A System of Followers

That may apply to your writing.

In my camp, there is a hierarchy of followers, much like the Goldilocks tale, there are three types. By the end, I will tell you how to handle all three.

The Types

A Courtesy Follow is like a nod of “hello.” Maybe the reader would like to read it later, but doesn’t like it enough to set a place for it at the dinner table. This may happen after I follow them.

The Delivery Follow — It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to delegate it. I would enjoy reading this guy, but only if it’s presented to me, and I don’t have to be a hunter-gatherer.

It’s the Real Thing This Time Follow -delivery by Medium AND subscription to an off-platform newsletter, like a gas-powered backup in case of a platform outage.

Their value

They are all of varying worth to the writer, in the order listed, and the writer should consider them to be family in the same varying degrees, from third cousins through uncles and aunts to siblings.

Total platform melt-downs rarely occur, but they do happen. More frequently, it’s an old-fashioned family squabble that keeps Aunt Jane from enjoying a holiday with the rest of us.

The Answer

As far as I can tell, there’s only one way to avoid this. Throw them all in the pool and let natural selection pick out your best swimmers.

Read everything you can get your hands on. Don’t follow anyone. Don’t comment on anyone. Just write and publish every day.

Start your own publication if you have to, or simply publish to your own profile page. If your stories are swimmers, they’ll come back to you.

Thanks,

Don’s a keen observer and prolific reporter of truth, common sense, humor, & life. He’s a WRITER and humorist, sometimes serious, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. He lives in Nashville, TN. He publishes every weekday morning. If you like his stuff, tell him HERE!

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