Indian 101 for Writers, Part 5: Walking In Two Worlds

Alison DeLuca, purveyor of Fresh Pot of Tea, and Kara Stewart, part-time post pusher at Kara Stewart Art in Photography, have collaborated to bring you this five part traveling blog series. 

This series takes a look at writing about Native Americans and gives resources to accurately and respectfully do so.  

Alison DeLuca is is the author of several YA steampunk books. She is committed to adding characters with different ethnic backgrounds to her works, and is always looking for authentic, realistic ways to do so. 

Kara Stewart is Native, an enrolled member of the Sappony, and white, and is a full-time Literacy Coach in the public schools, as well as serves in several Indian organizations, with a passion for photography, writing and Indian education. Her disclaimer for this series, “The views I express in this series are my personal views, brought about my own experiences and many years in literacy and education. I do not claim to represent the views of all Indians, but I do hope writers will find helpful resources and perspectives.”

Today we host the last in our five-part series,

Indian 101 for Writers, Part Five: Walking In Two Worlds.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

Alison: Do you have quite a bit of interaction with people from your culture? What desires, if any, do they express for representation within literature and film?

Kara: Your first question is a difficult one to answer because I don’t/can’t really separate my culture from me; I am as much Indian as I am white. As much white as I am Indian. So I live in both worlds equally. Our mainstream culture in America is white; I don’t think anyone could sensibly argue that. So of course I live in that world. We all do, no matter if we are black, white, Latina, Native or Asian or multiracial.

Powwow by Kara Stewart

But as far as my Indian world, I am involved in Indian education in North Carolina and am fortunate to know a number of other North Carolina Indian people through that. I also currently serve an elected position as a tribal council member for my tribe, the Sappony, and tap into Indian issues that way. I am active in our tribe through volunteer activities such as our youth camp and other events, which give me regular contact with tribal members. And the main thing - tribal members are my family. So calling my cousin and talking to her would count as “interaction with people from my culture”, no? Going to a party with a friend who happens to be Native would count as “interaction with people from my culture”? I don’t know. It’s hard to separate and I'm not sure it's possible to. 

The Visitor by Kara Stewart

The concept of living in two worlds is very common for Indian people. For many (myself included), there’s a whole other world going on for us, parallel to the mainstream world. There’s a parallel, Indian stream of information, issues, events, and people that we navigate along with those things in the mainstream world. This parallel stream makes us aware of these things on multiple levels – how information, issues, events and people impact, are perceived and relate to the mainstream world, and how they impact, are perceived and relate to Indian Country. These two streams weave together, sometimes clashing (as when faced with stereotypes and possibly well-intentioned but uneducated statements). What you, as writers, teachers, humans, can do is to educate yourselves. Open your eyes to an entire world going on around you that you haven’t taken the time to notice before. And ask us. Talk with us. Don’t be afraid of race conversations or approaching us. We know we’re Indian, just like most black people know they are black and most Latinos know they are Latino! It's okay and it’s not a secret. Talk with us.

Powwow Barbies by Kara Stewart

As far as your second question, what Indians would like expressed about us in literature and film, what I have mostly heard from friends and family is the wish to be portrayed accurately, respectfully and to be real when you write about us. To be aware of, and not perpetuate, the stereotypes, or to even do a little stereotype-busting! We will read your books and be hurt by your stereotypes. Our children are hurt by teachers and authors who unknowingly promote stereotypes. Make it real. Because we are real.

Thank you, Alison, for the idea for this blog series, for working with me on it and for hosting our 'hops'! It has truly been a pleasure creating this series with you, my friend.


Indian 101 for Writers, Part 1: Know Thyself
Indian 101 for Writers, Part 2: Know Whereof You Speak (a.k.a. Don't Make It Up or Rely On What You *Think* You Know)
Indian 101 for Writers, Part 3: Keep It Real, People
Indian 101 for Writers, Part 4: Aargh!
Indian 101 for Writers, Part 5: Walking In Two Worlds

Jingle by Kara Stewart

Indian 101 for Writers Part 3: Keep It Real, People

Alison DeLuca, purveyor of Fresh Pot of Tea, and Kara Stewart, part-time post pusher at Kara Stewart Art in Photography, have collaborated on a new five part traveling blog series! This series will take a look at writing about Native Americans and giving resources to accurately and respectfully do so.  

