Twitter chats are an excellent way to interact, learn, debate and discuss with others in the publishing and writing community.

What Is a Twitter Chat?
Chats are public conversations that take place on Twitter at a scheduled date and time. Often a discussion topic is set beforehand, but sometimes the floor is open to whatever participants wish to talk about.

Anyone can listen or contribute to a chat. No registration is required.

Each chat is given a hashtag, which is an agreed-upon name for the chat preceded by the pound sign (#). The hashtag is how you follow and contribute to the discussion.

How to Listen to a Twitter Chat

1. Use the Twitter search page and enter the chat’s hashtag. This will pull up all the tweets for that chat.
2. Set up a new column in TweetDeck using the chat’s hashtag as a search term. Again, this will pull up all the tweets for that chat.
3. Use an app such as TweetChat.

How to Speak During a Twitter Chat
Simply add the chat’s hashtag to the end of your tweet. That’s it!

This is an example of me speaking during a #followreader chat:

@jennifertribe: Current e-readers lack “sexy” factor. iPod took off bec/ it was beautiful AND functional. People wanted to be seen with it. #followreader

Twitter Chats for Authors & Publishers
There are a number of regularly scheduled Twitter chats for writers, authors, and others in the book trade. I’ve listed them alphabetically.

Know of other chats that should be listed here? Please tweet or email me the info and I will add it.

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#editorchat

When: Every Wednesday at 7 – 10 pm Central Standard Time
Hosted by: @LydiaBreakfast (Lydia Dishman)

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#followreader

When: 4 -5 pm Eastern Standard Time
Hosted by: @charabbott (Charlene Abbott) @katmeyer (Kat Meyer)

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#ISBNhour
A chat about book identification systems and industry best practices. Targeted primarily to small publishers and self-published authors.

When: Every Friday at 12 – 1 pm Eastern Standard Time
Hosted by: @ljndawson (Laura Dawson)

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#kidlitchat

When: Every Tuesday at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time
Hosted by: @gregpincus (Greg Pincus) @bonnieadamson (Bonnie Adamson)

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#litchat
A chat about books. Heavy focus on fiction. Often brings in authors to guest host the chat and answer reader questions.

When: Every Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 4 – 5 pm Eastern Standard Time
Hosted by: @litchat

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#platformchat

When: Monthly though the day varies; follow the hosts for announced dates
Hosted by: @thewritermama (Christina Katz) @merylkevans (Meryl K. Evans)

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#writechat
A chat for writers. Julie kicks things off with a question but everyone is encouraged to share whatever is on their mind about “writing, life, and this creative journey we all share.” / More info at http://blog.writingspirit.com/twitter/

When: Every Sunday at 12 – 3 pm Pacific Standard Time
Hosted by: @WritingSpirit (Julie Isaac)

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