Have you ever been reading a book and suddenly wanted to ask the author a question? And got a little peeved that you couldn’t just call them up and ask them about that thing on page 206?
This is why I love Twitter.
I am currently reading Joe Hill’s upcoming book NOS4A2 (aka Nosferatu) and came across something that immediately made my brain quiver.
A character named Sigmund de Zoet who happens to be listening to Cloud Atlas. Normally I would’ve thought, hmmm… coincidence. But I am a super bookworm nerd who’s also on Twitter and follows Joe Hill. So I know that The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell was a book he really enjoyed. So I find it unlikely that he’d have a character named de Zoet listening to Cloud Atlas, which also happens to be a book by David Mitchell, without it being on purpose.
So I had to know.
Just a few minutes later I had my answer.
My literary mystery? Solved! Before I even finished the chapter!
This isn’t my first author encounter on Twitter. I’ve talked to Colson Whitehead and Chris Bohjalian about their books. I’ve even given Margaret Atwood fashion advice. It’s a great way to get to know authors better and get to interact with them.
Not only are authors great to follow, publishers are a gold mine. Their twitter feeds are filled with upcoming books, sales and giveaways. Like this one for a book we’ll be reviewing soon at Red Letter Reads.
(If you’d like to enter, here’s the contest.)
It can seem a little intimidating. You can search for someone on Twitter by their name or they usually put their twitter handle on their website. But to help you get started, I’ve put together a list of all the publishers and authors I follow on Twitter. The publisher list is pretty extensive. The authors are an eclectic bunch that I’ve followed over the last few years. I make sure to follow authors who are fun and interesting and don’t just tweet constantly at you to buy their book.
In addition, it’s a load of fun to join in the #fridayreads hashtag to see what other people are reading.
I hope to see you all around, if you join please give me a follow!
This is such a great tip! Never thought to tweet writers..will have to try it sometime.
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