Dear Stephenie Meyer,
Thank you. As a writer of novels for teens, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you for showing the world that adults can enjoy books written for teens. Thank you for showing that YA literature can make it to the top of the bestseller lists. Thank you for showing publishers it's a good investment. Thank you for opening the doors of literary agencies to writers like me. So many agencies before Twilight didn't represent children's books at all, and now they are looking for YA novels, because they all want to represent the next Stephenie Meyer. Thanks to you, I and many other YA writers have a better chance of finding representation and getting our books published. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shevi
Fixing the world one story at a time
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
When is a writer ready to start submitting a manuscript?
A friend asked me how a writer knows when he or she is ready to start submitting a manuscript. The following is my response:
There's no magic formula that will tell you when your manuscript is ready to send. The only thing you need to know is if you're ready to send it. That won't be until you're ready to accept rejection, which is inevitable. Your chance of success is only something like .01%. Stephen King could wallpaper his office with rejection letters before he sold his first novel, and it wasn't the first novel he wrote. Even Jane Yolen still gets rejection letters. When you know down deep inside that rejection happens to the best and isn't a reflection on you as a writer or on your manuscript, you'll be ready to start submitting.
According to a survey conducted by F/SF writer Jim C. Hines, it takes a writer on average 10-11 years of hard work to get his first novel published--and it's most often the author's 3rd or 4th manuscript. If it takes one year to write the first and two years between the time a book is purchased and published, that means 7-8 years of rejection letters.
http://www.jimchines.com/2010/03/survey-results/
If you're ready to start the ball rolling, then you're definitely ready to start submitting. You might luck out with your first try, but if not, you'll be on your way. I've been submitting for about 7 years now, and I think my 5th manuscript will finally get me in the door. My first is my magnum opus, but I think my 6th will be my bestselling. I have a hunch it's my most marketable work yet.
I hope this helps and isn't too depressing. Do check out that survey. There are definitely things you can do to help. Go to conferences and workshops. Join a critique group or two. Read a lot in your chosen genre and really study it, analyze what it is you like and don't like in a particular book and why. Read books on writing and editing. Write and edit, write and edit, and write and edit some more. Don't settle for writing just one book. Write another and another. Submit to agents, publishers and contests. And always remember that slow and steady wins the race.
All the best,
Shevi
There's no magic formula that will tell you when your manuscript is ready to send. The only thing you need to know is if you're ready to send it. That won't be until you're ready to accept rejection, which is inevitable. Your chance of success is only something like .01%. Stephen King could wallpaper his office with rejection letters before he sold his first novel, and it wasn't the first novel he wrote. Even Jane Yolen still gets rejection letters. When you know down deep inside that rejection happens to the best and isn't a reflection on you as a writer or on your manuscript, you'll be ready to start submitting.
According to a survey conducted by F/SF writer Jim C. Hines, it takes a writer on average 10-11 years of hard work to get his first novel published--and it's most often the author's 3rd or 4th manuscript. If it takes one year to write the first and two years between the time a book is purchased and published, that means 7-8 years of rejection letters.
http://www.jimchines.com/2010/03/survey-results/
If you're ready to start the ball rolling, then you're definitely ready to start submitting. You might luck out with your first try, but if not, you'll be on your way. I've been submitting for about 7 years now, and I think my 5th manuscript will finally get me in the door. My first is my magnum opus, but I think my 6th will be my bestselling. I have a hunch it's my most marketable work yet.
I hope this helps and isn't too depressing. Do check out that survey. There are definitely things you can do to help. Go to conferences and workshops. Join a critique group or two. Read a lot in your chosen genre and really study it, analyze what it is you like and don't like in a particular book and why. Read books on writing and editing. Write and edit, write and edit, and write and edit some more. Don't settle for writing just one book. Write another and another. Submit to agents, publishers and contests. And always remember that slow and steady wins the race.
All the best,
Shevi
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Living without a Net
I'm going to go off my usual topics of writing and humor to talk about something a little different. I hope you will bear with me, and if you do, I hope you'll find it worth your while.
