After Publishing 599 Articles in 3 Years (5 Unsettling Lessons Providing Powerful Gains)
Box Cutter Co. Paid Issue
This week, I read newsletters from two high-performing creators who admitted what most in “The Creator Economy” hide. The emotional toll, impacts and weight of consistently writing, creating, publishing, etc.
Both Justin Welsh and Jay Clouse shared (in their own ways) that it hurts when you keep posting, and things don’t seem to work. It can feel personal when posts, articles or new products just don’t seem to land well.
It’s an important issue, as so much bumpf in The Creator Economy sells clean, neat stories— just publish, be consistent, grow, monetize. Simple. Lickety-split!
Meanwhile, the emotional costs and investments are edited out, or simply not talked about… because they can be messy, unsettling, uncomfortable.
[Note: This is an issue for paid subscribers, but it has a decent preview]
599 Published Articles Later (The Art of Life in Transition)
In a few weeks, it will be four years since I walked away from a well-paying career in the corporate public sector.
With no financial safety net, no contracts lined up, a mortgage, 3 teens, and some student loan debts, I jumped ship.
Simple goal… become CEO of my time and energy.
Simple strategy… deep, soul-based intention and powerful Anti-vision.
My anti-vision was, and still is: refusing (by all means possible) to never return to toxic workplaces and troubled systems and structures (e.g. for me, it was a decade-plus of higher ed and healthcare admin.)
I figured with a doctorate in Education, an eclectic career history, plus a consulting history prior to getting married, having kids, double-blending a family, buying a home, etc. — that this would be figure-out-able.
And it has been and continues to be.
Between Medium (399 published stories) and Substack (200 published articles), I’ve published 599+ articles in just over three years. (I started on both in late 2022).
So, what?
My business is writing, and writing is my business.
Over the past few years, through my writing, I’ve helped nonprofits raise millions of dollars for important and valuable projects. I have written, and continue to write, various courses - from university through micro-credit courses, through courses for our little startup Humanity Academy.
Over the past 4 years, I’ve built a steady consulting business and writing practice (mainly in the B2B space) that generates revenue well beyond what I used to earn in the corporate public sector. I’ve also assisted organizations in writing regular LinkedIn posts and building large followings.
The 599+ articles I’ve written and published across platforms contribute little to the $ amount on my business's bottom line. (For now).
But initially, that’s not how I saw it playing out…
Unrealistic Expectations at Launch…
As I set out in late 2023 and early 2024, I was sucked into the shallow promises of online and digital writing gurus. The lines that start with something like:
All you need to do is just…
And we’ve all seen the posts.
“Just show up…
“Just be consistent…”
“Just niche down…”
“Just know your audience…”
And so on, and so on.
Early on, I followed some of this advice and got caught up in the ‘hoping.’ And obsessing over the metrics. And trying to figure out ‘my niche.’ And trying to figure out who my audience is.
It’s not to say that these aren’t necessarily important things to consider…
But, what is frequently missed in this work is what do you do — inside of you — when things don’t go the way you’d like them to… or that the gurus suggest they will… or that you’ve created unrealistic expectations about in your head?
When you’re “doing everything ‘right’ ” but the traction is just not coming. Or, when the revenue simply doesn’t add up to what’s needed (or was dreamed of)?
When you look at your Medium earnings, and it’s only enough to buy a coffee, but you’ve been “consistent” and published 25 articles that month?
When you’re over the moon at your first paid subscriber on Substack, and have visions of getting 100 more in the coming months, but you only get 1 more (and then they unsubscribe just as fast)?
When you do your ‘market research’ on a product, you get all sorts of positive comments about developing a particular one, then you build it, launch it, and 3 people pay for it over the next 3 months…?
I’ve lived all of those. How about you?
And, So… Now, what?
Life is always, always in transition. Change is a permanent condition.
And, so… my approach, goals, and maybe most importantly… expectations have shifted (and continue to). Some might call this ‘mindset.’
For example, this past year on Substack, my “growth” has been minuscule, with about 25 net-new subscribers. Things rocketed in the first and second year, then fully plateaued for the last 14 months or so (even gone down a little)👇
I’m grateful for paid subscribers, and have been up as high as 8.
And when it comes to total “Followers” on Substack, the number is over double but has plateaued this past year. I post semi-regular ‘Notes,’ but they regularly get next to no views or engagement.
I’ve noticed my ‘open rate’ has faltered in recent months as well. It used to be regularly around 50%, then around 40%, and now some are even closer to 30% open rates. (Yet, not bad engagement on the ‘like’ side of things).
What are my feelings about this? (Panic!… Not at all)
It’s shrug… 🤷♂️ … Oh well…
My intentions for writing and publishing regularly (on Substack, Medium, LinkedIn, and beyond) are not to amass subscribers, paid subscribers, followers, or high engagement and open rates.
I find far more satisfaction, purpose, and meaning in the periodic comments or notes I get from someone thanking me for a post and sharing how much they enjoyed reading it.
Or, how it’s shifted their approach to things. Or, they ask questions.
This 👆 is far more connected to 1) why I write, and 2) why I publish regularly, which leads me to the 5 Unsettling lessons I’ve amassed while writing daily, and publishing regularly.
These aren’t “how to grow your subscribers” tips. They’re the internal lessons that have only shown up because I keep writing and publishing even when the numbers aren’t “rewarding” me. These have been unsettling.
But, first, an important distinction…
Writing and Publishing are not the Same Thing
Related, but different. Part of a Both/And way of thinking.
Writing is private.
It’s what I do when I’m trying to figure out what I know, what I think, what I feel, and what I’m willing to claim. It’s sometimes messy. It’s where half-formed ideas become sentences I can actually look at, think about, analyze.
Writing is the alchemy-like process where thoughts are transmuted into words — into language. Sort of like how an octopus transmutes touch into taste (through its tentacles).
I write nearly daily in a “Learning Journal.” Pen and paper. Transmuting thoughts into words. I often start writing with “I’m thinking about…”
Publishing is different.
Publishing means making words and sentences public. It adds heat and friction. Other minds can engage the work. Sometimes it lands, and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it comes back with a flaw I didn’t see. Or, simply comes back from a different perspective, angle, or viewpoint.
I don’t see my thinking and knowing as permanent conditions. They are fluid and flexible. Publishing writing is like speaking out loud with someone else. A conversation, or better yet, a dialogue.
