Writers Have The Power to Dream and Wrestle the World From Fools

Thursday night, Twitter exploded.

CNBC reported that Twitter employees were sharing goodbye notes on Slack. Elon Musk had just told them that "they are expected to work long hours at high intensity,' or resign." So if you have children, tell them they have to raise themselves. If those children have special needs, well, hey, you know where the door is. People were saying goodbye, how much they would miss the little blue bird. I feel angry. Yet I shouldn't be surprised.

I've had Twitter for thirteen years when-oh the irony-I was working for a social media site. The site folded eight years ago, but I used Twitter to promote my writing. I loved several writers on the platform: Cameron Finch , Karrie Higgins, Marian Keyes, Stephen King, Stephanie Land, J.C. Lillis, Anne Lamott, and Gina Tron . I didn't like the constant misinformation or abuse heaped on a person if they dared to disagree with them. When writer Rebecca Makkai said she felt uncomfortable about red baseball hats because they reminded her of the MAGA hats, she received abusive tweets. People left bad reviews of her books on Amazon even though they didn't read them. A delightful soul also said women should "Be fit, slim, feminine... Don’t swear...Don’t nag...Smile...Have long hair... Barely wear makeup...Be modest ...Wear dresses... Submit to a worthy man ...Get married..." This made me want to trim my hair, swear like a sailor, buy a new pair of jeans, and wear makeup like Tammy Faye. His followers want to repeal the 19th amendment because women don't need to vote. They need to submit to men and let them vote. It made me see red.

But the past year, I was told at a writing conference to try and build my Twitter following to about 10k. That was daunting, so I tried to be more active on the site instead. I followed book news, boosted friends' tweets during pitch events, and promoted my own writing. I ignored tweets that would make me tear my hair out. I also decided to close my Facebook account because I didn't find it fun anymore. I was tired of the fighting, tired of people bickering. I felt as if I was developing a healthy balance of real-life activities (writing, exercising, starting a ceramics class) and social media time.

Then Elon Musk bought Twitter. Two weeks ago, he came in, then started making changes. He wanted to charge for that magical blue mark, which meant it was a verified user. Considering that Musk is a billionaire, I knew I'd live without the blue mark. Then when he decided to be "hard-core" or ship up or ship out, Twitter employees shipped out. Rumors abound that Twitter would be toast.

Of course, I'd miss the tweets from the writers I mentioned. But honestly, I felt, and I still do feel, angry. I sent my book proposal to about twenty agents in August and September. One of the things I bragged about was that I had a growing follower list on Twitter. Now that sounds like I wrote, "Boy, did I get a great deal on a Yugo! Now I'm going to drink some Crystal Pepsi!" There's no way I can go back to Facebook. It would mean going back to endless drama, bickering, and people trying to find out your info to sell you stuff. It's just way too much.

I guess what angers me the most is this: I took time building relationships on Twitter, trying to be what editors/agents wanted. Now, all that hard work might be for nothing. Did Musk buy Twitter simply to burn it to the ground? Well, I'm sorry. The money spent on Twitter could've gone to so many better uses than this.?

So what does it mean? It means that at the end of the day, you cannot depend on any social media to be there in the morning. I understand that writers need to have a social platform. We need to connect with readers. I'm posting this article on Linkedin. But I don't think it's fair that my getting an agent depends on my many followers or a billionaire decides to let a company implode. You don't like my writing? That's okay. What's not okay is basing it on how many likes I can get on a social media platform or if it needs to be bigger.?

Of course, TikTok is the new tool writers must have to promote their writing, the new kid on the block who has the most cake. I'm hoping to take a class on it soon. However, what if that goes kablooey? What then? I'm still trying to enlarge my Substack newsletter subscribers, but what if they implode?

Quite honestly, lovelies, we need to depend on ourselves. I am still determining what this entails. I know I am taking a class with Jane Friedman in a couple of weeks to start my own website. Maybe it will be like in the old days: you go to a bookstore and ask what they would recommend. Or having an actual paper newsletter. I'm still determining. I know this: We must figure out a way to get our work out there, make enough money to survive, and even thrive. We have to do it and not feel like The Man will take something away from us, then we have nothing left. Patti Smith was right when she sang:?People have the power/The power to dream, to rule/To wrestle the world from fools.?

We've got to find our power. It's time to dream new dreams.