Passion Can Be Platform

Why you should forget follower count and focus on joy, instead

Photo by Josh Withers on Unsplash

A while ago, a good friend and fellow writer, Curtis texted me. “Well, it’s happening,” he wrote. “They’re making me do PLATFORM.”

Curtis and I share a kick-ass editor at a major house, an intuitive woman who tries to let her writers concentrate on art instead of brand. But Curtis’ second book wasn’t getting the pre-pub attention that the publisher had hoped for, and they feared it was because Curtis was totally offline. Curtis was a standout humor writer, a very funny person! The time had come for him to Tweet.

Our editor held out for as long as she could against the marketing team’s decree. After all, Curtis was a productive writer with a long career in advertising who regularly published satirical pieces in hotshot publications. So what if he wasn’t on the socials? But the gavel had come down. Curtis needed to join both Instagram and Twitter to support his book. Like, now.

“I’m here because my publisher told me to be and I don’t know how to Tweet,” went Curtis’ first post. “Get ready for fun.”

“I’m on Instagram now because my book isn’t selling. Where’s the bar?”

As I watched Curtis leave digital skid marks behind his maiden posts, I imagined our publishers texting back…