To Follow or not to Follow on Twitter

Old Hack

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Polenth wrote,

If you go into Twitter expecting it to be the door that'll open and get you published, you will be disappointed.

True. I started Tweeting because that darned Nicola Morgan told me it was fun and that I should. So I did. And I made friends. And those friends led me to other friends, and some of them turned out to be literary agents who were Tweeting incognito, and one thing led to another and here I am, with agent-friends who have asked me to submit to them (and the ones I have submitted to have then said no, but that's a whole other story: I don't do it any more).

Twitter is great. But only if you use it primarily as a vehicle for fun and discussion, not for promotion. I unfollow people who don't interract with me, or who only plug their work. That's not what I want from Twitter. And yet I keep getting offers of real work from it. Hurrah!
 

lauralam

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Adam Christopher sorta got his publishing deal via Twitter, but he didn't try to, which is the important thing. He just befriended publishing types as well and eventually they asked him to sub, they liked it, and that was that.
 

Kitty27

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Twitter works for the writer as well.

You can get a sense of an agent's personality and if Twitter be of the devil for writers,it can work the same way for agents. I've unfollowed some whose tweets were quite questionable.

I only follow agents who've expressed an interest in horror.
 

Bubastes

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Twitter works for the writer as well.

You can get a sense of an agent's personality and if Twitter be of the devil for writers,it can work the same way for agents. I've unfollowed some whose tweets were quite questionable.

So true! Twitter gives you a good sense of someone's personality because it's so instantaneous. I follow some agents who are perfectly nice but have personalities that I can tell won't mesh with mine. It's good to know that up front.
 

HistorySleuth

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I tweet once in a while. More so lately, usually I just check it a couple times a day though, and tweet a couple things. I mostly follow agents, publishers, a few AW authors etc but not a ton of people, less than 50 actually. I don't want to get overloaded. Most agents/publishers/authors post a link to good info. And I reply if I have a similar interest, or it's answering a question. For fun though. I'm not plugging anything to agents on twitter. Sometimes I do their contests for fun.

I have very few followers as I'm pretty new to it. I mainly signed up for the same reason as a lot of you, to keep up with the publishing world quickly. So I do it to follow others, not necessarily worry who is following me.

Which brings me to a general question. It's probably good etiquette to follow back when someone follows you, but honestly, some I'm not interested in doing that. Some that follow, you can tell are trying to sell services to writers so no follow back there, or maybe it is someone who tweets about something I'm put off by and don't want to follow them back and have to sift through their tweets to get to the ones I do want to read. Is that rude? I don't have a lot of time in my day to read all of it.
 

wonderactivist

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It's probably good etiquette to follow back when someone follows you, but honestly, some I'm not interested in doing that. Some that follow, you can tell are trying to sell services to writers so no follow back there, or maybe it is someone who tweets about something I'm put off by and don't want to follow them back and have to sift through their tweets to get to the ones I do want to read. Is that rude? I don't have a lot of time in my day to read all of it.

I don't think it's rude at all and, while it is good net-iquette to follow fellow writers back, I know I sometimes unfollow if they are constantly self-promoting without being creative about it. I also tweet about fitness, life in general, and politics -- all things I write about too. Some other writers might find that annoying and I certainly don't think they're rude if they unfollow me.

We all use social media in different ways. Like you, I do use Twitter to keep up with the industry, but I also use it to connect with other writers. I feel a like-minded community there.

Regards,

Lucie
 

HistorySleuth

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I agree. I like it much better than facebook for connecting. Twitter is simple, short and to the point. Easier to find time for. I need to hook up with more of my writing buds too on Twitter. I don't think to check people's sig lines here for that. :D

On facebook all my husband's large family found me, and all our kids and their friends have FB pages but they don't seem to tweet. I like it that way. I check FB maybe twice a month. It's all about FB for them, and a lot more drama, course people have more space to write.
 

firedrake

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I follow agents who have interesting things to say. I'm not querying anything and I would never ever dream of pitching anything to an agent on twitter, that's just...tacky.

I've learned a lot about the industry, and had some non-book related chats with one or two. They're just people doing a job not rock-stars.
 

