And with you and you, and with us all, my friends. 

It’s as good of a day as any to chase that new shiny. For those who have been following along for 14 years or the last 7 years or only the past month. I’ve been hunting answers to existential questions disguised as simple musings about my life. More specifically, about my writerly life since that’s the topic I’ve been spiraling about the most. 

On April 18th, I posted six questions that I felt were the most pressing, and relevant to unravel the overarching question of “What next?” There are months and years of backstory but like bronchitis, “ain’t nobody got time for that.”

Since then, I’ve tackled writing about the top three questions, in an attempt to find answers. In a nutshell, those three are about the pressure I put on myself, how to stop caring so much about what other people think, and what to do with my (free) time going forward. 

I have returned to read those posts again to see if what I’ve written and found for answers, feels (in my gut and my mind) like the truth before I proceed to the next question(s). I find that when starting again each day, this is a helpful practice.

** My gut and mind often disagree about the truth. 

I also skimmed other posts, back to the first of the year and it makes sense that there’s a lot of overlap, confirmation, and, yes, even contradiction. It is with that that I’m going to dive into the 6th question, which is specifically about blogging: 

6. Do I try to continue the blog or just close up shop? (Pretend you didn’t read that) OR transition to Substack and focus on just writing?

Here is where I might say the Universe has a big hand in leading me in a certain direction. 

A few weeks ago I went to a reading at Latksong Writer’s Place in Lincoln with Kate Gale who I admire greatly, for what she stands for and what she’s accomplished in her life. Before the reading, a few of us met for dinner at a snazzy Mexican restaurant near the venue. One of the topics of conversation was Substack and how so many writers are turning to that platform to expand their reach, grow a following, and perhaps even give the finger to the meat grinder of the publishing industry. 

I just sat there thinking, how different is Substack than what I’ve already been doing for fourteen-plus years? Hell, I’ve written over 1500 posts and most of that has been about my writing life. I’m also in the midst of this effing existential “crisis” AND am already on Substack for various reasons following other blogs. 

Yes, I’m going to call it a blog, because that’s the word I’m accustomed to. But call it a post or a newsletter or publication or whatever you want. It’s just another buzzword that I feel means the same thing and lately, so many people are jumping on that bandwagon with Substack, which seems to be getting traction with the writing community. 

My original platform of choice was WordPress. I had a Tumblr account also cuz that was a thing for a short while too but I’ve stuck with WordPress for 14 years. What can I say, I’m loyal. 

Anyway, fast forward to 2024 and Substack is all the rage. 

Then yesterday, I had lunch with a writer friend who is also kind of struggling with the amount of rejection that comes with trying to be published and we went down that rabbit hole for a little bit. Along the way, she mentioned a Substack of one of the former mentors who taught in the MFA program we both graduated from. That mentor was Marya Hornbacher, and she subsequently forwarded me a post that Marya had written, her latest. When I looked at it, it solidified my thoughts about the Substack being no different than WordPress. 

Yes, it can be a newsletter and/or have a purpose and message for a specific target audience, but it’s still just a bunch of people writing, posting, commenting, and liking each other’s posts. It’s the same damn thing! This leads me back to that original question. What do I do about the blog? My blog. My baby with 1500 posts and almost 900 followers? 

I can’t import it to Substack or transition without feeling like I’ve abandoned some part of my soul. I don’t have time for two blogs (hell I barely have time for one) but I also can’t ignore the Universe leading me by the nose to that platform again and again. 

** The dinner conversation and lunch conversation have not been the only signs. I’ve also received loads of emails from writerly sources that feel like flashing lights on a highway. STOP and TURN HERE! 

What’s a girl to do? 

Log in to Substack, of course, and check it out. 😂

And that’s where I landed this morning. Now I’m throwing my hands up saying “Fine..show me!”  Or show me the money?! I mean I don’t care beans about that but it seems to be a big reason why people are turning to the platform because they are making it super easy to monetize the work. 

Anyway, as it turns out I’ve got two Substack profiles already (good gravy) and setting the whole thing up would take some time and effort. I’m not an idiot though and it ain’t my first rodeo so I would find what’s already working and “copy” that format and then figure out how to “jump in” smack in the middle of the current situation in my stream of consciousness. 

To be clear, I’m not saying I’m going to. I’m just investigating that new shiny AND evaluating my own level of excitement to determine if it’s worth my time. It’s definitely worth the time to at least consider, hence this post. 

I think that’s a good place to stop today and this Q&A might have to be a TBC (To Be Continued). I’m all elliptical’d out. 

Those playing along might notice I skipped over questions 4 and 5 but there’s no actual order. Just a matter of priority or need, I suppose. And when there’s a new shiny, it’s hard to ignore. 😂

Thanks for reading.

Peace and Love,
~Miss SugarCookie