This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Authors are their own sort of celebrity. The Dan Brown/JK Rowlings
aside, the majority of authors go about their daily lives without fear
of being harassed on the street or 'celeb spotted' as they buy their
groceries.
For those who have loved a book so much they looked up the author on Twitter and felt compelled to tweet them their gratitude for having written such a fabulous book or just said hello, there is something so attainable about having them there at your fingertips. There is no longer the need to write them some fanmail via their publisher. You can talk to them directly!
As part of team Novelicious, I am fortunate enough to take that direct contact one step further and actually chat to these brilliant authors and though – I will admit – I was massively nervous at first, the 'I'm talking to someone famous' element just disappears after a while with authors. They are, I realised, just like us. That might sound incredibly naive but when you're young and passionate about books, the people who write them seem like a faraway glamour you will never be able to reach. Much like film stars, they seem to live the high life, writing in gorgeous big houses, touring the world.
The increase in social media platforms over the last few years has brought authors – large and small – to their readers and the result is a much closer knit community of book lovers. They are no longer up there in the clouds while we mere book lovers sit down here in our armchairs reading the books. They are level with us in their love of a great story. And with the very best (and for us here at Novelicious – most loveable) authors on Twitter, you get more than just a 'thanks for reading xx'. The really great authors will share their love of books by discussing them on a daily basis, blogging about them – and not just limiting their tweets to self-promotion. These are the ones who offer advice to aspiring writers, talk about how they managed to get published or why they decided to self-publish. They are unashamedly honest in the ups and downs of life as an author and – as a reader, a book-lover and aspiring author – I just wanted to say thanks! Keep up the good tweets.
How has social media affected your love of books? Do you buy based on twitter recommendations? Have your feelings about an author been affected, for better or worse, by their tweets? Tell us!