Ten minutes max. Really. There are no excuses. You can pull out the “too much time” card for getting traction with social media and social networking. But don’t try it for “setting up” a Twitter account. Won’t fly. Just got off the phone with author and freelance writing expert Peter Bowerman, whom I’ve met several times and whose books I love. We know each other well enough that I was able to razz him a bit about not being on Twitter.

Here’s what happened: I received a review copy of the new, revised edition of his classic The Well-Fed Writer in today’s mail. I snapped a photo of the cover (above) with my iPhone, intending to tweet about it. But couldn’t find Peter on Twitter. Picked up the phone and called. He resisted mightily. “I should have been born 100 years ago,” he told me. “I don’t want to do all this stuff.” But after listening to my “We’re at the tipping point; you gotta have a Twitter account” spiel, I persuaded him to set up his Twitter page. That included 1. grabbing the Twitter name he wanted (wellfedwriter); 2. adding a link to his site 3. writing a short bio and 4. uploading a headshot. You can see it below. Follow Peter @wellfedwriter.

We’re at the tipping point; you gotta have a Twitter account.