I totally related to this. A few years ago, I did use my creative products to post to social, but it still became such a burden that it took a lot of joy out of both processes. This was even more so when I learned of the stats, like that even among those with the largest followings, less than 10% (maybe it was 3%) will ever buy anything. (Those stats may be different now.) I'm in a different place now, doing things in a way I find enjoyable that puts my writing and art first. If I am fortunate enough to share and connect with those who also enjoy them, great. It's an interesting give and take, finding a balance that feels right.
I remember your floral pictures well. You've made me want to read this book. I definitely allow all manner of social media distract me from whatever it is I actually want to do. Perhaps believing if I can find success with say Instagram, that I will magically find success with my writing. Turning the likes off on Instagram was so freeing!
I love your honesty in this piece. Thank you for sharing lots of aspects of your writing journey so far, it's insightful and helpful to read! Inspired me to think about where I spend my creative energy!
Oh gosh, this resonates so much with me! I remember spending full days at a time taking photos and creating content, and then I’d be too tired to actually complete my outstanding orders and so I’d fall behind.
My relationship with social media, specifically Instagram at the moment is turbulent. I’m just so fed up with creating content that isn’t shown to my audience. I’ve written about my thoughts on Instagram being an extroverts platform here:
Excellent reminder, Helen....this is why I know that Substack just isn't for me -- at least right now (I'm learning to never say never lol), because I'm in that vulnerable phase where I could easily get knocked off-course by "noble distractions". I just need to get my head down and be writing for now....the other stuff can come later. xo
I think this is true but at the same time, no audience no time for work, unless you have resources to draw from. Surely it’s a balance between creation and promotion (and this is coming from someone who would happily live in a lighthouse).
Helen, I had to chuckle at your attempt to fill that TV void with social media. When my agent shopped around my collection of short stories years ago, she was told once by a publisher that I favorably reminded him of Neil Gaiman but the problem was I didn't have Gaiman's platform. I wondered how I might concoct Gaiman's following, or how he himself did before getting that first published book. Also, I have been guilty of 'liking' my own stuff, if only to encourage the "first follower." No one wants to be dead first.
Great post with some interesting introspection for artists of all stripes. I started this blog in tandem with writing my memoirs, but the past week more of my energy has gone into my substack than my memoirs. I think it has been helpful as an outlet for my Journaling, so I don't feel all energy has been lost, but I'm definitely noticing that work on my memoirs has stalled.
See, Joaquin this is something I’ve been thinking about too. I don’t see Substack as a distraction from my book writing as one feeds into the other. Plus I’m coming back from burnout and this is what’s helping me right now. However, going forward I need and want to ensure the book writing isn’t neglected in favour of a quicker article.
I am fortunate in that my substack is in the same vein as my memoir (even same title) "Find Meaning in Adversity", it definitely has helped to get out some of my ideas faster, and also connect with fellow Authors.
Helen, I’m not going to lie I love your pictures 😅❤️
But I agree with you, we only have so much energy and creativity on the daily. And as a creative we need to learn where to invest our energy and understand what we truly want to prioritize.
At the moment I’m also debating on this. For me the writing come first but I also like the aesthetic part of the creative presentation... So I’m considering just using Canva pictures and occasionally using my own if I feel like sharing them in my writing.
But also, I have to admit Canva have so many pretty pictures that sometimes choosing one can take me more than I would like to admit hahaha...
Is all about self awareness I guess...
A part of me also would like to not think about aesthetic’s and just post normal natural pictures...
I wonder actually what can resonate more with my audience...
AND at the same time I’m here writing this thinking 🤔 Is this still me trying to get the likes? Hahaha ...or is me genuinely trying to create a beautiful online space... I have to meditated on this one.
Thank you, Paloma. I have to admit I did enjoy taking the photos. Although sometimes it was stressful chasing the likes. I mean I was being creative which is a good thing. But I wasn’t doing what, deep down, I wanted to do.
And please don’t let my article make you overthink your online actions. Wanting to create a beautiful online space plus wanting to create connections is a lovely thing. We cannot all create in isolation. 😘
This is a timely reminder! I remember hearing the writer Steven Pressfield on a podcast and he talked about all of this- writing on a blog and even being interviewed on a podcast- was all a kind of procrastination because it took him away from writing his book. I think of this often.
I recently quit Instagram (or rather, I ghosted IG...) for exactly this reason. I had discovered that I could "translate" my long-form essays into slide decks for Instagram. I challenged myself to use design and visual thinking to make my ideas accessible within that format. And I really enjoyed it. But it took 4-8 hours every week to put together my 2 posts. And that was on top of the 20-40 hours I spent on why writing and the corresponding podcast episode. I did earn new IG followers with this strategy—but was it really worth that time? No, no it wasn't.
I got caught up in sharing my work in a way that took me away from activities that had much higher returns. I'm spending part of my old IG time on Substack now—engaging with Notes, reading people's work, and writing comments. The rest of my old IG time is going back into writing.
This is a really helpful distinction to make - between documenting our creativity and staging it for likes. Thanks.
I totally related to this. A few years ago, I did use my creative products to post to social, but it still became such a burden that it took a lot of joy out of both processes. This was even more so when I learned of the stats, like that even among those with the largest followings, less than 10% (maybe it was 3%) will ever buy anything. (Those stats may be different now.) I'm in a different place now, doing things in a way I find enjoyable that puts my writing and art first. If I am fortunate enough to share and connect with those who also enjoy them, great. It's an interesting give and take, finding a balance that feels right.