Alison DeLuca is is the author of several YA steampunk books. She is committed to adding characters with different ethnic backgrounds to her works, and is always looking for authentic, realistic ways to do so. 

Kara Stewart is Native, an enrolled member of the Sappony, and white, and is a full-time Literacy Coach in the public schools, as well as serves in several Indian organizations, with a passion for art, writing and Indian education. Her disclaimer for this series, “The views I express in this series are my personal, brought about my own experiences and many years in literacy and education. I do not claim to represent the views of all Indians, but I do hope writers will find helpful resources and perspectives.”

Today we host Indian 101 for Writers, Part Three: Keep It Real, People.
See Part 1 and Part 2.

Alison: Which novels represent, in your opinion, Native culture in a fair and accurate way? Which novels would you recommend that writers read before they write Indian characters into their novels?

Kara: I love Sherman Alexie’s novels. He is Spokane/Coeur d’Alene and his writing exemplifies the Native sense of humor* about the world (which is the one thing I’d generalize as far as ‘India
ns’). His novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a must read for anyone thinking about writing about an Indian character – or just for a great, hilarious read. The movie, Smoke Signals, based on Alexie’s novel, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven, has become an Indian Country iconic cult film, and will also give writers insight. Also definitely worthy of mention is his novel Reservation Blues, and the soundtrack of Reservation Blues, which  is one of my soul touchers with the tracks deeply embedding parts of certain tribes’culture and overarching themes common to many tribes.  Another film of his particularly germane to writers is The Business of Fancydancing (scroll down), which speaks to identity. One thing to keep in mind is that Alexie portrays what he knows (or knew at the time) – reservation life. It is important to realize that the majority of Indians in America do not live on reservations (22% as of 2010).

Those novels, and the films, have Indian Country front and center, but his characters are people first, who just happen to be Indian. I think that is the key: their ‘Indianness’ doesn’t define them. For a read on how Alexie incorporates an Indian character seamlessly, accurately and respectfully into a crime novel, read his novel Indian Killer. It’s just as important to incorporate one Indian character well (not coming across as a token Indian without any reason for being in the novel other than an attempt at diversity – although an attempt at diversity is better than no attempt at diversity).

What I appreciate most about Alexie’s novels is that he keeps it real. His characters have humor as well as in-depth emotion, they are current, they care about issues, they have grandmothers and fathers they feel ambivalent about, like many people - they are real people who happen to be Indian. They are not whooping warriors, New Age mystics or (my personal peeve) the “noble Indian” who reveres or worships nature and whose every action is some sort of ritual. That makes me want to scrrrreeeaaaammmm! Just get real. We (Indians) are no more noble than white people, black people or any other people. If there is some sort of accurate, legitimate, researched ritual you feel is integral to your story, okay, have the character just do it and then go eat their fry bread and turn up the radio!

I’d also recommend that authors read Louise Erdrich’s books The Birchbark House,  The Game of Silence and The Porcupine Year for examples of writing realistically and respectfully about Natives in a historic setting. Her characters are also touching, real, and while they are Indian, that is not the reason they are in the story – they are people first. I read part of The Birchbark House sitting in a faculty meeting and cried for a good portion of that meeting while I read! Couldn’t put it down. Okay, and yes, I missed the info I was supposed to be paying attention to in the meeting. But hey, bibliophiles can relate.

DebbieReese’s great blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature, has Indian point of view reviews of books involving Indian characters. I’d recommend checking it out to see some examples of issues with writing Indian characters. 

*For other examples of Indian humor and an inside peek at our 'real', see Powwow Comedy Jam, Charlie Hill on the Comedy Network, 7 Ways to Tell if a Native Girl Likes You, Ernie Tsosie III, Tatanka Means and my favorites, 1491s. and here and here or just google 1491s. Slapping Medicine Man cracks me up every time. Why? I don't know. But it does.

Take away: Find out about real Indians - Indians who are alive today and working in all professions, who live in all cities and around the world, who laugh with their kids, get mad at their uncles, love their family traditions, hate their family traditions, read themselves to sleep, run out of gas, screw up at work, excel at work, try to make the world a better place, and are generally people.

Stay tuned for Indian 101 for Writers, Part Four: Aargh! tomorrow on Kara Stewart Art in Photography. 

