Social Media Has Given Anyone the Power to Promote their Content: How a Reddit User’s Novella got Picked up by Netflix

Social Media Has Given Anyone the Power to Promote their Content: How a Reddit User’s Novella got Picked up by Netflix

Reddit is just another social media platform, where users use the discussion board to share news and content, right? 

Maybe. But for the users of the NoSleep subreddit, the platform is a place where horror fans can share their experiences. 

The rule of NoSleep is that all the stories posted are true, and that commentators must keep up with that illusion. It may sound strange to some, but with 14.8 million subscribers, there is clearly traction for it. 

Subreddits like NoSleep are just an example of how, with the rise of social media, anyone can put their content out there. That’s exactly what user Polterkites did when they posted the first part to their novella We Used to Live Here on the platform. With thousands of hits, it became a huge success, so much so, that Deadline has reported that a screen rights deal is being made by Netflix, with Blake Lively attached to star and book rights for We Used to Live Here are set to be auctioned off shortly.

Polterkites, whose real name is Marcus Kliewer, is from Kelowna, British Columbia, is not a professional writer. In fact, We Used to Live Here will be the first time he’s being paid for his work. 

The story, which he wrote at two Denny’s restaurants during the pandemic when his animation work dried up and he had time on his hands, is about a homeowner getting a visit from a family who used to live in the house and asking permission to come inside. The homeowner lets the family in, and once a snowstorm hits and leaves the family stranded in her home, their actions make her regret the decision.

Kliewer’s story is an example of how much social media connects us, and how many opportunities it can create.