#modernwriter

Naresh Ramaiya approaches writing as a creative exploration of ideas rather than a fixed discipline. His interest in technology, culture, and communication encourages him to cover a wide range of subjects. This mindset keeps Naresh Ramaiya’s work dynamic, relevant, and engaging for diverse audiences.

In today’s technology-mad modern world, there is such a variety of social media platforms, each one with its own individual demographic. For example, photographers will be directed towards social sites, like Pinterest or Instagram; LinkedIn is also perfect for business, as it engages professionals with each other and “Brands that want to focus on one-on-one conversations will find Twitter best suited.” (Martin, 2015, p. 12). In the following essay I will be focusing my attention on the latter, Twitter, with regards to the advantages and disadvantages that Twitter presents to the modern writer. With a clear marketing strategy in place, authors of all genres can all get tweeting.

Let us take as a starting point, the term ‘Netiquette’ and what this means to a social media user. This basically translates to an etiquette for networking. Being a modern writer, if you aren’t aware of the inner workings of Twitter, it can be underutilized, and its full potential won’t be reached. Therefore, this poses as a disadvantage when a person’s reputation online is representative of everyone in real life; we are now the embodiment of our Facebook and Twitter profiles. The first key aspect of Twitter that a writer can use to their advantage is hashtags (#) which is used “to denote a keyword or a phrase related to a product, event or cause” (Martin, 2015, p. 40). The words and phrases that a user hashtags, help to categorize tweets and they will appear in the searches for that topic too. Hashtags are best placed at the end of a tweet, and it is advised for them to be shared in the bio section. Another essential to a bio, should be a hashtag solely created for a writers’ business purposes, so that potential followers/readers can recognize their Twitter account. The obvious advantage of this is that a modern writer can develop an online signature through their hashtag, that will carry them through the platform and become ever increasingly recognisable. However, with all Twitter functions, like mentioned before, hashtags can be confusing and as Courtney Milan states; “The biggest mistake I see other authors making is constantly tweeting links to their books.” (Urban, 2015). From this, modern writers should learn that by using a simple worded hashtag at the end of a post, a follower can be easily diverted towards their books or products. There are many ways that Hashtags can be used to engage writers with their fellow readers, an example of this is Novelist Monica Leonelle, who created a Twitter campaign to motivate readers to write more about their experiences. “Using the hashtag #8minutewritinghabit”  (Leibowitz, 2016) encouraged her followers to tweet little and often about their work. This strategy was inspired by the content of her book ‘The 8 Minute Writing Habit’.

In addition to this, Twitter only allows 140 characters in one post, which includes links. “This kind of format suits the ‘no time to breathe’ attitude of the present generation.” (Martin, 2015, p. 33). Even the bio is limited to 160 characters, which makes every word count. “Many authors think their Twitter profiles or bios are a place to put everything and the kitchen sink” or they’ll “make themselves mysterious” (Barany, 2013). These ways of approaching a twitter bio are a definite missed opportunity, which is a disadvantage to this platform, due to the low character count, writers will struggle to shorten their descriptive wording tendencies and their plethora of experiences. The difference between Twitter and other social media giants like LinkedIn and Facebook, is that, despite the lack of long passages for posts, “It’s recommended that you tweet a minimum of five times daily.” (Caballo, 2018), so it seems that for modern writers using this platform, little and often is the key to success. Looking at this from an author's perspective, what types of writing are perfect for limited words? I would answer; short stories like flash fiction, microblogging, poetry and providing links to new content or a blog in a different location like Blogger. Let’s take a further look at flash fiction, and how this movement towards a new genre of writing is taking shape. The Guardian set up a writing task for top well-known authors, which was to create a story in 140 characters. For instance Blake Morrison wrote: “Blonde, GSOH, 28. Great! Ideal mate! Fix date. Tate. Nervous wait. She's late. Doh, just my fate. Wrong candidate. Blond – and I'm straight.” (Ian Rankin, 2012). This could be taken further, as with each additional tweet one could post another sentence to add to the story they’re creating. Although, this new alternative to writing online, particularly through the genre of microblogging, creates a problem with the aforementioned term; ‘Netiquette’. Put simply, microblogging enforces text talk, which is a huge problem and should be avoided, after all, a writer doesn’t want a bad grammar reputation who cuts corners to get work published faster. All modern writers must remember not to text on twitter!

