Exactly. I've upvoted and commented on content (poem or drawing) not because it was particularly good but because it was someone's best effort and now I have a friend and a regular follower and their content has improved. And, through that connection I found someone else's blog that I liked maybe more and through that connection there was another and so on.
That is also how I found @michelle.gent
I will also say it is refreshing to have a whale address this issue in such a positive way.
Little steps, tiny leaps of faith lead to the next and the next...
I'm not a Whale... I may be a Dolphin, but Whales are MUCH bigger :)
You may not be a whale but you're still a big fish in my little pond and I appreciate your advice.
The little steps approach has been my strategy for a while. I have literally thousands of photographs that I have been sharing on a regular basis and then every once in awhile I put a few together into a little story. Eventually, I will start writing more and have complied a list of several titles that I have been working on. Kind of like you having, I believe you said six books in the chute.
In the meantime I will go for the low hanging fruit while I build up my reputation score, wallet and following. And, sometimes I post something silly just to keep ME engaged in the platform.
Namaste