Talk about being late to the party! *holds up hand* I've been on Substack almost 2 years. In that time, I figured out that my heart wasn't in my first newsletter, which was more successful than the one I happily sink into for hours at a time when I can (An Enchanted Life) I don't get the eyeballs I wish I had, but I do acknowledge that the fantasy genre (while perhaps less of a niche than my first newsletter), is a niche just the same. Not everyone reads fantasy or cares about the layers of it that I do.
Much of Substack is devoted to non-fiction that just doesn't apply to what I do here that it can sometimes feel a little lonely with 7 steady readers out of 83 subs. I'm not going to blame the algorithm, I'm sure the failing is mine. Hopefully I can figure out what I'm not doing right.
Thank you SO much for this article (coming in months late, but here I am!) I really felt very word...and the part about the writing online being a substitute for loved ones reading it and hearing what you have to say - oof. That hits hard. (and same here)
"I was using my online writing as a substitute for being heard by the people who matter most in my life. I sort of assumed that I was fine without my best friend and my husband reading what I write, but I was wrong. I need them to be with me in this."
This was so key to me. Having my mom, dad, and little sister subscribe has helped me think really precisely about why I’m writing in the first place, i.e. to enrich the lives of people I care about. Hopefully I can bring as many people as possible into the fold, but it should start with the people closest to your heart.
Thank you for sharing this so honestly! There’s a lot I resonate with and a lot I feel like I am experiencing myself. It made my heart feel a lot lighter to read this today, I’m grateful I stumbled across your work!
Reading this helped me. I'm also late-recognized autistic, but a lifelong writer, and so often it feels like my words pass into a void and I have to wonder why I bother, except that I need to get it out, so oof to the bit about "using my online writing as a substitute for not being heard," except for me, being heard by loved ones isn't my problem, it's being heard by the masses who I feel driven to move, as in make something in them stir. It's all I can do to maintain any hope or sanity. But anyhow, enjoyed reading another autistic writer's experience. I might share a post with you, but I have several drafts right now that I have been wishing I had someone else who would offer genuine feedback before I hit post on any of them. We need like an autistic writer's club and support group.
I definitely relate hard to the dynamic of feeling like my work is going into a void. I'm just now seeing some traction around my writing in a public space (thank you for your thoughtful comments, by the way!). And I wish I had proof of "why" it's happening now and not, say, in the last 10+ years of trying.
The only hint I have right now is that I began prioritizing what created the most nourishing "felt sense" in my body and daily life—even if those writing activities were counter to all the marketing advice out there. Basically, if something made me sad or sick to my stomach, I did not do that thing. I still do not do those things. Instead I began slowly, happily, if not a little blindly, to swim in the writing I love around the topics I love. And looking back now, I am GUESSING that this playfulness has helped me keep plucking my writing down week after week. Somewhere in the mix, I have found a long-elusive stamina to just keep posting even if my posts don't all garner the same connection/feedback/attention I'd hoped for. (In the mix is also autism awareness and changing my self care regimen and making sure I am "feeding" myself the good things.)
I was gonna say: I hope you'll chime in during the next Ask an Editor and just get a sense of what a touchpoint a few times a month can offer. I also understand the ramen dinner phase, too! There's usually a 7-day free trial live on my newsletter, so just watch for that next discussion thread to come through and come get a boost! ☀️
Thank you, I will keep an eye out. In happy (maybe) news, I might be picking up a new Microsoft gig soon, so much as I would love to be able to just be at the earning a living writing stage already and drop out of the capitalist rat race, I am not going to turn this down, if offered. Ramen ia not a great long-term survival plan lol.
Oh lol, I see you kind of have that sort of thing for a paid subscription. Hopefully in the future I can do that. In a "ramen for dinner" phase of life right now.
Your post is full of insight that is so valuable and many of the comments you have attracted are extremely beneficial too! Thank you, Amanda. There is so much to take away!
I have only been writing for about 4 or 5 months on here. I have no previous experience of writing publicly apart from having a short story of my son's death published in a self-published anthology. and the thing that is facebook.
