Holy crap...this is me. Every e-course that I've created had to have more and more and more content. My art membership was so over-the-top with content not just on creating art BUT on the art business side of art because just sharing art techniques wasn't enough. It got so overwhelming that after a year I stopped the membership. Everything I do I need to do more of it. In thinking about Substack, though, it is good that I didn't even know you could do courses because I probably would. I get so overwhelmed with brainstorming and ideas and then this stops me. My favorite e-course that I taught was a small one, five demonstrations, $39 and I loved it because it was short and sweet. No matter how much I tried to do that again, I couldn't and the more I charged, the more I felt that I had to add - even if students weren't able to keep up!. I feel like this is the most truth I've read about over delivering which comes from a place of scarcity and not abundance.
This felt like I was suddenly seen. Maybe all the parts of writing I hate (posting, posting, did you see my post?!) are distractions from the writing - I hide behind the fear that it’s not enough. That feels all sorts of illfitting.
I'm sure this strikes true for many - I know it does me. I recently finally had the courage to turn on pledges (not paid... we'll get there... it's only been two years!), and someone pledge a founder amount. Before I'd even had chance to figure out how to write the subscriber benefits. BEFORE I'd added "the value" - just me. My words.
And it makes no sense when we don't value our words alone, because how many other Substacks do we pledge and pay for, simply because we value the words of others?! It will always be truly, truly baffling to me.
Round and round the roundabout we go... Ha ha... I have been around these realisations for decades. I burn out. I stop. I rest. I start to feel better. I start again. I push. I burn out. Repeat... Each new shiny thing to do, was me pushing. My impatience to succeed has held me back.
I do actually need a lot of variety in my life to feel the flow of it... Writing is the thing that pulls it all together.
I list from career to homemaker, gardener because there are so many things I could do. I keep lists of my ideas but most never happen. Realistically and practically speaking there just isn't enough time or energy to do everything I would like to do.
Now I am prioritising what's important to me. As someone in this thread says, life is too short to do what I don't want to do any more. And I too have noticed that most people making money on line seem to be teaching others how to make money online or courses or what have you...
The thing is we fear not having enough. I am guilty of this too. I am in fear of not being able to pay our bills in the coming months as my husband has surgery on his back and takes a couple of months off. I didn't start my substack to make money but to express myself but I keep getting pulled into the 'how can I make it pay?' thing. It suppresses any creativity I did have out of me though.
We all have bills to pay but if we have enough can we recognise that? Can we trust?
I can not push any more. Haven't been able to for years. My body just goes to pot and I find I can't do anything much beyond the basics needed for life. It's boring!
What I want though it to thrive and I believe the way forward is to honour our energy and be the truest expression of who we are. So who do we want to be?
I want to be free. I want to be free to express. I want to feel well and vibrant and like life is a dance... I want to be among people who want the same. I want to smell the earth and stroke the cat. I want to sing to cheesey music and have kitchen discos...
I worked out that to sustain our lifetyle as it is as my husband (who's older) slows down, I don't need thousands or tens of thousands of paid subscribers. I don't want to be famous either. 800 paid subscribers would be enough to carry on living as we are. Currently I have one! It may take a while. It may never happen. Somehow we will get through. Life has been a LOT harder and I have had a LOT less. I got through somehow.
I am working with a great coach who is helping me to stay true to myself and my intentions. I am also getting to know my Human Design which has saved me money, time and energy over the last 5 years.
If we don't have our health, what do we have?
I say, as long as we can cover the basics for life, which is all about priorities, then do what we love, do what lights us up, nourishes us, gives us energy. Life is indeed too short. It takes courage and having trust in ourselves which has been drummed out of us, so takes time to cultivate again. It's a kind of rebellion!
Hola Helen ❤️ I know I told you this before but what I love about you is your authenticity - I mean you are a good writer, you are very self aware and you have an authentic voice.
I’m not in social media for tons of reasons but one of them is because I want to stay in touch with my authenticity and my true inner (creative) voice.
I can tell here in Substack who is starting to emulate who, because people are following each other (maybe on the same niche) and start changing their newsletters or tone of voice in a way that sounds like some other newsletter. And that is not necessary bad but...
Like Austin Kleon says is good to read other peoples work, in reality we nurture our minds and creativity by consuming... BUT we also have to stay very self aware and use our own visions to express the ideas in our true voice...
I’m here on your newsletter not only because I’m interested in the topics you share, I’m here because of YOU. Because even there’s other people speaking about similar ideas in Substack I resonate with YOU, I trust your writing because I can FEEL you behind the words. They are not the same as everyone that speaks about burnout or creativity, you make them yours because you are writing form you TRUE voice.
With a fast paced world, people competing all the time with each other and trying to be the “first ones” on everything, when you find someone that is self aware and write from the heart you value that more than any course or “expert”.
