Reaching 10,000 Twitter Followers Hasn’t Changed My Life — Yet

I Went Viral On an Accident

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What did I think would happen after I reached 10,000 followers on Twitter? I’ll tell you what I thought.

I thought Cosmopolitan and Business Insider would reach out with an offer to publish my next article. I thought a literary agent would ask to read pages from my work-in-progress and offer to represent me before I finished writing.

Was that naive? Yes.

Who Cares About Twitter Followers?

Publishers care. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. After listening to The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast, I started this Twitter crusade. The hosts (two of whom are successful literary agents) suggested writers who maintain an active Twitter presence have a better chance of publishing their novels. They said 10,000 Twitter followers put a writer in a competitive position for publishers when trying to option their novel.

I decided to test their advice. They work in the publishing industry, so they must know what they’re talking about. I don’t. I challenged myself to get 10,000 Twitter followers in one year while I finished writing my first novel in preparation for trying to get it published. I know that may seem odd, but building a following takes…