Monday, July 9, 2012

Tweet me, baby! (And win a signed book)

Next Saturday, I'm scheduled to give a talk to a group of romance authors at the Rose City RWA meeting.

I was perplexed to learn I'm expected to have a topic for my presentation, as opposed to standing in front of the group making armpit noises for an hour.

My topic (at least according to the group's website) is Twitter 101. Lucky for them, I know a few things about Twitter. I'd feel differently about my prospects of success if my topic were The Joys of Celibacy or Why Penis Jokes Aren't Appropriate at the Dinner Table.

One thing I'd like to cover in my presentation is the degree to which the different social media platforms are connected. While I know plenty of blog readers reach their Tawna-blather-saturation-point just reading this blog twice a week, some of us are connected with each other through other channels like Facebook, Twitter, and that group orgy we agreed never to speak of after the unfortunate incident with the grape jelly and the wombat.

For the sake of research, I'd like to conduct an experiment. Mostly, I just like the way it makes me sound all professional to throw out words like "research" and "experiment" so I can pretend I'm not just sitting here feeling giddy about writing a makeout scene in the new manuscript later today.

So here's the experiment: between now and noon on Friday, July 13, I would love it if you could head out to the Twitterverse and tweet your best Twitter tip using the hashtag #tawnatweettips.

Wow, I didn't even mean for that hashtag to look filthy, but it kind of does.

Using that hashtag, please offer up your best piece of Twitter advice. You can tweet as many tips as you like, though I'll only enter you once for each tip (unless, of course, you ask me not to enter you, because no means no, people.)

Each separate Twitter tip you offer using the #tawnatweettips hashtag earns you one entry into the drawing.

But in case you're not on Twitter, don't worry – you get to play, too. For the non-Twitter users among you, please leave a detailed blog comment telling me how you found your way to this site. It might be as simple as, "I got drunk one night and googled 'star-nosed moles' and there you were."

 But in some cases, I'm expecting to see something like, "My friend Suzie told my friend Janice that my friend Petra follows you on Twitter and also reads your blog, so I thought I'd check it out." It's entirely possible none of you will say anything even remotely like that, in which case my entire presentation will be ruined and I probably won't even bother showing up Saturday morning and will instead spend the day lurking around the juggling store where I set a scene in Believe it or Not.

I'll throw all the entries into a hat, and will draw a winner sometime over the weekend. The person I pick will get his/her choice of a signed copy of either Believe it or Not or Making Waves.

Questions? Leave 'em in the comments! And thanks, in advance, for helping me create my talk for RCRWA. If one of you wants to go ahead and assemble the entire Powerpoint presentation for me, I'll just be over here sipping Chianti and making up penis jokes.

14 comments :

Anonymous said...

I found your blog after you started following mine years ago! You're a star. And you don't have to enter me into your contest a billion times which is probably how many times I'm now going to TweetTip as I'm a twitter KnowItAll which means I probably don't know anything.

Deborah Blake said...

I found your blog through the Betties. Off to tweet you. Because I always do what Tawna says--which kinda explains that orgy...

Unknown said...

Wow. I have absolutely no idea how I found your blog. Gold-fish memory. I suspect through twitter or some of your writer/agent friends/aquaintances.

KarenB (Betty Bear) said...

Just like Deborah - I found you through the Betties. And I've been enjoying you ever since. (And yeah, that sounded a little dirty, but since that's your modus operandi I figured it would fit right in. *snort*)

Lynnanne said...

I have no clue how I found you. The important thing is how you found me? ha. see what I mean? And... I don't want any of your stinkin' books!! (Ok, so that was kind of rude, and highly uncalled for.) I already have your books, and love them! Even the signed ones! Well, except for that "Getting Dumped" interactive book. I don't have it. If you want to know why I keep coming (*snicker) back to read your blog... well, I really don't know. It must have something to do with the humor. And, I tried to tweet and totally don't understand how it works. I follow certain people (you included), and have people like Anderson Cooper allowed to have their tweets come (lots of coming here) directly into my ear (ha. i mean phone). but I don't know how to tweet back!!! So, because it frustrates me soooooooooooo much, I refuse to do it. I will on occasion go to the tweet site and read a few of the tweets I've missed, but I only do that about once every eon or so. Well, I hope you'll be able to take a little of this to your presentation... on tweeting. Good luck. :)

Michelle Wolfson said...

In the slush, baby! I found you in the slush!!

Raley Blue said...

I found you on Michelle Wolfson's blog. I followed you because you are FUNNY HELL!!! And honestly not much impresses me, lol. Love this blog. Wish it was mine. That is a HUGE compliment from me, btw. ;)

Raley Blue said...

funny *AS* hell........ sorry :)

Nate Wilson said...

I found my way here after using your last name to help win a Janet Reid writing contest.

True story.

(You don't need to include me in your contest, though. I just felt like sharing.)

Jessica said...

I used to read your posts on The Debutante Ball and then came here after you left.

cat scratcher said...

I always read your post and enjoyed it a lot.

Lauren said...

A guy I went to high school with friended me on Facebook. I didn't know him well but I remembered that he was a nice guy so I accepted. Then he posted a note that his friend from high school had just published her first book and since your name was familiar I followed up and found this blog. So we went to the same high school but I would NEVER have found Making Waves without the tenuous connection of Ryan Ositis posting on Facebook during one of the rare times I was actually reading people's posts.

Leslea said...

Need to take your twitter course. Can't seem to understand how it works. Found your blog on your website after reading "Making Waves". I go to author's websites to find other books to read. LMAO'd and made you a favorite on my home page that day.

Génette Wood said...

I know I'm way late on this, but I found you this time two years ago on Janet Reid's blog when I was first diving into queries.