Tag Archives: Twitter

Oct6

Call out to magical readers and writers

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This is a call out to magical readers and writers, poets, songwriters and creatives alike. Be part of a magical group on Facebook and Twitter, that wants to ‘take over the world incrementally’, a wonderful phrase from Laura Perry, one of the group of four of us who head up this revolution.

It all started with Sheena Cundy who brought in myself, Ruth Aitken and Laura to form a working group, working in unison to sail us in one direction; to fight for our creative talent to be heard in the world at large. Talking together, we began to understand what that meant; we weren’t just talking about stories anymore.

These are Sheena’s welcoming words that head our group page:

As the Witches among us will know, this (magic) happens when we weave the web. And here, the threads are constantly flowing from the earthly to the unearthly, reading to writing – the craft of words and magic binding together where the boundaries blur.
Witch Lit is something we are passionate about, not just because it reflects what we do but more importantly because it expresses who we are as magical creatives:
The Wise and Wild among us, the Warriors and the Healers. The Visionaries. Storytellers, poets and songwriters, bards.
The Walkers between the Worlds.

If you have work out in the world, we want to know about it.
If you want to put work out into the world we can help you do it. And in the doing we can all grow and build together, individually and collectively.
We don’t have all the answers, but between us we try and work them out with large dollups of humour and respect for each other, our paths and crafts.

So enjoy the vibe and we hope you get something out of being here. Make the most of it and ask questions…it’s how we all learn!!!
Remember to add your links to the file Laura has set up, it’s always useful to know where to find out more about each other.
And if you’re particularly nosey like me, this will feed any curiosity and hopefully inspire you to move out of that comfort zone.
Because that’s where the magic happens.
Dark Moon blessings! )O(

Come and share your magical creative talents, ideas and thoughts, on our group, interacting with other creatives with love and respect.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1055104057875422/

https://twitter.com/WitchLit1

 

Oct1

15k tweets and beyond! Tweet and tweet again!

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Last week I reached the 15,000 tweet milestone and I’ve been sharing a few tips and ideas for those of you who’re new to this social media or who would like to take part, but aren’t sure how to join in. This final post is about bringing YOU to the party.

Tweets are unique. Those good with tech can produce clever banners with links, GIFs and videos. I am not one of those people, but that’s okay. If you read the first two posts from last week about tweeting https://wendysteele.com/2018/09/25/tweeting-milestone-15k-and-beyond/ 

and https://wendysteele.com/2018/09/28/15k-tweets-and-beyond-part-2/

you’ll see that honesty is one thing I’m passionate about when sharing online, so my tweets reflect that. I use ** then write my headline, enclosed by ** on a lot of my tweets. I first use this way of highlighting when I began **The Amazing Karmic Sharefest** on Facebook (now obsolete because you can no longer see ALL the posts from pages you like) Think of a style or way of posting that is unique to you, that might make you stand out from the crowd. It doesn’t have to be on every tweet, but it helps.

You’ll find lots of accounts encouraging you to sign up to gain twitter followers. The whole point of twitter followers is that they are likeminded in some way, I believe, so gathering followers like that does not appeal to me. I follow people I’m interested in. If someone follows me, I check out their profile and decide whether to follow back, but that’s just me as other users follow everyone back. You can decide the way you build up your world on Twitter.

There are hashtags on Twitter that you can use to encourage people to follow cool people you know and interact with like #FF (Follow Friday), but I decided to go one step further. I’m a great one for ‘thank yous’, so every day I thank those who have RTd for me and on the line sharing groups, I say a big thank you to everyone for liking my words. It doesn’t take long, maybe fifteen minutes out of my day, but it’s very me and another way I can be honest online.

I rarely interact with DMs (direct messages), will unfollow if I see any posts that are racist or inciting people to make judgements or make unkind comments and will RT any cause I believe in, for example, homing rescued animals.

I’m on my way to 3,000 followers, but on a day where I’ve done my five tweets and have time, I’ll start working backwards through the alphabet, RTing for my followers. They don’t know that’s what I’m doing, of course, but it’s always a lovely surprise when someone I haven’t heard from in a while RTs for me.

When you follow me on Twitter @WendyWooauthor, you are welcome to the world of Wendy Woo.

Sep28

15k tweets and beyond! Part 2

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This week I reached 15,000 tweets! Read my first blog post to find out how I began https://wendysteele.com/2018/09/25/tweeting-milestone-15k-and-beyond/

In this post, I’m sharing tips on how I began to expand the world of Wendy Woo on Twitter.

