It all started when I joined Twitter.
Well, to be precise, I joined it in 2013 when I created my first YouTube channel and tried to promote it through all possible platforms. That channel was in English with videos of me unboxing and reviewing monthly beauty box subscriptions. I know. I was subscribed to two different ones. It was all new and exciting when they appeared in New Zealand. It didn’t last long though. After a couple of months I realised that I could never use up all the products I was receiving, nor would I want to use purple eye shadow or fake nails. So, I unsubscribed. And that was the end of my first YouTube channel. I deleted all the videos too, which I honestly regret now. It would be so much fun to watch them again, after seven years.
So back then I created a Twitter account, because everyone was talking about it. But I did not understand the purpose of it at all. You just write random phrases, and that’s that. Why? Who cares? So I didn’t end up using it. Until now.
I was reading all sorts of catchy articles online like “Ten things a new author MUST do!” or “Things you NEED to know if you want to be an author!” or less imperative “How to become an author?” (I thought you just NEED to be bloody good at writing, but, apparently, there’s a whole Ponzi scheme you MUST create). And so, all these articles seemed to talk about the same things. OK, so there is a secret formula to becoming an author, I thought, all I need to do is simply follow it and my dreams will come true! Well, I must be doing something wrong, because no matter what they promised, I am still not famous.
One of the things every respectable future author should do is create a Twitter account and tell the world about themselves. I already had one, how convenient. I even googled how to use Twitter, because like every social platform you see for the first time, it’s somewhat confusing. So turns out to reach writers community you need to use a hashtag #WritersCommunity (I mean, who would have thought, right?). I looked it up and there were all sorts of tweets from people, saying, “Hey, #WritersCommunity, I am new here, let’s be friends!” Boom, they get 500-1000 followers from the fellow writers. What a supportive community! Everyone follows one another, that’s so nice!
Well, I did that too. Silence. I posted another tweet asking for advice. Nothing. Another one asking for opinion. Nothing. I didn’t get a single answer, retweet, like, comment, follow, what have you. They don’t like me and my tweets. Probably, my face either. But that’s ok, because Neil Gaiman likes me.
I decided it was the end of my campaign and I will stick to doing what I do best – being miserable in the corner writing what I feel and what I think, in the hope that like-minded people will find me. So I deleted those tweets, and instead chose to do what I WANT to do as a future author versus what I MUST. I tweeted what I felt, what I thought. My 280 characters praise for the American Gods by Neil Gaiman. And guess what. He liked it. Neil himself! (I mean, he is that awesome, but it’s also his Twitter username). I have a proof of it too, here:
And there you have it, boys and girls, that’s how your favourite author notices you. I still didn’t get anywhere with my Twitter account, but that doesn’t matter anymore. I was noticed by the one person I admire, and now he knows that I exist and I love his books.
By the way, if you haven’t already (and I know you haven’t, I have like 8 followers), follow me on Twitter! Wink-wink.
Natalia Ma 