Today I would like to talk to you about life-altering decisions. Many of us go through life without ever truly making one. We let others choose the schools we go to, let fate decide our professions, marry people when it seems like we should, live where we've always lived or where our jobs or schools or other obligations send us, and so on. Many of us take, as Robert Frost might have put it, the well-trodden path, never once considering the road less traveled.
For the first 30-some years of my life, I was one of those people. It wasn't that I did things that everyone was doing, but I was mostly letting fate do with me as it wanted and without question. I didn't have a choice when it came to the schools I went to. My parents chose my university, too, but I was allowed to choose my majors. I wanted to study film, but the university I went didn't offer a degree in that. The closest to it was an MA in communications, so I decided to take English Literature and Theater Studies. By the time I completed my BAs, I had learned that the communications department was mostly theoretical, which I didn't want, so I earned a teacher's certificate instead. It was the easy way, the expected way, the well-trodden path. What else could you do with a BA in English? But then I tried teaching for a while, and I discovered something rather surprising: the well-trodden path was clearly meant for me. Teaching might have been what was expected of me, but it was scary. I couldn't control a classroom, and trying to made me feel like I was about to have a nervous breakdown. So I stopped, stepped back and said, "Okay, that's not working. What else would I like to do?" I took some courses in fine art and graphic art, and got a job in a newspaper. From there I worked my way up to political cartoonist, and I continued on to various jobs in various magazines and newspaper. To some it might seem like I was taking the road less traveled, but I wasn't. I'd already shown talent in art, and my family had already been in the newspaper business for four generations. It couldn't have been less of a leap into the unknown.
No, the first time I decided to live without a net didn't come until my husband and I reached an impasse when it came to our autistic son's eduction. We were living in Jerusalem, and we had tried every option we found there, even trying to put together a new school with other parents of autistic kids in the Jerusalem area. Everything fell through. We were told that there was only one school for autistic kids, and that our son could only go there. He would be placed in a building with children ranging from age 6 to 18, most of them with severe autism and much worse off than he was. We knew that meant he was likely to get less attention than the kids whose needs were greater. We felt trapped.
There is an expression in Israel: they call it an "Eretz Ein Brerah," "A Land of No Choice." But did we really have no choice? We did if we stayed in Jerusalem--the city where we met, and married, and owned an apartment, the city we loved--but did we need to stay in Jerusalem? We asked ourselves what our primary goal was, and it wasn't to stay in Jerusalem. It was to give our son the best education he could get. So I got on the Internet and asked other mothers of autistic kids where that was. They told us New Jersey, so we packed up our things, quit our jobs, and rented out our apartment. We decided to live without a net.
Other people might look at our decision and think it very brave or very stupid or both. They could be right. But sometimes you have to decide whether you're willing to give in to what fate seems to be telling you is the only path or forge a new one, whether you're willing to take, as Robert Frost said, the road less traveled. Sometimes you have to decide what it is you truly want, and to get it you have to be willing to live without a net.
I've been thinking about this lately, because once again I've come to a point where fate seems to be telling me I have no choice. We've been living in this same town for almost ten years, and my daughter is ready for high school. We want to send her to a good Jewish school. There's one nearby. But the principal of the school misunderstood something my daughter said, and although my daughter has explained herself, apologized, and has told the principal how much she wants to go to that school, the school has decided she cannot go there. My daughter was crushed, but it seemed there was another option. There's another school, which isn't as close by, but it seems nicer and better in every way. The only way my daughter can do there is if at least two kids from our town goes there to justify the transportation costs. My daughter hoped that her best friend might go to the other school with her, but the school that rejected my daughter has persuaded her best friends parents to send her there. So now not only can't the school willing to accept my daughter provide the necessary transportation, my daughter will be separated from her best friend next year.
It hurts to see your child trapped and know there isn't anything you can do about it. This isn't fair. My daughter deserves to go to go to the same school as her best friend. It isn't fair that the first school won't accept her because of a misunderstanding and a refusal on their part to accept an apology (something that, in my opinion, contradicts Jewish ethics and reflects poorly on the school). It's also unfair that my daughter's ability to attend the second school is dependent on her friend going there, when that isn't something within our control. So what do we do?
