Truer words were never spoken. It's so frustrating that the value of writing boils down to numbers and engagement. I might not be growing quickly but I'm writing for me <33
Freya!!! I LOVE U! hi! exactly, I keep being reminded of how much we actually still love doing this because it’s our way to connect with the world and our way to connect with people, even if the lights are off and many people aren’t returning, we keep getting better each day and we keep trying to stay consistent because we love this world we created, we don’t see ourselves without it anymore. That’s true passion. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. ❤️
you never miss the mark Amanda! i can feel your frustration throughout and it really does resonate with me. staying true to yourself is so important for a writer, it’s all we’ve got really! thank you for an incredible piece, sorry i’ve somehow missed all your writing this year but look forward to catching up on it all soon 🫶🏽🫶🏽
LAHARI!!! I MISSED YOUUUU!!! 🥹⭐️ I’m very glad you read this post, though. It’s so frustrating to keep incentivizing art and literature and keep writing through self discovery for a platform that just wants to be quick & easy social media, but we continue because we just love the ones that stayed here with us, through everything. Sometimes you just don’t realize how much you actually still love doing something when the lights are off. I’m constantly being reminded of my own start, I’m really here for love. ❤️
YES! It sucks that this is what feels like to work in freelance writing/editing lol, I’m so glad that I decided to create a space here to just share my thoughts and experiences as a writer (and just write about whatever I’m passionate about) and people support that and engage with it, it makes me so happy to be a writer and it makes me want to support people as soon as I see passion coming through their words, because it’s really rebellion, as you’ve said, they’re not just a soulless voice writing about whatever’s trendy, it comes from within them, it’s something inherently theirs, it’s true fucking writing. ❤️
you get it, buddy. you just get it!! we aren’t numbers at all. we are our thoughts which honestly expand in every direction and that’s incredible! we cannot be numbers and propagate “sameness” in a world that already survives a lot on ‘content creation’. there’s nothing wrong with that but if we are all reduced to click bait pieces then where will our minds go? I LOOVED reading this so much!! more power to you!!
Sakhi!!! 🥹✨ I love your comments ✨ exactly!! I mean, if a good 90% of social media is already meant to endorse consumerism and hedonistic escapism , what will our future be? All we want is space for our ideas!
babe did you take a peek inside my diary?!?! how is you always knows what it is i need to see expressed? ur everything and work is everything. sweet girl never once doubt that you are worth the whole world ❤️❤️❤️✨️✨️✨️ and fuck Capitalism.
oh my god why am i sobbing over this 🥹 thank you thank you thank you a million times my angel princess! ⭐️✨ you’re such a star and you’re definitely one of the reasons why i’m still standing here, YOU always write what i need to see expressed!!! i always think about you when i’m being brave and when i’m being the best writer i can be to everyone here 🩷 you’re my #1 inspiration and i just love you SO much 🩷🩷 and fuck capitalism!
Oh girl I am right there with you. My growth has fallen OFF, and the dissonance has been real. On one hand, I feel my writing getting better and better and I'm so proud of the work I'm producing, but on the other hand, when I share, it's just crickets compared to a few months ago. A few months ago I was gaining 2k subscribers a month, now I'm down to 300, and I'm just like WHAT DID I DO haha. The frustration comes in waves, but I'm just trying to keep my head down and keep going and have faith that eventually, if I keep doing the work, the tide will turn. We're in this together -- and if it makes you feel any better, I've heard a lot of similar concerns from other sub stackers. It feels like it's happening across the board to an extent.
CAROLINE! exactly! This has been SO weird to me because all of my writer friends (you’re absolutely included in that list) have been getting better and better and I see that happening and I’m SO CONFUSED?!!! Why does it feel like we’re kinda stuck? And it’s not about numbers, it’s really about our words reaching people! 2k to 300 is EXACTLY where I’m at 😭😭 Omg and we all have been talking about it, and I don’t know if we’re being shadow banned or if it’s just Substack trying something new without warning us (so typical) but anyway, what matters is that we all see the GREAT work currently happening, even if it comes from our circle 🩷😭
I feel like Substack is just trying something new. I hope they go back to whatever they WERE doing! But tbh I remember when this happened on Instagram, and it never went back ughhh. Just gotta keep going and hoping that’s not the case.
OH MY GOD YESS!!!!! this was EXACTLY when I decided to leave instagram! oh no 😭💔 but let’s just keep going because you keep getting better and better and everyone who got here before the great depression became loyal readers (me included!)