Dagger Blanket Piece by Kara Stewart

Part TWO of Indian 101 for Writers

Today's post is on Kara Stewart's blog, Art in Photography. She expands her advice for writers who wish to include Native characters - and, as usual, Kara has lots of amazing resources.

You can read it here.

Men's Fancy Dance Colors

Twitter 101

One of the main tools I use to gain readers is Twitter. It’s a great resource for writers.

When my book went live on Amazon, I had 17 followers. I now have 7000, a little over a year later.

If you are starting off from scratch, I suggest you use your writer’s name as your twitter username, or your name + author if it’s not available. Go to Twitter.com and build a profile. Be certain to upload a nice headshot or your book cover.

Include a short bio that mentions what your connection is to writing, as well as a link to your blogspot and to your books. Keep this short. It makes it easier for people to recommend you on Twitter. Add a little spice or humor to make it pop. You’re a writer – you can do it.

As an example, here is mine:

Wrestling words and laundry. Author of The Crown Phoenix #Steampunk series. http://amzn.to/ADeLucaAuthorCentral

The next step is to get a boatload of followers.

I built a following by participating in #WW or #WriterWednesday, and #FF or  #FollowFriday. If you put some of your followers’ names in a tweet and add those hashtags, they will do the same for you. They’ll know you have done that because they will click on the @Mentions, which will bring up all the tweets with their names in them.

At a certain point the following will just start building on its own, especially if you take the time to say thank you to every new follower. Tell them that you’ll check out their links or blogs, if they have one in their profiles, and do so. They’ll check yours out as well.

You can do the same thing in Twitter. Click on @Connect after you have been on for a few days and you’ll see who has mentioned you in a tweet. Tweet them back and say thank you. That gets both of your names out there even more.

That brings us to the magic RT, or retweet. If someone puts up a mention of a book or a blog in a tweet, be certain to retweet it for them. Do it often enough, and you’ll pick up a lot of thank yous. When you put up a blog or book link, people will do the same for you.

While all of this is going on, be certain to tweet about funny thing that happen to you, random thoughts as a writer, snippets from your day – fun things to read. If you go overboard with the marketing and retweets and #FF’s, your tweet list will look like one sea of red links, and you won’t get as many followers. Who wants to get in touch with someone who talks like an infomercial all the time?

If you want to take it to the next level, try to think of something special you can tweet every day, like pirate jokes or silly haikus.

The more time you spend on Twitter, the more followers you will get. Don’t let it take over your life, though. You have books and blogs to write after all. About 20 minutes a day, twice a day, is plenty of time.

Which brings us back to that blog link you put into your profile. Remember how you told new followers that you would check out their links? And how you did? And how you liked some of them enough to follow their blogs so you could read them each week?

Some of your new followers will be doing that to you as well. Through the use of Twitter, you will increase your blog readership. This is how social media will begin bleed over across formats, in a good way.

Not only that, but as you look at your new followers’ blogs and read their tweets, you’ll find new opportunities. There are writers out there looking for guest bloggers and people to interview and books to feature. They might as well feature your book.

You want to keep quality as well as quantity in mind when you start to gather followers. If you randomly follow everyone you see in tweets, then at some point you will be following 2000 people. Twitter caps you at that level, until you have over 2000 followers yourself.

There are ways to get to that level. First, try to keep a balance between people followed and followers. Those numbers should be very close to each other.

(You can purge nonfollowers by going to justunfollow.com or to http://manageflitter.com/. Log in through twitter and those sites will show you who isn’t following you back. You can unfollow them with a click of your mouse.)

With Twitter capping you at 2000, you can’t afford to follow everyone. Make certain that the people you follow are human and not ‘bots (you can tell by looking at their tweets, which come up in their profiles) and that they aren’t just tweeting about their home carpet cleaning business. You need them to participate in your marketing, not just to concentrate on their start up company.

You can follow up to 500 people a day. If you rotate following people who are interested in books, your genre, and publishing, and unfollow an equal number of those who aren’t following back through manageflitter, you’ll notice a sharp increase in your followers.

Now, to the tweet itself. You only have 140 characters to tweet in. You’ll need to shorten some of those long links you want to tweet, such as Amazon and blog links. You can do that at bit.ly, or at a host of other shortening sites. I like Bit.ly because it stores your shortened links and copies them to your clipboard when you need them again. Plus you can customize your links and track them to see how many people have clicked on them.

