If you’re a writer, you’ve probably been told you need to be on Twitter. So, you dutifully sign up but the minute you do you’re bombarded with a stream of seemingly unrelated comments from complete strangers. You explore for a bit then several hours later you look up from the screen to realize you’ve missed your writing window and that you’ve actually no idea how to use this thing or how on earth it is going to help you market yourself as a writer.
At least, that was my experience, and I’ve shared about it here. However, if approached correctly Twitter is a treasure trove of support, advice, resources – and contacts. It could even be the road to signing a contract with a literary agent. That was the case for my talented writer-friend, Amelinda Berube. Her debut YA novel, THE DARK BENEATH THE ICE, was published last month by Sourcebooks Fire and she credits Twitter as being the reason she landed an agent. Here’s a summary of our conversation.
What prompted you to join Twitter? Did you join as a ‘writer’ specifically?
Yes, I joined specifically for writing. I had been working on a manuscript and at the beginning of 2015 I got to the point where I felt it might be time to take it somewhere. I wanted to pursue traditional publishing. I was reading lots of writing blogs and all the advice out there recommended signing up to Twitter. Up until then I’d viewed it as an esoteric, cryptic thing, with its own quirks and language so I was a little reluctant but I decided to take the plunge.
What were your first experiences?
To begin with it felt a bit like being in a fish bowl. I was sure everything I did was being judged. I didn’t volunteer my own voice at first but just spent time retweeting things I liked. Then, I read a blog post which talked about how Twitter wasn’t about selling yourself but about building relationships, about getting to know people. That was a turning point for me. I thought, “well, if all I have to do is hang around and chat with like-minded individuals, that’s not so intimidating. I can do that.” I realized it was like attending a mixer with other writers.
So, how did you engage with Twitter?
I started participating in competitions like the monthly writing challenge (e.g. #SeptWritingChallenge). It’s a bit like a scaled down NaNoWriMo where you have a daily writing goal, people sharing about their progress and a leader congratulating you when you hit your goal. I found the best way to connect with fellow writers was to cheer for other people, and to start following people who said something I found interesting. My connections started building from there. There are tons of new hashtags now – competitions and also places to connect – like #ThursdayAesthetic, #1lineWed, #5amwritersclub, #ontheporch.
OK, so you met lots of people and entered writing challenges. Now, what we’re all dying to know is, how did that lead to an agent?
I started submitting my manuscript to some of the pitch contests like #pitmad. You tweet a pitch of a completed manuscript. At the time, it was restricted to 140 characters, so that was challenging! Agents and editors who are following the hashtag like or favorite the tweet if they’re interested. There were also a lot of writers offering free critiques of queries and manuscripts. One of the things I love about Twitter is that all these contests are run by volunteers. They are just other writers paying it forward. The biggest thing to come out of those contests initially was that I discovered I was way off some of the expectations for my genre. The character, theme and plot were YA but the length was more like middle grade. It was a great dry run for me.
As I continued to enter contests I followed agents to read their advice on queries, see who was open and closed to submissions, and to see who was interested in the kind of story I’d written. #MSWL is another fantastic resource where agents list the kinds of manuscripts they’re looking for. I also looked at the finalists to see who got through and which agents had requested their work. That’s how I came across the agent I ended up signing with. She had been requesting similar YA manuscripts to mine in #PitchWars but was closed to queries at that point.
I’d been querying for about six months when I noticed her tweet that she was open to submissions. I sent a query that day and the next day she requested the full manuscript. 24 hours later I had an offer of representation! It sounds like it happened overnight but the reality is that I’d been very active on Twitter for about a year. In fact, I’ve noticed that most of the writers who entered those contests with me and stuck around are agented now.
That’s incredible. So, there’s real value to Twitter both in terms of a supportive network, and in terms of finding representation. But as you admit, it can be intimidating at first. What advice do you have for writers dipping their toes into (what can seem like) the raging rapids of Twitter?
- Find a couple of communities you like the look of, like the monthly writing challenge, or a contest. At least follow people to start with, even if you don’t participate.
- It’s OK to be a wallflower to begin with. I certainly was. Then, start following and commenting where you have a shared interest.
- Follow freely. The Twitter recommendations that pop up can be really helpful.
- Don’t automate anything! Don’t set up automatic follow backs or get transactional about your followers. My rule is: if it can be automated, don’t do it. This is about building relationships and you can’t do that if you’re a bot.
- Be aware of your limits. It can be addictive. There’s also the fact that people talk about very important but challenging topics on Twitter and you can get caught up in anxiety, which isn’t productive. Like I said earlier, there’s a fish bowl effect and you can start comparing yourself to others. If Twitter is getting you down or anxious, ask yourself if you need to take a step back or if this is actually symptomatic of a bigger mental health problem you need to address.
- Enjoy the community! One of the biggest surprises of Twitter is that I have developed genuine friendships with other writers. Not everyone in your day-to-day life understands what it’s like to be a writer, but on Twitter you can connect with people in the same boat as you, people who will commiserate with you and cheer for you. Without Twitter the experience of becoming a debut author would have been much more isolated. I have an outlet to share and celebrate my first real, actual, published book!
Amelinda, thank you for sharing your experience and advice. I love the reminder that this is about relationship. In my books, all good marketing is about building relationships, and when we start seeing Twitter like that, it’s less scary – unlike your stories!
Amelinda Berube writes spooky YA. THE DARK BENEATH THE ICE is available in all good book shops. Her second, stand-alone novel, HERE THERE ARE MONSTERS, is published in 2019 by Sourcebooks Fire. Pop over and say hi to her on Twitter @metuiteme
If you have questions about how to market your writing on social media while staying true to yourself, sign up for my monthly newsletter, drop me a line, or tweet me @SarahSambles
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