Do we take the road the world seems to have chosen for us, or do we once again leave everything behind and forge a new path? Do we once again choose to live without a net? Sure, if we live in this town we're stuck, but do we need to live in this town? We're very pleased with what our town has arranged for our autistic son's education. We don't want to lose that, and that's what might happen if we leave. But what if we keep one apartment here and get an additional one next to that better school? It would be a huge additional expense, and right now my husband is getting very little work, and I've yet to earn anything on the books I've written. But that's the wonderful thing about living without a net: everything becomes an option. The possibilities are endless.
Look at J.K. Rowling. Before she found a publisher for Harry Potter, she was a divorced woman with no real job, a young daughter to take care of, and a dream to become a published author. She didn't ask how she would support herself and her daughter while she wrote. She just wrote. She decided what she wanted, and if she had to live without a net for a while to get it, she would. And she did. And by living without a net, she made that dream come true.
We should all be a little more like J.K. Rowling. We should ask ourselves what we want, what's holding us back, and if we're willing to let it go. Living without a net can be scary, but sometimes living with a net isn't living at all.
All the best,
Shevi
Today I would like to talk to you about life-altering decisions. Many of us go through life without ever truly making one. We let others choose the schools we go to, let fate decide our professions, marry people when it seems like we should, live where we've always lived or where our jobs or schools or other obligations send us, and so on. Many of us take, as Robert Frost might have put it, the well-trodden path, never once considering the road less traveled.
For the first 30-some years of my life, I was one of those people. It wasn't that I did things that everyone was doing, but I was mostly letting fate do with me as it wanted and without question. I didn't have a choice when it came to the schools I went to. My parents chose my university, too, but I was allowed to choose my majors. I wanted to study film, but the university I went didn't offer a degree in that. The closest to it was an MA in communications, so I decided to take English Literature and Theater Studies. By the time I completed my BAs, I had learned that the communications department was mostly theoretical, which I didn't want, so I earned a teacher's certificate instead. It was the easy way, the expected way, the well-trodden path. What else could you do with a BA in English? But then I tried teaching for a while, and I discovered something rather surprising: the well-trodden path was clearly meant for me. Teaching might have been what was expected of me, but it was scary. I couldn't control a classroom, and trying to made me feel like I was about to have a nervous breakdown. So I stopped, stepped back and said, "Okay, that's not working. What else would I like to do?" I took some courses in fine art and graphic art, and got a job in a newspaper. From there I worked my way up to political cartoonist, and I continued on to various jobs in various magazines and newspaper. To some it might seem like I was taking the road less traveled, but I wasn't. I'd already shown talent in art, and my family had already been in the newspaper business for four generations. It couldn't have been less of a leap into the unknown.
No, the first time I decided to live without a net didn't come until my husband and I reached an impasse when it came to our autistic son's eduction. We were living in Jerusalem, and we had tried every option we found there, even trying to put together a new school with other parents of autistic kids in the Jerusalem area. Everything fell through. We were told that there was only one school for autistic kids, and that our son could only go there. He would be placed in a building with children ranging from age 6 to 18, most of them with severe autism and much worse off than he was. We knew that meant he was likely to get less attention than the kids whose needs were greater. We felt trapped.
There is an expression in Israel: they call it an "Eretz Ein Brerah," "A Land of No Choice." But did we really have no choice? We did if we stayed in Jerusalem--the city where we met, and married, and owned an apartment, the city we loved--but did we need to stay in Jerusalem? We asked ourselves what our primary goal was, and it wasn't to stay in Jerusalem. It was to give our son the best education he could get. So I got on the Internet and asked other mothers of autistic kids where that was. They told us New Jersey, so we packed up our things, quit our jobs, and rented out our apartment. We decided to live without a net.
Other people might look at our decision and think it very brave or very stupid or both. They could be right. But sometimes you have to decide whether you're willing to give in to what fate seems to be telling you is the only path or forge a new one, whether you're willing to take, as Robert Frost said, the road less traveled. Sometimes you have to decide what it is you truly want, and to get it you have to be willing to live without a net.
