Thanks for this. I don’t usually read Substack posts about Substack (that’s one of my rules I guess), but I did read yours and it resonated. I appreciate your perspective!
Yesss! So many good points here, thank you! This Glennon saga is sad but also interesting, although one should probably not say it is...But it has made me think and reflect - and it gave me a topic to write about: envy. I am a super envious person, and this case has given me a good opportunity to explore my vices. That said, I am sad for all the pain and sorrow this incident has caused. But perhaps we have all learned something from this?
Thank you for this; for many of us (maybe just me?), writing anything for consumption in the outside world is a worrying, even terrifying experience and when people start throwing "rules" around...it all becomes too much. Who are these rulers of Substack and what gives them the right to frighten people like that? Thank heavens for saner voices like yours that reassure we wusses that we can still venture here in relative safety. Don't like fanfare arrivals, though; all a bit too Trump...
This article is so very compassionate and reasoned, Helen - many thoughts to ponder here, thank you! (and thank you for the shout-out as well.) Funny, just the other day I was thinking about the articles that started popping up in my feed back in the early clickbait days telling me I was peeling bananas and eating oranges wrong, and how annoying I thought they were then - probably for the same reasons similar Substack notes/posts telling me and others we're "doing it wrong" annoy me, too :) Nobody wants to be told what to do, and we're all here for different reasons, so one person's "doing it wrong" may be another's "doing it very much right."
I appreciate this so much. I've only been on Substack a month and seeing all the GD drama left me with a lot of questions. But one take away for sure is, process big feelings in my journal. If I decide to post about them later, it will be from a place of consideration not an immediate reaction. I didn't come here for drama and would dearly love not to create it or contribute to it.
Raine, I know how you feel. One of the reasons I kept myself small for so long was because of fear of success. What if people came for me, tried to cancel me, went through my dustbins looking for something to write about! It makes me laugh now but these were genuine concerns - so I didn’t push myself. BUT. I think what we’ve seen from the GD thing is that there are always people who will have your back. And those that didn’t want her here, at least some of them, realise it was their issue to deal with.
To be honest, it made me wobbly. If the knives are out for big names, how easy is it to chop away at the little guys? It struck as especially disconcerting because up until then all I'd seen was "YAY!" and "You go!" and rah rah supportive stuff. The GD thing gave me the vibe of "We want you to succeed, just don't succeed too much." But then I realized I just need to make sure I'm following people who genuinely mean it, who hold to the 'big pie' notion and ignore the gatekeepers and their trolls. Which isn't a bad lesson to learn so early into my Substack experience..
I didn't even know Doyle was here until I saw some notes about how she'd already left. Some saying she was bullied off, others saying good riddance. I haven't delved into the whole how or why she was treated however she was treated. But I do wonder why. She certainly isn't the only famous person on here with a huge following and subscriptions turned on.
Am I missing a point here? I don't know a whole lot about her.
I know. I read somewhere that maybe it’s because GD is doing what we know we ought to be doing with our own writing and creativity. Like holding a mirror up to ourselves. I don’t know the real answer but I suspect it’s a combination of things.
Here, here, Helen! So much wisdom in this post! I was blissfully unaware of the Doyle brouhaha, but everything you said here about not comparing, about attending to our own business without thinking we have to compete etc, is so spot on. It took me years to get over comparisonitis ... or, I should say, mostly get over it. Most of the time, I just do me, but sometimes I let others successes make me feel small. And there's no need for that. Thank you for putting this enlightened-mind perspective out there!
Thank you Marie, I’m glad what I’ve written came over as intended! Comparisonitis is such an awful virus to have. I think we are all susceptible to it at different stages. I have to mute people who get book deals sometimes. But that’s a me issue and not a them issue!
I have to be honest and say that I really haven't read a lot about what's been going on and until I saw one or two Notes earlier in the week I'd really never even heard of Glennon. But I think your reflections here are well thought out and fair. Bigger names coming to Substack will potentially bring more potential readers and subscribers for everyone. Some of that list of however many she brought with her would surely have started down the Substack rabbit hole at some point.
I had subscribed to two bigger names when they joined a little while back. One I unsubscribed from after a while for a few reasons - I wasn't particularly keen on the content and there were a lot of posts behind the pay wall that I couldn't see. The other I'm still subscribed to but I have them muted as they were posting so often on Notes that I wasn't seeing anyone else's Notes. What I'm trying to say is that there can be a lot of noise with the bigger names but it's up to us whether we listen to it or not.
Personally I don't see any issue with the bigger names being here. I think it makes them feel a little more accessible and connected to their followers and they bring more potential readers to the platform which surely is a positive thing on the whole.
I don't think I'll be commenting anywhere else or any further on this but I really wanted to respond to your post as I felt it was a very balanced reflection on the whole situation. Thank you. 😊
Thank you, Sarah. I’ve subscribed to bigger names in the past, too, but found their newsletters were not for me. And yes, started down a Substack rabbit hole and found others to subscribe to.
There was so much to unpack with all that’s happened here this week, and this is such a balanced and reflective take 👏🏻 The title made me think of a news article on the BBC website earlier in the week that we’ve apparently been eating chocolate digestives ‘wrongly’ (‘should’ be choc down? madness!)
Thanks for this. I don’t usually read Substack posts about Substack (that’s one of my rules I guess), but I did read yours and it resonated. I appreciate your perspective!
How did u know I had all these feelings? Strangely, what you’ve written has cleared my head. I’m ready to get bsck to work.