I am getting clearer about who I am writing for (probably middle aging caring women who have or are about to have an empty nest. I was a Personal Coach for 20 years and combine my knowledge with my significant life experience as an expression of who I am. If it helps anyone else that's icing on the cake.
And I know that it's going to take a lucky break to get enough subscribers so I can make a living as a writer. I bought a course for self-publishing but the thought of all the marketing drains the life out of me. I am friendly, open and honest in my sharing. I am consistant, publishing something weekly. I had over 200 views on one and pinned it to the top but not that many new subscribers. I am a bit inconsistant with making comments. Well very inconsistant really. Like you I sometimes leave it too long. I like to process things through rather than jumping in too quickly. I have friends and family on my list but feel less self-conscious about that when and it does help to discuss my writing with some of them.
I wonder how writers keep going... without engagement.... ?
I think it's really important in the beginning of writing to not try to force it to become "a thing." The work of pulling something out of you and then sharing it with the world is work enough. I would be overwhelmed by a self-publishing course and I even had a small self-publishing team for a while—it's a lot, too much, really.
What I've learned, and what has taken the most practice for me, is to practice showing up in other writing settings. SEO (I used to write at an agency for this stuff) won't get you the readers you need (maybe eventually it'll boost it, but not right now). People need to know you're here, that you care and oh, by the way, you're also writing about things that matter a lot to you. For me, the best way to do this is to click on the "explore" tab on Substack and start searching for other people who have walked through deep personal loss. Bring the gift of thoughtfulness to your reading of others' writing and see if you feel inspired to post a comment. Sometimes I don't have a direct connection to the topic I read, BUT I was stirred or reminded of something that overlaps in some way. Share about that overlap. The nice thing about Substack is you don't need to remind people in every comment that you're writing (that's why lots of us are here!). It's your job in the beginning to care about the craft of writing and to remind people, "Hey! I'm here. Here's what I think..."
When we share from a place of honesty (being so inspired by someone's writing that you JUST HAVE TO COMMENT), people's curiosity will perk up. Then your writing on your page needs to do the work to inspire them to keep reading.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and expertise Amanda. I really appreciate it. I will take note.
I do believe I am writing about what I care very deeply about. And I am doing it for me really. My top values now being Authenticity & Expression. This is what i wish for everybody to experience. Exploring grief and loss are really what have helped me get to this point. My real passion is that everyone deserves to be a fully expressed human. I haven't found this so easy to 'explore' as it gets expressed in different ways. :-)
I know this is, like, THE piece of yours that everyone loved, but...there’s a good reason for that: we feel you. As one incredible-writer-who-deserves-more-readership to another: I see you. Thank for your authentic share. 💜
I've come late to this article (found it thanks to a share by KimBoo York). We have very similar backgrounds (esp the part about being an editor who tends to hide behind client work). So much of this resonates with me. Consistency... ooooph. I'm new to Substack and still finding my way. Glad to find you here.
First off, thank you for writing this piece. I resonated with quite a lot of it. I have long suspected that I'm among the undiagnosed older, female ADHD folks. Usually, it's not a problem. But when it's stirred in with disappointment over "writing into the void", it can be crippling from a writing perspective.
Your piece comfortingly reassured me that I'm not alone.
One layer, I think, that contributes to my glacier-speed subscriber growth is the fact that what I write about is a labor of love but not of interest to many people. I have a Substack that focuses on increasing self-reliance and health, and another Substack that is all about living the Fantasy genre lifestyle. Pretty niche.
I'll admit, I've often wondered if I should write about something with broader appeal, but then why would I be writing it? So I can hope for acceptance, only to be crushed when I don't find it because I'm so small? Do I want to put my heart out there to be crushed again? And would that writing be authentic? There would be no passion or interest in it for me, and I suspect it would trickle out over time. So I go with my gut, and stay true to the niches I enjoy, that I CAN write about with passion and joy.
So where do dilemmas such as this leave people like you and I?
