Three notes on why That Silly Tweet was rightly swamped.

1. When someone finishes a fantastic book, they don't say, "Well, that's my literature for the month." They go out and find another book. Good books don't push each other off the shelves--they draw people into bookstores.

I know this from my royalty statements. Whenever a new dystopian series hits, another wave of readers discovers Uglies. Because:
2. Books are in conversation! They don't compete, they create a mutually supporting literary fabric. (This is why "text" and "textiles" share a root.)

3. Your writing friends help you understand publishing. They help you improve your craft. They provide emotional sustenance in what can be a lonely endeavor. A writer with writing friends will make better business decisions, write better books, and be mentally healthier.

A writer who views other writers as "competition" will excise themselves from that web of connections, and will be poorer in every way. We aren't different brands of pasta, we are all appetizers in a meal that never ends.

/rant