Since the beginning of the year, I've read multiple blog posts where aspiring writers talk about whether they will start to use Twitter this year and others where they talk about how invaluable it is.
I'm in the group of writers that's a little twitteraphobic, not quite ready yet, not quite sure if I need it.
This morning I ran across an article that seemed helpful to me on Joel Friedlander's blog.
Well, I only use it to tell about my blogs or blogs that impress me. I don't have time to get on every network out there. It would be different if I forty hours a week to dedicate to just writing.
ReplyDeleteShelly, I agree you have to prioritize your time. Writing needs to come first for me too. Well, kids first, writing second.
ReplyDeleteI use twitter wrong I'm sure. Mostly I complain about whatever I'm experiencing at that moment, like "man, this checkout line at the grocery store is lame.".
ReplyDeleteFor some reason it's a great way to cheer me up.
I like Twitter better than Facebook. Granted you don't want it to make up your whole life, but it's fun to vent about things or talk to people or sometimes find interesting links.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't do though is follow a lot of celebrities. Mostly I follow Roger Ebert because then I get easy links to his reviews. And I follow Seth MacFarlane because I like "Family Guy" and "American Dad" though I'm glad his feed isn't just pimping his shows, album, etc. Because people who just use it to promote their stuff 24/7 are really, really lame.
When I first heard of Twitter, I said something like, "That's stupid! Who wants to read short sentences? What could you possibly write in 140 characters?"
ReplyDeleteI now LOVE Twitter. I find so many links to informative or interesting articles, and you really can communicate in a small space. What I like about it is that Twitter is meant to be quick, you post quickly, you read quickly, and it doesn't take up a lot of your time, but if you get a good follower base, you can make a big difference in communicating information to a lot of people FAST!
I had my account for a long time before I used it. I mainly had it so I could follow what agents were saying. Then my blogging buddies got me to get more involved and now I'm on there almost every day to check in and see what people are saying. I don't have much of a following but it's still fun to interact with people in near "real time" .
ReplyDeleteI have a twitter account and my blog posts pop up there every time I publish one but I have tried to stay away outside of that. I am easily distracted and do not want to get lost in it.
ReplyDeleteP.S where did you get the awesome word count widgets? Been looking for some like those.
ReplyDeleteRusty, I just text complaints to my husband or save it up for a rant later.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy, I'm only on FB to make sure my kids aren't being stupid - they never are, so it's probably a waste of my time. I'm definitely not into celebrities either. Seth MacFarlane is a bit of a genius, so that's different.
Rachel, that's great you've found it to be useful. I'm sure I'll jump on board soon. Must finish novels first.
LG, I'll probably start that way too, in watching mode first.
KD, I'm much more distractable lately. Maybe too much coffee and too little sleep...and all this blogging.
The link displays if you hover over the widget. It's http://svenja.atspace.com/wordmeter.html. I tried to make my own, but I've completely lost my programming skills.
Aspiring authors and authors in general shouldn't do more than they can handle. It's better to have a solid presence on a few social networking sites then to stretch yourself out too much and barely be visible on any of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I twitter but am uncomfortable with the restrictions and the feel of "Enough about me. What do you think of me?" to it. LOL. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such a great comment. Roland
ReplyDeleteNicole, very true.
ReplyDeleteRoland, I think that's the main reason I hesitate. I don't enjoy that kind of interaction. BTW, your post was AWESOME!