Guest Post: The Biggest Mistake a Writer Can Make on Twitter

by Jonathan Rick

Don’t just tweet the headline. Comment on the article. Explain why you’re sharing it.

Don't create a Twitter crime scene. (Photo by Andreas Eldh)

Tweeting has never been easier. Just click that turquoise bird alongside nearly every kind of content on the web today, and a ready-to-go message presents itself. All you need to do is click “tweet.” The whole thing takes less than five seconds!

Yet there’s no decree dictating that you must use this prewritten gruel. In fact, you shouldn’t use the default text, which is tantamount to a robot announcing the Oscar winners: it’s generic and devoid of any shout-outs, styling, or personal commentary. After all, what you tweet is transmitted over your name and avatar, so it behooves you to stamp it with your own style.

What’s more, if you want to stand out, you can’t just put out what everyone else is typing. You need to offer up something new—even if it’s just your two cents. Indeed, with this little bit of extra effort, you can make each tweet count.

Consider the widely read post, “Facebook: I Want My Friends Back,” by Richard Metzger of the Dangerous Minds blog.

Bad

Here’s what happens if we click the “tweet” button:

FACEBOOK: I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back via @dangermindsblog

While the essentials are here—and, to the blog’s credit, the Caps Lock key is employed for emphasis—this tweet typifies the bare minimum. This is an opportunity lost.

Good

Now let’s tweak a few things:

HEY, @FACEBOOK! I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK! - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back via @DangerMindsBlog

Notice:

• We used Facebook’s handle to ring its bell.

• We added the word “hey” so that everyone will see the tweet (not just those who follow @DangerMindsBlog and @Facebook).

• We separated the link by way of a hyphen, thus making the tweet easier to scan.

• We capitalized @DangerMindsBlog in accordance with how the blog stylizes itself.

Great

And if we overhaul everything…

Is Facebook scamming you? Check out this eye-opening post by @RichardMetzger - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back (via @DangerMindsBlog)

… our followers benefit from:

• A teaser (“Is Facebook scamming you”?) in sentence case

• A call to action (“Check out”)

• A shout-out to both the writer (“by @RichardMetzger”) and the blog (“via @DangerMindsBlog”)

In other words, we’re no longer mindlessly broadcasting. Instead of repurposing a headline written for a blog, we’re now issuing a call to action tailored to Twitter. In short, we’re explaining why whatever we’re sharing is worth reading.

Alternatives

As usual, sometimes you need to break the rules. Consider these alternatives, which play off key points in Metzger’s post:

How Facebook killed more than 50% of @DangerMindsBlog’s page views - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back

Don’t let Facebook get away with the biggest bait and switch in Internet history - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back

C’mon, @Facebook. You’re better than this! - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back (by @RichardMetzger)

An important analysis from @RichardMetzger: “Facebook has taken a pee in their own pool from quite a lofty height” - http://dangerousminds.net/comments/facebook_i_want_my_friends_back

Best

So which publishers embrace the great model? Unfortunately, not many—with a few exceptions.

Here’s how Upworthy, the website known for making serious subjects go viral, masters the medium:

Article Headline	Tweet
A Church Told a Pastor That He Couldn’t Preside Over His Son’s Wedding. He Responded Like a Dad.	You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate how amazing @StandWithFrank is.
This Is the Most Inspiring Yet Depressing Yet Hilarious Yet Horrifying Yet Heartwarming Grad Speech	This is why it’s good to have strange people like @timminchin give your commencement address.
This Amazing Kid Just Died. What He Left Behind Is Wondtacular.	Zach Sobiech: “You don’t have to find out you’re dying to start living,” by @soulpancake.
If This Video Makes You Uncomfortable, Then You Make Me Uncomfortable	Watch this @getup video and just TRY not to be open-minded.
A Brave Fan Asks Patrick Stewart a Question He Doesn’t Usually Get and Is Given a Beautiful Answer	THIS JUST IN: @SirPatStew is a friggin’ amazing human being.

Similarly, as documented by Laura Hazard Owen of paidContent, Slate has woven this twin-titling into its content management system. A few examples:

Article Headline	Tweet
Thanksgiving Is Just a Special Dinner Party	It’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Stop Eating at Lunchtime.
Can You Hack It?	Everything Electronic You Own—iPhone to Subway Card to Power Strip—Can Be Hacked. So How to Defend Yourself?
Doctors Need to Have the Sex Talk	Doctors Spend 36 Seconds or Less Talking With Teen Patients About Sex. Grow Up, Doctors!
Wind Chill Blows	Yeah, it’s cold out. But wind chill is a lousy measure.

The bottom line (in less than 140 characters, of course):

Don’t be afraid to change the prepopulated, default text. Those 140 characters are yours—own 'em. Make each tweet count.