I've been thinking about this lately, because once again I've come to a point where fate seems to be telling me I have no choice. We've been living in this same town for almost ten years, and my daughter is ready for high school. We want to send her to a good Jewish school. There's one nearby. But the principal of the school misunderstood something my daughter said, and although my daughter has explained herself, apologized, and has told the principal how much she wants to go to that school, the school has decided she cannot go there. My daughter was crushed, but it seemed there was another option. There's another school, which isn't as close by, but it seems nicer and better in every way. The only way my daughter can do there is if at least two kids from our town goes there to justify the transportation costs. My daughter hoped that her best friend might go to the other school with her, but the school that rejected my daughter has persuaded her best friends parents to send her there. So now not only can't the school willing to accept my daughter provide the necessary transportation, my daughter will be separated from her best friend next year.
It hurts to see your child trapped and know there isn't anything you can do about it. This isn't fair. My daughter deserves to go to go to the same school as her best friend. It isn't fair that the first school won't accept her because of a misunderstanding and a refusal on their part to accept an apology (something that, in my opinion, contradicts Jewish ethics and reflects poorly on the school). It's also unfair that my daughter's ability to attend the second school is dependent on her friend going there, when that isn't something within our control. So what do we do?
Do we take the road the world seems to have chosen for us, or do we once again leave everything behind and forge a new path? Do we once again choose to live without a net? Sure, if we live in this town we're stuck, but do we need to live in this town? We're very pleased with what our town has arranged for our autistic son's education. We don't want to lose that, and that's what might happen if we leave. But what if we keep one apartment here and get an additional one next to that better school? It would be a huge additional expense, and right now my husband is getting very little work, and I've yet to earn anything on the books I've written. But that's the wonderful thing about living without a net: everything becomes an option. The possibilities are endless.
Look at J.K. Rowling. Before she found a publisher for Harry Potter, she was a divorced woman with no real job, a young daughter to take care of, and a dream to become a published author. She didn't ask how she would support herself and her daughter while she wrote. She just wrote. She decided what she wanted, and if she had to live without a net for a while to get it, she would. And she did. And by living without a net, she made that dream come true.
We should all be a little more like J.K. Rowling. We should ask ourselves what we want, what's holding us back, and if we're willing to let it go. Living without a net can be scary, but sometimes living with a net isn't living at all.
All the best,
Shevi
Friday, February 26, 2010
Made it through to second round of Amazon's ABNA contest!
The header says it all: I made it through!
I'm psyched, but I also don't hold much hope for making it to the third round. The first round was based on story pitches, but the second is based on the first 5,000 words of the manuscript, and I submitted a rough second draft of a NaNoWriMo manuscript I wrote just this November. I thought there would be time to edit the manuscript before it was judged, but it turns out everything is locked in even before the pitch round begins, even the finished manuscript that won't be judged until the third or fourth round. This is the first time the contest has had a YA category, so this is my first year submitting, and I didn't know.
Oh, well, I'm happy I made it this far. And next year, if I haven't published yet, I'll know the way the contest works a little better.
I'm psyched, but I also don't hold much hope for making it to the third round. The first round was based on story pitches, but the second is based on the first 5,000 words of the manuscript, and I submitted a rough second draft of a NaNoWriMo manuscript I wrote just this November. I thought there would be time to edit the manuscript before it was judged, but it turns out everything is locked in even before the pitch round begins, even the finished manuscript that won't be judged until the third or fourth round. This is the first time the contest has had a YA category, so this is my first year submitting, and I didn't know.
Oh, well, I'm happy I made it this far. And next year, if I haven't published yet, I'll know the way the contest works a little better.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Why My Love Life Sucks preview
I've uploaded the first 25,000 characters of Why My Love Life Sucks to Amazon where you can download and read them on your computer or your Kindle. You can find them here:
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1066301
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1066301
Monday, February 15, 2010
Twitter chats for writers & illustrators
Debbie Ohi, otherwise known as InkyGirl, has put together a list of Twitter chats for writers and illustrators:
http://www.inkygirl.com/twitter-chats-for-writers/
There's a schedule at the end of the blog post.
#writechat: Sundays
Topic or topics are usually announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderated by @WritingSpirit
EST: 3-6 PM
#scriptchat: Sundays
For seasoned and aspiring screenwriters as well as anyone who is curious about screenwriting. The goal: learning and sharing.