Yesss! So many good points here, thank you! This Glennon saga is sad but also interesting, although one should probably not say it is...But it has made me think and reflect - and it gave me a topic to write about: envy. I am a super envious person, and this case has given me a good opportunity to explore my vices. That said, I am sad for all the pain and sorrow this incident has caused. But perhaps we have all learned something from this?
Thank you for this. A really well-thought out and measured take on it all. A lot of wise points that demand further reflection!
Thank you for this; for many of us (maybe just me?), writing anything for consumption in the outside world is a worrying, even terrifying experience and when people start throwing "rules" around...it all becomes too much. Who are these rulers of Substack and what gives them the right to frighten people like that? Thank heavens for saner voices like yours that reassure we wusses that we can still venture here in relative safety. Don't like fanfare arrivals, though; all a bit too Trump...
This article is so very compassionate and reasoned, Helen - many thoughts to ponder here, thank you! (and thank you for the shout-out as well.) Funny, just the other day I was thinking about the articles that started popping up in my feed back in the early clickbait days telling me I was peeling bananas and eating oranges wrong, and how annoying I thought they were then - probably for the same reasons similar Substack notes/posts telling me and others we're "doing it wrong" annoy me, too :) Nobody wants to be told what to do, and we're all here for different reasons, so one person's "doing it wrong" may be another's "doing it very much right."
I appreciate this so much. I've only been on Substack a month and seeing all the GD drama left me with a lot of questions. But one take away for sure is, process big feelings in my journal. If I decide to post about them later, it will be from a place of consideration not an immediate reaction. I didn't come here for drama and would dearly love not to create it or contribute to it.
Raine, I know how you feel. One of the reasons I kept myself small for so long was because of fear of success. What if people came for me, tried to cancel me, went through my dustbins looking for something to write about! It makes me laugh now but these were genuine concerns - so I didn’t push myself. BUT. I think what we’ve seen from the GD thing is that there are always people who will have your back. And those that didn’t want her here, at least some of them, realise it was their issue to deal with.
Raine, I hope this hasn’t put you off. I’ve been here for a few years now and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be honest, it made me wobbly. If the knives are out for big names, how easy is it to chop away at the little guys? It struck as especially disconcerting because up until then all I'd seen was "YAY!" and "You go!" and rah rah supportive stuff. The GD thing gave me the vibe of "We want you to succeed, just don't succeed too much." But then I realized I just need to make sure I'm following people who genuinely mean it, who hold to the 'big pie' notion and ignore the gatekeepers and their trolls. Which isn't a bad lesson to learn so early into my Substack experience..
I didn't even know Doyle was here until I saw some notes about how she'd already left. Some saying she was bullied off, others saying good riddance. I haven't delved into the whole how or why she was treated however she was treated. But I do wonder why. She certainly isn't the only famous person on here with a huge following and subscriptions turned on.
Am I missing a point here? I don't know a whole lot about her.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
I know. I read somewhere that maybe it’s because GD is doing what we know we ought to be doing with our own writing and creativity. Like holding a mirror up to ourselves. I don’t know the real answer but I suspect it’s a combination of things.
Here, here, Helen! So much wisdom in this post! I was blissfully unaware of the Doyle brouhaha, but everything you said here about not comparing, about attending to our own business without thinking we have to compete etc, is so spot on. It took me years to get over comparisonitis ... or, I should say, mostly get over it. Most of the time, I just do me, but sometimes I let others successes make me feel small. And there's no need for that. Thank you for putting this enlightened-mind perspective out there!
Thank you Marie, I’m glad what I’ve written came over as intended! Comparisonitis is such an awful virus to have. I think we are all susceptible to it at different stages. I have to mute people who get book deals sometimes. But that’s a me issue and not a them issue!
I have to be honest and say that I really haven't read a lot about what's been going on and until I saw one or two Notes earlier in the week I'd really never even heard of Glennon. But I think your reflections here are well thought out and fair. Bigger names coming to Substack will potentially bring more potential readers and subscribers for everyone. Some of that list of however many she brought with her would surely have started down the Substack rabbit hole at some point.
I had subscribed to two bigger names when they joined a little while back. One I unsubscribed from after a while for a few reasons - I wasn't particularly keen on the content and there were a lot of posts behind the pay wall that I couldn't see. The other I'm still subscribed to but I have them muted as they were posting so often on Notes that I wasn't seeing anyone else's Notes. What I'm trying to say is that there can be a lot of noise with the bigger names but it's up to us whether we listen to it or not.
Personally I don't see any issue with the bigger names being here. I think it makes them feel a little more accessible and connected to their followers and they bring more potential readers to the platform which surely is a positive thing on the whole.
I don't think I'll be commenting anywhere else or any further on this but I really wanted to respond to your post as I felt it was a very balanced reflection on the whole situation. Thank you. 😊
Thank you, Sarah. I’ve subscribed to bigger names in the past, too, but found their newsletters were not for me. And yes, started down a Substack rabbit hole and found others to subscribe to.
There was so much to unpack with all that’s happened here this week, and this is such a balanced and reflective take 👏🏻 The title made me think of a news article on the BBC website earlier in the week that we’ve apparently been eating chocolate digestives ‘wrongly’ (‘should’ be choc down? madness!)
Thank you, Claire. But, more seriously, how can we be eating a chocolate digestive wrong?! Surely, you just shove it in?
🤣🤣