Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Twitter

Before I published my first book in April 2012, I decided to take the plunge and join Twitter. I seriously had no idea how it worked, and found the hashtag thing rather strange. Fast forward to 16k tweets later, and I'm definitely considered an addict. While there are times I know I spend way too much perusing what's known to be The Drainer of All Time, there are so many benefits to being active in this social media phenomenon.

Reason #5: World news! Okay, this is probably not something to brag about, but I don't watch news anymore, and I steer clear of the newspapers, so I get most of my news through Twitter and Facebook. There's something satisfying about talking to other people around the world when tragedy strikes, as if we can find comfort in knowing there are others experiencing the same kind of reaction.

Reason #4: Human interaction! Let me explain—I went from an extremely social job in which I helped (usually angry) people all day long to sitting in my little writing den out on our farm. My daily communication with people while my family is gone for the day becomes limited to whomever I chat with online, or the friends I text. There are days this is the small string that holds my sanity together.

Reason #3: The fandom! Its no secret I'm crazy about shows like The Walking Dead, and I love that I can rehash each episodes with other fans from around the world. I love that I can connect with others who are into the same musicians, and carry passions for the same books and authors. It's like being a member of several fan clubs without having to pay any dues.

Reason #2: The celebrities! Getting followed by Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead) made me scream so loud my husband thought someone had died, and shamelessly, having my tweet read by Chris Hardwick (host of Talking Dead, show that reviews episodes of The Walking Dead) on live TV was like winning a Grammy. I save each and every tweet I receive directly from a celebrity because it feels just as satisfying as an autograph. Being a fangirl of amazing authors, these are just a few of the tweets I've received that just about sent me over the edge:

@naumannbooks thank you so much! And darn, I would have loved to meet you! Next time I hope :-)
— Kendare Blake (@KendareBlake) September 27, 2013

@naumannbooks Check my profile, girl. Check that check!
— Isaac Marion (@isaacinspace) September 27, 2013

#1: The friendships! I've made so many friends through Twitter—some started out as fans of my writing and became my friends, some I've started blogs and businesses with, some have become my beta readers and critique partners, some I've spent hours virtually chatting with while partaking in adult beverages, others I have met in person or have plans to meet in the near future. It blows my mind to think how ten years ago, meeting strangers from across the country (or even the world) online was inconceivable.

Maybe this is just me trying to justify to myself why I spend so much time on social networks, or maybe it's just proving what a pathetic life I have. Either way, I don't really care. Twitter has been life-changing, and extremely resourceful. I plan to tweet until someone physically removes my phone from my hands.

My "Pretend" Friends

As an indie author, I spend a lot of time alone in my "office", promoting myself online. Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, and the biggest evil time sucker, Twitter. When I first signed up for Twitter last year, I didn't get it and almost walked away without giving it another thought.

Boy, am I glad I didn't.

To my total astonishment, I have met so many amazing, good people from networking on there. So many of them are other writers, who you would think would be competition, but the community of authors is strong and extremely supportive. And they're not just acquaintances, but people I have worked with and leaned on for help and advice. Actual friends. I feel more of a connection to some of the people on there than I do to some of my "real life" friends. So many of them have made an important impact on my life. And I really want to meet all of them in person, even though my husband is convinced most of them are serial killers in real life (which would actually make for really good writing material).

While some of my new compadres may be a lot harder to visit as they don't live in the same country (Emma Meade, I vow to come to Ireland one day!), I've kept plans in the back of my mind to meet up with many of them. Some live in areas I already visit on a regular basis because I have family there; like Texas, Florida and California. Some live in really awesome locations that have already made my "to visit" list; like Alaska and Colorado. And some live in New York, where I hope to go in early December for a third time.

But I recently signed up to attend a writer's convention in Madison, Wisconsin where I may have the opportunity to meet three of these new buddies!

While there are many ups and downs to being an author, this is certainly one of the major ups. Now I just worry because I'm so excited to meet these friends that I'll come off as being a complete psycho. Which is probably debatable. Regardless, I think my life has been enriched by so many of these people, and I'm forever grateful for their friendship.

Even if we never get the chance to actually meet in person.

Celebrate the Small Things Hop

One of my new blogging friends, the fabulous Vikki of VikLit (I totally love that I have more friends overseas now), came up with this blog hop idea to celebrate small accomplishments and share them with others! Since I just posted an update the fourth novel I'm working on and how well all of that is falling together, I will post about a different accomplishment - a real presence in social networking!

As of today, I have nearly 1,800 followers on Twitter. On Facebook I've almost hit 600 likes, on Goodreads I have almost 600 friends, 600 followers on Tumblr and 300 followers on Pinterest. YIKES! (Don't think I missed the fact that I just posted 600 three times in a row - my freaky mind is going to town on that one, wondering what it could possibly mean!) That's a lot of people. And a lot of work.

As most indie authors know, getting our name out there to promote our books can feel like a full time job in itself. Sometimes it hardly leaves any time for actual writing. I remember when I first started out on Twitter and wondered how on earth all these people gained thousands of followers. I remember being thrilled when I hit 100. Yes it has made me a bit of a social flake (I can't ever go very long without checking notifications on these sites) and yes I hardly get a fraction of the sleep I once used to get, but I really feel like I'm starting to get noticed and my book sales are steadily increasing.

So this Friday, I celebrate all my hard work and lost hours to the Internet. What small thing do YOU have to celebrate?