue was all it took

One can either use their real name, pen name or something that describes themselves. For me it is @NewEngland_Muse. As long a I have been online my handle if it is not taken has been Muse.

The bio in Twitter does not give you much space to tell the world who you are. However it is a good lesson in learning how to be concise, to the point without unnecessary words. Something we will have to do when we write our synopsis for our books or our tag line.

My bio on Twitter is:

A writer who is tuning her 2nd/3rd book. A sports loving, photo taking gal who loves to sing/dance to her own enjoyment. She love to laugh even at herself.

Now that you have an account with a name that says you with a bio what next?

Tips I have learned along the way.

Hashtags are a good way to help yourself out. The symbol is # with the key word after it. This is used to mark words or topics when using Twitter. For example when I started to use Twitter where my book was concern I would use #JasperAmazonParrot or different variations of that. If I am looking for help from other writers I sometimes use #writers #authors #advice and again other variations are incorporated.

Try to not use to many hashtags per tweet, use the ones that are pertinent to what you are writing about. Two great programs Hoot Suite and Tweet Deck are programs where you can follow multiple hash tags at one time.

Users who place the # with the keyword in the search engine of this media will get hits from people who are using similar topics. It is a good way to meet people with similar interest. By doing so I have come across publishers, authors, bloggers and editors to name just a few.

When writing someone in Twitter using their DM , Twitter’s form of email, again you are restricted to a character count. It’s another good way for us as writers to write what we want to say in as few words as possible but getting our points across.

What is considered a nice following? According to people in this media anywhere from 2000-3000 is a good start. But that is really up to you. At the moment I have 3812 followers. But from that number I can say 90 percent are from people who are in the writing industry in one form or another. So to me that is a nice following.

How did I get to this number? Most users I have found will follow back, especially if they have similar interest to you. Using hash tags is one way or doing searches on the topics you are interested in is another. It took some time to get to where my number is at, and for me that works just fine.

From your followers you can place them in different groups. For example I have a group of people I know, writers from NC, publishers and editors and so on.  How often I tweet varies. If I am helping a user out by helping promoting them then my count goes a little higher. I try not to flood my users with too much information that might turn them off. Remember you are trying to build a platform that looks positive on you.  Twitter is a great social media that can be one of your best friends as a writer if you let it. It is never to soon to start getting yourself out there.

 

What I have covered is the very basic format of Twitter. If you have any questions just holler.

Author, Book, Dream Big, Emotions, Jasper, Publication

Dream Big

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This is a chorus from the song “ Dream Big”

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
‘Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

This is a phrase we hear a lot. When I first heard the song by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband I immediately fell in love with it. So seeing this plaque while I was shopping with my mom I knew it was coming home with me.

My mom on seeing the plaque said to me, “Sharon, do you dream big?”  Looking at her I nodded and replied I did.

As we continued our way around the store what she had asked me still was in my head. Do I dream big? I have been a dreamer for most of my life. My imagination has always been without borders as I wondered, plotted and tried to figure out how to accomplish what was going on between my two ears.

My first dream big was to go to a four year school of higher learning. I would be the first in my family and I was determined to not fail. Even when I changed my major in my Junior year I still graduated on time at the top of my department, Chemistry and Physics.

But when that day came what was left? Finding work and getting married seemed to be what we did at least in the time frame I was at. When my future mother law had said ,” Sharon don’t make me a grandmother before a mother in law,” I told her my only goal at that moment was to graduate.

Getting married and having a child was another dream, one that came and went pretty quickly.  My life started to have a routine about it. There is nothing wrong with routine. It keeps me stable and focused. Yet when my mom asked me that questioned I wondered when was the last time I dreamt big and the first answer that came to my mind was my writing.

I started writing Jasper:Amazon Parrot in the Fall of 2009. I completed it in a few months and have done so many revisions and edits if one saw the first draft to where it is at now you would recognize the name Jasper and that is about it.  Prior to that time I had never thought of myself as a writer in any form. A good friend Debbie told me that my husband had told her he felt I wrote well. When she told me that the wheels started to turn in my head. That summer is when the thoughts and words came of how to start this book. I am not sure what was the umph that made me get started but I did and have not turned back.

This is my dream big project and it has been with me for a few years now. I don’t think of the business as being hard, which we know it is. I don’t think of the many people who have told me this can’t be done. I don’t think of all the negatives that can come in one’s way when one tries to get a book published.

My sole thought is why the hell not? Seriously what do I have to lose? My back up thought had always been if worse come to worse I can make it into a book and read it to my grandchildren the series that I have in mind of writing. So with that I am pushing forward with this book and others that have been written since the late months of 2009. This is my dream big. It has been a rocky ride but I am up to the task. I don’t have a back up dream big plan at the moment, I am too busy trying to make this one a reality. ‘Cause when you dream it might just come true.

Author, Bird, Books, Characters, children's book, Creating Real Life Characters, Creative Writing, Emotions, Jasper, Manuscript, Publishers

The Rewrite

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Recently I blogged about my awesome rejection letter. In the email the publisher pointed out why they were not going with my MS. He listed the reasons. When I asked if I could resubmit once revising he said yes he would check the book out again.

My initial reaction was days of glee and happiness. Okay it is still with me. But the days after I found out there is a cloud higher than nine and I was on it. After that came oh my gosh how the hell am I going to fix this the way it’s suppose to be? With that dread inside I contacted a few people for thoughts and suggestions on what to do. Once they responded I was ready to start.

Only problem is it took a few weeks before I had the guts to sit down and actually attempt this very important rewrite. The emotions that flooded me ranged from despair to frustration. I stopped dead.

Instead of getting started I stalled.

As the days flew by people asked me how much had I gotten done and sadly would have to reply that nothing had been accomplished. I mentally berated myself up for taking so long to get going on this. I repeatedly went back over the points that I had to fix, each time it screamed at me, “ You can’t do this, give up.”

Now that I have actually started, I believe this was all part of the plan. I needed to step away for a few weeks to gather my thoughts, get myself in check and when the time came it would happen. And it did.

This past week I redid the ending to the book. I went further and did a total rewrite of my first chapter. The only thing that remained the same was three paragraphs. I was on a roll. In that rewrite a new chapter emerged that I had not planned on. I kept going. Last night I wrote another chapter that brings conflict and internal tension to my main character. Something that was missing from my book. What I have left is two chapters to go. That means rereading it and making sure the holes have been filled.

The last week all that has been in my mind all that I could concentrate on was sitting down and revising this book. It has blossomed not just in word count but in strength. When I am finish it will go through the process like before. My editor Nancy will go over it and tighten it up. Will it be enough I am not sure. Every publisher has in mind what they are looking for and what works for their company.

Personally I am loving the changes. If when all is said and done this publishing house does not accept it, at least I know I have a better book now, then I did a few weeks ago. For that I thank the publisher for making me gut out my story, for making me toss things that did not work, for eliminating words regardless of word count, and for evaluating my story in a way that all writers should.

Thank you Mike.