I remember your floral pictures well. You've made me want to read this book. I definitely allow all manner of social media distract me from whatever it is I actually want to do. Perhaps believing if I can find success with say Instagram, that I will magically find success with my writing. Turning the likes off on Instagram was so freeing!
“Perhaps believing if I can find success with say Instagram, that I will magically find success with my writing.” - hard relate to this, Jenny! 😂
Beautiful photos and a brilliant and thought provoking piece Helen ... 🌺 you are exceptionally talented in creating gorgeous words and pictures 🌻
I wish I could like this post more than once! ❤️❤️❤️ Just so good! 🥰
I love your honesty in this piece. Thank you for sharing lots of aspects of your writing journey so far, it's insightful and helpful to read! Inspired me to think about where I spend my creative energy!
Oh gosh, this resonates so much with me! I remember spending full days at a time taking photos and creating content, and then I’d be too tired to actually complete my outstanding orders and so I’d fall behind.
My relationship with social media, specifically Instagram at the moment is turbulent. I’m just so fed up with creating content that isn’t shown to my audience. I’ve written about my thoughts on Instagram being an extroverts platform here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/simpleandcalm/p/thedownfallofinstagram?utm_source=direct&r=1qsdfj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you so much for sharing this piece, and your last piece about Austin Kleon’s book. They’ve both been an eye opener for me 🤯
Excellent reminder, Helen....this is why I know that Substack just isn't for me -- at least right now (I'm learning to never say never lol), because I'm in that vulnerable phase where I could easily get knocked off-course by "noble distractions". I just need to get my head down and be writing for now....the other stuff can come later. xo
I think this is true but at the same time, no audience no time for work, unless you have resources to draw from. Surely it’s a balance between creation and promotion (and this is coming from someone who would happily live in a lighthouse).
As a relative newcomer to the whole find-your-audience-online game, articles like this are valuable advice. Thank you for this.
Helen, I had to chuckle at your attempt to fill that TV void with social media. When my agent shopped around my collection of short stories years ago, she was told once by a publisher that I favorably reminded him of Neil Gaiman but the problem was I didn't have Gaiman's platform. I wondered how I might concoct Gaiman's following, or how he himself did before getting that first published book. Also, I have been guilty of 'liking' my own stuff, if only to encourage the "first follower." No one wants to be dead first.
Great post with some interesting introspection for artists of all stripes. I started this blog in tandem with writing my memoirs, but the past week more of my energy has gone into my substack than my memoirs. I think it has been helpful as an outlet for my Journaling, so I don't feel all energy has been lost, but I'm definitely noticing that work on my memoirs has stalled.
See, Joaquin this is something I’ve been thinking about too. I don’t see Substack as a distraction from my book writing as one feeds into the other. Plus I’m coming back from burnout and this is what’s helping me right now. However, going forward I need and want to ensure the book writing isn’t neglected in favour of a quicker article.
I am fortunate in that my substack is in the same vein as my memoir (even same title) "Find Meaning in Adversity", it definitely has helped to get out some of my ideas faster, and also connect with fellow Authors.
Helen, I’m not going to lie I love your pictures 😅❤️
But I agree with you, we only have so much energy and creativity on the daily. And as a creative we need to learn where to invest our energy and understand what we truly want to prioritize.
At the moment I’m also debating on this. For me the writing come first but I also like the aesthetic part of the creative presentation... So I’m considering just using Canva pictures and occasionally using my own if I feel like sharing them in my writing.
But also, I have to admit Canva have so many pretty pictures that sometimes choosing one can take me more than I would like to admit hahaha...
Is all about self awareness I guess...
A part of me also would like to not think about aesthetic’s and just post normal natural pictures...
I wonder actually what can resonate more with my audience...
AND at the same time I’m here writing this thinking 🤔 Is this still me trying to get the likes? Hahaha ...or is me genuinely trying to create a beautiful online space... I have to meditated on this one.
Thanks for sharing it, as always 😘
Thank you, Paloma. I have to admit I did enjoy taking the photos. Although sometimes it was stressful chasing the likes. I mean I was being creative which is a good thing. But I wasn’t doing what, deep down, I wanted to do.
And please don’t let my article make you overthink your online actions. Wanting to create a beautiful online space plus wanting to create connections is a lovely thing. We cannot all create in isolation. 😘
Thank you for this! This distinction is SO important. It’s also why a lot of us writers never felt quite at home on Instagram/TikTok.
This is a timely reminder! I remember hearing the writer Steven Pressfield on a podcast and he talked about all of this- writing on a blog and even being interviewed on a podcast- was all a kind of procrastination because it took him away from writing his book. I think of this often.
I recently quit Instagram (or rather, I ghosted IG...) for exactly this reason. I had discovered that I could "translate" my long-form essays into slide decks for Instagram. I challenged myself to use design and visual thinking to make my ideas accessible within that format. And I really enjoyed it. But it took 4-8 hours every week to put together my 2 posts. And that was on top of the 20-40 hours I spent on why writing and the corresponding podcast episode. I did earn new IG followers with this strategy—but was it really worth that time? No, no it wasn't.
I got caught up in sharing my work in a way that took me away from activities that had much higher returns. I'm spending part of my old IG time on Substack now—engaging with Notes, reading people's work, and writing comments. The rest of my old IG time is going back into writing.