Thanks for this. I needed it. Am still at the embryonic stage on Substack but still believing it. And incidentally, I agree with you fully on the variously controversial questions. Please keep it up 🙏
I admire your perseverance and resilience and it seems that your early diligence in studying really spills over and benefits your writing. I have seen most of your posts on discrimination in the writing world unless there are some I am not able to see. Thanks so much for all the encouragement you offer always and particularly in this post. Our journeys are all different but the difficulties sometimes somewhat similar. A victory for one is a possible victory for many. Onward.
As a young Gen Xer, I made the mistake of an MFA that so many writers my age made. It taught me absolutely nothing about the publishing world of today. As frustrating as I find the "influencer" side of finding an audience today, the old literary journal paradigm always felt like an elitist scam as well. I'm just encouraged to find that people are reading, no matter the format, and anything we can do to revitalize the fire of American letters I'm in full support of. Thank you for sharing your experience navigating these waters.
Weird, I was subscribed and even liked and commented on this post…. Only to see you pop up again as a recommended subscribe; and I WASN’T subscribed anymore. (WTH?)
So, I have subscribed again. I hope you haven’t lost any other subscribers lately. I’ve been hearing some accounts losing subscribers like that.
I love reading these kinds of success stories! I went from nobody to a marginally-successful Substacker (so still kind of nobody... but a much more purposeful and fulfilled and connected nobody, thanks to this app).
I'm writing an essay right now ('Substack Unto Death') about how this platform has structured my writing, and fired my enthusiasm by giving me readers and interesting models (like Liza) and put me in contact with brilliant creators. Writing on this platform has sustained me, through incarceration, unemployment, addiction... and now sobriety. Thanks, Substack!
Sounds like you were a "failed writer" not because you are not a good writer but because it is really hard to get the visibility needed to get the attention necessary to launch a career or a viable platform that will allow you to make money off of it. Without that one essay that gave you visibility, you would likely be in the same place you were in 2023. And that is the real problem, breaking through the noise to get something one writes enough attention to kind of put you on the map. Obviously one has to be able to follow it up with other quality stuff to keep attention, but man that first barrier is a killer.
How about short stories? I do absurdist short fiction. It can be a little bleak, but tinged and dipped in humanity to make it ache just a bit. It about communicating the deepest struggles of people and how that carves us into beautiful sculptures of humanity. If you have a moment here is the story of Eddy Lockless. An unlucky man that the universe beat into its comfy couch. When it stopped his problems began.
If you find the characters interesting or the ideas sticky please interact, question, restack and subscribe for the follow up.
Thanks for this. I needed it. Am still at the embryonic stage on Substack but still believing it. And incidentally, I agree with you fully on the variously controversial questions. Please keep it up 🙏
Thank you. This was just what I needed.
I admire your perseverance and resilience and it seems that your early diligence in studying really spills over and benefits your writing. I have seen most of your posts on discrimination in the writing world unless there are some I am not able to see. Thanks so much for all the encouragement you offer always and particularly in this post. Our journeys are all different but the difficulties sometimes somewhat similar. A victory for one is a possible victory for many. Onward.
As a young Gen Xer, I made the mistake of an MFA that so many writers my age made. It taught me absolutely nothing about the publishing world of today. As frustrating as I find the "influencer" side of finding an audience today, the old literary journal paradigm always felt like an elitist scam as well. I'm just encouraged to find that people are reading, no matter the format, and anything we can do to revitalize the fire of American letters I'm in full support of. Thank you for sharing your experience navigating these waters.
Weird, I was subscribed and even liked and commented on this post…. Only to see you pop up again as a recommended subscribe; and I WASN’T subscribed anymore. (WTH?)
So, I have subscribed again. I hope you haven’t lost any other subscribers lately. I’ve been hearing some accounts losing subscribers like that.
I love reading these kinds of success stories! I went from nobody to a marginally-successful Substacker (so still kind of nobody... but a much more purposeful and fulfilled and connected nobody, thanks to this app).
I'm writing an essay right now ('Substack Unto Death') about how this platform has structured my writing, and fired my enthusiasm by giving me readers and interesting models (like Liza) and put me in contact with brilliant creators. Writing on this platform has sustained me, through incarceration, unemployment, addiction... and now sobriety. Thanks, Substack!
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
Me & you & Emily!
Sounds like you were a "failed writer" not because you are not a good writer but because it is really hard to get the visibility needed to get the attention necessary to launch a career or a viable platform that will allow you to make money off of it. Without that one essay that gave you visibility, you would likely be in the same place you were in 2023. And that is the real problem, breaking through the noise to get something one writes enough attention to kind of put you on the map. Obviously one has to be able to follow it up with other quality stuff to keep attention, but man that first barrier is a killer.
How about short stories? I do absurdist short fiction. It can be a little bleak, but tinged and dipped in humanity to make it ache just a bit. It about communicating the deepest struggles of people and how that carves us into beautiful sculptures of humanity. If you have a moment here is the story of Eddy Lockless. An unlucky man that the universe beat into its comfy couch. When it stopped his problems began.
If you find the characters interesting or the ideas sticky please interact, question, restack and subscribe for the follow up.
https://open.substack.com/pub/misissyphus/p/the-possessing-bb1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5v5aa8
🌲