I still don't know, but thank you for being a like-minded soul in the fog.
Follow your instincts to write about what regenerates you. All the other writing will slowly kill you, not to be too dramatic. 😉 The other half of me also says, keep tending to your craft. Get the first three sentences just right. Make sure visually your writing doesn't create "eye hiccups." Make use of tension, surprise and wonder. Readers are longing for writers they can trust and stories that give them a better experience than their lives can. You're working with the right ingredients.
People trip cause they look outside. Writing is a gift in itself. Except the best & not be attached to numbers. If you feel good about what you wrote, you won. ❤️
Whenever I write something, anything, I tell my fiancé immediately to read it RIGHT NOW.
Then I stare at him as he reads it and every time he laughs out loud I demand to know what's so funny. And he goes: "all of it, favourite, it's really good! But the place I was just reading was about---" and that's like 90% of my reason for writing.
Yes, yes, yes! There's a part of you waiting and hoping, watching to see if the YOU who exists on the page is celebrated in other places of your lived life. I know this energy intimately. I sometimes feel like Jo running through the house, yelling, "Marmee! Marmee! My story's going to be published! Five whole dollars!" 🫶
Sometimes I do wonder if he just finds it good because he can read it exactly in my voice and get every nuance, that's lost on other people. actually I don't even wonder, I KNOW he does. I guess the ultimate hope is that at least some people will stick around long enough to also get to know your voice and appreciate the nuance right?
That's such a good point of reflection, actually. Sometimes the rhythmic qualities of our voice are hard to nail down into the written word. Have you tried recording voiceovers on your posts? I'd find the one with the most hearts on it and give it a try. There is definitely an art in "editorial wayfinding," and it takes some real experimentation to find the tools to bring all of you to the writing table.
Yes! I recorded it and then I asked folks online what they thought. 🙈 I was so nervous, but it turns out, the folks who did listen, enjoyed it a lot. So I have some plans in the future to keep recording... What do you think?
Thank you so much for writing this and sharing! I’m still a newbie substack writer and I’m lucky enough to get at least one subscriber with one post but honestly it’s difficult climbing that ladder and getting more people to see my work.
It helps knowing that I’m not struggling alone.
Also while the idea of timing plays into readership I sometimes wonder about dabbling in different things, there’s so many new stuff I want to put out but would it make my work disjointed? I don’t know.
Janoma, I feel this struggle! I do think timing has something to do with what we create, but not as much as how much we are woven into what we're creating. Sharing about our creations probably relies a little more on timing, but not as much.
There's no real formula for launching, or people being ready.
What probably matters most is that all of you is ready to come to the table of your life. This sounds trite, but I mean it sincerely, from experience of many decades of hiding. The world and its "leaders" likes to reward us for hiding what makes us who we are. And it does take some sense of "inner readiness" to stand up anyways. We need people reminding us of the truth of who we are, day in and day out. I hope my writing is a place where all of you can keep coming to the surface. In time, your writing and readers will meet at that intersection.
I appreciate your insight into the frustration we authors often feel. I’m not one to blame the algorithm. It is what it is. It’s usually just the fact that I don’t write enough. On Substack right now, it’s OK because I’m just publishing one chapter per week of my already written novel. I am concerned that when that’s over, things may get a little shaky. Lol!
There's definitely a whole new world of writing involved AFTER the book is published. It'll call on a lot of your creativity and risk taking to find ways to invite people to consider your story from all different angles. It's WORK, but it is FUN work if you love what you're doing. Stay tuned. I have a discussion thread in the works for readers to discuss how to creatively "cast the net" for readers.
Talk about being late to the party! *holds up hand* I've been on Substack almost 2 years. In that time, I figured out that my heart wasn't in my first newsletter, which was more successful than the one I happily sink into for hours at a time when I can (An Enchanted Life) I don't get the eyeballs I wish I had, but I do acknowledge that the fantasy genre (while perhaps less of a niche than my first newsletter), is a niche just the same. Not everyone reads fantasy or cares about the layers of it that I do.