Jonathan Rick is the president of the Jonathan Rick Group, a digital communications firm in Washington, DC. Tweet him your biggest Twitter pet peeve at @jrick.

Distract yourself from distractions

Distractions are a writer’s kryptonite. (Well, that and bad writing, but that's another post for another day.) Distractions have been the bane of a writer’s existence since time immemorial. How can you avoid them and keep yourself on track?

Below are a handful of great ways to fix your self-inflicted road blocks:

1. ​Disable the internet
   The vast majority of today's distractions require a stable wi-fi connection. So turn it off, unhook it, or go to your grandma’s house where wi-fi doesn't exist yet. Do whatever you have to do to turn your laptop into a typewriter.
2. Eat
   ​Food does the job of distracting pretty well too, usually taking over once the wi-fi's dead. So embrace it! Feast, and when you can feast no more, write.
3. ​Go for a walk
   At this point you might want to consider walking off all the food you just ate; plus a change of scenery is sometimes what you always need. Be sure to bring a notebook with you to see if you can solve that lackluster plot point while you're at it, but don't set your hopes too high. The walk wasn't a failure if you didn't manage to make some miraculous writing strides, too.
4. ​Talk to friends​
   Writer friends, that is. If you don't have any, you should probably make it a priority to get some. Many, many character arcs and plot twists can be fixed with the help of a strong writing community. Normal friends work too, once in a while; most don't want to hear about why you hate your main character, but use the conversation as a chance to get your mind off your story. You might need that more than you think.
5. Shower
   Some of the best ideas come to you in the shower, it’s a known fact. Also, it never hurts to be clean.
6. ​Read (your definition of) excellent writing
   Depending on who you are, this can either help or hurt you. It might inspire you to get back on track and write something brilliant, or you might become so depressed you consider deleting your entire manuscript. So proceed with caution on this one.
7. ​Read (your definition of) horrible writing
   Such a useful exercise! You can learn a lot from bad writing of course, but you will be so inspired after reading a terrible chapter in a should-have-never-been-published book. If that "author" can do it, you certainly can.
8. ​Reward yourself
   For every page that you write, reward yourself with reading a blog post or a few minutes on a social media site of your choosing. Give yourself something to write towards, aside from a word count. 
9. Skip the scene you're writing and work on a fun one instead
   
   
   Of course, if you do this too often, you'll be stuck with all the boring ones at the end—but you can deal with that then. Just remember that the book doesn't necessarily have to be written to follow the table of contents. Write something crazy: Send your characters to the zoo, then have a lion eat the one you love most. You can always delete the scene later—but maybe it will be just the stroke of brilliance you were looking for. And it will get you out of your rut.
10. Close your document and tell yourself you're done for the day
    Sometimes you just can't force it—and that's okay. You'll be a writer again tomorrow, and hopefully things will work out better then.

GG’s Oriana Leckert Featured on TechHive

“Whenever someone sounds drastically more coherent in a tweet then they do in person, they probably had some help.” 

—Oriana Leckert 

A recent article on TechHive, a site that focuses on gadgets, trends, and other tech news, features GG Director of Operations, Oriana Leckert, on growing ghostwriting trends in the social media celebrity-sphere.

In “Who’s actually writing your favorite celebrity’s tweets?” Evan Dashevsky illuminates “ghost posting” on social media among high-profile personalities. From celebrities to politicians, ghostwriting has become a common phenomenon in the maintenance of public profiles on social media. “Having worked in this industry for a few years, I just assume that everyone has a ghostwriter,” Oriana says.

So whose writing are we actually reading? We will never know. Dashevsky interviews a celeb ghostwriter for the inside scoop: from negotiating per-tweet rates to client (non)interaction to the legalities of staying anonymous. 

“Ghostwriting [for social media] is definitely gaining ground; the stigma around the whole thing is being lifted,” Oriana says. Fans are going to have to become comfortable with the idea that social media profiles are prepared for, not by, their favorite celebs.

Around the Word: Spooks and Savvy Marketing

Ghost in the machine. In a clever twist on conventional uses of social media, ad agency Keiler has started a Twitter account for the ghost haunting its building. That's right—it's a literal ghostwriter.

Tweeting under the handle @KeilerGhost, the ghost shares snarky comments about advertising trends and daily office operations. Some of our favorite ghost-tweets:

• I've seen a lot of advertising trends come and go in 200 years. But this stock photography thing has got to stop.
• Agencies are like Ghosts: Clients expect transparency.
• I’ve been dead for over 200 years and I’m still humming that darn Coca-Cola jingle.

She's got the look. In another example of marketing genius, author Emily Liebert partnered with a designer, a nail polish company, and a jewelry line to create looks inspired by the characters in her first novel. We think this was a great way to increase the visibility of her book in a flooded market. Read the Huffington Post article on Liebert's strategy here.