Deleted member 42

I think there's some odd misunderstandings in this thread about the nature of Twitter specifically, and social networks in general:

1. Agents who tweet do it because they want to.

2. If someone on Twitter doesn't want you to follow them, they can block you.

3. Agent's can't "make or break" your career; you and or your book does that.

4. Agents are skilled professionals, paid by the authors they rep. They're not gurus.
 
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msforster

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Agents are just people, guys. They're on Twitter to network and talk and have fun and dish about the industry and take pictures of their breakfasts like the rest of you.

They are not going to be shocked or scandalized if you follow, @, or subsequently query them. They are just human beings. So follow and chat away.

Who knows? You may even make a friend.


We're friends because we like one another, and not because I think I can earn something else from the equation. We became friends because we have mutual interests and similar senses of humour. I'm not "pretending they don't hold the key to advancing my career": I'm being their friend, and recognizing that they are human beings, not just someone I can get something out of.

:D

I agree with ALL OF THIS. I have an agent and I still follow quite a few on Twitter. Because they say smart, awesome things about publishing and post funny pictures of cats and really, what more can you ask of a social network?

Also, I mentioned in my query letter to my now-agent that I followed her on twitter and thought her new dog (a common topic of her tweets) was adorable. I must not have sounded too stalker-ish, because she still offered to rep me. :Sun:

Just my two cents...
 

LaneHeymont

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This thread is now :deadhorse

We all agree people are people, right? :Wha:

LOL
 

happywritermom

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I followed an editor who had my partial on Twitter once.
His tweets inspired me to pull my manuscript.
He had recently sold the publishing company to a much larger publisher and they had kept him on as editor. From his tweets, it was obvious that he was unhappy and doing very little real work. My manuscript was likely headed for publishing limbo.

I believe, in this case, Twitter saved me from getting sucked into a huge, murky mess.
 

lauralam

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I remember when I was querying I looked up one agent on Twitter. Most of the feed was being really snarky about queries and the mistakes newbie writers made. There's a difference between offering advice and mocking, and the tone made me strike them off my list. I won't name who it was as that would be really unprofessional, but I was glad I checked so I didn't waste either of our time.
 

RKLipman

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I remember when I was querying I looked up one agent on Twitter. Most of the feed was being really snarky about queries and the mistakes newbie writers made. There's a difference between offering advice and mocking, and the tone made me strike them off my list. I won't name who it was as that would be really unprofessional, but I was glad I checked so I didn't waste either of our time.

I am almost certain I know who you're talking about, because I had the EXACT same reaction.

I was like, "Whoah mama, I'm snarky and even I think this is bad!"
 

dmickey

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When I plan on querying an agent I check their twitter just to get a feel for who they are and what they like. Most agents put tips and what they don't like so that makes it easier to figure out how to approach them.
 

writera

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Hi all. New to the board. My first novel is currently on submission. My agent gave me a list of editor names. Is it a good idea to follow these editors on Twitter - or would this be considered a bad idea?
 

Thedrellum

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My agent suggested not following editors when she told me about them. I ended up following one anyway, just because she was awesome and I wanted to follow her outside of her having my book. However, you'd probably be fine either way, as long as you don't start forcing yourself into their feed, if that makes sense.
 

LuckyStar

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Since the original post seems to be gone, I can just add my two cents to what others have mentioned in the replies.

Twitter is a tool of networking. It can be used for business purposes like any other social media platform.

I have heard of an agent who got extremely upset to find out writers followed her while they were sending her queries, and unfollowed her as soon as they were rejected by her. So I guess she took twitter personally.
I see agents on twitter who mix their business with their personal life in their tweets, so there's no reason to assume their twitter is strictly personal or business.

Since agents use twitter to express what type of ms they are looking for and use hashtags such as mswl, they must expect writers to submit queries drawing attention to the agent's preferences on twitter.

Just like on fb or any other site, you can become friends with, or block, anyone you please, without needing to have pangs of guilt.
 

Underdawg47

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I use Twitter to get the latest news. I love discussing politics with various reporters, politicians, and people interested in politics in general. I only block those who are unable to debate in a civil manner or those who are only there to spam, usually porn related. I usually retweet if I agree with what someone has to say and respond with a tweet of my own if I want to add something or disagree. I chat with both Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

Not sure if Twitter is a good place to talk politics or religion if you are trying to sell books though. A certain percentage of people will outright hate you if they learn your political leanings. It can get vicious.