According to who you ask Twitter is dead. In a surprising move, South African-born American entrepreneur Elon Musk proposed to buy out Twitter after previously acquiring 9.1% of the company’s stock for $2 billion on April 14th, 2022. With all the controversy surrounding the Twitter buyout Bethany Jett and Cyle Young answer, the question of whether is Twitter dead for the writing world?
Twitter is a versatile platform that can be used for many things, from finding new clients and growing your audience to becoming an even better writer. In previous articles, we’ve discussed How to Find Content to Share on Social Media and Tips for TikTok. Now without getting into things or stepping on toes, Twitter has seemed to suffer recently from people thinking that if they don’t agree with what is being said that they are wrong. This has sent shockwaves throughout the Twitter community and as a result, we’ve seen some users completely stop using the platform.
Is Twitter Dead?
That being said, we would like to explain some of the changes that may be coming to Twitter and why you should still be on the platform as a writer. First, Twitter has been a very viable platform for the writing world and is going to come back into relevance. With it being huge in the Writing and Entertainment world, you have to go where your audience is.
This is basic marketing.
You’re not gonna try to promote your book at an NHRA event and expect to get results (unless the book is geared for high-powered cars, but we digress on that for now).
Next up are the changes that Elon Musk spoke about implementing on the platform. The biggest takeaway that you should know about this is the open-source algorithm information. Without getting nerdy, the algorithm is what drives your content. Miss the algorithm and your content hits a small group of people. Nail the algorithm and your content can go viral in hours.
But what does this mean?
Platforms do not really share what can trigger the algorithm. Savy people will often figure these algorithms out over time. Now if you know exactly what you need to do to trigger the algorithm it’s huge. Your strategies can be tailored specifically to your needs as a writer. Now for the best part, hitting that algorithm will rapidly grow your platform. Putting that into numbers for a visualization would you rather have 10% of your current audience buy your books or 5% of a million followers buy your books.
Hear us Out:
Part of this podcast episode is all about Twitter, and the second half is about diversifying your writing income. Enjoy!
Bethany and Cyle go into this in greater detail on the Serious Writer Podcast and we urge you to tune in to hear what they have to say. As the famous quote goes “Knowing is Half the Battle”, if you are not competitive on Twitter you are only hurting yourself. Spend the time learning and following what is going on with Twitter to stay ahead of the game, because it’s not just about having a great book you have to get it into the hands of the right people.
Finding work for yourself as a freelance writer can feel like a daunting task. There are so many options when looking at potential jobs that range from traditional magazine articles, email newsletters, or even writing and scheduling Facebook posts for clients. Freelance writing jobs are pretty much everywhere nowadays.
Here are Types of Freelance Writing Jobs to help you find an opportunity suited for yourself!
Article and Feature Writing
The side hustle that never goes out of style, article writing, is a great way to make some supplemental money on the side. You can do this in your spare time and still maintain all other responsibilities (school/work/family). You can work individually or in teams, depending upon your needs and preferences- whether you need more articles for print publications or something else entirely different like blog posts about video games!
The income from article and feature writing can help writers supplement their income in between book deals, because the truth is, super big advances are not the norm.
Magazines and Newspapers
While this may be one of the oldest forms of freelance writing, there are still many opportunities out in front. With so much content published every day and new technology making it easier than ever to produce stories on any subject matter even if you’ve never written about it before!
Magazines are an excellent way to get your work seen by a targeted audience. Mag writers have the opportunity of being published in magazines with specific or niche topics, depending on what they’re looking for as far as exposure goes — but it also means that these pieces need thorough research and writing skills!
Web Writing
Magazines and journals now have an online presence in addition to their print counterparts. There are also countless ‘online magazine’ websites that exist entirely through content published on the web, which often includes articles or features about current events from a variety of perspectives.
Websites are everywhere! They cover every topic and type of audience. This makes it easier to find freelance writing work online, especially since there are thousands of websites out there waiting for content like yours.
Freelance writers need to be able to fish where the food is. As far as writing goes, there are many opportunities out in this big ol’ world and here at Serious Writer, we’re your guide! Check back with us to check out Copywriting, Content Writing, and Blogging for Freelance writers.
If you’re struggling to figure how to find content out or what kind of material your audience is consuming and engaging with, find a “mentor influencer,” that is, someone who’s killing it in your field.
Check out their website and look for these things:
Keywords. Look at blog post titles and opt-ins.
Giveaways. What are they giving away as a free opt-in for their newsletter?
Social Media. What platforms are they the most active on?
You’re not looking for content to copy, but instead, you’re looking for the formula or outline. The goal is to research the topics and method that your competition is sharing and how their audience is responding to them.
