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Followers vs. Friends

 Every single person who has bought one of my chapbooks has been someone I personally know. A friend. And honestly, I hope it stays that way. 

I value accessibility, definitely. I want my poetry to be available for anyone and everyone who needs it to find it. But that's not the same thing as fame. 

I don't want fame. I don't want a huge follower count that's half robots & scammers. I don't want an inbox full of brand ambassador requests. 

I just wanna keep sharing my poetry with my friends. 

And I wanna make new friends! I wanna engage with other artists and writers and musicians and Richmonders and parents and queers and survivors and activists. I wanna know what they value. I wanna support them and uplift them. 

I wanna give back. I wanna pay forward. 

So I spent a lot of time today going through my follower lists and reaching out to people or removing scammers. I'm planning to continue this process for a while. I want to be really intentional about my interactions on Instagram. 

Plus, doesn’t everyone love getting to engage with the artists they admire?! I know that's part of what I love about supporting Cloud Cult on Patreon. And think about the importance of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet!  

Artists make better art in conversation with others! Y'all make me a better writer. You, Lovies. You, my very dear friends. Thank you for everything. 



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