After both my novels were published, I did online chats with bloggers, book clubs and readers. Recently I hosted a week of chats on Litchat on Twitter. Litchat “is a fun, fast, and friendly way for booklovers to talk about books on Twitter,” according to their site and according to my experiences talking books there.

I noticed at the end of the week that there are skills involved with doing questions and answers with strangers online, which some authors know and some don’t. But we all need to know because more and more book promotion is happening on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and Shelfari. (Other great book chats on Twitter include: #BlackLitChat, #Blackbookchats, and #YALitchat.)

So I’ve put together my tips for how to shine during an online book chat. These tips are specific to Twitter chats but apply for doing Q&A’s on blogs or responding to readers comments on book sites.

1. Learn the lingo. Don’t know a hashtag from a hashbrown? Debbie Ridpath Ohi has created a great writer’s guide to Twitter. Do yourself a favor and read it before you start tweeting or chatting.

2. Learn the platform. Before you start chatting, practice. Spend some time on Twitter (or whatever site your chat will be on). Tweet Chat is a great way to conduct a chat on Twitter. All you do is log onto Tweet Chat with your Twitter account and type in the hashtag you want to follow. Then, rather than seeing every tweet your friends have, you’ll only see tweets that are part of the chat conversation. You can also use TweetDeck or other Twitter platforms that allow you to follow various Twitter streams.

3. Be polite. At the beginning of your chat, thank your host. Thank participants who are giving up their time to come hear about you and your book. And thank them again at the end.

4. Be enthusiastic. Channel your inner cheerleader, book geek or teenage girl. Put a smile in your virtual “voice.” Online chatters are used to emoticons, LOL, !!!, etc. If you don’t use them, you come across as stuffy. Use them judiciously, sure, but use them.

If this doesn’t come naturally to you, then think of it as getting across your personality. If you’re snarky, dark, mysterious, then make sure your answers show that about you.

In a chat, people don’t just want information, they want connection. Readers like to know what the writer is like.

Wrong

Q: “Who’s your favorite character in the book?”

A: “Nick.”

Right

Q: “Who’s your favorite character in the book?”

A: OMG, I love Nick. He was such a pain in the ass to write, but once I got his voice I really fell in love with him.

Wrong

Commenter: “I love that title.”

Author: “Thank you.”

Right

Commenter: “I love that title.”

Author: “Thanks! You know, there’s a funny story about how we came up with that title….”

5. Inform them. Whether or not your host or participants ask, mention your website. Mention upcoming events. Be sure to repeat the title of your book in case people have joined the chat midstream. Just made a bestseller’s list, won an award, went into another printing? Bring it up.

Wrong

Q: “What’s next for you?”

A: “I’m writing another novel.”

Right

Q: “What’s next for you?”

A: “I’m still promoting this book. I’ve got a signing at The Yada Yada Book Shop in Chicago on March 4th, and the rest of my dates are on my website: hustlingauthor.com. I’m also working on a book about alien vampires. It’s my first time delving into the paranormal and it’s a lot of fun. I hope my readers like it.”

6. Praise people. Praise makes people feel good. You’ll probably be getting praised during your chat. Spread it around a little. Praise other writers. Who do you read? Who are your influences? Who has been kind to you? Praise your agent, your editor, your publisher, your publicist, your spouse, your dog.

Wrong

Q: “How does it feel to be getting so much acclaim?”

A: “I don’t pay much attention to reviews.”

Right

Q: “How does it feel to be getting so much acclaim?”

A: “I don’t really pay much attention to reviews. If you believe the good ones, then you have to believe the bad ones too. I’m just really happy people are reading it. There are so many good writers out there that it’s amazing that anybody is paying attention to my book. By the way, have you read XYZ by Jane Smith? If you liked my book, you might like hers too.”

7. Don’t dis anybody. Online chats can live forever. If you just got a disturbing call from your agent, if your publicist just dropped the ball, if your husband just pissed you off, now is not the time to go into it. Call a friend, dash a view complaints in your journal before you go on your chat.

8. Consider getting your own text logo design. This indicates something unique and individual to you as a writer and leaves your watermark online.