// Applying a ref directly to an HTML element
<input
  className="AuthorFilterMenu__filter-input"
  ref={authorFilterInputRef}
  placeholder="Filter by author..."
  value={filterInputValue}
  type="search"
  onInput={event => {
    setFilterInputValue(event.currentTarget.value);
  }}
/>

// Applying a ref to a React component instance
<AuthorFilterMenu ref={authorFilterInputRef} />