Writer's Guide To Twitter > ReTweets and Sharing > What if the person is retweeting someone else? Should I include both their names?
Index of topics: Main Twitter Guide For Writers page. To go back to my blog for kidlit/YA writers and illustrators, see Inkygirl. You can find me on Twitter at @inkyelbows (focus: craft & biz of writing) and @DebbieOhi (chatty replies, Twitter chats).
Search the FAQ for entries containing:
What if the person is retweeting someone else? Should I include both their names?
Sure, if you can fit in both names, else consider leaving some names out. But ALWAYS keep the original author username: the person who originated the post. Don't opt to include a "big name" author/editor instead of the originator just to get kudos from the former.
However, avoid multiple RTs like: "RT @gregpincus RT @rillajaggia RT @mitaliperkins RT @katefall ..." etc. This would be sort of like saying, "I heard from Greg who heard from Rilla who heard from Mitali who heard from Kate etc."
I try to never include more than two usernames in one RT.
I'm also not crazy about using "RT" at the beginning of a tweet, but that's just personal preference because I find myself turned off when I scan down someone's list of tweets and find all the "RT"s distracting. Here's how I handle a double RT:
In the example above, @gretchenrubin who was the original author of the content, which was RTed by @4kidlit.
Last updated on July 13, 2010 by Debbie Ridpath Ohi





