I’m so glad you posted this as I have been overwhelmed by all the things. When Substack announced the chat feature Thursday, admittedly, I was not excited. Just one more thing to entice me away from my priorities. Will I comments on some chats? Sure. But I got off social media earlier this year so I could be more intentional with my time. Chats feels like a sick back in.
Like you, I subscribe to a lot of Substacks. I read most of them, but in busy weeks, I only read the headlines that interest me or an author I don’t want to miss. fwiw, you’re one of those authors. Your newsletters feel like we are chatting at a table over coffee, and those are the kind of virtual spaces I want to be.
I’ve been considering adding a podcast that would start as readings of my work but also eventually include interviews or chats with others. And I’ve considered hosting a meet-up on Google Meet or Zoom just for the fun of it. There is a small writing group I’ve begun joining once a week on Zoom where we chat for a minute or two and then spend 30 minutes writing. I LOVE it, though I’ve not considered why until your post. It’s the human interaction--the face-to-face.
I will continue to read your posts. I probably will not listen to a podcast because my mind wanders too much during podcasts. I might show up for a chat. But I 100% will show up for a Zoom discussion!
I would love to connect with you in a deeper way. zoom would be awesome,Substack chat could be good too. I am drawn to your posts and themes since have a long standing set of emotions regarding the concept of home. When you spend 15 years as a caretaker who has lived in an out of a hospital and then afterwards - experienced the displacement of home- felt by my deep primary loss. I think myself & others in similar situations could benefit from your wisdom. I have been working on a chapter related to home in my own work/memoir.
The numbers game is a dead end. A lot of viral content is deliberately divisive or sensational. Stick to your craft and to the puzzles that you need to write your way through. I used to tell students that we write to discover. We don’t write to simply record what we already know. And if we start out writing our way into what we don’t know or understand, and if that question is a universal one, we’ll speak to others. My two cents 😊
I will think about your question. In a few weeks (after my school series) I will do some writing related to my relationship with home. Things usually become clearer after I write. Keep up your awesome work!
There's too much noise right now, and I was annoyed about the Chat feature because I'm already mentally overwhelmed (hence, finally reading this newsletter 2 weeks later. And it's not as though anything you've written is out of date at this point, so why do we all have to listen to that voice in our head telling us to feel guilty about being "so late"??). I am not planning on utilizing Chat at this time. I don't need to feel like I'm always on.
Ugh, but then what's after that??
Your newsletter (like mine) is quiet but engaging. We need more of that in the world. Do what YOU want to do (YouTube if you want, don't if you don't!) and try not to feel pressured otherwise. What if social media collapses next year? (I have no idea either way, but I've seen this proposed somewhere, what with all the changes to Twitter and the constant negative output of Meta). If it ever does, those of us who took a quieter path will be in better shape on the other side.
I miss conversations too .. I don’t want too many features .. I like Substack because it reminded me of good old days of blogging . I started travel blogging in 2005 and we were a small community across the world and we would be in touch all the time , connecting with each other and chatting over comments . And that’s the vibe I get here too
I really enjoy your posts. They feel warm and welcoming, which is why I choose to read them. What draws any of us to a blog, podcast etc. may be simply a need for info or entertainment, but it may also be something completely personal and difficult to pin down. The little windows into your world are fun to look through. Thanks for letting us peep :) I'm looking forward to seeing you transform your home in Italy.
I’m so glad you posted this as I have been overwhelmed by all the things. When Substack announced the chat feature Thursday, admittedly, I was not excited. Just one more thing to entice me away from my priorities. Will I comments on some chats? Sure. But I got off social media earlier this year so I could be more intentional with my time. Chats feels like a sick back in.
Like you, I subscribe to a lot of Substacks. I read most of them, but in busy weeks, I only read the headlines that interest me or an author I don’t want to miss. fwiw, you’re one of those authors. Your newsletters feel like we are chatting at a table over coffee, and those are the kind of virtual spaces I want to be.
I’ve been considering adding a podcast that would start as readings of my work but also eventually include interviews or chats with others. And I’ve considered hosting a meet-up on Google Meet or Zoom just for the fun of it. There is a small writing group I’ve begun joining once a week on Zoom where we chat for a minute or two and then spend 30 minutes writing. I LOVE it, though I’ve not considered why until your post. It’s the human interaction--the face-to-face.
I will continue to read your posts. I probably will not listen to a podcast because my mind wanders too much during podcasts. I might show up for a chat. But I 100% will show up for a Zoom discussion!
You ask the questions every writer asks every 20 minutes.
This resonates! Thanks for looping us into your indecision. Those blogging stats are wild
I would love to connect with you in a deeper way. zoom would be awesome,Substack chat could be good too. I am drawn to your posts and themes since have a long standing set of emotions regarding the concept of home. When you spend 15 years as a caretaker who has lived in an out of a hospital and then afterwards - experienced the displacement of home- felt by my deep primary loss. I think myself & others in similar situations could benefit from your wisdom. I have been working on a chapter related to home in my own work/memoir.
By phone, because I want to hear your voice. Jan write about your ability to connect and make people laugh.
The numbers game is a dead end. A lot of viral content is deliberately divisive or sensational. Stick to your craft and to the puzzles that you need to write your way through. I used to tell students that we write to discover. We don’t write to simply record what we already know. And if we start out writing our way into what we don’t know or understand, and if that question is a universal one, we’ll speak to others. My two cents 😊
I will think about your question. In a few weeks (after my school series) I will do some writing related to my relationship with home. Things usually become clearer after I write. Keep up your awesome work!
There's too much noise right now, and I was annoyed about the Chat feature because I'm already mentally overwhelmed (hence, finally reading this newsletter 2 weeks later. And it's not as though anything you've written is out of date at this point, so why do we all have to listen to that voice in our head telling us to feel guilty about being "so late"??). I am not planning on utilizing Chat at this time. I don't need to feel like I'm always on.
Ugh, but then what's after that??
Your newsletter (like mine) is quiet but engaging. We need more of that in the world. Do what YOU want to do (YouTube if you want, don't if you don't!) and try not to feel pressured otherwise. What if social media collapses next year? (I have no idea either way, but I've seen this proposed somewhere, what with all the changes to Twitter and the constant negative output of Meta). If it ever does, those of us who took a quieter path will be in better shape on the other side.
I miss conversations too .. I don’t want too many features .. I like Substack because it reminded me of good old days of blogging . I started travel blogging in 2005 and we were a small community across the world and we would be in touch all the time , connecting with each other and chatting over comments . And that’s the vibe I get here too
I really enjoy your posts. They feel warm and welcoming, which is why I choose to read them. What draws any of us to a blog, podcast etc. may be simply a need for info or entertainment, but it may also be something completely personal and difficult to pin down. The little windows into your world are fun to look through. Thanks for letting us peep :) I'm looking forward to seeing you transform your home in Italy.