Another essential aspect of twitter that we should take into consideration, is the free opportunity to register your profile to one of the many Twitter directories. These have several positive functions such as, gaining followers, access to promotional tools, marketing geared towards your target audience, and “pro-services, which means that they charge a small fee to feature your Twitter profile wherever they can.” (Martin, 2015, p. 53). This all sounds great and it is very beneficial for reaching out to people who don’t even have Twitter. The negative to this though, is that a surprisingly small number of people are unaware that they can register their profile to a directory, it is a service limited to how much research you as a user has done into the social media platforms functions. A Twitter directory that is recommended to modern writers is First Issue. This directory allows you to link with book traders, as well as publishers in the industry. A second one to note is Twellow, which, is a pun on the word Yellow and Twitter to create a Yellow Pages for Twitter, just with profiles instead. But there is even more to offer to writers on Twitter “You may also use a URL shortener, such as Bitly.com.” (Caballo, 2018) to reduce the size of the links attached to a tweet, so that writers can write more on their posts. Despite all of these useful resources, not just writers, but Twitter users in general, may risk forgetting the basic features of Twitter, by venturing too deep into the realms of social media. This is a disadvantage for many when social media across all platforms constantly update, releasing new functions and tools to optimize its performance. But, by revisiting the basics of Twitter, writers can build a stronger marketing strategy. Whilst we are on the topic of marketing strategies, it is important to know the advantages of following the 80/20 rule, as explained by, youtuber/author, Joanna Penn; “I tweet about 80% other people’s links and 20% of my own.” (Penn, 2010) . This is a definite rule to Tweet by, particularly as writer in our century, as no one wants a user who spams their feed with boring self-absorbed content. There are three key types of content and as part of an online writing strategy, one should choose between it being educational, promotional or informational and try to continue this theme throughout the tweets. Retweeting using the @ symbol to repost, is another feature of Twitter, which encourages writers to promote and recommend others work online. In the long run, this not only shows followers the users’ interests, but also shows their support for others in the same situation, therefore gaining trust and plenty more followers. Twitter’s motto is communication, and although modern writers are facing increasing competition, the social community developed online, allows users to seek advice and guidance regularly. For example, Tim Grahl (@timgrahl) is a nonfiction author and an expert on bestselling book launches, “Tim provides practical, actionable book launch advice. Follow Tim if you’re ready to launch your book the right way.” (Sharma, 2017)

Finally, The Ongoing Story Website highlights an issue, with regards to publishing, that has been brought to the surface through social media over recent years. We must ask “Is tweeting the same as publishing?” (Beller, 2013). This is a poignant question that is very relevant in today’s writing industry. By posting text on social media, modern writers are in fact, publishing their work instantly on the internet, it seems through doing this, people are skipping the drafting and story development process. A tweet is, as Beller describes it, “a tiny little finished sculpture” (Beller, 2013). These questions need answering, a piece of flash fiction or poetry that’s tweeted is being published, just as writers can self-publish through online book sellers, such as Amazon. Some social media users utilise its functions for the purpose of blogging their lives online, through vlogging, with constant updates on what they’re having for dinner. If we take this thought and apply it to authors, when they’re brainstorming for a next novel; “Does a thought need to be shared to exist?” (Beller, 2013). Followers will not know how they got to where they are with their writing, and to not know almost everything about well-known writers on Twitter is rare. This debate into tweeting as the new method to publishing, is very relevant and an apparent disadvantage to writers who take the time to publish hard copies. On the other hand, this does speed up the publishing process rapidly, and who is against having more to read online? Furthermore, a word of warning to writers looking to branch out to other networks other than Twitter be it Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, is to be careful of cross-platforming. It is advised that one should create a completely new account with a new business email, as should the current Twitter account. This is because any old content will eventually be uncovered, and it will be apparent to followers that from the start the account was not set up for the writing purpose it now has. So, if a writer’s social media profile across the platforms, portrays the same writer, and the content is similar, matching the same colour scheme and personality, then cross-platforming won’t be overburdening to the author.

In conclusion, in my opinion, Twitter presents more advantages to the modern writer than disadvantages. I have learnt that with a clear marketing strategy, and by understanding the functions of the platform, as discussed; Twitter directories, hashtags, creating an effective profile and using promotional tools, any writer of any genre be it travel writing to science fiction, can have a strong presence on social media. Remember to, “Be generous, be useful, tweet in your niche and build relationships.” (Penn, 2010). Overall, Twitter, like all social medias, presents both positives and negatives to writers of the 21st century. As long as modern writers are aware of these, they can use it to its full promotional potential.

