Over a year ago I saw a tweet on Twitter from Jane Travers asking for recipes for #tweettreats and I responded after struggling to condense recipes into 140 characters that still made sense. I then forgot all about it until Jane contacted me earlier this year via Twitter to say that my recipe had been included! I was very excited by this and after more discussion as the book neared publication offered Jane a guest post on my little blog so she could tell you all about it herself and the worthwhile charity it supports.....
The Road To Tweet Treats
I’ve held delusions of writerly abilities for about thirty-four years now. About four years ago I decided to do something about them, and finally wrote my first novel. When that novel (as yet unpublished) began to get good responses from publishers, I contacted Vanessa O’Loughlin of writing.ie for some help and advice. Vanessa told me that if I was serious about becoming a writer, I needed to get on Twitter and start raising my profile. I bitched, whinged and moaned for a few days, but eventually did as I was told. I now have over 2,200 followers on Twitter and have amassed almost 50,000 tweets. But I can stop any time. Honestly.
While reworking elements of my first novel (as yet unpublished) I got a crazy idea one day. I’d spent all day on the computer, it was now 6.30pm and I hadn’t even started dinner. I stared blankly at a packet of chicken thighs, all my creativity having been spent on my novel, and was stumped as to how to prepare them into an appetising meal. By now, my daughter was eyeing the smallest dog hungrily, so in desperation I tweeted: (not that I’m addicted. I can stop any time. Honestly.)
“Any suggestions for what I can do with a packet of chicken thighs? No rude ones, please!”
Within a minute, I had received five perfectly formed tweet-length recipes, and had also received a mild electric shock from the lightbulb that pinged on over my head. How many twitter recipes could I collect, I wondered? Could I fill a book with them, and give the proceeds to charity? Would this be a valid excuse to spend even more time on Twitter?
I immediately pushed aside my novel (as yet unpublished) and flung myself into this crazy-ass project. Within a couple of days I had a website up and running (www.tweettreats.org) and had already received over 100 recipes. The Tweet Treats machine rapidly gained momentum as more and more people contributed recipes, spread the word, and banded together to bring the project to the attention of celebrities. By the end of August I had received 1,800 recipes, including those from my goal number of 140 celebrities. Vanessa O’Loughlin helped once again by bringing the book to the attention of O’Brien Press, and a deal was done.
It was always my intention to donate the royalties from the book to charity. While pondering which charity to choose, it quickly became clear that Medécins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) was the obvious choice. Not only are they a global charity, but they’re utterly non-partisan in their dealings with people; and in the immediacy of their response to a crisis, they can be likened to Twitter, which is the first source of most news stories these days. I first became familiar with MSF some ten years ago when friends of mine were getting married, and had requested donations to MSF in lieu of presents. On looking into the charity, I was impressed with their ethos and had supported them ever since.
While collecting recipes and spreading the word about Tweet Treats, I was astonished by how many people had never heard of Medécins sans Frontières. While I hope that the book does well and makes money for the charity, I’m also really pleased to be helping to raise their profile and make more people aware of the great work that they do.
All the royalties from this book are going directly to MSF. They will use that money to provide emergency healthcare in places such as Haiti, Pakistan and Somalia. You can buy a copy of Tweet Treats from the following stores:
