What's up with Twitter?
Has anyone else noticed that getting followers on Twitter is getting more expensive every day?
Every other thing I see is how to gain followers fast, buy followers, automatic tweets and follows and unfollows and promoted tweets and... I just don't know.
Back in my day...
When I first found Twitter, back in mid-2009, everything was so pure and honest. No one "bought followers", you just made friends, connections. If people liked your content, you had lots of followers. If you were just so-so, you didn't have as many.
I see accounts that have thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of followers. How many of those accounts are bots? Do the people with those follower numbers even care? Is their brand or message even reaching real people? Does that eve matter - if you have enough followers to start a small city? These are questions I care about!
I didn't really have anyone on separate lists, beyond maybe really funny people getting their own list, or really scary Tweeps, or pretty or cool, etc. But those were mostly lists that other people followed. Those lists were curated to direct attention to people based on their strengths or personalities.
When I logged in last week, I saw someone had added me to a list. Well, that's nice, I thought! I noticed the list had several thousand members and was followed by maybe 12. I'm extremely grateful, obviously. I love when people interact, however they choose to do so. I began to think about the point of the list. Was it just to organize and collect names? Were people actually seriously interested in whatever the list was for and it was just a small group? I still don't know what I did to earn my place. On Twitter, I even asked "is putting me on a list but not following me" was some sort of commitment phobia. I still don't know. But I care about the answer.
How would you feel if you found out you were Muted or on a list people never checked?
I would think, probably weird right? Shouldn't the goal be to write things that people ultimately want to read? Or at least to find the people who want to read what you write?
I've been hammering away a new book. It's not complete yet, but that's ok. The important part, the book cover, is already complete. I use the same artist for all of my book covers because I've found someone that I can work with. I trust my artist and that's not something that comes easily.
If you've ever written a book, you know it can be a deeply personal thing, and sharing that creative output is difficult. Finding the cover for your work can be quick and easy, as simple as choosing a generic design or free piece of artwork. But what if you want something special? Something that reflects not only your writing, but your style? What if you want something unique? Well, for that you are going to need someone with actual talent.
I always see posts fly by on Twitter, offering various services such as custom covers, designs on demand, and other kind of cookie-cutter rubber stamps. I would urge everyone to take some time, get to know the artist, and see if they get what you are trying to convey. I don't begrudge people who print up 500 cover ideas and then just sell them off as people find one that sort of fits their book. But that reminds me of those bodice-ripper covers you used to see on certain romance novels in the 80's or 90's. They were fairly generic, just some guy and some girl in similar kind of clothes in some romantic setting like a mountain or in front of a fire, whatever.
My point is those were mass-produced. There are several great, iconic covers that could have been paintings on their own. That is what I think a book cover should be, it should be art, in and of itself. Your cover should feature something that people would want to look at, even if it wasn't associated with your writing at all. Why would you want to work with anyone who didn't value their craft as much as you value yours?
Again, I am in no way belittling the people who churn out cover after cover. It's a rough job and someone has to do it. Generic book covers are a huge market now with digital publishing and ebooks. There's nothing wrong with doing something you like for a living, and I wish you well. I just feel strongly that book covers should be a connection between two artists.
Just my two cents.
What do you think?
