Creating character/book related twitter accounts

I once did about 50 episodes of a running story - about 300 words per episode - as a blog. The actual reason for doing it was as a marketing gimmick for a product (collectable toy series) that I was trying to sell as a time and was featured in the story, but it seemed to work. Leaving a cliffhanger each time is essential!

Unfortunately, the whole lot has disappeared into the ether with the site it was on. Or, perhaps, fortunately. :eek:
 
I plan to use Twitter in conjunction with my work. I have a pretty detailed history of Altearth. I provides a framework for my stories, but there's no way I'll write a story for every event. My notion is to use Twitter to provide "updates" -- short statements about events. I'm currently writing these so I will have a seed collection. My plan is to tweet an event a week or so. Given that I'm working with about 1,500 years of history, that should keep a steady flow. In cases where I *have* written more, I can provide a link from the tweet to the story or article.
 
Haven't done it myself, but I know a writer who has. SF novelist Gareth L. Powell has a second twitter account for his character Ack-Ack Macaque from the book of the same name. He's attracted over a thousand followers already, so must be doing something right:
@AckAckMacaque
It helps if you can have a little fun with your character, so they live on past the printed page which Gareth has managed to do. Sure it's a publicity gimmick but it looks to have worked. Gareth has now started work on a second book based on his simian creation.
 
2 months on and I'd actually forgotten I'd even made them until this thread popped up again. Might rejuvenate the accounts when the book is out there - more likely if I end up self-pubbing. For now, I just feel faintly ridiculous!
 
I have a Facebook page, which I'm really terrible at maintaining, and a web site, which I'm somewhat better at. I also have a Twitter account, but I'm at a total loss what to do with it. I don't know how to get followers, largely because no one I know has any interest in Twitter, and even if I had them, I'm not sure what I'd tweet.

If you figure out what to do with it, let me know. :)
 
nightdreamer said:
I have a Facebook page, which I'm really terrible at maintaining, and a web site, which I'm somewhat better at. I also have a Twitter account, but I'm at a total loss what to do with it. I don't know how to get followers, largely because no one I know has any interest in Twitter, and even if I had them, I'm not sure what I'd tweet.

If you figure out what to do with it, let me know. :)
Click to expand...

A quick look at your site shows you've got some good ideas!

Re getting followers, there are all sorts of nefarious ways to do it, but the simplest is to follow like-minded people, and many will follow you back. Many then promote their book or website. Unfortunately that's the ONLY thing many writers do, which means I quickly unfollow them. But post some thoughts, interact with people, and show you're more than a marketer, and you'll keep followers.
 
alchemist: Thanks for the suggestions. I suppose it's worth giving it a try, although that means I'll have to remember what my login is. :)
 
Re character twitter accounts, Anne Lyle has one for her character Mal Catlyn. "He" tweeted bits and pieces in the run-up to her latest book launch, it was a lot of fun to follow...
 
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