To be clear, do not steal other people’s work! The purpose of this research is to look for keywords and common topics. Add your unique experience, insights, and voice to the discussion. No plagiarism allowed!
Example:
As an example, Bethany Jett l-o-v-e-s planners. So if she’s going to create a blog post or giveaway for her audience, she might scope out some of the bigger players in the planner space.
During that research, she would find that people are asking questions about the different types of planner layouts to use when getting started. Therefore, a smart blog post for her would be How to Choose Your Best Planner Layout, along with a downloadable PDF handout to collect emails.
Then, Bethany can share a post on her social media platforms about different planner layouts. And if she was intent on getting the most from her marketing efforts, she would film a video to put on YouTube.
Basically, you don’t need to recreate the wheel. If the movers and shakers in your genre are sharing Monday Motivation tips on Tik Tok, by golly, you might want to start doing that, too!
At Serious Writer, we want you to work smarter, not harder. We want you to save time and get a high return on your investment.
Find the winners. Determine the formula. Go create!
Great book themes are fascinating, exciting, and alluring. They have the power to engage readers with their contented topics or stories that keep them on edge until they reach an unexpected ending! The year 2022 will be an interesting one.
Here are some themes we predict that might stick out in the crowd:
Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has and will continue to have an influence on writers for a long time. Fiction and nonfiction books touch upon many aspects of this event, including natural disasters or panic which are portrayed in different ways depending on the author’s perspective.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Robots and artificial intelligence are making waves in the world today. From factories to our homes, robots have taken on many jobs that would otherwise be done by humans – these advancements will only continue! The information is fascinating and readers want to read about new research, not only advances in robotics but also to gain a better understanding of how robots will be used in the future.
Women
The number of female writers in the book world is on fire, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. In 2022 we’ll see even more independent, strong heroines take over popular culture as a whole!
The future of books is sure to be an interesting ride. With e-readers, tablets, and smartphones coming out with new features every day, it’s hard to keep up when we don’t know what will happen next.
One tip is to pay attention to the popular new shows on streaming sites like Netflix, as well as what movies are releasing in the next few years. You’ll start seeing books with similar themes populate the shelves. Yours could be one of them.
Has the desire to write a novel been lurking in your subconscious for years, but you’re not sure how or where it will go? Writing is an art form that can be both incredibly exciting and satisfying, yet also daunting at times. After all, there are many aspects involved with getting from start-to finish – writing characters’ stories; crafting dialogue so natural sounding they seem like someone else talking (or typing) right next door, and then finally Marketing yourself. But no worries: Serious Writer here with 4 Tips for Getting Your Novel Started:
Write Regularly
Most people think that writing a novel is easy, but it actually takes quite some time and effort to get everything down on paper. You have to figure out what your story’s about as well as how you’re going to tell them – there’s no magic bullet here! The key to writing is consistency. So, how much time should you set aside for regular writing? This varies from person to person, but in general, it’s best if possible to try and get at least an hour or two every day. It could be as simple as waking up early (a famous method) before your kids wake up; grabbing that extra bit of alone-time during naptime when they’re sleeping soundly next door—or even just setting down pen gently onto paper anytime between 11 pm Friday night until Sunday morning around 2 am.
Expect Mistakes
Plenty of people start their first draft with great enthusiasm, but once they read through it again to make sure that everything makes sense and is well-written – these writers find themselves deleting a lot of the previous work. Don’t beat yourself up though Even the most talented writers struggle with their first draft. If you find yourself constantly editing your work, then it’s time to take a break and come back later when you’re more relaxed! You can always go through what has been written again before continuing on in order to make sure there are no errors or missteps that will be lost forever because they were missed during the initial execution.
Write It Down
It’s important to write down any ideas that pop into your head when you’re brainstorming. This way, they can turn into something more tangible and interesting! What kind of person do want in an adventure? What are their goals/plans post-adventure?? How does this affect those around them?? These types thoughts should all make their way onto paper so there is no wondering where things might go next–you already know because these parts were written down earlier!!
Relax
Writing a novel can be intimidating, but it’s never too late to try! When you feel like your creativity is stuck and the words won’t flow onto paper (or screen), take some time for free-writing. Set yourself five minutes or ten – no matter how much space was given in this article about what techniques help writers move through their novels more quickly–and just write everything that comes into mind without stopping at all; allow yourself an emotional release.
And for a fifth tip? How about checking out Serious Writers Academy. Serious Writers is a great way to learn how write and publish your first novel. With Serious Writer’s online courses, you can start on the right track with lessons that cover everything from plotting out scenes in advance all while building up momentum for when it comes time actually sit down at keyboard or pen-paper!
