Here’s how Authors can make the most of Twitter

Some creative yet impactful tips for Authors to stay connected with their readers on Twitter and make the most of the social media platform.

Fiction, non-fiction, romance, comics, biographies, and memoirs - the #BookTwitter community brings to life all these genres of stories and many others. It connects people to celebrate books and reading, making the author-reader relationship on Twitter truly unique.

Well-known, indie and upcoming authors Tweet chat with readers, as well as, share important updates with their fans on the service.

If you’re an author, you too can stay connected with your readers on Twitter by following these simple yet impactful tips:

Use Threads or build newsletters to tell a long-form story

To share information on your upcoming book launch, seminar, or even interesting excerpts and anecdotes, which are longer than 280 characters, you can use Twitter Threads. It will connect all your Tweets to form one cohesive stream. You can either Tweet the full thread all together or Tweet by Tweet over time.

And now through Revue, a Twitter company, you can also create and share more curated, long-form content through newsletters. Simply sign up using your Twitter login on Revue and see how easy it is to create a newsletter for free.

Pro-Tip: iOS users share updates with their fans and followers in their voice with the help of Voice Tweets.

Retweet with a comment

To provide additional context to your readers, Retweet with a comment Tweets of your #WritingCommunity members. You can add additional text, images, GIFs, or videos to a Retweet with this feature. Take a cue from Chitra B. Divakaruni (@cdivakaruni) who responded to her followers by Retweeting with a comment.

Pro-Tip: You can invite your followers to Tweet about their favorite chapter, then Retweet some of your favorite responses with a GIF that sums up your reaction.

Make an announcement

You can share updates with your fans on Twitter ranging from book tours to cover reveals in order to create excitement and help them stay informed about your latest projects. Just the way Ashwin Sanghi (@ashwinsanghi) is keeping his followers posted on his first chapter of 'Crafting a Bestseller’.

Pro-Tip: You can use hashtags such as #BookLaunch to promote the launch or #SelfPub and #SelfPublishing if you’re a self-published author.

Share your interviews

When you release a new book, your fans want to know everything about it and your writing process. You can Tweet links to your articles, videos, or podcasts so that fans can follow along and learn more about your work. On that note, did you catch up with Novoneel Chakraborty  (@novoxeno) in his live session?

Pro-Tip: Don’t forget to tag (@) the publication.

Share what you’re Reading

Everyone loves to build a to-be-read (TBR) pile, let the author community know by sharing what you’re currently reading. You can also mention other authors or publishing houses by including their Twitter handle or tagging them in a photo, or maybe hosta Twitter Poll to invite readers to vote on what to read next while asking them to share titles that are on their TBR list. Here’s what Nikita Singh (@singh_nikita) recommends:

Pro-Tip: You can ask for a #WritersLift from the #WritingCommunity on Twitter to follow you or your friend. This hashtag is a more recent way for the writing community to support each other. You can ask the community to tag, comment, and/or retweet for a follow in exchange for a follow back.

Include more than one image in a single Tweet

You can Tweet one to four images at a time, so make the most of this feature and add some visual appeal to your timeline by sharing the moments that are most important to you or thoughts that you connect with. This is how Preeti Shenoy (@preetishenoy) does it.

Thank your Readers for helping you grow

Your fans and followers would love to celebrate your success with you. You can Tweet with images or videos to make them feel a part of your joy. This is also a great way to publicise and drive awareness about your accomplishments.

Create and follow Lists on Twitter

You can organize your favorite accounts by creating a Twitter List and help your friends and followers grow their knowledge about books. You can also seek inputs from them. For instance, you can ask your readers to share the name or handle of their favorite independent bookstores and then create a list of these for future reference. It may prove helpful when you are planning a book tour. You can even consider compiling a List of fellow authors that you would recommend to your readers to spread more love and cheer for the writer’s community.

Pro-Tip: You can even make use of Topics on Twitter, yet another way to keep up with the most relevant and latest updates on any topic - in this case, ‘Books’, and discover Tweets from like-minded individuals who share their interests on all things books, time to time.

Create a Twitter Moment

Moments are a storytelling format that lets you collect and arrange Tweets within a single story. Moments help you capture the full narrative around a subject, all you have to do is to include your own Tweets or Tweets from anywhere from the service.

You can build a Moment pulling Tweets throughout the formation of your new book by including Tweets highlighting early ideation, announcing the title, the release date or maybe fan reactions.

Lastly, while you’re on the service, remember it’s not all about business and has some fun. Don’t be afraid to share insights, join conversations or hit Retweet on your favorite meme.

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