Much of Substack is devoted to non-fiction that just doesn't apply to what I do here that it can sometimes feel a little lonely with 7 steady readers out of 83 subs. I'm not going to blame the algorithm, I'm sure the failing is mine. Hopefully I can figure out what I'm not doing right.
Oh thanks. If you still have capacity, I’d hoped this would have had further reach:
https://open.substack.com/pub/samgallowayaudhd/p/how-autistic-menopause-is-like-autistic?r=2pp93s&utm_medium=ios
I’m hoping it’s okay to just pop that there as a fellow autistic person who is not a small talker.
If not, “hello!” * etc.
*insert small talk here
Thank you SO much for this article (coming in months late, but here I am!) I really felt very word...and the part about the writing online being a substitute for loved ones reading it and hearing what you have to say - oof. That hits hard. (and same here)
"I was using my online writing as a substitute for being heard by the people who matter most in my life. I sort of assumed that I was fine without my best friend and my husband reading what I write, but I was wrong. I need them to be with me in this."
This was so key to me. Having my mom, dad, and little sister subscribe has helped me think really precisely about why I’m writing in the first place, i.e. to enrich the lives of people I care about. Hopefully I can bring as many people as possible into the fold, but it should start with the people closest to your heart.
Thank you for sharing this so honestly! There’s a lot I resonate with and a lot I feel like I am experiencing myself. It made my heart feel a lot lighter to read this today, I’m grateful I stumbled across your work!
Reading this helped me. I'm also late-recognized autistic, but a lifelong writer, and so often it feels like my words pass into a void and I have to wonder why I bother, except that I need to get it out, so oof to the bit about "using my online writing as a substitute for not being heard," except for me, being heard by loved ones isn't my problem, it's being heard by the masses who I feel driven to move, as in make something in them stir. It's all I can do to maintain any hope or sanity. But anyhow, enjoyed reading another autistic writer's experience. I might share a post with you, but I have several drafts right now that I have been wishing I had someone else who would offer genuine feedback before I hit post on any of them. We need like an autistic writer's club and support group.
I definitely relate hard to the dynamic of feeling like my work is going into a void. I'm just now seeing some traction around my writing in a public space (thank you for your thoughtful comments, by the way!). And I wish I had proof of "why" it's happening now and not, say, in the last 10+ years of trying.
The only hint I have right now is that I began prioritizing what created the most nourishing "felt sense" in my body and daily life—even if those writing activities were counter to all the marketing advice out there. Basically, if something made me sad or sick to my stomach, I did not do that thing. I still do not do those things. Instead I began slowly, happily, if not a little blindly, to swim in the writing I love around the topics I love. And looking back now, I am GUESSING that this playfulness has helped me keep plucking my writing down week after week. Somewhere in the mix, I have found a long-elusive stamina to just keep posting even if my posts don't all garner the same connection/feedback/attention I'd hoped for. (In the mix is also autism awareness and changing my self care regimen and making sure I am "feeding" myself the good things.)
I was gonna say: I hope you'll chime in during the next Ask an Editor and just get a sense of what a touchpoint a few times a month can offer. I also understand the ramen dinner phase, too! There's usually a 7-day free trial live on my newsletter, so just watch for that next discussion thread to come through and come get a boost! ☀️
Thank you, I will keep an eye out. In happy (maybe) news, I might be picking up a new Microsoft gig soon, so much as I would love to be able to just be at the earning a living writing stage already and drop out of the capitalist rat race, I am not going to turn this down, if offered. Ramen ia not a great long-term survival plan lol.
Oh lol, I see you kind of have that sort of thing for a paid subscription. Hopefully in the future I can do that. In a "ramen for dinner" phase of life right now.
Your post is full of insight that is so valuable and many of the comments you have attracted are extremely beneficial too! Thank you, Amanda. There is so much to take away!
Just saw this link on your notes...
I have only been writing for about 4 or 5 months on here. I have no previous experience of writing publicly apart from having a short story of my son's death published in a self-published anthology. and the thing that is facebook.