Word Count: 1829 total words, 1,609 words without quotations

Bibliography

Martin, J. (2015). Social Media Marketing Strategies for Twitter, Facebook, Snap Chat, LinkedIn and Instagram. 1st ed. Great Britain, Marston Gate: Amazon.co.uk, Ltd, Pg 12, 33, 40, 53

Barany, B. (2013). Twitter for Authors. 1st ed. Createspace Independent Pub, Chapter 5.

Caballo, F. (2018). The Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Writers by Frances Caballo. [online] The Book Designer. Available at: https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-twitter-for-writers/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].

Beller, T. (2013). The Ongoing Story: Twitter and Writing. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-ongoing-story-twitter-and-writing [Accessed 8 Nov. 2018].

Urban, D. (2015). How Successful Authors Use Twitter To Promote Their Brand. [online] BookBub Partners Blog. Available at: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-twitter-to-promote-their-brand/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2018].

Leibowitz, G. (2016). 10 Social Media Strategies Successful Authors Use to Sell More Books. [online] Inc.com. Available at: https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/10-social-media-strategies-successful-authors-use-to-sell-more-books.html [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].

Rankin, I., Morrison, B., Archer, J. and Collins, J. (2012). Twitter fiction: 21 authors try their hand at 140-character novels. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/12/twitter-fiction-140-character-novels [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].

Sharma, M. (2017). Get Inspired! 20 Writers on Twitter to Follow. [online] The Write Life. Available at: https://thewritelife.com/20-writers-on-twitter/ [Accessed 16 Nov. 2018].

What advantages and disadvantages does social media present to the modern writer?

Over the past decade, social media has revolutionized the way we use the internet. Adapting to these changes is challenging for most, but especially for a writer in this age. Evans argues that ‘with the dawn of YouTube, iTunes, and Flickr, the days of utilizing only a text press release are quickly fading.’[1] This shows that, for a modern writer, it is vital to adapt and change in order to stay relevant and recognisable in an ever changing market. Although Evans published this statement in a book from 2010, social media usage has come a long way since then, making the arguments carry more validity. The change in both writing habits and the ways in which readers consume writing, through means such as social media websites like Twitter, could be argued as having a strenuous effect on the modern writer.

Twitter is an online social networking service, which many users treat like a personal blog, due to the chronological layout of the posting system making it like a microblog. The style and format of Twitter allows for a succinct array of posts, outlining whatever is on the bloggers mind, whilst also giving other users the opportunity to respond to posts. For a modern writer Twitter is an important service to utilize, recognised and supported by Cross in reference to the sheer sizing increase of blogging and Twitter, stating that ‘Reading, writing and discussing on Twitter and blogs are already a whole way of life for at least 77 percent of active internet users and readers.’[2] This establishes a larger platform on which authors could reach their audience, therefore to ignore sites like Twitter would be counterproductive for the modern writer; it creates a way to interact with readers and test material. However, this is not to say that Twitter and other forms of social media would always be positive for writers, as there is always disadvantages- the argument is to whether it is a useful tool comes down to whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, in terms of a modern writer. There are arguments that work both for and against the modern writer using social medias such as Twitter, which will be explored.

For a writer in the 21st century it is important to know and understand your audience; their consumer habits and how best to market your content to them and, in this age, the best way to do this is through social media. Twitter is a platform which would allow writers to appeal, converse and advertise their work and personal life to readers, accessing a wider demographic. Statistics show that the micro-blogging site averaged 335 million users in mid-2018, compared to 151 million in mid-2012.[3] This shows a surge in the sites popularity, suggesting that it is a good platform for writers to engage with past and potential readers. By actively interacting with their audience, a writer would be able to create buzz and interest surrounding their work before it is even released, making it a useful marketing tool. For an aspiring writer especially, Twitter could be beneficial as a way to promote work, whilst gaining a following, which could potentially lead to them getting published. However, creating a loyal following on a social media platform isn’t always easy; you need to know the kind of content your audience is looking for in order to keep their attention. Schmidt argues that ‘the key is to post quality content on Twitter in order for you to make a name for yourself in the eyes of your followers’ identifying it as ‘the most reliable way to transform random followers into true fans.’[4]

