Twitter for Writers: Are You Following These Accounts?

Photo credit: eldh on Flickr

If you’ve read more than a couple of my posts, then chances are you’re well aware that I am a proud
Twitter junkie. 

When I first started using Twitter nearly two years ago I’ll admit I found the site a little intimidating. There were all these new terms and strange rules and the more people I followed, the faster my timeline flew by and I wondered if this Twitter thing was a such a good idea, after all. 

It was a good idea. No, it was a great idea. 

Over the course of two years, I have become acquainted with more writers and bloggers than I had throughout the course of my journey as a writer for years before that. I’ve talked to some of my favorite writers, been retweeted by agents, entered contests and met some incredibly talented people. 

It’s easy to get lost in the Twittersphere, but to make life a little easier, I thought I’d put together some of my favorite Twitter follows for writers. 

So without further ado, here are some fantastic Twitter accounts for writers to follow: 

Resources. These Twitter uses are chock full of excellent tips, blog posts and helpful sites geared specifically for writers. 

• Elizabeth S. Craig (@elizabethscraig)
• Martina A. Boone (@MartinaABoone)
• Rachelle Gardner (@RachelleGardner)
• Angela Ackerman (@AngelaAckerman) & Becca Puglisi (@beccapuglisi)
• Casey McCormick (@Casey_McCormick)
• Nathan Bransford (@NathanBransford)
• Janice Hardy (@Janice_Hardy)

Humor. Because we writers have a weird sense of humor sometimes, but there are people out there who understand what we find funny. 

• Waterstones Oxford St (@WstonesOxfordSt)
  

  I knew it was a mistake to hire Holden Caulfield. He's spent all morning in a strop, punching through windows and saying everything's unfair
  — WaterstonesOxfordSt (@WstonesOxfordSt) January 29, 2013

• Tahereh Mafi (@TaherehMafi)
  

  i used to think plot holes were when the roads made your car go badump but now i know they're when you want to punch yourself in the face
  — Tahereh Mafi (@TaherehMafi) April 1, 2013

• Nathan Bransford (@NathanBransford)
  

  You guys I had this horrible nightmare last night that Google was getting rid of Google Reader and wasn't replacing it with anything.
  — Nathan Bransford (@NathanBransford) March 14, 2013

Contests. Remember those pitch contests I’ve been raving about as of late? These four awesome accounts frequently host contests and tell you all about it on Twitter. Must-follows for writers who are interested in contests. 

• Brenda Drake (@brendadrake)
• Cupid for Writers (@CupidsLC)
• Authoress (@AuthoressAnon)
• Operation Awesome (@OpAwesome6) 

Literary Agents on Twitter. I’ve said it before, but following agents on Twitter is never a bad idea. They post great tips, and often run insightful blogs. I have a list of agents on Twitter. A list that I am updating as I go. But it’s a start. 

These are some of my top follows on Twitter. Who are your favorite writing-related Twitter accounts? 

Why I Don't Auto-Follow Back

Photo credit: respres on Flickr

In a little change of pace, I'd like to take a moment to talk about some social media etiquette that often comes up for debate.

For any of you who use Twitter (and those of you writers who don't, I truly believe you should give it a try), you know exactly what I'm talking about just based off the title of this post: Auto-follow backs. 

Every new Twitter user will quickly come across the question that has many debating and scratching their heads over—to automatically follow someone back or not?

If you glance at my Twitter profile for even a second, you'll see pretty clearly based off my follower/following ratio that I very obviously don’t—but it’s probably not for the reason you might think. Truth is, I believe that automatically following everyone who follows you indicates that you’re completely missing the point of social media.

You see, when you ask for more followers or hound others to follow you simply because you followed them, you're focusing on the numbers rather than the people. Following people becomes a game—a race of let's see who can get the most followers the fastest. We become concerned no longer with the content of our streams or the relationships we're building—simply the number beneath the "Followers" count on our profiles. 

And from there, it's a slippery slope. Because the moment you lose sight of the people behind the numbers, you start to forget what this whole social media thing is all about: relationships.

I challenge you to look beyond the numbers. Sure, they're fun to look at every once in a while, particularly at a milestone, but I challenge you not to lose sight of the greatest gift social media has to give. 

How you decide to do that may differ—for me it meant only following people back who I've started to create a relationship with—people who I've carried a conversation with, who I have word sprints with, who are friendly and greet me in the morning and make a point of reaching out occasionally to say hello and answering when I welcome my new followers. 

Because when you encounter those kind of people you know that they get it—that you're not just a number, that they're willing to make the little extra effort to build a relationship with you. 

And that's when I click the little blue follow button to make sure I can connect with them again. 

What's your Twitter follow policy? Do you automatically follow people back? Why or why not? 

And the Winners are...

So! As I mentioned earlier this week, I was bestowed with the great honor of the Versatile Blogger Award by the great Lyn Midnight who indeed has her own blog you should definitely check out. Also, she just so happens to be @lympha13 on Twitter, and is indeed an amazing Tweep to connect with. Plus she’s a writer (of COURSE) which makes her doubly cool in my book. 

