Hi everyone. I would like to know your advice. Should writers be on Twitter? I am not talking about promoting my work on Twitter. I’m just talking about networking with other writers and readers. No promotion. Chatting about my struggles, asking for advices, helping a fellow writer … What do you think?
No x 2. Serious answer: I mean, I'm sure there are chances for more opportunities if you go on Twitter--you might find a collab partner, you might find more readers, you might get great advice and be able to give great advice...but like... it's Twitter. Ew.
I've heard that aspiring self published authors should absolutely have some social media presence. Twitter isn't much worse than some of the other platforms, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for this purpose. But I dislike Twitter and social media in general, mainly because it's not a good media for discourse, and lends it self to fake personas, embellishments, etc.
I've been editing my Twitter lately with a view of using it for networking down the line. I've begun following other local authors, authors writing in similar genres and book sellers. So far and with only a little interaction on my part, I've found it to be a positive and welcoming place.
I'm not all that active on Twitter, but I did have a big time agent contact me through Twitter private message after reading one of my short stories in a magazine.
The big secret is that Twitter is no better or worse than the rest of the internet. You can find really interesting/entertaining stuff, or you can accidentally run into lots of bad stuff. I should say, don't know how Elon buying it will change things.
I don't know where should comes into this at all. If you want to hang out on Twitter, then hang out on Twitter. It's just like hanging out on this site. Whether it's procrastination or not, and more importantly procrastination that is honest or not, is between you and The Dude.
No! You may want to consider sites such as Quora and Goodreads. Also, what about being here . . . ? It's great, my personal opinion of course
Good decision, I say. I quit Twitter and I feel like I quit smoking or something like that. My experience on Twitter has been... look at memes... watch people fight... so called "ratios"... and even more fights. Not to mention some of the wonderful people there. It was a complete waste of much precious time. For a social media, I didn't socialize at all, feels like only the viral people did that. You'll get a lot more out of being here. Twitter is a huge ocean of users your voice gets drowned in, but here, you'll be noticed and heard.
A couple weeks ago, I would’ve said Twitter was good for making connections with other writers, editors, and agents or keeping up with short fiction markets and indie publishers. But with all the changes since Musk took over, I’d say there’s too much volatility. One of the things he’s been talking about is algorithmically suppressing non-verified users. In other words, you’d have to pay $8/month for Twitter Blue to stand much chance of visibility. Twitter can be a useful tool for networking and marketing, but it’s not worth $8/month when there are free alternatives. I plan on keeping my account active for whatever good it will do, but creating a new account now probably isn’t worthwhile.
I use twitter to promote my work, I'm doing a webcomic too, and sometimes browse a few tweets, I have my fave people and I have had some success on getting a few gofundme campaigns funded but it's not my go to for community. If I feel the need for a community I come to places like this where I know I will get the feedback I desire
Twitter reminds me of the end of Amadeus when Salieri strolls through the madhouse. You see all the captives barking and shaking their cages and rolling in their own filth. Salieri is the only rational soul among them. He cries out "Mediocrities everywhere, I absolve you!" and they hoot and drool. I know, I exaggerate the scene a touch. That's how I remember it. . . Apologies to any sane person in Asylum Twitter. Consider yourself its Salieri. He was working on music, his art, when the story opened, and so are you. So there's a neat parallel. I think Twitter inmates see Elon as their Nurse Ratched. He wants $8 a month and has taken away their screen privileges. That's why they're in revolt right now. (That was a great movie too. Saw it during covid at the theater. Excellent!) So, in anger, the Twitterite smashes through the barred window and makes for the hills. After they run through the fields and away from the hellscape that they've created, they finish by crawling into the window of a new mental hospital. Post-credit scene is them rocking back and forth on the cold concrete floor of their new cell. They're smiling.
Of the self-published authors I know, most seem to think Twitter is the best social media network for networking and promotion, followed by Instagram. This is just anecdotal--talking to people. I haven't talked to any of them since Musk's ill-advised purchase of the platform, so I don't know if that will change any minds. I have, however, seen a substantial increase in posts on Mastodon (which is similar to Twitter but doesn't have nearly the userbase, so I doubt there is any reason, in terms of sales and marketing, for writers to be there).
Your depiction of Twitter feels like those short animated films I saw on YouTube recently. It's a clever hyperbole portraying a problem, a vivid one at that. You should pitch in the idea to someone Problems aside though, Twitter does have its purposes (as some people listed above) but now that Musk is onboard with his sink (mind the symbolism) we'll have to see where this goes. I suspect that much of its previous usefulness will be lost now that you literally have to pay to be heard. Either way, Musk won't be getting a dime out of me.
I've heard this too, especially from the SFF and small-press/indie types I tend to follow. My impression is that the strategy of most is "wait and see", not that many are jumping off Twitter completely so far. I've also heard that Mastodon is kind of a nightmare to use, so not sure if it'll become a long-term replacement. For my own part, I got an account just for writing purposes, to participate in pitch events, but if the $8 thing happens I will just abandon that account completely. I'm not paying $8/month which means my posts will be seen by even fewer people than they already are...I also have a personal account which is non-public and really only used to keep in touch with IRL friends and read the news, I'll probably keep that one.
I don't know why people find Mastodon difficult. The server selection, it seems like. I don't find it hard to use, it's just there there aren't enough people there (though from what I have read they're up over 1 million since the Twitter mess). I think having a writing account makes sense for the same reason companies have branded accounts on Twitter. Seems like a good approach to me.
