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Social Media Week: The joys and perils of Twitter

At about 12:55 this afternoon, panelists at Toronto’s Social Media Week busily tweeted to the world, inviting last-minute guests to join the discussion about book marketing in the digital age: Some seats open at my #smwto panel! Come by and see me, @bookmadam and @tragicrighthip shoot some smack, tweeted Erin Balser, aka @booksin140.

It was a fitting start to a discussion on how social media is affecting the publishing industry. Rounding out the panel were Balser (@booksin140 and writer for Books@Torontoist); Julie Wilson (founder of Book Madam and guest host for CBC’s online book club); Deanna McFadden (marketing manager for HarperCollins Canada); and in the dual role of moderator and co-panelist, author Arjun Basu.

McFadden emphasized how valuable it can be for authors to market their books online during the pre-publication process, using Twitter and Facebook to reach a very specific audience. Instead of reaching readers through traditional book reviews and ads, readers can now find out about the writing process of authors, and in some cases, even their personality. And while there was discussion over the generational divide in using social media tools, McFadden pointed out that even Margaret Atwood has gotten in on the Twitter action.

What about the perils of Twitter? McFadden warned that while authors should feel free to tweet as they please, they must remember there can be consequences “ for instance, she advises authors to keep their feelings about a negative review in check, no matter how angry you feel at the time. This is just not a good thing to do at all, McFadden said. Twitter makes you forget that really, you should have a filter “ or at least realize there’s going to be a reaction to [what you say.]

A brand can also be important when using Twitter. Basu is known for posting 140-character short stories called Twisters on his account, and currently has more than 13,000 followers. He noted, however, that when he used that same account to broadcast his personal commentary on the Golden Globe Awards, he actually lost some followers. I was off-brand, he said. When they signed up to follow my tweets, they didn’t sign up to hear what I think about Sandra Bullock.

The idea for Basu’s Twisters came from Ernest Hemingway’s famous six-word short story: For sale: baby shoes, never worn. And since Basu is now well-known for these succinct stories, he says his publisher considers him all the more marketable for it.

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February 4th, 2010

7:20 pm

Category: Book news

Tagged with: Twitter