I am getting clearer about who I am writing for (probably middle aging caring women who have or are about to have an empty nest. I was a Personal Coach for 20 years and combine my knowledge with my significant life experience as an expression of who I am. If it helps anyone else that's icing on the cake.
And I know that it's going to take a lucky break to get enough subscribers so I can make a living as a writer. I bought a course for self-publishing but the thought of all the marketing drains the life out of me. I am friendly, open and honest in my sharing. I am consistant, publishing something weekly. I had over 200 views on one and pinned it to the top but not that many new subscribers. I am a bit inconsistant with making comments. Well very inconsistant really. Like you I sometimes leave it too long. I like to process things through rather than jumping in too quickly. I have friends and family on my list but feel less self-conscious about that when and it does help to discuss my writing with some of them.
I wonder how writers keep going... without engagement.... ?
I think it's really important in the beginning of writing to not try to force it to become "a thing." The work of pulling something out of you and then sharing it with the world is work enough. I would be overwhelmed by a self-publishing course and I even had a small self-publishing team for a while—it's a lot, too much, really.
What I've learned, and what has taken the most practice for me, is to practice showing up in other writing settings. SEO (I used to write at an agency for this stuff) won't get you the readers you need (maybe eventually it'll boost it, but not right now). People need to know you're here, that you care and oh, by the way, you're also writing about things that matter a lot to you. For me, the best way to do this is to click on the "explore" tab on Substack and start searching for other people who have walked through deep personal loss. Bring the gift of thoughtfulness to your reading of others' writing and see if you feel inspired to post a comment. Sometimes I don't have a direct connection to the topic I read, BUT I was stirred or reminded of something that overlaps in some way. Share about that overlap. The nice thing about Substack is you don't need to remind people in every comment that you're writing (that's why lots of us are here!). It's your job in the beginning to care about the craft of writing and to remind people, "Hey! I'm here. Here's what I think..."
When we share from a place of honesty (being so inspired by someone's writing that you JUST HAVE TO COMMENT), people's curiosity will perk up. Then your writing on your page needs to do the work to inspire them to keep reading.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and expertise Amanda. I really appreciate it. I will take note.
I do believe I am writing about what I care very deeply about. And I am doing it for me really. My top values now being Authenticity & Expression. This is what i wish for everybody to experience. Exploring grief and loss are really what have helped me get to this point. My real passion is that everyone deserves to be a fully expressed human. I haven't found this so easy to 'explore' as it gets expressed in different ways. :-)
I know this is, like, THE piece of yours that everyone loved, but...there’s a good reason for that: we feel you. As one incredible-writer-who-deserves-more-readership to another: I see you. Thank for your authentic share. 💜
I've come late to this article (found it thanks to a share by KimBoo York). We have very similar backgrounds (esp the part about being an editor who tends to hide behind client work). So much of this resonates with me. Consistency... ooooph. I'm new to Substack and still finding my way. Glad to find you here.
First off, thank you for writing this piece. I resonated with quite a lot of it. I have long suspected that I'm among the undiagnosed older, female ADHD folks. Usually, it's not a problem. But when it's stirred in with disappointment over "writing into the void", it can be crippling from a writing perspective.
Your piece comfortingly reassured me that I'm not alone.
One layer, I think, that contributes to my glacier-speed subscriber growth is the fact that what I write about is a labor of love but not of interest to many people. I have a Substack that focuses on increasing self-reliance and health, and another Substack that is all about living the Fantasy genre lifestyle. Pretty niche.
I'll admit, I've often wondered if I should write about something with broader appeal, but then why would I be writing it? So I can hope for acceptance, only to be crushed when I don't find it because I'm so small? Do I want to put my heart out there to be crushed again? And would that writing be authentic? There would be no passion or interest in it for me, and I suspect it would trickle out over time. So I go with my gut, and stay true to the niches I enjoy, that I CAN write about with passion and joy.
So where do dilemmas such as this leave people like you and I?
I still don't know, but thank you for being a like-minded soul in the fog.
