Sup,
My name is Hario, and I'm an author -- I know it's a problem, but my family already found out so there's nothing left but to embrace it at this point. This is my Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarioTezawa5
While I'm not as comfortable with Twitter as I'd like to be (and my daily grind game on it is abysmal, so take what I say with a handful of throw-able salt) -- there is one piece of advice that I've gone over in other threads that I'll reiterate once more:
If you have no following, than key things you should be doing on the platform is meeting people, cultivating relationships, and having fun.
Seriously, if you at least attempt that last part, the whole experience will be a bit easier.
Twitter is just a very big party that won't end until there isn't any money left for beer. There's a lot of celebrities and world leaders and CEOs and Chrissy Teigen, and they all come through to mingle with everyone and tell them what's on their mind and how they are doing (with some of them a bit more outspoken and eloquent than others).
Because of this, many people mistakenly think that this party is actually a showcase and proceed to scream at the top of their lungs about the cool things they are doing and how everyone should come love them for it forgetting that everyone's already doing that, so they leave feeling discouraged and bitter, claiming the entire thing to be "shallow" or a "waste of their time".
Don't be that person.
Unless you are someone already important, someone with a preexisting audience, someone who can pull chortles out of people with less than 240 characters, or you're Ryan fuckin Reynolds, no one is interested in your (my) manuscript or your little poems or your art or your trite opinions. Don't get me wrong, there's no harm in bringing it up every once in a while, but that shouldn't be the sole reason that you are there..
If you have less than a thousand followers (and not that follow for a follow crap, I mean a thousand genuine followers who followed you because they liked the way you drew Crowley and Aziraphale at a boba shop while it was on fire and never want to miss another piece you illustrate) then just make friends.
I know you want to stand on the table and show to the world your magnum opus and be showered with blue orchids and praise -- but there's a million tables at this party, and each one has about five jackasses hollering about their new start-up, thinking they're being heard, when all that's really happening is a bunch of tables are getting scuffed up and a lot of whiskey is being spilled.
"So what's the point?" I hear you probably not thinking.
"Tis simple!" I proclaim to that most definitely unasked question!
Stop worrying about why everyone's crowded around the shit-lord just sharing memes.
Don't worry about why no one is stopping to look at what you're bringing to the table.
There's a metric-fuckton of people in attendance, all creating a loud, continuous, symphony of noise that's drowning you out; and what you're forgetting is that there's a person right next to you, probably trying to get into the same crowd you are, whose cries for anyone to notice are being unheard by you right now. Talk to them. See what they're up to. If you like what you see, then follow them. If you keep interacting with them on a personal level, then they might check your stuff out too.
Worst case scenario: you became a fan of something; best case scenario: so do they.
If you keep doing this meeting people thing long enough, then when the time comes that you decide that it's finally appropriate to tell others what you've been up to, you'll have some good company willing to listen.
To keep in the spirit of what I said here:
If you're a writer who wants to follow someone in the industry whose every tweet should be bookmarked, than follow C. Robert Cargill. He wrote the MCU Dr. Strange film and has written a few novels and short story anthologies. What sets him apart is his almost daily tweets about writing that are pure gold:
https://twitter.com/Massawyrm4
For artists, I recommend Bobby Chiu. He's an industry powerhouse who provides videos on work ethic and tips, and his discipline is fuckin unrivaled. He is the epitome of someone with a love for their craft.
For others that I think should be showered with love and admiration:
https://twitter.com/PenniWriting2
If you peruse the forums, then you already know who @Penni is and are probably following her. But she's awesome, and her work is excellent, so here it is for the people who are arriving a bit late to the party.
https://twitter.com/marimontoya2263
@MariMontoya is a wonderful human who is writing this webcomic called Solstice which is pure goddamn eye-candy.
https://twitter.com/not_minixira2
@minixira is one of those rare people who are just down with the cause, and a real internet homie. She's juggling two series which you can read here on tapas. Go read them already.
https://twitter.com/TheFalseVyper3
@TheFalseVyper is an artist with this classy painted style who created this comic called Those Called Wolf. She's a talented mofo who also runs a discord with the most welcoming community.
https://twitter.com/dawgofdawgness2
@dawgofdawgness is writing this jazz comic called "Leftovers" and it's really quirky and fun and you should be on this ish if you aren't already. I fell in love with Jazz after Cowboy Bebop and Whipash, and if you like those, than you'll like this comic as well.
That's it for now.
— Hario