A club a day. If fashion isn't exactly your forte, take inspiration from author Jennifer Miller, who aims to visit 365 book clubs in one year to promote her novel, The Year of the Gadfly. Read about her strategy on GalleyCat here. Let us know your clever publicity/marketing strategies!

Intern at Gotham Ghostwriters

Our team is seeking an administrative and social media intern interested in gaining exposure to the publishing, content creation, and freelance writing industries.

We are looking for an intern who is knowledgeable and passionate about social media to support our company's growing workload and help expand our online presence. The intern will be tasked with following the latest developments in the publishing and media world, drafting blog posts, and curating our Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, as well as performing general administrative tasks as needed. Excellent writing skills and attention to detail are a must.

This is an unpaid internship with a commitment of 12 to 16 hours a week at our office in Manhattan, days and times negotiable, for 4 to 6 months.

If interested, send your resume and cover letter to info@gothamghostwriters.com!

The Takei To-Do, Take Two: The Ghosts Speak

Last week we asked our writers to boldly go where no ghost has gone before, to tell us whether they thought George Takei’s ghostwriter committed a major faux pas by revealing that he wrote some of the former Trekkie’s funny Facebook posts. The general verdict from our ghosts was, not surprisingly, largely critical: no matter the medium, ghost Rick Polito should have had his phaser set to silent.

Some of our ghosts, like speechwriter Bernard Lipsy, argued the traditional, absolutist line: “In my 35-year career at IBM, only my immediate colleagues knew for whom I wrote. Once the speaker opens his or her mouth, the words belong to that speaker and nobody else.” Echoing this sentiment, speechwriter Lisa Schiffren said, “It's always wrong to take credit for work that is supposed to come from the principal in question.”

Others were more conditional in their condemnation. Ghost and novelist Kerry Zukus said, “We don't know what was in the agreement [between Takei and Polito] or what went down behind the scenes,” but even without an agreement, “it should not be assumed that the ghost is free to brag about his or her work on a project. [He should] still ask permission from the client before telling the world.”

Sarah Wachter also said that consent was the key determinant. “When a ghostwriter decides to part the curtains and reveal himself, it should be done with the tacit consent of the client, and without divulging many details, keeping the statement general, casual, and understated. That’s what Polito did in his back-pedaling statement, saying: ‘I've had no direct contact with George. I've sent him some memes, as have other comedian types, and I was happy for the exposure.’”

But in the end, Liz Vance spoke for most of our ghosts when she said, “A ghost is a ghost, and shouldn't ever intentionally reveal that to the public.”

There was a much greater diversity of opinion about the ethical questions this episode raised for the new world of social-media ghosting.

Speechwriter Juli Branson suggested that the Takei case points to the dangers to and responsibilities of authors. “Social media has its own set of expectations from readers, who believe they are communicating directly with the person listed on the [social media] account,” she said. “Therefore, even if a celeb hires a ghostwriter, the celeb needs to be the one reading the posts and telling the writer how they would like to respond. If there is no connection between the celeb and the social media venue, isn't that like a speechwriter not just writing a speech, but also delivering it, and even saying they are the celeb?”

Other writers were softer on the scandal, suggesting that social media ghost-posting was something to be expected. Bookwriter Bob Fancher said, “I think the relevant question isn't the medium, but what the audience has a right to expect. I don't mind ghosting for corporate types or politicians or public office holders, because no one thinks they write their own stuff. Celebrities, it seems to me, fall into the same category. Maybe love letters and religious testimony shouldn't be ghosted. But celebrity Facebook comments? Really?”

In the end, some thought the most trenchant revelation from the whole hullabaloo was not about the morality, but the money. “I think the real embarrassment here is Takei paying just $10 for the postings, which have helped him resurrect his career and command decent appearance fees,” said Howard Rothman. “I'm not swayed by fact that the going rate for such work is appallingly low; it wouldn't be if people making a good living off this stuff offered fair remuneration.”

The Takei To-Do (Take One)

In case you missed it, a journalist named Rick Polito recently created a minor media sensation—and some great discussion fodder for our field—when he casually outed himself as a ghostwriter for George Takei's highly popular Facebook page.

Yesterday Polito apologized for spilling the beans, and the former Mr. Sulu issued a statement essentially asking what's the big deal. But Polito's actions nevertheless raise some interesting ethical questions for the ghosting community. Did he cross a line by revealing his work under Takei's name and taking credit for it? Or does Takei's reaction indicate otherwise? More broadly, are there different rules and expectations for ghosting social media blurbs versus long-form content?

We've invited our network of network of pros to boldly go where no ghost has gone before on this subject and offer their views on the Takei To-Do. We'll share the results of our poll here in the next few days.