Oh my! That is surprising ( readership) but I haven’t yet dived in to the work needed to attract readers. I wanted to be sure I could commit to regular posts first, but I think it is work to attract readers. Nothing just happens, unfortunately!
I feel the overwhelm, too. When I get overwhelmed I tend to shut down rather than charge ahead- I so admire your ability to thrive in that high stakes/ high stress environment. I have started calculating the cost of not just what I buy, but what I consume as a reader. Will consuming something make me more, or less able to show up as who I want to be at this stage? Who does my consumption of it benefit?
I do not have enough income to support all the Substacks i wound like to. I would like to support them all with money. But, I try to support in the ways I know I can and the ways that make me feel most me, and of service. That’s why I comment. I figure knowing our words are not going into the void unheard and that they connected us despite that void is what I can offer. Connection, seeing someone, or seeing something in their writing, being present. But I have to do it when, and how I can do it, it must be freely given, otherwise it loses meaning and becomes another commodity. I want my words and presence to lead to connection and not just be another follower head to collect. If there is a connection then there is freedom to show up as we are rather than as part of a marketing plan. So I am looking at maintaining those spaces and connections as I go forward here.
Whew! That's some intense and whirlwind-feeling writing. How do you get that fast tempo just with words? You pulled me along—reading much faster than my usual not-so-speedy. It was fun and made me laugh.
I wonder if you're after musicality in your writing. "Don't Look Away" has a different tempo—I read at a much slower pace to take it all in. Your writing is marvelous.
Oh my! That is surprising ( readership) but I haven’t yet dived in to the work needed to attract readers. I wanted to be sure I could commit to regular posts first, but I think it is work to attract readers. Nothing just happens, unfortunately!
I feel the overwhelm, too. When I get overwhelmed I tend to shut down rather than charge ahead- I so admire your ability to thrive in that high stakes/ high stress environment. I have started calculating the cost of not just what I buy, but what I consume as a reader. Will consuming something make me more, or less able to show up as who I want to be at this stage? Who does my consumption of it benefit?
I do not have enough income to support all the Substacks i wound like to. I would like to support them all with money. But, I try to support in the ways I know I can and the ways that make me feel most me, and of service. That’s why I comment. I figure knowing our words are not going into the void unheard and that they connected us despite that void is what I can offer. Connection, seeing someone, or seeing something in their writing, being present. But I have to do it when, and how I can do it, it must be freely given, otherwise it loses meaning and becomes another commodity. I want my words and presence to lead to connection and not just be another follower head to collect. If there is a connection then there is freedom to show up as we are rather than as part of a marketing plan. So I am looking at maintaining those spaces and connections as I go forward here.
Whew! That's some intense and whirlwind-feeling writing. How do you get that fast tempo just with words? You pulled me along—reading much faster than my usual not-so-speedy. It was fun and made me laugh.
I wonder if you're after musicality in your writing. "Don't Look Away" has a different tempo—I read at a much slower pace to take it all in. Your writing is marvelous.
I follow 115 Substacks, so I'm paddling the other side of your boat. Meanwhile, I seem to only be able to attract 81 readers.