A good photo goes a long way. Although Twitter is about words, I’ve found photos to be really useful.

Hashtags are a must, but before I get into talking about them, I wanted to say that the writing games where you share a line of your WIP have been inspirational. I began with #1linewed, liking and RTing others interesting, lyrical and pertinent lines, and then posting one or two of my own.

For new writers especially, joining in with #1linewed, #Btr2sday, #MuseMon, #Thurds or #FictFri to name but a few, is a really good way for readers to check out your writing style. One word of caution; post your Tweet with care because first impressions count. A badly constructed sentence with spelling or grammar mistakes does not say to the writing community ‘I’m an accomplished writer’. The hashtag games I’ve mentioned have a theme, but some games just ask for a line or two from your WIP that you want to share.

None of the above allow you to attach a buying link and I love that. If people are interested or curious about the line you’ve tweeted, they’ll check out your profile where you’ll have a link to where they can find you and your books.

A quick word about your Twitter profile; you have very few words in which to describe yourself. I chose to link with the words on the home page of my web site and my business card ‘Author. Wise Woman. Goddess.’ Those three words encompass the many aspects of me that I share with social media. With the link to my website, and the FREE stories on my YouTube channel, readers who see me on social media immediately have ways to read my blog, find my books, share my passion for dancing and plant based food, and listen to me reading them a story.

Finally, hashtags. Hashtags are vital. Instead of your tweet disappearing into the ether, hashtags direct it to groups where others may follow posts or be interested when hashtags become popular and show up as such on your home page. In my little marketing book, I have a page of collected hashtags and endeavour to sprinkle them through my tweets. As an independent author, #IARTG (Independent authors retweeting group) is useful and I make sure I RT others from the group. This summer #beachreads has proved popular, but may not work as well in the winter. Spend a little time exploring and find #hashtags that will work well for you.

I hope sharing my Twitter journey with you has been useful and I look forward to ‘meeting’ you there @WendyWooauthor.

Join me for more posts about writing, dancing, tried and trusted plant based recipes and magic. Sign up to my newsletter for a FREE story on my home page and subscribe to my Youtube channel, Phoenix and the Dragon, for FREE short stories and book extracts. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3ee9CuNdek9ZC1Im8I_iA?view_as=subscriber

 

Sep25

Tweeting milestone – 15k and beyond!

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Today I hit 15,000 tweets; not bad for a woman who struggled so hard to find her place on Twitter. So what did I do? How did I ease myself into the Twitter community?

When I began social media, honesty was the key. I wanted people to meet me in the street and find I was the same person they had ‘met’ online. I’ve never compromised who I am, but in the past, I’ve been a little shy.

On twitter at first, I couldn’t see the point. I was a tiny person in an enormous aircraft hanger, calling out to anyone who would listen, ‘Hello? I write books, did you know? Hello?’ I took a step back. Maybe I could operate in a similar way as I did on Facebook, share for other authors and offer help, advice and share my experiences. I asked other users, but still couldn’t find a way that suited me.

Then I discovered the 5 Tweets a Day idea. Knowing I only had five tweets to construct gave me confidence to try new things.

Tweet 1: something helpful, a ‘how to’ tweet, either from something I knew myself or from YouTube or other people’s blogs

Tweet 2: inspirational: I chose writing quotes at first. Later I found tweets about my passion for dancing were popular.

Tweet 3: fun: I chose to share pictures of my crazy cats and kittens

Tweet 4: retweets: I chose to RT from groups that I care passionately about, for example, The Woodland Trust.

Tweet 5: promotional: limited offers and links to FREE content.

 

Tweeting just five tweets a day is a great way to begin on Twitter. You’ll discover which times of the day work best and you’ll bring people into your Twitter world who are likeminded.

Join me later in the week when I’ll share more of my Twitter ideas. Full moon blessings xx

Aug20

Getting the balance right part 1

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With no dance teaching in August, apart from a weekly private lesson, I’ve set myself the task of writing the fourth Lizzie Martin Witchlit novel, The Eloquent Witch. We’re entering the third week, my family are visiting from 26th, but I’m less than half way through writing the novel.

I’m a writer, an introverted soul who is never happier than cuddling up in bed with her latest WIP, immersing herself in the world of story. Being a successful author in 2018 doesn’t allow me that luxury more than a few times a year.

Every day, for years, I’ve been starting my day with social media; Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and, if I’ve time, LinkedIn. Instagram is on my list. I blog on average twice a week and have recently started a newsletter. I’m on writing, dancing and healing groups on Facebook, as well as running my own pages and being admin on a number of groups.

