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Are you new to Twitter? Wondering if you should try it? Maybe you've heard a few things about Twitter that make you leery about using it. Here are some of the negative Twitter perceptions you shouldn't buy into.

It's time consuming.

Anything you do to promote your books takes time, but by "time consuming" what people usually mean is that you need to spend all day on it. I only spend twenty minutes a day managing two different Twitter accounts. If you have one? Ten minutes may work for you.

It's too complicated.

Twitter, like any other tool or platform, does have its own way of communicating, but it is by no means complicated. If you use it correctly, it will work for you.

I don't know what I would say.

I've heard this from a number of writers and it always cracks me up because you are writers! You have lots to say! Besides that, don't worry about it before you use it. When you start to use it, you'll realize what you should say. Twitter isn't like blogging in that you'll be required to come up with content. You'll probably be tweeting out blog posts, news items, and retweeting other people's links that you find interesting. Then, you'll be adding short (under 140 character) thoughts to the conversations that are happening. You won't have a problem coming up with things to say.

Twitter is just a bunch of meaningless chatter.

It isn't, but may look like that if you're not familiar with it. Twitter is a search tool and a way to easily market yourself.

I'm already on Facebook.

Look at it this way, in order to catch a reader's attention, you need to be in different places. You might be on Facebook (and Ning, Linked In, Google+) but where are your readers? Some of them are going to skip over your Facebook updates (or just not catch them for whatever reason) so you've got to spread your social networking around a bit to make sure you have a chance to grab someone when they are surfing or out in the blogosphere. Besides that, Facebook is a completely different medium than Twitter.

Give It a Try

Try using Twitter and find out if it can work for you. I didn't think it would be as helpful to me in the beginning as it has become, so I understand if you're a bit leery. But give it a chance. You may find that it really helps you promote your work and connect with readers all at the same time.

Author Bio:

Cherie Burbach is an author, blogger, poet, crocheter, and geek. She is the About.com Guide to Friendship and has penned eleven books and ebooks, including Internet Dating Is Not Like Ordering a Pizza and 21 Ways to Promote Your Book on Twitter. She has published over 500 articles on the subjects of health, sports, and lifestyle. For more info, visit her website, http://www.cherieburbach.com.