We are all seeking connection and that happens when we are creating from the heart and not for the “audience” - even though we consider them but that’s a different topic. There’s plenty of information on the internet, authenticity is rare.
Your article resonates. I wonder if writing weekly essays takes away from my fiction writing. Ive said no to teaching because I want to keep writing central but it seems like you’ve taken on many adjacent projects because somehow this little newsletter we produce consistently isn’t enough. But it is enough. You can’t know the tiny ways my mind had changed as a result of reading your words
This is a really helpful perspective - my substack is 100% free because I don't have anything "extra" to add so why would people pay? I hadn't considered that maybe there doesn't need to be any extra.
Oh Helen, this is the post I needed today. So, so much. You could well have written it ABOUT me. Thank you for sharing all this, I feel like I just got so much permission I didn't know I wanted or needed, and I feel so seen, because I see you xx
I’ve burnt out 3 times in my career by trying to ‘do all the things’. So when I started my Substack, I set the intention that I wasn’t going to ‘create content’, instead I was going to write. And when I got together a small group of teen writers, I decided I wasn’t going to create course content, instead I was going to share and respond.
This is my way of trying to shift from ‘creating and teaching all the things’ (which is what burnt me out before) to ‘holding space’. I believe writing can hold space for people and so can sharing and responding.
I’ve got parts who still want to create the content and create the course because they think it’s a surer way to success versus holding space, which feels more nebulous. But I’m holding space for those parts too so we can proceed together.
And I’m glad we’re having these conversations so we can support each other in this endeavor, hopefully, away from burnout and toward creative vibrancy.
Jodie, the idea about holding space vs creating content brought me the second wave of realisations; the first wave was, of course, after reading Helen’s eye-opening article we are now commenting on.
I thank you, Helen! And I thank you, Jodie, too! So much food for thought.
I really hope you will be able to keep this realization front and center, because I can tell you from experience it really makes a difference. I was a very early adopter as in indie author (2009) and one of the things I noticed was how many of the other early indie authors who were engaged in experimenting and then sharing what they learned stopped writing fiction pretty quickly and instead concentrated on writing "how to," books. While I did a fair amount of sharing what I was learning in blog posts those first years, I concentrated on writing and publishing my own stories. That was where the joy was, and fortunately, my books sold, so I was rewarded for that focus. I did those blog posts, was on a few panels about self-publishing ad historical and mystery conventions, gave advice, but all this was for free, and I saw as "paying it forward." More importantly, I did less and less of that sort of mentoring, as I saw those other authors who had pivoted to primarily writing about writing and publishing rather than actually writing were doing a better job than I could do and still keep the writing fiction as my primary goal. Now when I am asked for advice, I increasingly point out those authors' books and courses. I spent my life as a professor (teaching,) postponing writing, so now in my sixties and now seventies, I had no desire to sacrifice mywriting to continue to teach. Life is too short. I still write an occasional post on process, sharing my experience, as I just did with a post today about my editing process. But the purpose wasn't to make money from the post, but to 1) give back to my readers who seem to find these sorts of posts interesting and 2) continue to pay it forward to other writers on occasion. But I will definitely spend the rest of my writing time this week starting to outline my 13th full-length novel, as I watch my pre-orders rise on the novella I just finished. Because I value that writing, not just because it gives me joy, but because I know there are readers out there who the fiction brings joy to as well. Can't be a better feeling!
Thank you so much for your inspiring comment! I hope I can keep it front and centre. I may stray from time to time but I am hopeful I’ve had the big breakthrough/realisation I needed.
Loved reading about your process Helen! Thanks for sharing that. ✨ I feel this space is a living breathing thing. We can shift and change and explore and all of it is possible and acceptable. I’m excited that we’re just at the beginning of what could be a longer journey in getting to know sustainability in creativity for perhaps the first time? For me it’s a move away from project to project models of funding to pay the mortgage and into a more diverse range of ways to show up including Substack writing, hosting and sharing. I do think they are all different. I very much connected to your line on how you describe what you do. I’ve NEVER been able to say just one line for that!
Thank you for this, it's really making me think, not just of my future offerings on Substack, but in my business in general. I find myself making these elaborate plans and then writing down actions that seem like they'll be easy at the time, but actually in reality, it's too much. Streamlining things and protecting your creative energy sounds like such a good approach.
I think it's good that you consider how to add value for paid subscribers, I do the same myself. But the truth of the matter, for me at any rate, and perhaps for you as well, Helen, is that some people started paying before I offered ANYTHING above the writing. I also think that if something is draining energy, it's not right for that person at that time.