On one particular day a few weeks ago, I struggled to surface from the dark pit of despair and couldn’t face turning my laptop on. I went for my walk and realised, I didn’t have to. The world wouldn’t end, no one was going to die. I was twitchy all morning, tearful and anxious. I danced and cried and danced some more. The following day, I woke with a new feeling in my belly; I was in control of what I did and I could choose when or if I went online.

The relief was enormous, but the guilt was there, niggling away at the back of my mind. If I’m not ‘working at being a writer’ every day, will anyone take me seriously? Am I selling myself short? I’ve begun the round of summer book fairs again; footfall has been low. Should I bother? Is this a good use of my time?

But even when I’m using social media, I’m often unsure if I’m wasting my time. I bookmark podcasts and videos to watch and listen to, where others advise on the best writing versus marketing balance, but rarely get a chance to engage. I thought I’d have time with my partner working away, but I’m writing into the night instead.

Power naps help extend my days, but I’m still working on getting the most from my social media engagement.

There is hope though…three other witches and I have formed a working group to promote our work. Sharing the load could be the answer. Watch out for Witches Who Write #WitchesWhoWrite.

 

 

Jun25

Why Witch Lit?

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The Flowerpot Witch Blog Tour finishes tomorrow, so I wanted to add my own blog post to the tour.  My interview on Friday at Showboat TV with Judith Barrow gave me the opportunity to talk about many things, including why I write Witchlit and magical realism.

Have you read any fiction by Dion Fortune? I read Sea Priestess and Moon Magic and I knew I wanted to write more stories like those.

Fortune’s female lead is a strong, focused, determined woman and her magic is ‘real’. Destiny of Angels was my first novel and my female lead, Angel Parsons, uses the paths of the witch’s Qabalah to explore different ideas and perceptions of reality on the astral plane. I followed it with Wrath of Angels. I believed readers had had their fill of vampires and werewolves and would appreciate real people and real magic but I struggled to market the books because they didn’t fit neatly into the established genres.

I needed a different approach…

In August 2013 we moved into the field of the house we were buying in Wales, waiting for the purchase to be completed.

Once we’d moved in, we discovered an ancient Bronze Age settlement site on a hill beside the house and we cleared our riverbank of brambles and nettles to give us access to the river via a number of secluded ‘beaches’. I took inspiration from the Welsh landscape and penned the first book in the Standing Stone Series, Home for Christmas. These books were more accessible to readers, giving them a story of three women linked across time and space by the standing stone. In there time of most need, the women ask for help and it is given in the form of guidance from the goddess.

And then there was Witchlit! Inspired by a short story I was asked to pen for a possible anthology, Lizzie Martin, my protagonist, sprung into my mind and the Wendy Woo Witch Lit Series book 1, The Naked Witch was created for her. These books are about a real witch who uses magic in her every day life.

Defining and publicising Witchlit is my mission, introducing readers to my stories and others who write this wonderful, exciting, new and sexy genre. We want to start a Witchlit revolution!

You can join the revolution by adding @Witchlit1 to all your magical tweets and be sure to follow us on Twitter…

https://twitter.com/WitchLit1

and my personal account https://twitter.com/WendyWooauthor

Witch Lit is contemporary, magical realism, where the magical and the mundane co-exist. The stories are gritty and believable while magic is sprinkled through the stories, offering the reader a new perspective on reality.

Unlike Chick Lit, Witch Lit women do away with the sweet, sickly or fluffy. Their passion, determination and creativity shine through the stories, though none are averse to a well-rounded buttock or a chiselled jaw. Witch Lit isn’t anti-men but Witch Lit women’s lives don’t revolve wholly around their presence or absence.

You do not need to be pagan or a witch to enjoy these stories!

I’ve had a lot of fun on the Blog Tour, meeting and chatting to new people and sharing my passion for writing, dancing and magic with bloggers and readers. If you’d like to stay in touch, why not sign up for my newsletter?

http://wendysteele.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=bd3cc38cba01c2dea4a5f386f&id=6210056252

Or you can use the link ‘Sign up to Wendy Woo’s Round Robin here!’ on the Home page.

You’ll receive a link to a FREE story, the one I was telling you about, the story that links everything I’d written before, with the new Lizzie Martin Witchlit stories.

Why not begin your journey into witchlit today?

You can find all my books via my Amazon author pages

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref

and for my friends across the pond http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref

Join me to heal and inspire, spreading ripples of warm heartedness and love into the local community and the world. Bright blessings xx