I’ve always wanted to write a column, but it wasn’t until Twitter intervened that it became a reality for me. The funny thing is I didn’t even have a Twitter account when it happened. Luckily, I have a few good people looking out for me.

My brother, a marketing and branding genius, is forever trying to get me to try new media, and his recent bug has been Twitter. Since I already had a Facebook account, I was worried that adding Twitter might lead to being overwhelmed by hundreds of 140-character distractions in my day.

But my brother persisted, and when he saw a Tweet from an editor about an opening covering three local towns, he forwarded the information to me. I quickly put together an e-mail with a few writing samples, and within hours I had a reply from the editor.

After I sent a sample column, I landed a phone interview, which led to an in-person interview. Stuffing down the excitement of being in a real, live newsroom (yes ñ complete with clocks set to various time zones!), I signed the paperwork, making my columnist status official.

I hit the ground running, using the initial sample as my first column. As I suspected, I really love the job. Choosing my own topics without the need to prepare separate queries, meeting new people and checking out events going on around me has been a blast. And I love the regular deposits to my bank account ñ something every freelancer can appreciate!

Oh, and that Twitter thing? You can bet I’ve joined and am learning my way around. With a few judicious follows, I have even found leads for my column and I’ve learned Twitter has plenty of business potential. Hopefully, as I gain followers, I’ll keep learning how best to leverage Twitter’s potential to increase my sales, network with other professionals and build my author platform.

Lisa Tiffin is a freelance writer from upstate New York. In addition to WritersWeekly.com, her work has appeared in Grit, Twins, WOW! Women On Writing and many other magazines. You can find a link to her columns at www.lisatiffin.com, and you can follow her on Twitter using @lisatiffin.

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THE DO-IT-YOURSELFER’S GUIDE TO SELF-SYNDICATION
A practical resource outlining the self-syndication process, step-by-step. Packed with detailed information and useful tips for writers looking to gain readership, name recognition, publication and self-syndication for their column or articles.