If you tweet short links and snippets of information, and if you retweet other followers’ tweets, then your tweets will get retweeted. That’s important, because your info will:

A) go out to a much larger, everwidening audience
B) continue to appear on twitter even after you stop tweeting
C) win you more followers

As a final tip, on #WW (Writer Wednesday) I feature a few select friends, instead of long lists of @writername and @whoosis.  Here’s an example:

#WW @danielleraver - She’s funny, talented, and a tech whiz. Her #fantasy book Brother, Betrayed is at http://amzn.to/BrotherUS

You can do a recommendation like that right from followfridayhelper.com.

A recommendation like the one I wrote about Danielle like that gets a lot of attention -  more than strings of @writernames, and the people I mention in those tweets get a real kick out of it.

The problem with Twitter is that it is very fast-moving. A tweet comes and goes in an instant. Marking a tweet with a hashtag like #MyWANA #Fantasy or #romance puts your tweet in a specialized list that other people will access.

Another way to get around that immediacy is to schedule tweets to appear at regular intervals. You can do that on Hootsuite, right on line, or on Tweetdeck, which you download and install. Both have several amazing features, such as the ability to sort several groups of hashtags at once.

In my opinion, being classy, having a thick skin, and respecting the other authors out there will get you a lot further in the Tweetiverse than any automatic Followback app. But I think that’s true of most of the aspects of being a writer.

One writer, who is publishing the male version of Pride and Prejudice, holds regular "balls" on Friday nights. He tweets to followers under the hashtag #DarcyBall ; they check in and speak Austenese. Once you have enough followers you can do the same kind of thing, tailored for your book.

The sources that taught me the most about Twitter can be found here:

http://www.molly-greene.com/0-4000-in-a-snap-how-to-build-a-quality-twitter-following-fast/

and here:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/06/11/coming-clean-about-my-twitter-success/

Celebrating Bloggers: Bridging the Gap

This week, along with Terri Long and many others, I'm celebrating bloggers. 

Hurray for Bloggers!

I’m a lucky person, and here’s why:

I get to be in two fabulous groups. The first is a very talented group of writers, and they support me every day. Plus they make me laugh.

Ditto with the second group. I’m also friends with a group of book bloggers and reviewers. The people in that group are also very dedicated and talented, and they also make me laugh. A lot.

Book reviewers must be some of the hardest working people in the world. They read huge stacks of books and labor over reviews, often posting 3 – 5 blogs a week. Some of them post that many in one day.

Not only do they do reviews, they also host writers in interviews, guest blogs, and giveaways. These services are vital to Indie writers, as we try to get our names out there. The hard work of the bloggers gets our books noticed and the word out that we exist, among the other millions of authors whose books are up on Amazon and B&N.

There have been horrible stories lately about both camps. There are writers who post fake reviews, people threatening reviewers (and online stalking them) and writers threatening “retribution” for bad reviews.

Alas, in all of this the essential humanity of both groups gets lost. The book bloggers are lovely people – they are parents, pet owners, dedicated readers who don’t get paid for the hard work they do.

The writers I work with are also wonderful friends. They get married, have grandchildren, and also work for little to no recompense.

Online, in text, the personality of a person often gets lost. Face to face we can say something with a wry grin or a wink that makes a harsh statement seem funny or at least acceptable. Not so online, and emoticons don’t cut it.

Therefore, I think we have to bump up our personhood and be extra professional and human in social media. In order for our natures not to get lost in train wrecks and Authors (and sometimes bloggers) Behaving Badly, we have to be extra kind, extra tolerant, and super polite.

For example,  the one main gripe I read from book bloggers is that their review policies often get ignored. If you submit something for a review, then read the policy and abide by it.

Another is to avoid mass mailings. Sending a message that begins, "From: YOUR NAME GOES HERE" is the same as a robocall, and just as deadly. A personally written email that comes with a carefully crafted review query (one that fits with the reviewer’s policy) will go far and stand out among the many people who forgot to take that extra step in their haste to get their books reviewed.

It won’t stop the train wrecks, but this politeness policy will make certain that you are OFF the train and onto the platform when the wreck does occur.

Late as Usual; Or, The Lucky 7 Meme

I've been hit up by the lovely, supportive Teresa Cypher at Dreamers, Lovers, and Star Voyagers to do a Lucky 7  post. She didn't know, when she tagged me, that I'm always, always late.