Holy crap...this is me. Every e-course that I've created had to have more and more and more content. My art membership was so over-the-top with content not just on creating art BUT on the art business side of art because just sharing art techniques wasn't enough. It got so overwhelming that after a year I stopped the membership. Everything I do I need to do more of it. In thinking about Substack, though, it is good that I didn't even know you could do courses because I probably would. I get so overwhelmed with brainstorming and ideas and then this stops me. My favorite e-course that I taught was a small one, five demonstrations, $39 and I loved it because it was short and sweet. No matter how much I tried to do that again, I couldn't and the more I charged, the more I felt that I had to add - even if students weren't able to keep up!. I feel like this is the most truth I've read about over delivering which comes from a place of scarcity and not abundance.
This is so insightful. Thank you for sharing
This felt like I was suddenly seen. Maybe all the parts of writing I hate (posting, posting, did you see my post?!) are distractions from the writing - I hide behind the fear that it’s not enough. That feels all sorts of illfitting.
I'm sure this strikes true for many - I know it does me. I recently finally had the courage to turn on pledges (not paid... we'll get there... it's only been two years!), and someone pledge a founder amount. Before I'd even had chance to figure out how to write the subscriber benefits. BEFORE I'd added "the value" - just me. My words.
And it makes no sense when we don't value our words alone, because how many other Substacks do we pledge and pay for, simply because we value the words of others?! It will always be truly, truly baffling to me.
Round and round the roundabout we go... Ha ha... I have been around these realisations for decades. I burn out. I stop. I rest. I start to feel better. I start again. I push. I burn out. Repeat... Each new shiny thing to do, was me pushing. My impatience to succeed has held me back.
I do actually need a lot of variety in my life to feel the flow of it... Writing is the thing that pulls it all together.
I list from career to homemaker, gardener because there are so many things I could do. I keep lists of my ideas but most never happen. Realistically and practically speaking there just isn't enough time or energy to do everything I would like to do.
Now I am prioritising what's important to me. As someone in this thread says, life is too short to do what I don't want to do any more. And I too have noticed that most people making money on line seem to be teaching others how to make money online or courses or what have you...
The thing is we fear not having enough. I am guilty of this too. I am in fear of not being able to pay our bills in the coming months as my husband has surgery on his back and takes a couple of months off. I didn't start my substack to make money but to express myself but I keep getting pulled into the 'how can I make it pay?' thing. It suppresses any creativity I did have out of me though.
We all have bills to pay but if we have enough can we recognise that? Can we trust?
I can not push any more. Haven't been able to for years. My body just goes to pot and I find I can't do anything much beyond the basics needed for life. It's boring!
What I want though it to thrive and I believe the way forward is to honour our energy and be the truest expression of who we are. So who do we want to be?
I want to be free. I want to be free to express. I want to feel well and vibrant and like life is a dance... I want to be among people who want the same. I want to smell the earth and stroke the cat. I want to sing to cheesey music and have kitchen discos...
I worked out that to sustain our lifetyle as it is as my husband (who's older) slows down, I don't need thousands or tens of thousands of paid subscribers. I don't want to be famous either. 800 paid subscribers would be enough to carry on living as we are. Currently I have one! It may take a while. It may never happen. Somehow we will get through. Life has been a LOT harder and I have had a LOT less. I got through somehow.
I am working with a great coach who is helping me to stay true to myself and my intentions. I am also getting to know my Human Design which has saved me money, time and energy over the last 5 years.
If we don't have our health, what do we have?
I say, as long as we can cover the basics for life, which is all about priorities, then do what we love, do what lights us up, nourishes us, gives us energy. Life is indeed too short. It takes courage and having trust in ourselves which has been drummed out of us, so takes time to cultivate again. It's a kind of rebellion!
This really resonates! How much of our enthusiasm for the shiny is avoiding our self-doubts? Gosh. I need to ruminate on this one!!
Hola Helen ❤️ I know I told you this before but what I love about you is your authenticity - I mean you are a good writer, you are very self aware and you have an authentic voice.
I’m not in social media for tons of reasons but one of them is because I want to stay in touch with my authenticity and my true inner (creative) voice.
I can tell here in Substack who is starting to emulate who, because people are following each other (maybe on the same niche) and start changing their newsletters or tone of voice in a way that sounds like some other newsletter. And that is not necessary bad but...
Like Austin Kleon says is good to read other peoples work, in reality we nurture our minds and creativity by consuming... BUT we also have to stay very self aware and use our own visions to express the ideas in our true voice...
I’m here on your newsletter not only because I’m interested in the topics you share, I’m here because of YOU. Because even there’s other people speaking about similar ideas in Substack I resonate with YOU, I trust your writing because I can FEEL you behind the words. They are not the same as everyone that speaks about burnout or creativity, you make them yours because you are writing form you TRUE voice.
With a fast paced world, people competing all the time with each other and trying to be the “first ones” on everything, when you find someone that is self aware and write from the heart you value that more than any course or “expert”.