I LOVE YOU 🥹🥹🥹 i’m honestly so relieved that I wasn‘t the only one feeling the dissonance here, makes me feel a little bit better 🥺 again I LOVE U very much and I’m SO glad that I’m receiving your posts the second you post them, I haven’t been receiving posts from many of my friends lately 💔💔
Live it. It's true. I get down on my stuff and yet, somehow, somewhere I still write what flows from me. You, I can tell do that too. You're an artist, writer, and love it. Thank you. 🌹🫶🥹
“Live it.” WOW!! you definitely inspired something that I’m about to write soon, it’s coming. You’re always so inspirational and wonderful, Mark! Thank you! 🥹🫶🏻
Truer words were never spoken. It's so frustrating that the value of writing boils down to numbers and engagement. I might not be growing quickly but I'm writing for me <33
Freya!!! I LOVE U! hi! exactly, I keep being reminded of how much we actually still love doing this because it’s our way to connect with the world and our way to connect with people, even if the lights are off and many people aren’t returning, we keep getting better each day and we keep trying to stay consistent because we love this world we created, we don’t see ourselves without it anymore. That’s true passion. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. ❤️
you never miss the mark Amanda! i can feel your frustration throughout and it really does resonate with me. staying true to yourself is so important for a writer, it’s all we’ve got really! thank you for an incredible piece, sorry i’ve somehow missed all your writing this year but look forward to catching up on it all soon 🫶🏽🫶🏽
LAHARI!!! I MISSED YOUUUU!!! 🥹⭐️ I’m very glad you read this post, though. It’s so frustrating to keep incentivizing art and literature and keep writing through self discovery for a platform that just wants to be quick & easy social media, but we continue because we just love the ones that stayed here with us, through everything. Sometimes you just don’t realize how much you actually still love doing something when the lights are off. I’m constantly being reminded of my own start, I’m really here for love. ❤️
GOD I am so tired of everything needing to monetizable. Feels like cyberpunk at this point. Writing feels like rebellion though, so hell yeah.
YES! It sucks that this is what feels like to work in freelance writing/editing lol, I’m so glad that I decided to create a space here to just share my thoughts and experiences as a writer (and just write about whatever I’m passionate about) and people support that and engage with it, it makes me so happy to be a writer and it makes me want to support people as soon as I see passion coming through their words, because it’s really rebellion, as you’ve said, they’re not just a soulless voice writing about whatever’s trendy, it comes from within them, it’s something inherently theirs, it’s true fucking writing. ❤️
John, please, no.
EXACTLY
always on the mark 🤌🏼 coming back to your writing is always refreshing
OH MY GOD IM HAVING A HEART ATTACK RN I MISSED YOU SO MUCH
I MISSED YOUUU🫶🏼🫶🏼🤍
you get it, buddy. you just get it!! we aren’t numbers at all. we are our thoughts which honestly expand in every direction and that’s incredible! we cannot be numbers and propagate “sameness” in a world that already survives a lot on ‘content creation’. there’s nothing wrong with that but if we are all reduced to click bait pieces then where will our minds go? I LOOVED reading this so much!! more power to you!!
Sakhi!!! 🥹✨ I love your comments ✨ exactly!! I mean, if a good 90% of social media is already meant to endorse consumerism and hedonistic escapism , what will our future be? All we want is space for our ideas!
babe did you take a peek inside my diary?!?! how is you always knows what it is i need to see expressed? ur everything and work is everything. sweet girl never once doubt that you are worth the whole world ❤️❤️❤️✨️✨️✨️ and fuck Capitalism.
oh my god why am i sobbing over this 🥹 thank you thank you thank you a million times my angel princess! ⭐️✨ you’re such a star and you’re definitely one of the reasons why i’m still standing here, YOU always write what i need to see expressed!!! i always think about you when i’m being brave and when i’m being the best writer i can be to everyone here 🩷 you’re my #1 inspiration and i just love you SO much 🩷🩷 and fuck capitalism!
Oh girl I am right there with you. My growth has fallen OFF, and the dissonance has been real. On one hand, I feel my writing getting better and better and I'm so proud of the work I'm producing, but on the other hand, when I share, it's just crickets compared to a few months ago. A few months ago I was gaining 2k subscribers a month, now I'm down to 300, and I'm just like WHAT DID I DO haha. The frustration comes in waves, but I'm just trying to keep my head down and keep going and have faith that eventually, if I keep doing the work, the tide will turn. We're in this together -- and if it makes you feel any better, I've heard a lot of similar concerns from other sub stackers. It feels like it's happening across the board to an extent.
CAROLINE! exactly! This has been SO weird to me because all of my writer friends (you’re absolutely included in that list) have been getting better and better and I see that happening and I’m SO CONFUSED?!!! Why does it feel like we’re kinda stuck? And it’s not about numbers, it’s really about our words reaching people! 2k to 300 is EXACTLY where I’m at 😭😭 Omg and we all have been talking about it, and I don’t know if we’re being shadow banned or if it’s just Substack trying something new without warning us (so typical) but anyway, what matters is that we all see the GREAT work currently happening, even if it comes from our circle 🩷😭
I feel like Substack is just trying something new. I hope they go back to whatever they WERE doing! But tbh I remember when this happened on Instagram, and it never went back ughhh. Just gotta keep going and hoping that’s not the case.
OH MY GOD YESS!!!!! this was EXACTLY when I decided to leave instagram! oh no 😭💔 but let’s just keep going because you keep getting better and better and everyone who got here before the great depression became loyal readers (me included!)
been feeling the dissonance SO much on here, thank you for this bb 💜
I LOVE YOU 🥹🥹🥹 i’m honestly so relieved that I wasn‘t the only one feeling the dissonance here, makes me feel a little bit better 🥺 again I LOVE U very much and I’m SO glad that I’m receiving your posts the second you post them, I haven’t been receiving posts from many of my friends lately 💔💔
Live it. It's true. I get down on my stuff and yet, somehow, somewhere I still write what flows from me. You, I can tell do that too. You're an artist, writer, and love it. Thank you. 🌹🫶🥹
“Live it.” WOW!! you definitely inspired something that I’m about to write soon, it’s coming. You’re always so inspirational and wonderful, Mark! Thank you! 🥹🫶🏻