Moderator: @jeannevb
EST: 8 PM
#journchat: Mondays
EST: 8-11 PM
#writersroad Mondays
formerly #ScribeChat, mostly for writers of MG/YA fiction
EST: 9-10 PM
#kidlitchat: Tuesdays
Craft & business of writing for young people, board books up through YA. Topic or topics announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderators: @gregpincus, @bonnieadamson
EST: 9 PM
#poettues: Tuesdays
Discussion of poetry with @robertleebrewer
EST: 10AM
#FaithLitChat: Tuesdays
A weekly faith-based discussion of Christian books, writing & CBA market. Follow @FaithLitChat for more info.
EST: 9-10PM
#litchat: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.
Moderator: @litchat.
Transcripts on blog.
EST: 4-5 PM
#WNW: Wednesdays
Wednesday Night Writer. Fantasy/Fiction discussion group on Twitter.
Moderator: @_decode_ .
EST: 8-11 pm
#YALitChat: Wednesdays
Young Adult (teen) books
Moderator: @Georgia_McBride.
EST: 9 PM
#memoirchat: Wednesdays
Moderator: @alexisgrant
Writers of memoir
EST: 8 PM
#poetry: Thursdays
We talk poetry. Readers, writers, and all others encouraged to join. Moderator: @gregpincus.
EST: 9-10 PM
#kidlitart: Thursdays
Weekly chat for illustrators, pb authors & author/illustrators. Topics announced in advance via @kidlitart. Hosted by Bonnie Adamson and ( @BonnieAdamson) Wendy Martin (@lyonmartin).
EST: 9-10 PM
#dnchat: Thursdays
For those who write fiction for online publication. “DN stands for DigitalNovelists.com, which is the platform most of us in the group publish on, but all web fiction writers and fans of web novelists are welcome.”
EST: 11 pm-12 PM
#fridayflash: Every Friday.
Writers write/post flash fiction. Readers comment and RT.
Time?
#scifichat: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky. Follow @scifichat for schedule changes and announcements.
EST: 2-4 pm
#platformchat: Fridays.
Moderator: @thewritermama
EST: 2-3 pm
#scifichat: Fridays
Hosted by: @WritersDigest. Collab fun.
Time?
#StoryFriday: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky
EST: 2-4 pm
#followreader: Fridays
#FollowReader is a weekly discussion on Twitter for the bookish community, lightly moderated by @KatMeyer and @CharAbbott, who provide a new topic each week. Kat and Charlotte alternate moderating duties on Fridays from 4 – 5pm EDT, Kat is moderating from 4 – 5 pm on Fridays, but the #FollowReader hashtag is used all week long to bring excellent ideas and discussions to the table.
EST: 4-5 pm
#ThrillerChat: Saturdays. #thrillerchat is a Twitter chat for anyone interested in writing Thrillers, although you don’t have to be a writer to join in. 1-2 hours. Moderated by: @Selorian. More info here.
EST: 8 pm
#ScreenwritingSaturday: Saturdays
Moderator: @UncompletedWork.
Time: all day
The following are more motivational groups rather than scheduled Twitterchats, but are still a great way of meeting other writers on Twitter. They're open any day, any time:
#amwriting: @johannaharness
#amwritingparty: @saramcclung.
#mommyswriting: @quirkywriter: It’s official. If you’re trying to balance raising kids and writing for them, meet us on #mommyswriting for support.
#writegoal: @annadestefano.
Other hashtags of interest to writers: #AgentPeeves, #allaboutagents, #askagent (at least every 2 wks, around 11 am EST Mondays or Tuesdays?), #authors, #cdnkidlit, #editing,#fictionfriday, #nanowrimo (during November), #pubtip, #RomChat (see info), #storystarters, #tuesbooktalk, #wip, #wordcount, #writetip, #novelists, #wordathon, #WriteRomance (see info), #writers, #writing, #writingparty, #agentsday #agentinternday. (I'm not sure of the times for most of these, but if someone can give me that information I would be happy to update it.)
The best way to follow a TwitterChat is with http://tweetchat.com/
http://www.inkygirl.com/twitter-chats-for-writers/
There's a schedule at the end of the blog post.
#writechat: Sundays
Topic or topics are usually announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderated by @WritingSpirit
EST: 3-6 PM
#scriptchat: Sundays
For seasoned and aspiring screenwriters as well as anyone who is curious about screenwriting. The goal: learning and sharing.
