I'm interested to hear how authors are using Substack effectively. I agree Twitter is mostly dead now for writers especially if you haven't yet established a hefty platform there. IG reels are a skill that most writers don’t seem to possess, including me.
“showing a book with a coffee cup and candle will not cut it.” 😂😂 thank you for saying this!! As a highly unaesthetic person with 2 waters, 2 glasses and 2 mugs currently on my desk (I kid you not), the cozy cute coffee mug post was never in my future
I realized only this year that I’m a more of a “deep thinker” “thought provoking” writer and the typical methods of promotions won’t work. Essays, however, would garner the audience I’m looking for as those who are into those kinds of reads often read essays too. This is to say I never had much of a chance to succeed authorly on Twitter anyway. Also growing my kind of audience would be quite slow, which is fine as I applied to an MFA and (if they say yes) will be busy doing that. Perhaps I will post MFA insights on my Substack too.
Great article. I'm rarely on Twitter anymore, yet I can't quite bring myself to delete my accounts, either. Still, Twitter didn't have a monopoly on community; friends and connections can be made in many places. And the brilliant, deep-dive discussion threads that I loved about Twitter have just migrated to Substack. Just goes to prove that nerdery never dies; it just changes platforms.
Everyone with a belief in a better world and the possibility of networking with others in a far more healthy way should get off Twitter now - I deleted my personal account on the day it was announced that Musk’s bid for Twitter had gone through, and it felt as if a chain had been released from around my neck - it was harder to shut down the Twitter account we had for our digital venture, Talking Writing, for all the reasons you and others here note - but we did so the day he walked into Twitter headquarters to take over. Social media in general is a giant, time-sucking distraction for writers, and none of us should be supporting what’s become Elon Musk’s personal platform for hate speech.
I never had twitter and always thought to get on it because publishers demand it. Yet I could never bring myself up to do it. Glad to know that it is not needed anymore. I would rather put my efforts into something that I enjoy.
I loved early Twitter so much and then left during the Trump years, came back and was having fun and then Musk. Stopped posting after Musk went after Fauci but deleted my account of 14k last week. I like Threads.
I deleted my account when I had about 8k followers. I'm delighted i did so. Mastodon and Bluesky are so far nice, troll-free, places, good for info, etc. But they aren't places to try and sell books. Some soft advertising of your wares, perhaps, but don't expect any real sales (in my experience, it has to be said).
I feel sad about this too because Twitter was such a great resource for publishing (and also Hollywood). But it also had such a dark side, especially in YA. There was a disturbing toxicity that often fed on itself.
I think the antidote will be closed groups and, well, Substack..🤣
So glad you brought this up. Many lit agents still post their updates, including open-to-sub announcements on X, which I will no longer use. I wish they'd all find an alternative.
Exactly! I suspect in many cases, the agent has neglected to update their bio page or MSWL page where they've posted that info. They may be off X themselves, by now!
I'm interested to hear how authors are using Substack effectively. I agree Twitter is mostly dead now for writers especially if you haven't yet established a hefty platform there. IG reels are a skill that most writers don’t seem to possess, including me.
“showing a book with a coffee cup and candle will not cut it.” 😂😂 thank you for saying this!! As a highly unaesthetic person with 2 waters, 2 glasses and 2 mugs currently on my desk (I kid you not), the cozy cute coffee mug post was never in my future
I admit, I made a TikTok with a good aesthetic last week that got a ton of views...but what people didn’t see were the piles of crap in my office.
I realized only this year that I’m a more of a “deep thinker” “thought provoking” writer and the typical methods of promotions won’t work. Essays, however, would garner the audience I’m looking for as those who are into those kinds of reads often read essays too. This is to say I never had much of a chance to succeed authorly on Twitter anyway. Also growing my kind of audience would be quite slow, which is fine as I applied to an MFA and (if they say yes) will be busy doing that. Perhaps I will post MFA insights on my Substack too.
You were the nudge I needed. Bye Bye Tweetie Bird.
Great article. I'm rarely on Twitter anymore, yet I can't quite bring myself to delete my accounts, either. Still, Twitter didn't have a monopoly on community; friends and connections can be made in many places. And the brilliant, deep-dive discussion threads that I loved about Twitter have just migrated to Substack. Just goes to prove that nerdery never dies; it just changes platforms.
Everyone with a belief in a better world and the possibility of networking with others in a far more healthy way should get off Twitter now - I deleted my personal account on the day it was announced that Musk’s bid for Twitter had gone through, and it felt as if a chain had been released from around my neck - it was harder to shut down the Twitter account we had for our digital venture, Talking Writing, for all the reasons you and others here note - but we did so the day he walked into Twitter headquarters to take over. Social media in general is a giant, time-sucking distraction for writers, and none of us should be supporting what’s become Elon Musk’s personal platform for hate speech.
I never had twitter and always thought to get on it because publishers demand it. Yet I could never bring myself up to do it. Glad to know that it is not needed anymore. I would rather put my efforts into something that I enjoy.
Main reasons I haven't deleted Twitter yet is a weekly writing chat with friends and hourly red panda.
I loved early Twitter so much and then left during the Trump years, came back and was having fun and then Musk. Stopped posting after Musk went after Fauci but deleted my account of 14k last week. I like Threads.
Thank you.
Yes, Twitter/X is dead, but more importantly, I am very intrigued by the Merit makeup set, especially the Minimalist stick!
It's really good makeup. I used the set this morning and it saved me a ton of time. Worth it!
Honest and helpful post, thank you!
It’s astonishing how hard twitter has crashed in engagement and general usefulness.
I did a trial post a few weeks ago when I’d just joined Bluesky. The same post on both 1 hr later:
Twitter, I have:
15k followers
11 years of posting
>22k posts:
0 likes, 0 RTs 💩
On @bluesky I have:
39 followers
<1 day since joining
1st post ever:
21 ❤️, 24 ♻️ so far
........I like books with coffee cups *blush*
Guess it's back to the drawing board lol
I deleted my account when I had about 8k followers. I'm delighted i did so. Mastodon and Bluesky are so far nice, troll-free, places, good for info, etc. But they aren't places to try and sell books. Some soft advertising of your wares, perhaps, but don't expect any real sales (in my experience, it has to be said).
Agree. In general, the sales conversion from social media isn't great.
I feel sad about this too because Twitter was such a great resource for publishing (and also Hollywood). But it also had such a dark side, especially in YA. There was a disturbing toxicity that often fed on itself.
I think the antidote will be closed groups and, well, Substack..🤣
It makes me sad, too. I loved Twitter. I think you are correct in saying closed groups and Substack.
So glad you brought this up. Many lit agents still post their updates, including open-to-sub announcements on X, which I will no longer use. I wish they'd all find an alternative.
It drives me crazy that agents still do that. There are so many brands pausing advertising now. You can't right that ship.
Exactly! I suspect in many cases, the agent has neglected to update their bio page or MSWL page where they've posted that info. They may be off X themselves, by now!