With the increase in globalisation, more and more people are using the internet and social media platforms as a mode of communication. That alongside the spike in smart phone users worldwide, which has increased from 1.57 billion to 2.53 billion in the past four years[5], has made it a lot easier for people to stay connected. Therefore, modern writers have the ability to exploit this and use it to their advantage; the more people who have mobile phones worldwide, the easier it is to engage with people at any point in time. Twitter is an especially good platform for this. Not only does it benefit a writer when sharing or promoting their work, but it can also keep them up to date on current affairs. By knowing what current and potential followers’ views are on news stories, the writer is able to get an insight into what appeals and doesn’t appeal, giving them an edge when it comes to marketing to their audience. It also enables a writer to utilize the use of hashtags, in order to ‘enhance search results and to highlight keywords important to their books.’[6]

Engaging on Twitter can help to broaden a writers’ abilities; it introduces them to a new approach of which they may not have come across before. It establishes a new style of writing, whether that’s with the choice of language when marketing work or sharing teasers/ snippets, as it is forces an author to converse with their audience in different ways; everyone isn’t going to respond to one style in the same way hence why it is important that writers expand their abilities in order to reach a wider range of readers.

However, social media platforms are not always beneficial for a modern writer, as there are disadvantages which affect not only their content, but also their mental health. A general disadvantage that arises from using social media as a writer is that, especially with the recent growth in the past years, the more people that are using it, the more competition there is across the platform. That would mean that an author would have to market themselves twice as hard in order to get a footing online. Alongside this greater competition comes another disadvantage, when sharing writing online, which is the issue of plagiarism. This is especially challenging in relation to Twitter due to their copyright policy. In their policy they state, in regards to unauthorized use of content, that users should ‘note that not all unauthorized uses of copyrighted materials are infringements’[7] and that ‘determinations are made on a case by case basis.’[8] With work easily accessible to others, there is nothing protecting the modern writer; Twitter is an open platform and therefore it is important to weigh up the risk of the content being plagiarised before posting onto it.

Social media can also be damaging for the mental health of users. Writers on Twitter will often fall into trouble with internet trolls. With greater access to authors work and the ability to bombard them with spam messages, there is an increased chance that they will be the victims of online abuse. This could be damaging for their self-esteem, especially for aspiring writers in the modern age when mental health is a major issue. Writers on social media may find that they’ll begin to suffer with anxiety due to this, and may even go through phases of isolation. Too much time spent on social media sites, like Twitter, may ‘elicit feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier and more successful lives’[9] which, for a writer, could have a negative impact on their self-esteem in relation to their writing ability. This is probably the hardest disadvantage for an author to cope with, but it is also not something that only applies to the modern writer; critics have always been a thorn in a writers’ side. Author Celeste Ng identifies that ‘A lot of people use social media to harass others, and the nature of social media in general can bring out some of our worst human impulses’ but goes onto argue that ‘[Twitter] reminds me how smart, interesting, funny, and genuine people can be’[10] suggesting that, in Twitters case, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages when a writer is using social media.

Overall, the usefulness of social media platforms to a modern writer depend on whether they know how to utilize it properly. Whilst there are disadvantages, if an author knew how to combat them succinctly this risk would be diminished, leaving only the advantages. It would be ignorant of a writer in the modern age to think or attempt to continue on with their work without taking social media into consideration. The impact that social media has had on writers is substantial, therefore it is better for them to exploit the advantages that it brings, rather than be limited by the disadvantages. In terms of an author using Twitter, the disadvantages are modest in comparison and the obstacles are ones that could be easily overcome in favour of the benefits.

[1] Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media, Liana ‘Li’ Evans, Que Publishing, 2010

[2] Bloggerati, Twitterati: How Blogs and Twitter are Transforming Popular Culture, Mary Cross, Praeger, 2011- pg.28

[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/

[4] Twitter for Authors: Save Time, Get Followers and Grow Your Email List, Jesper Schmidt, 2017

[5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/

[6] https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-twitter-for-writers/

[7] https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/copyright-policy

[8] https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/fair-use-policy

[9] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/06/much-social-media-increases-loneliness-envy-study/

[10] https://lithub.com/how-to-be-a-writer-on-social-media-advice-from-roxane-gay-alexander-chee-celeste-ng-and-adam-m-grant/ 

Bibliography

Cross, Mary, Bloggerati, Twitterati: How Blogs and Twitter are Transforming Popular Culture, Praeger, 2011- pg.28

Evans, ‘Li’ Liana, Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media, Que Publishing, 2010

https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/copyright-policy  

https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/fair-use-policy  

https://lithub.com/how-to-be-a-writer-on-social-media-advice-from-roxane-gay-alexander-chee-celeste-ng-and-adam-m-grant/  

https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/    

https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/  

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/06/much-social-media-increases-loneliness-envy-study/  

https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-twitter-for-writers/