Twitter Guide For Authors & Illustrators > The Basics > Should I make my tweets public or protected?
Index of topics: Main Twitter Guide For Writers & Illustrators page. To go back to my blog for kidlit/YA writers and illustrators, see Inkygirl. You can find me on Twitter at @inkyelbows (focus: writing and illustrating children's books) and @DebbieOhi (livetweets, chat, photos, personal ramblings). Also see my list of Other Useful Twitter Guides For Authors And Illustrators and Twitter Lists of: agents who represent kidlit/YA, kidlit/YA editors, children's book art/creative directors and K-12/teen librarians on Twitter.
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When you sign up for Twitter, you have the option of keeping your tweets private or making them public.
If part of your goal is to network with others in the industry, I strongly encourage you to make your tweets public.
Why? Because:
- Accounts with protected/private tweets require manual approval of anyone who wants to follow you. I tend NOT to follow these types of accounts because much of the joy of Twitter for me is helping to share other people's great info and news, and I don't want the hassle of not knowing whether it's ok to share, to have to ask permission each time, etc.
- It will make networking much more difficult, plus may give the wrong message about your goals on Twitter.
- @Replies you send to people who aren't following you may not be seen by those people, because you haven't given them permission to see your posts.
- People can't share your tweets.
More info:
About public and protected Tweets (official Twitter help info)
Last updated on February 26, 2014 by Debbie Ridpath Ohi