Follow your instincts to write about what regenerates you. All the other writing will slowly kill you, not to be too dramatic. 😉 The other half of me also says, keep tending to your craft. Get the first three sentences just right. Make sure visually your writing doesn't create "eye hiccups." Make use of tension, surprise and wonder. Readers are longing for writers they can trust and stories that give them a better experience than their lives can. You're working with the right ingredients.
Thank you, I appreciate that!
People trip cause they look outside. Writing is a gift in itself. Except the best & not be attached to numbers. If you feel good about what you wrote, you won. ❤️
Whenever I write something, anything, I tell my fiancé immediately to read it RIGHT NOW.
Then I stare at him as he reads it and every time he laughs out loud I demand to know what's so funny. And he goes: "all of it, favourite, it's really good! But the place I was just reading was about---" and that's like 90% of my reason for writing.
Yes, yes, yes! There's a part of you waiting and hoping, watching to see if the YOU who exists on the page is celebrated in other places of your lived life. I know this energy intimately. I sometimes feel like Jo running through the house, yelling, "Marmee! Marmee! My story's going to be published! Five whole dollars!" 🫶
Sometimes I do wonder if he just finds it good because he can read it exactly in my voice and get every nuance, that's lost on other people. actually I don't even wonder, I KNOW he does. I guess the ultimate hope is that at least some people will stick around long enough to also get to know your voice and appreciate the nuance right?
That's such a good point of reflection, actually. Sometimes the rhythmic qualities of our voice are hard to nail down into the written word. Have you tried recording voiceovers on your posts? I'd find the one with the most hearts on it and give it a try. There is definitely an art in "editorial wayfinding," and it takes some real experimentation to find the tools to bring all of you to the writing table.
Oooof that's a really interesting idea. I'll have to try if not for any other reason but because it sounds like fun! Have you ever tried it?
Yes! I recorded it and then I asked folks online what they thought. 🙈 I was so nervous, but it turns out, the folks who did listen, enjoyed it a lot. So I have some plans in the future to keep recording... What do you think?
https://theeditingspectrum.substack.com/p/blue-jeans-my-dog-and-the-nature
This is a really kind and incisive reflection—and all very relatable. Thank you!
Thank you so much for writing this and sharing! I’m still a newbie substack writer and I’m lucky enough to get at least one subscriber with one post but honestly it’s difficult climbing that ladder and getting more people to see my work.
It helps knowing that I’m not struggling alone.
Also while the idea of timing plays into readership I sometimes wonder about dabbling in different things, there’s so many new stuff I want to put out but would it make my work disjointed? I don’t know.
Good luck too more!
Janoma, I feel this struggle! I do think timing has something to do with what we create, but not as much as how much we are woven into what we're creating. Sharing about our creations probably relies a little more on timing, but not as much.
There's no real formula for launching, or people being ready.
What probably matters most is that all of you is ready to come to the table of your life. This sounds trite, but I mean it sincerely, from experience of many decades of hiding. The world and its "leaders" likes to reward us for hiding what makes us who we are. And it does take some sense of "inner readiness" to stand up anyways. We need people reminding us of the truth of who we are, day in and day out. I hope my writing is a place where all of you can keep coming to the surface. In time, your writing and readers will meet at that intersection.
🥹this is encouraging thank you ☺️
I appreciate your insight into the frustration we authors often feel. I’m not one to blame the algorithm. It is what it is. It’s usually just the fact that I don’t write enough. On Substack right now, it’s OK because I’m just publishing one chapter per week of my already written novel. I am concerned that when that’s over, things may get a little shaky. Lol!
There's definitely a whole new world of writing involved AFTER the book is published. It'll call on a lot of your creativity and risk taking to find ways to invite people to consider your story from all different angles. It's WORK, but it is FUN work if you love what you're doing. Stay tuned. I have a discussion thread in the works for readers to discuss how to creatively "cast the net" for readers.
Thanks. I just subscribed to your Substack, so I look forward to reading and engaging with that thread.