We are all seeking connection and that happens when we are creating from the heart and not for the “audience” - even though we consider them but that’s a different topic. There’s plenty of information on the internet, authenticity is rare.
❤️❤️❤️ - thank you! What a wonderful comment!
Your article resonates. I wonder if writing weekly essays takes away from my fiction writing. Ive said no to teaching because I want to keep writing central but it seems like you’ve taken on many adjacent projects because somehow this little newsletter we produce consistently isn’t enough. But it is enough. You can’t know the tiny ways my mind had changed as a result of reading your words
This is a really helpful perspective - my substack is 100% free because I don't have anything "extra" to add so why would people pay? I hadn't considered that maybe there doesn't need to be any extra.
Oh Helen, this is the post I needed today. So, so much. You could well have written it ABOUT me. Thank you for sharing all this, I feel like I just got so much permission I didn't know I wanted or needed, and I feel so seen, because I see you xx
I’m so happy it’s helped! 🧡
I’ve burnt out 3 times in my career by trying to ‘do all the things’. So when I started my Substack, I set the intention that I wasn’t going to ‘create content’, instead I was going to write. And when I got together a small group of teen writers, I decided I wasn’t going to create course content, instead I was going to share and respond.
This is my way of trying to shift from ‘creating and teaching all the things’ (which is what burnt me out before) to ‘holding space’. I believe writing can hold space for people and so can sharing and responding.
I’ve got parts who still want to create the content and create the course because they think it’s a surer way to success versus holding space, which feels more nebulous. But I’m holding space for those parts too so we can proceed together.
And I’m glad we’re having these conversations so we can support each other in this endeavor, hopefully, away from burnout and toward creative vibrancy.
Jodie, the idea about holding space vs creating content brought me the second wave of realisations; the first wave was, of course, after reading Helen’s eye-opening article we are now commenting on.
I thank you, Helen! And I thank you, Jodie, too! So much food for thought.
I really hope you will be able to keep this realization front and center, because I can tell you from experience it really makes a difference. I was a very early adopter as in indie author (2009) and one of the things I noticed was how many of the other early indie authors who were engaged in experimenting and then sharing what they learned stopped writing fiction pretty quickly and instead concentrated on writing "how to," books. While I did a fair amount of sharing what I was learning in blog posts those first years, I concentrated on writing and publishing my own stories. That was where the joy was, and fortunately, my books sold, so I was rewarded for that focus. I did those blog posts, was on a few panels about self-publishing ad historical and mystery conventions, gave advice, but all this was for free, and I saw as "paying it forward." More importantly, I did less and less of that sort of mentoring, as I saw those other authors who had pivoted to primarily writing about writing and publishing rather than actually writing were doing a better job than I could do and still keep the writing fiction as my primary goal. Now when I am asked for advice, I increasingly point out those authors' books and courses. I spent my life as a professor (teaching,) postponing writing, so now in my sixties and now seventies, I had no desire to sacrifice mywriting to continue to teach. Life is too short. I still write an occasional post on process, sharing my experience, as I just did with a post today about my editing process. But the purpose wasn't to make money from the post, but to 1) give back to my readers who seem to find these sorts of posts interesting and 2) continue to pay it forward to other writers on occasion. But I will definitely spend the rest of my writing time this week starting to outline my 13th full-length novel, as I watch my pre-orders rise on the novella I just finished. Because I value that writing, not just because it gives me joy, but because I know there are readers out there who the fiction brings joy to as well. Can't be a better feeling!
Following your joy... Love this and it's high time people from childhood onwards were encouraged to do just that! :o)
Thank you so much for your inspiring comment! I hope I can keep it front and centre. I may stray from time to time but I am hopeful I’ve had the big breakthrough/realisation I needed.
Loved reading about your process Helen! Thanks for sharing that. ✨ I feel this space is a living breathing thing. We can shift and change and explore and all of it is possible and acceptable. I’m excited that we’re just at the beginning of what could be a longer journey in getting to know sustainability in creativity for perhaps the first time? For me it’s a move away from project to project models of funding to pay the mortgage and into a more diverse range of ways to show up including Substack writing, hosting and sharing. I do think they are all different. I very much connected to your line on how you describe what you do. I’ve NEVER been able to say just one line for that!
What an amazing realization and accompanying reflection. Thank you for sharing. It has given me something to think about.
Thank you for this, it's really making me think, not just of my future offerings on Substack, but in my business in general. I find myself making these elaborate plans and then writing down actions that seem like they'll be easy at the time, but actually in reality, it's too much. Streamlining things and protecting your creative energy sounds like such a good approach.
I think it's good that you consider how to add value for paid subscribers, I do the same myself. But the truth of the matter, for me at any rate, and perhaps for you as well, Helen, is that some people started paying before I offered ANYTHING above the writing. I also think that if something is draining energy, it's not right for that person at that time.