If you're on Twitter, you may have noted tips to authors on how to best utilize the tweeting experience. Guess what? Twitter is great for us readers, too :)
When I first started, I followed a few friends that I knew were on. Then I got adventurous and looked for a few 'famous' people and followed them. I really didn't say much, but it was fun kind of eaves-dropping on the rich and famous. Then I started following some of the authors I read. And it all exploded into a really neat experience.
It started really with only two authors. And I started conversations with them -- letting them know I enjoyed their last book, or something along those lines, and following their conversations with other writers, who I would then follow, which led me to even more -- many of whom I'd never heard of before. Talking with these men and women led me to looking for their books and, in many cases, purchasing one or two. Which, in turn, led to more "Wow! I really loved your book!" which every author likes to hear.
Through Twitter, I have found a lot of self-published writers who are very good and probably somewhat underappreciated. I have re-found writers that I had forgotten about and re-entered the worlds they have created. In short, I am in book heaven.
So, to all the authors out there: Twitter works. It does help to sell your books -- at least to me :) I love being able to chat a little with you. That little bit of conversation is sometimes all it takes for me to say to myself "I think I'll try his or her book" just to see what they're like. I may not always like them as much as someone else might, but I'm at least trying to get away from my 'comfort zone' of known authors. To be honest, though, I would say that of the books I've bought because I'm following the author on Twitter, I have only disliked one. No, I'm not going to say which one... It was well written, but just not what I was looking for. I will probably pick it up again and try at another time and may end up loving it.
So, for all you authors out there who talk to me, thank you. Thank you for the conversation and for the books and the leads to other books and writers. You have all made me one very happy bookaholic.
