As a writer, there’s a plethora of inspiration and motivation to be drawn from following the right people, organisations and groups on Twitter. You’ll find everyone, from your favourite authors and local writing groups to publishing houses and writing festivals, not only communicating news about the writing and publishing industry but also providing useful tips to aspiring writers.
Now’s your chance to make sure that there’s always something on your time-line to whet your writerly appetite and give you that push to post plenty of “#amwriting” tweets. Take a look at Chichester Copywriter’s suggestions of who to follow, try them out and decide which ones are most useful to you:
Favourite authors
@roald_dahl - Follow for the latest news from Roald Dahl HQ about the World’s no.1 storyteller and author of classic stories including Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
@Matthaig1 – Matt Haig, who writes novels, screenplays, children’s books and journalism, shares amusing anecdotes and opinions about life as a writer and writing.
@caitlinmoran – The bestselling author of How To Be A Woman will keep you entertained with tweets that tell it like it is; she always seems to know what’s going on.
Publishers, large and small
@Indepenpress – Tweets from a friendly, Brighton-based independent publisher that’s always looking for authors (partnership, conventional and self-publishing) to feed cake to.
@Summersdale – Talk writing and publishing with one of the UK’s top independent non-fiction publishers with a fantastic range of gift, general interest and travel books.
@PenguinUK Books – Penguin Books UK, based in London, has been publishing great books and authors for 78 years. They share lots of inspirational articles and images via Twitter.
Writing events and festivals
@festivalwriting – The UK’s biggest festival of writing – which provides opportunities to meet agents, publishers and top-selling authors – tweets news on its line-up and the industry.
@CrawleyWordFest - Crawley Festival of Words is a programme of events dedicated to the word: spoken, written, performed, printed and thought. Follow the progress of the festival on Twitter.
@LatitudeFest - Here you can read the latest from the festival that combines literature, poetry and music to provide the ultimate cultural experience.
National writing days and months
@PoetryDayUK - National Poetry Day is the first Thursday of October. This Twitter account is always a hive activity surrounding this annual reading and writing event.
@NaNoWriMo - Why not pen a novel in a month with National Novel Writing Month in November and the world’s largest writing community? You’ll gain plenty of support on Twitter.
@shortstoryday - National Short Story Day promotes short stories to readers worldwide annually on the shortest day of the year, 21st December.
Writing groups and societies
@SCBWI_BI – The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (British Isles) supports published and unpublished creators of children’s books and is a fount of creative knowledge.
@englishpen – This founding centre of the international association of writers promotes the freedom to write and the freedom to read via Twitter.
@LitBritish- British Council Literature connects UK writers with the world and sparks dialogue between cultures. Why don’t you join in the conversation?
Writing charities
@Literacy_Trust - As the only national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK, The National Literacy Trust tweets on literacy events and research as well as interviews with influential writers.
@Quick_Reads – This literacy charity works with publishers and authors to create short books to help people get into reading. A Twitter stream encouraging reading and writing can’t be bad!
@arvonfoundation – The Arvon Foundation is a UK creative writing charity set up to give people the time and space to write. With news on courses, writing competitions and inspirational quotes, it’s well worth a follow.
Writers’ resources
@Writers_Artists – The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is the bestselling resource for writers, artists, media and creative types in need of some good advice. Their Twitter account ticks all of these boxes too.
@OxfordWords – Oxford University Press, publisher of Oxford Dictionaries, brings news and insights from the world of words including lots of tasty etymology, grammar advice and words of the day.
@Writers_Forum - New and aspiring writers should follow this monthly magazine on Twitter for advice on how to write, what to write and where to sell it.
Libraries and book shops
@Waterstones - Follow Waterstones, the UK’s no. 1 bookseller, for news on the latest books and details of book talks and signing events with inspirational authors. They also run regular offers and competitions, which are great if you need books for writing research.
@PortsmouthReads – The Twitter account for Portsmouth libraries lets followers know about the latest information and events in Hampshire while also sharing bookish and writerly resources relevant to all.
@britishlibrary - Keep up-to-date with news from The British Library including upcoming exhibitions and talks about historical books and writers, writers’ birthdays, and publishing anniversaries.
Who is Chichester Copywriter?
This Social Media Review is brought to you by Katy Lassetter of Chichester Copywriter. Katy has also provided social media marketing consultation services to a number of authors and creative events, including: Jane Rusbridge (Bloomsbury), Penelope Bush (Piccadilly Press), Mary Atkinson (Gaia, Carlton Books, Godsfield Press), Vicky Edwards (Summersdale), Becky Edwards (Bloomsbury) and Festival of Chichester (@FestOfChi).
This service includes training on how to set up, optimise and manage Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn accounts, Pinterest accounts and blogs.
Discover more about Chichester Copywriter’s social media marketing services for writers and creative events on her website. Alternatively, contact Katy to arrange a free consultation.
