Writing can be a lonely profession.<\/p>\n
So many of us work on books, articles, and other writing projects in isolation. We don\u2019t have colleagues in the next office; we don\u2019t live with people who understand what we do.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why building (or finding) a community of like-minded authors<\/a> and readers is essential to our ability to write and promote books that people want to read.<\/p>\n There are lots of ways we can do this online, but one that has me the most excited right now is Twitter Communities.<\/p>\n Twitter created Twitter Communities \u201cto give people a dedicated place to connect, share, and get closer to the discussions they care about most,\u201d the company says<\/a>.<\/p>\n They\u2019re Twitter\u2019s version of Facebook, LinkedIn, and forum groups. (Side note: Be sure to join my book marketing Facebook group.<\/a>)<\/p>\n Think of a Twitter Community as a private meeting room in the back of a busy restaurant. People at each table in the main dining room are talking about something different from folks at other tables. But in your back room? Every person at every table is focused on the same topic.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=”Think of a Twitter Community as a private meeting room in the back of a busy restaurant. People at each table in the main dining room are talking about something different from folks at other tables. But in your back room? Every person at every table is focused on the same topic.” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n That topic is determined by the Community administrator \u2013 the Twitter user who created the Community.<\/p>\n When it comes to finding Communities to join, there’s a serious Catch-22. You have to be a Community member to get the search option to find others. There are several ways to become a member:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019re a Community member \u2013 whether it\u2019s yours or someone else\u2019s \u2013 you\u2019ll see a Communities tab in your Twitter account. Use that to search for other groups to join.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve compiled a few links here that will get you started with Communities.<\/p>\n Whenever I want to try something new, I study how others are doing it. You might want to do the same, even if you’ve already decided that your best option is to create your own.<\/p>\n To see how it\u2019s done, I found a book-related Community to join, Book Twitter<\/a>, in the official Twitter Communities account<\/a>.<\/p>\n That added the \u201cCommunities\u201d option to my side menu on desktop \u2013 see image above. I selected that, then used the search option to find more to join. That’s how I discovered and joined Gluten Free Cooking & Baking<\/a>. (Yay!)<\/p>\n I’m now scrolling through both groups to see what people tweet in the group, how others respond, and so on. I\u2019ve already noticed that people aren\u2019t using hashtags in the gluten-free baking Community.<\/p>\n Adva Shaviv<\/a>, who writes fantasy inspired by ADHD, created Reading with ADHD & Friends<\/a> about three weeks ago to form a community around a shared interest — reading with ADHD.<\/p>\n Her group’s description, “Joys and horrors of reading with ADHD, tips for easier reading\/ listening, book recs, rants and lots of support. Other neurodivergents & friends welcome too!,” defines what members can expect.<\/p>\n “Forming a community around a shared interest, which is related to my book, gives me a much better chance to be heard, compared with tweeting or posting into the void with the hope to attract potential readers,” Adva says.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=””Forming a community around a shared interest, which is related to my book, gives me a much better chance to be heard, compared with tweeting or posting into the void with the hope to attract potential readers.” ~ Adva Shaviv, author” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n Like me, Adva believes that because Twitter Communities are a new option for like-minded people to connect, they’re more intriguing to Twitter users. She adds that they’re also operating in an environment that isn’t saturated in the way that Facebook and LinkedIn groups might be.<\/p>\n Adva’s primary book marketing goal with her Twitter Community and elsewhere is to build her email list.<\/p>\nWhat are Twitter Communities?<\/h2>\n
How to find Twitter Communities<\/h2>\n
![\"Twitter](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Twitter-Communities-menu.png\")
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Get started with these links<\/h2>\n
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Join a Community to see how they work<\/h2>\n
![\"Twitter](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Tiwtter-Communities-search.png\")
<\/a>Case study: Author Adva Shaviv’s Twitter Community<\/h2>\n
![\"Twitter](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Reading-with-ADHD-Friends-header.png\")
<\/a>Making personal connections in Twitter Communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Twitter](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Adva-Shavivs-Twitter-profile-300x248.png\")
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