Ian Rankin has kindly agreed to answer a few questions on his views on Twitter. I'm hoping this will kick off some more opinion pieces from authors on wider digital publishing issues. Big thanks to Ian.

What do you like about Twitter?
Well, as I've said elsewhere it feels like a vast open-plan office, filled with clever, witty people who have instant access to local and international news.  In reality I work from home and work in a small room on my own.  Twitter makes me feel a lot less isolated.  I can take a break from my writing and check what's happening in the world. I also use Twitter as a sort of diary, so I can scroll back through my own tweets and work out what I was doing on any particular day. And it helps me keep in touch with friends who are scattered across the globe. 

Any surprising things come out of interactions on Twitter?
Through Twitter I've made new friends in Edinburgh (and beyond).  We've swapped tickets for shows, I've taken donations of unwanted vinyl LPs.  I've met artists, musicians, professional comedians, actors and writers. One writer had the idea that for World Book Night we should all go to a bookshop and buy a book and leave it somewhere public for a stranger to find.  I did that.  Without Twitter, it would never have happened.

Why do you think other authors are fearful of Twitter/social media?
I suppose there are all sorts of reasons to be fearful of something like Twitter.  You may get a few bad reviews or personal attacks; you may find out that you are not as loved as you thought you were; you may not like the sort of instantaneous, occasionally stream-of-consciousness feedback that is sometimes found on Twitter.  You may not like being constrained to 140 characters.  You may think you are above the mass of humanity.  All sorts of reasons...

Are you doing your publisher's work for them?
I don't think I use Twitter as a marketing tool.  I don't go on there and self-consciously become 'the author Ian Rankin'.  Hopefully I'm the Ian you might bump into at a gig or in a pub.  I'm not on Twitter to sell my wares.  It bores me when I read some Twitter timelines that are really only about trying to make a few quid.  Do that and you'll soon be found out. I didn't tell my publishers I was going on Twitter.  To be honest, I was a bit naive and didn't think anyone would know my identity  -  I thought they would only ever know me as Beathhigh (my old high school).  Hey-ho....

Three Twitter feeds you'd recommend
@davidschneider is consistently and cleverly funny
@BBCScotlandNews gives me ideas for stories and keeps me up to date when I'm away from home
@guardianculture does what it says on the tin.

If you want to follow Ian on Twitter, you can find him @beathhigh