This was such a thoughtful and encouraging essay, Tessa. I'm sure new writers will appreciate it. I encourage them to follow people they've read and liked. They will sometimes follow you back if they're not one of those people with tens of thousands of followers. I'm a regular reader of some of the people I got to know that way. Making insightful or meaningful comments on other people's work is also helpful. The more you engage with the platform, the more followers you will attract. It's really important to read as much as you can on Medium, especially if you're new. You might as well if you'd paid for a subscription, although I know not all the writers have.