Moderator: @jeannevb
EST: 8 PM
#journchat: Mondays
EST: 8-11 PM
#writersroad Mondays
formerly #ScribeChat, mostly for writers of MG/YA fiction
EST: 9-10 PM
#kidlitchat: Tuesdays
Craft & business of writing for young people, board books up through YA. Topic or topics announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderators: @gregpincus, @bonnieadamson
EST: 9 PM
#poettues: Tuesdays
Discussion of poetry with @robertleebrewer
EST: 10AM
#FaithLitChat: Tuesdays
A weekly faith-based discussion of Christian books, writing & CBA market. Follow @FaithLitChat for more info.
EST: 9-10PM
#litchat: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.
Moderator: @litchat.
Transcripts on blog.
EST: 4-5 PM
#WNW: Wednesdays
Wednesday Night Writer. Fantasy/Fiction discussion group on Twitter.
Moderator: @_decode_ .
EST: 8-11 pm
#YALitChat: Wednesdays
Young Adult (teen) books
Moderator: @Georgia_McBride.
EST: 9 PM
#memoirchat: Wednesdays
Moderator: @alexisgrant
Writers of memoir
EST: 8 PM
#poetry: Thursdays
We talk poetry. Readers, writers, and all others encouraged to join. Moderator: @gregpincus.
EST: 9-10 PM
#kidlitart: Thursdays
Weekly chat for illustrators, pb authors & author/illustrators. Topics announced in advance via @kidlitart. Hosted by Bonnie Adamson and ( @BonnieAdamson) Wendy Martin (@lyonmartin).
EST: 9-10 PM
#dnchat: Thursdays
For those who write fiction for online publication. “DN stands for DigitalNovelists.com, which is the platform most of us in the group publish on, but all web fiction writers and fans of web novelists are welcome.”
EST: 11 pm-12 PM
#fridayflash: Every Friday.
Writers write/post flash fiction. Readers comment and RT.
Time?
#scifichat: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky. Follow @scifichat for schedule changes and announcements.
EST: 2-4 pm
#platformchat: Fridays.
Moderator: @thewritermama
EST: 2-3 pm
#scifichat: Fridays
Hosted by: @WritersDigest. Collab fun.
Time?
#StoryFriday: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky
EST: 2-4 pm
#followreader: Fridays
#FollowReader is a weekly discussion on Twitter for the bookish community, lightly moderated by @KatMeyer and @CharAbbott, who provide a new topic each week. Kat and Charlotte alternate moderating duties on Fridays from 4 – 5pm EDT, Kat is moderating from 4 – 5 pm on Fridays, but the #FollowReader hashtag is used all week long to bring excellent ideas and discussions to the table.
EST: 4-5 pm
#ThrillerChat: Saturdays. #thrillerchat is a Twitter chat for anyone interested in writing Thrillers, although you don’t have to be a writer to join in. 1-2 hours. Moderated by: @Selorian. More info here.
EST: 8 pm
#ScreenwritingSaturday: Saturdays
Moderator: @UncompletedWork.
Time: all day
The following are more motivational groups rather than scheduled Twitterchats, but are still a great way of meeting other writers on Twitter. They're open any day, any time:
#amwriting: @johannaharness
#amwritingparty: @saramcclung.
#mommyswriting: @quirkywriter: It’s official. If you’re trying to balance raising kids and writing for them, meet us on #mommyswriting for support.
#writegoal: @annadestefano.
Other hashtags of interest to writers: #AgentPeeves, #allaboutagents, #askagent (at least every 2 wks, around 11 am EST Mondays or Tuesdays?), #authors, #cdnkidlit, #editing,#fictionfriday, #nanowrimo (during November), #pubtip, #RomChat (see info), #storystarters, #tuesbooktalk, #wip, #wordcount, #writetip, #novelists, #wordathon, #WriteRomance (see info), #writers, #writing, #writingparty, #agentsday #agentinternday. (I'm not sure of the times for most of these, but if someone can give me that information I would be happy to update it.)
The best way to follow a TwitterChat is with http://tweetchat.com/
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