So here I am, running in to post my Lucky 7 stuff. My hair is askew, there is a runner in my stocking, and I've  probably dropped  a few  bags along the way. My phone needs charging too.

Let's ignore my usual Hot Messiness and explain the Lucky 7 dealio:

Once you are tagged:
*go to page 77 of your current WIP
*go to line 7
*copy down the next 7 lines/sentences as written and post them on your blog or website
*tag 7 other authors
*let them know they've been tagged
 

Here's the thing, though; I have TWO Works in Progress. So, without further ado, here are the lines from The South Sea Bubble:

Lizzie smiled. It was still a miracle to see Mam out of her chair and moving about. She was desperately thin, and she had never regained her full energy, but her recovery from being one of “those tonic fiends” had secured Doctor Draper’s reputation and filled his hospital.

“Now then.” Mam handed Lizzie her tea. “Where did you say Matilda went?”

“She ran off again."

And here is the set of seven lines from The Gramophone Society:

He made a sound of disgust. “Me, of course, unless my aunt gets her way.”

“You?” Julia leaned towards him. “Victor, you are not hideous. The other girls all talk about how dishy you are. You must have noticed.”

 Right. So now I have to tag some victims friends. Here they are:

Shaun Allan, at Sin's Blog

Lisa Yarde, at The Brooklyn Scribbler

Danielle  Raver, at Philosophies of a Young Heart

Rachel Tsoumbakos, at Rachel Tsoumbakos's Blog 

Lisa Zhang Wharton, at Eccentric Asians, Man-Eating Pandas & Other  Mysteries of the World (which is such a cool blog title)

Patty Sarro, at Otherside of Meh

Natasha Larry, at Paranormal Wire

 Please visit them! They are all wonderful writers and lovely people!

The French Disconnection

I've noticed a growing trend in television and films (such as Mad Men and Awake) lately, and one that occurs in some of the best written scripts. There  seems to be a strange disconnect between the characters, as though they are all speaking a different language and cannot understand each other.

I first saw it in Lost, when I was such a huge fan. Someone (usually Hurley) would say something that  was perfectly pleasant, and no one would respond with corresponding pleasantness. Then, when someone else would say something nice to Hurley, he would respond with a cutting remark or an incredulous scoff - there are loads of incredulous scoffs, if you begin to notice- and walk off, alone.

Of course Sawyer was a master at this, with his oft-repeated "Yeah, well, what do you know about it, doc?"

It happens in Twilight - in both the books and the movies - where Alice, as hard as she tries, just  can't seem to connect with Bella in true friendship. I see it in Awake, although there I give the writers a pass, since they are dealing with themes of  recent loss and devastating life changes. I do hope that  some connections begin to develop between Michael and his partners, however.

Mad Men is a repeat offender. The women in the office just can't find a footing for a friendship beyond bitching about the boss or snippy gossip. In fact, the one way the characters really connect is with sex. And I say all this with love - I am a Mad Men fiend.

It was particularly noticeable when Peggy defended  Joan, and that gorgeous redhead responded by biting back. Peggy's reaction to that was, "Excuse me?!" And I felt like applauding.

Is it  a mark of good writing to have constant loneliness and a lack of friendship between the characters? Has that become a hallmark of a well-written script? Perhaps that is why Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption stand out for me, since they showcase believable friendships and continuing, deepening connections.

Maybe, in a plot-driven show,  it is difficult to give time to a real human connection - but, no. I refuse to believe it. It  can be done. The writers are incredibly talented, and I hope that friendship does become a bigger theme in the future.

Not the Block!!!!

It happened this morning. I saw my kid onto the bus and went to prepare myself for a  day of writing. Now, I need to grab a shower, get dressed, even put  on makeup before I sit at the keyboard. That's just the way I roll.

As I poufed on my Blush Minerals  (Stop n Shop brand) a sudden thought hit me: What if I can't write today?

For a  writer, that's the nightmare. You have this voice, and the fear that it might stop speaking is a dreadful one. It's the fear that this gift might be taken away.

Perhaps it hit me because I'm getting close to working on the fourth and  final book in my Crown Phoenix series. The third book is done, and soon I'll start the last chapter in the adventures of Miriam, Riki, Simon, Neil, and Mana. To have to say goodbye  to them and their little world makes my breath catch in my throat.