NOT ONLY THAT, but she’s a Harry Potter fan (like me) and an Avatar fan (like me) and likes sci-fi (like me) AND is just an all-around nice person. Can’t go wrong there.

So check out her blog and follow her on Twitter.

ANYWAY! Awards make me pretty happy inside. But I also like giving them as much as I like receiving them, so here we go!

Oh wait! First there are rules. *sigh* After all, with every gift comes a great respon…yeah ok here they are:

The rules:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.

2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 5 new-found blogging buddies.

4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

I’m personally going to say don’t feel obligated to do so…because that makes the whole award thing…not as fun. And I’d rather this not look like spam. Spam is no fun.

Spreading the love however, is lots of fun. So HERE WE GO!

Oh maaaan! Seven whole random facts! Alright, alright, here we go:

1. Aside from being a crazy writer-person, I’m also a Photoshop nut. I love Photoshop. It’s unhealthy really, my love for such an expensive little piece of software. But like reading and writing, I will never abandon it.
2. I love technology way too much. I love living in an age where new tech comes out every few years and I get ridiculously excited when the newest iPods/iPads/Macbooks/TVs/Cameras come out. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have the funds to buy big-ticket items or my wallet would cry every time the newest thing was released.
3. I have a dog. He’s a Yorkie and his name is Tye. I tweet about him from time to time, but the spambots tend to attack when I do, so I try not to mention him too often. He’s also insanely adorable.
4. I suspect I might be a little OCD and I’m definitely a perfectionist. This makes editing kind of hellish since I never know if I’ve made it “good enough.” Part of the problem is that “good enough” is never good enough for a perfectionist. Ay, that be the rub.
5. I like to read serial killer novels and I’ve even ventured into a haunted house horror novel with a crazy murderer and creepy tenants and the whole nine-yards. However, I’m a HUGE coward when it comes to movies. I’ve never watched a horror movie in my life and I never will. I haven’t even watched The Dark Knight because the Joker always creeped me out.
6. If you haven’t noticed already, I am an enormous Ted Dekker fan. I own every single one of his twenty some-odd novels and pre-order his books before I even know what they’re about. If you like excitement, thrillers, or awesome fantasy, definitely check him out.
7. I don't like long paragraphs. Not when I'm writing and not when I'm reading. Long paragraphs = evil.

     YAY! Glad that’s over with. *phew*

Anyway. The reason you’re here. THE SUPER-FANTABULOUS WINNERS! YAY!

Confetti! Party horns! GLITTER! (Hey I’m not cleaning it up. Make whatever mess you’d like).

THE WINNERS! In no particular order! 

1. Ara Grigorian— Ara is another one of those really awesome people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet on Twitter, where he goes by @araTHEwriter (*hint hint*). He is also, as you probably guessed by his awesome Twitter tag, a fantabulous writer. His blog, The Rookie Scrivener is well-written, informative and occasionally has awesome pictures of the French Opera. Check it out to see what I mean.
2. Jessica Lei—Jessica’s blog is beautifully designed (something that attracted me to it right from the beginning), she’s a writer (of course!) and she just so happens to be a wonderful follow on Twitter (@leijessica). She has just over a hundred followers on her blog and they are all well deserved. I love her blog, her writing, her style and her competitions. Yes. There are competitions. And prizes. I’ve yet to win one, but I am determined. 
   
   
   Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that. You might be my future competition. Hmm.
   
   
3.       Tammara Webber— So Tammara is yet another very awesome Tweep. Seriously, Twitter is bursting at the seams with amazing people. Follow her on Twitter (@TammaraWebber) not just because I told you to, but because she’s a super-nice person with a lot to offer.
   
   
   Her blog, A Room of My Own, is also very nicely designed and especially informative if you are even considering self-publishing. Tammara’s book Between the Lines is up on Amazon and B&N and she talks about her experiences with self-publishing on her blog. Very useful information awaits!
   
   
4.           Joseph Eastwood—Joseph is awesome. Period. He’s a great writer, an aspiring author who plans to self-publish this Fall, active on Twitter and always, always encouraging. I don’t know what it is about Twitter, but it’s chock full of amazing people and Joseph is one of them. His blog has some great content worth frequenting.
   
   
   Plus he writes poems, which is pretty freaking cool.
   
   
   Definitely follow him on Twitter (@Joe_Eastwood) and while you’re at it take a look at his blog. Seriously, you won’t regret it.
   
   
5.       Mia Hayson—Something I love about Mia’s blog is her graphics. She has the funniest little graphs and pictures she includes with her blog and make me smile every time. You should follow her because her blog has a lot of pretty colors. JUST KIDDING! Her blog DOES have a lot of pretty colors but beyond that, her posts are interesting, funny and insightful. Definitely worth checking out.
   
   
   And coincidentally, she TOO is on the Twitter! Follow her at: @MiaHayson

So congratulations winners! Go forth and spread the love!