Me among the birdies

I swore I would never Tweet. Actually, I doubted I was mentally capable of mastering this new weird art form.

A few years ago, I tried. I set up an account and tried to figure out what to do with it. Who would I Tweet to? What wonders of the modern world would reach me via Twitter? How many zillion books would I sell with my brilliant twiddling and twaddling?

For about fifteen minutes, I clicked on things and got nowhere. Frustrated, I quit.

Recently, I’ve been reissuing some of my beloved older books, including Regencies and mysteries, in digital editions. (Quick sales pitch: On my website, www.jacquelinediamond.com, they’re all listed on the right side of the Books page, with links. Some as low as 99 cents.)

Now the hard work: publicity. A friend of mine, legal thriller author Rebecca Forster, insisted I learn to Twitter. I cried, moaned and threw a tantrum, but it was no use. She stood firm.

This is just a theory, but either someone improved Twitter or my brain has become magically attuned to the digital age. I figured out what to do in about five minutes. Well, it took me a day or so to find Rebecca. She had a little trouble finding me too, but we finally got our acts together and now we chirp at each other regularly.

Next issue: how to write messages in 140 letters and spaces or less. Fortunately, I had experience that made Twitter look verbose.

During my newspaper days, I not only reported but also did some editing in an age when there were still street editions with screaming headlines. One day, I was working on a copy desk and got handed a story about a Las Vegas brothel persuading the IRS to treat its payments to prostitutes as a business expense.

The headline requirement: three lines, each no more than 10 letters and spaces. Here’s what I wrote:

Wages of

Sin Said

Deductible

The editor liked it. He came out and praised my 20-something-year-old self. I remember it clearly 30-plus years later.

And so, this past month, I began singing with the birdies. My handle, in case you’re wondering, is @Jacquediamond. I post writing tips, news about writing and publishing, and stuff about my books. If you Tweet me, I’ll Tweet you back.

Thanks, Rebecca, for pushing me out of the nest.

Facebook and blogging and tweets—oh, my!

Just last month, I took the plunge into the world of social media by adding a blog to my completely revamped website. And now I’ve joined twitter and Facebook.

Here’s where you can find me:

At my new website and blog: http://barbarawhitedaille.com/

Twitter was a little ornery and wouldn’t allow enough space for my full name, so you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

At Facebook, I’ll soon be establishing a separate page url, but until that happens, please do a search for my “Barbara White Daille Author” page. Once there, you can “like” it if you feel so inclined. And I would like that very much. ;-)

Meanwhile, I’d also appreciate your input, since I’m such a newbie at all this.

Have you got any helpful hints or suggestions for moving around in these places? Know any good features I might want to check out? Have some ideas for how to keep up with everything without letting it take over your life? Because, as I’ve already discovered, it’s easy to become addicted to online socializing. LOL

I look forward to your info here and hope to see you over at twitter and Facebook, too!

Thanks in advance.


All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Media Blitz Contest this Friday!

Counting down the days until Friday July 16th--our second One Day Only Media Blitz Contest to promote The Codys: First Family of Rodeo miniseries!

On July 16th I'll be blogging about Dexter: Honorable Cowboy--RT Top Pick for July! For those who've read the first book in the series, Walker: The Rodeo Legend, then you know Dexter is a fraternal twin. I'll be blogging about how Dexter's relationship with his brother Dusty is tested as Dexter struggles with that special bond the brothers share.

Help spread the word by mentioning the book and posting a link to this blog on all your favorite social media sites--Facebook, MySpace, Twitter. The more places you link to and mention Dexter: Honorable Cowboy and The Codys: First Family of Rodeo the more chances you have to win an autographed copy of the book and some "cowboy stuff" pictured above.

Earn additional chances to win if you refer a friend and they in turn post a link to their favorite social media websites. Be sure to return to http://www.harauthors.blogspot.com/ and tell us where you're spreading the word in the comment section of the blog.

I'll keep a tally of your activity and post the winners' names in the comment section of the blog on July 17th--be sure to check if you're one of the lucky winners!

For those readers who are reading this miniseries, we'd love to know what you think about The Codys: First Family of Rodeo!

Marin * www.marinthomas.com *