Author serialises book through Twitter
17.03.09 | Catherine Neilan
Faber author R.N. Morris is serialising a slightly abridged version of his 2007 crime novel A Gentle Axe in bite-sized chunks via regular updates on Twitter.
Morris recently began work on the “Twitterisation” of his book, and his Twitter has around 200 followers.
Alex Holroyd, press officer at Faber, said: “His intention is to do the whole thing online, although it will depend on feedback and interest. It’s a bit of an experiment – he is already a keen blogger and has quite a presence on the net, so we are hoping it will transfer over.”
Morris updates his Twitter account “a few times a day” and followers can send him questions about the book, which he then responds to. Twitter allows followers to receive updates either online or on their mobile phone.
Holroyd said it was a useful method of “keeping his fans happy” until the next book in the series, entitled A Razor Wrapped in Silk, comes out in March 2010. “Hopefully he’ll get some new [fans] in the process,” she added.
Although there is no target number of followers, Holroyd said Faber was keeping an eye on the experiment, and would consider using Twitter to build pre-publication word-of-mouth interest in future books.
“It very much depends on the author’s time and willingness, but I don’t see why not,” she added.
Comments on this article
By Jim McCormick
Following a book on twitter is not easy. My late wife had always wanted to finish / publish her book, but life got in the way. I posted it on twitter at www.twitter.com/talkingcat It took 3501 entries. I had some comments about readability and needed to put a forward reading version. I did that at www.pick2prod.com If someone could only write a book that started with its end, and therefore readable on twitter, it would be great.18 Mar 09 00:21
By eddieoliver
Congratulations to R.N. Morris on using Twitter, just as a reminder Paulo Coelho Author of The Alchemist is a savvy Twitter user and recently serialised his new Book with his twitter followers. His twitter handle is @PauloCoelho the best way to use twitter is to link within the 140 character limit to your wordpress blog, your website or twitwall. You can also visit www.wefollow.com which is a twitter directory showing profiles of Authors using Twitter ~ I hope this has been helpful ~ thanks to Angela of Writers Weekly for pointing me to this blog ~ regards @eddieoliver18 Mar 09 21:03
By Linda Randall
Is there an application to put more then two sentences at a time on Twitter? I've written a fiction novel that hasn't been published and I think it would be fun to be more interactive with mine as well. I started it on Squidoo. You can Twitter Me http://www.twitter.com/theideagirl Or view my novel at www.squidoo.com/themansiononthehillbylindamichellerandall23 Mar 09 05:24
By RobC
Twitter is essentially a micro-blogging platform. Fine if your stories are very, very short, but otherwise you're better off blogging properly. Aside from exploiting the seemingly never-ending hype surrounding Twitter to push a forthcoming title, there's not much story here. As a practical idea, it's rather lacking.17 Apr 09 09:12
