Gareth L. Powell Profile picture
SFF and horror writer. Two-time BSFA Award-winner. Husband to @jendiagammon. Represented by Lucienne Diver at The Knight Agency. Formerly verified.
Oct 16, 2022 12 tweets 3 min read
In response to another question, here's a thread 🧵of ten things you need to know in order to survive your first book launch...

#WritingCommunity 1. Location. Most launch events seem to take place in bookstores, which makes sense. But if you can’t find one, many pubs or restaurants have private function rooms that they will often let you use for free during the day, as long as you can guarantee a certain number of visitors
Oct 14, 2022 13 tweets 2 min read
I get asked about this a lot, so here's a thread 🧵 of my Top 10 Twitter Tips for Authors.
#writingtips #Twitter 1. Use a handle that will stand the test of time. If you want to build an author platform, it’s probably best to use your own name (or pen-name) as your @ handle. You may also be tempted to use the title of your debut book, but I would advise against it.
Apr 10, 2020 14 tweets 5 min read
Following the example of @cstross, I'm going to tweet every book I've written, one tweet per book. 1) The Last Reef & Other Stories (Elastic Press, 2008). A collection of my early short fiction from Interzone and elsewhere. Now out of print.
Jan 14, 2019 10 tweets 3 min read
I do guest creative writing workshops at universities. One thing that strikes me time and time again is that the students are bright, switched-on and creative. But often, their manuscripts are pretty much unsellable. THREAD>>
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writingadvice Although well-written, they tend to lack the one thing readers need in order to connect: a reason to care.
Sep 22, 2018 13 tweets 3 min read
A thread about promoting your book on Twitter. I keep seeing books advertised really badly on Twitter. And I used to work in marketing, so here are a few thoughts. I've seen many book tweets this evening that follow this formula:

"Jake looked at the dragon."
Book 1 of the Glob'rhn'roak Wars Chronicle
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Aug 24, 2018 11 tweets 2 min read
In these weird times, it's essential we remember how to be happy. It's so easy to get out of the habit and forget what it feels like - to lose sight of what we're striving for. Why am I writing books about spaceships or painting pictures of abstract nudes, you might think, when there’s been an appalling disaster or when the economy’s tanking and global warming seems so pressing and bleak? How can art possibly matter in such a world? What’s the point?