Perhaps it's because  I'm in the middle of writing a new book at the  moment, The Gramophone  Society. It's a stand-alone work, it's quite historical, and it requires a lot of untangling and careful planning.

I suppose there is  only way to overcome all this: get my butt in that chair and start typing away.

Okay then.

Social Media for Authors, Pt. 1: A New Star in the Twitterverse

Over the next few weeks, some of the authors at FIBP and I will be running a continuing series on how to work social media  to increase your author network and drive traffic to your  blogs. In doing so, that will get more eyes on your book and hopefully drive sales.


Each blog focuses on a particular aspect of the social media network. Today’s post, for example, highlights Twitter as an important portion of your toolkit for reaching readers. We should point out, however, that all forms of networking can interact: Twitter can highlight blog posts, blogging can take readers to sites like Goodreads, and Facebook can be a central hub for it all. In fact, each individual author can design a network that reflects her own marketing goals.

******

When I finished my book,  agents and publishers never called or rang the doorbell. Once I was live on Amazon, the throngs of people clamoring to shell out three clams for my book also failed to materialize. I had to go and get them, one at a time.


One of the main tools I use to do that is Twitter. It’s a great resource for writers - in fact, I would hazard a guess that a lot of tweeps out there are writers.


When I started marketing, I had 17 followers. I now have close to 700, three months later. If you are starting off from scratch,  I suggest you use your writer’s name as your twitter username, or your name + author if it’s not available. Go to Twitter .com and build a profile. Be certain to upload a nice photo – one that looks good humored or that has a bit of sass to it.


Include a short bio that  mentions what your connection is to writing, as well as a link to your blogspot (more on that later.) The next step is to get a whole boatload of followers.


I built a following by participating in #WW or #WriterWednesday, and #FF or  #FollowFriday. If you put some of your followers’  names in a tweet and add those hashtags, they will do the same for  you. They’ll know you have done that because they will click on the @Mentions, which will bring up all the tweets with their names in them.

At a certain point the following will just start building on its own, especially if you take the time to say thank you to every new follower. 


You can do the same thing. Click on @Mentions after you have been on for a few days and you’ll see who has mentioned you in a tweet. Tweet them back and say thank you. That gets both of your names out there even more.


That brings us to the magic RT, or retweet. If someone puts up a mention of a book or a blog in a tweet, be certain to retweet it for them. Do it often enough, and you’ll pick up a lot of thank yous. When you put up a blog or book link, people will do the same for you.


While all of this is going on, be certain to tweet about funny thing that happen to you, random thoughts as a writer, snippets from your day – fun things to read. If you go overboard with the marketing and retweets and #FF’s,, your tweet list  will look like one sea of red links, and you won’t get as many followers. Who wants  to get in touch with someone who talks like an infomercial all the time?


The more time you spend on Twitter, the more followers you will get. Don’t let it take over  your life, though. You have  books and blogs to write after all.


Which brings us back to that blog link you put into your profile. Remember how you told new followers that you would check out their links? And how you did? And how you liked some of them enough to follow their blogs so you could read them each week?


Well, some of your new followers will be doing that  to you as well. Through the use of Twitter, you will increase your blog readership. This is how social media will begin bleed over  across formats, in a good way.


Not only that, but as you look at your new  followers’  blogs and read their tweets, you’ll find new  opportunities. There are writers out there looking for guest bloggers and people to interview and books to feature. They might as well feature your book.


BTW - as a reminder, you only have 140 characters to tweet in. You’ll need to shorten some of those looooong  links.  You can do that at bit.ly, or at a host of other shortening sites. I like Bit.ly because it stores  your shortened links and copies them to your clipboard when you need them again.


As a final tip, now on #WW (Writer  Wednesday) I feature a few select friends, instead of long lists of @writername and @whoosis.  Here’s an example:


#WW @danielleraver - She’s funny, talented, and a tech whiz. Her book Brother, Betrayed is at http://amzn.to/jZxiSk

I actually tweeted that, by the way.


A tweet like that  gets a lot of attention - well, more than strings of @writernames, and the people I mention in those tweets get a real kick out of it. 


In my opinion, being classy, having a thick skin, and respecting the other authors out there will get you a lot further  in the Tweetiverse than any automatic Followback software. But I think that’s true of most of the aspects of being a writer.


Look for the next aspect of social media at Philosophies of a Young Heart by Danielle Raver, author of Brother, Betrayed, appearing next week.