There is so much courage in making a piece of writing publicly available—regardless of perceived skill level—and I admire anyone that does it. This is a great piece!
Hi Alex, I greatly appreciated your defence of writers in Emily's post. I understand her perspective, and like you, I felt a bit like being punched. I write lists, I enjoy them. I share work from other writers who have given me a new perspective on something. And at the same time, I write personal essays. But Emily's post made me think that perhaps I am just a sheep, a crowd follower and I didn't know how to take that information. I got what she meant and I even agreed to some degree on it, but it gave me a bit of an identity complex as well.
i appreciate this perspective. i especially love this sentence: "We can view and love writing for all it is, expression, art, craft, tact, creation, communication, conversation, proof of existence." i think of my own writing in those terms.
i think, though, that emily's point was that there are writers who are garnering attention and "large, loyal" audiences through "cheap tricks," such as listacles. her position that writing could, and perhaps should, be more intentional and thoughtful feels true to me. how do you differentiate between someone "try[ing] on" the writer role and someone who is trying to growth hack their way into making money under the guise of a writer? when does it become problematic?
a substack and traffics in listacles likely appeals to more people than literary criticisms of tolstoy's novels. can we truly say that the two are equal? do we determine the merit of the work by how popular it is with the "proletariat"?
and, ultimately, what are the second-order effects on the craft, the discipline of writing? if writing listacles is generally easier than writing literary theory, attracts more subscribers and more income, is that what we should all be doing? what happens to the literary world if the only writing being published is whatever is easiest to accomplish and the trendiest at the moment?
Thank you for your words Alex. This was such a confidence boost and a way to tell my comparison demon to go back to bed. Over the past week I’ve been comparing myself more and more to other writers who are seemingly ‘at the top’. You’ve reminded me that everyone deserves a space to share their words here, no matter what we write about. I’ve been judging my own writing as not feeling sophisticated enough, since I truly do admire writers whose words flow in a way that mine perhaps never will. But that’s just the fuel I need to keep writing and keep growing.
Hi Alex, I loved your take on this. As a lifelong musician turned music therapist I believe strongly in the accessibility of creative arts to all who wish to participate. And agree that, with a few exceptions, the most accomplished artists and inspired work tends to rise to the top.
As someone new to writing, I appreciate the existence of a platform like Substack to help me create, publish, hopefully receive some feedback and develop my skills. It’s the process of creating that we should be encouraging, because engaging in these endeavors enriches our lives and supports our health and identities. And that is a very good thing!
Amazing post and well put! I made similar observations on the top posts and that the sort of writing being targeted really isn’t there. But even if it is, it’s free. And if it’s for paid subscribers, you don’t have to pay. I totally get wanting to observe and analyse a certain type of writing, “tumblr-esque” maybe, but an analysis should be more useful or enlightening than coming off as an indictment.
thank you for this!! as a new space-taker on this platform, the essay you are referencing had me feeling, well...inadequate, as i am sure it has the capacity to make any fledgling writer feel. i note that in the orginal essay, the writer mentions vacationing in greece and substack as a full time job - but this is unfortunately not a luxury (see: privilege) accessible to everyone on this app - though, I am sure no one would quite decline the opportunity. there should be no "meritocracy" attached to what is essentially a hobby (turned side hustle, maybe), or catharsis, to some. as you say in your essay, "People subscribe to publications for a reason, they give money to specific writers for a reason. Who are we to judge whether the person on the other end deserves it?" to which i say: period.
Beautifully put! I was looking for something like this!! The original article definitely rubbed me the wrong way too. It felt like a very pretentious ramble. Keep it up. <33
Thank you for this, this is how I feel too! I feel like the author could have made the same point without quite so much needless gatekeeping and punching down
There is so much courage in making a piece of writing publicly available—regardless of perceived skill level—and I admire anyone that does it. This is a great piece!
Hi Alex, I greatly appreciated your defence of writers in Emily's post. I understand her perspective, and like you, I felt a bit like being punched. I write lists, I enjoy them. I share work from other writers who have given me a new perspective on something. And at the same time, I write personal essays. But Emily's post made me think that perhaps I am just a sheep, a crowd follower and I didn't know how to take that information. I got what she meant and I even agreed to some degree on it, but it gave me a bit of an identity complex as well.
i appreciate this perspective. i especially love this sentence: "We can view and love writing for all it is, expression, art, craft, tact, creation, communication, conversation, proof of existence." i think of my own writing in those terms.
i think, though, that emily's point was that there are writers who are garnering attention and "large, loyal" audiences through "cheap tricks," such as listacles. her position that writing could, and perhaps should, be more intentional and thoughtful feels true to me. how do you differentiate between someone "try[ing] on" the writer role and someone who is trying to growth hack their way into making money under the guise of a writer? when does it become problematic?
a substack and traffics in listacles likely appeals to more people than literary criticisms of tolstoy's novels. can we truly say that the two are equal? do we determine the merit of the work by how popular it is with the "proletariat"?
and, ultimately, what are the second-order effects on the craft, the discipline of writing? if writing listacles is generally easier than writing literary theory, attracts more subscribers and more income, is that what we should all be doing? what happens to the literary world if the only writing being published is whatever is easiest to accomplish and the trendiest at the moment?
Thank you for your words Alex. This was such a confidence boost and a way to tell my comparison demon to go back to bed. Over the past week I’ve been comparing myself more and more to other writers who are seemingly ‘at the top’. You’ve reminded me that everyone deserves a space to share their words here, no matter what we write about. I’ve been judging my own writing as not feeling sophisticated enough, since I truly do admire writers whose words flow in a way that mine perhaps never will. But that’s just the fuel I need to keep writing and keep growing.
Hi Alex, I loved your take on this. As a lifelong musician turned music therapist I believe strongly in the accessibility of creative arts to all who wish to participate. And agree that, with a few exceptions, the most accomplished artists and inspired work tends to rise to the top.
As someone new to writing, I appreciate the existence of a platform like Substack to help me create, publish, hopefully receive some feedback and develop my skills. It’s the process of creating that we should be encouraging, because engaging in these endeavors enriches our lives and supports our health and identities. And that is a very good thing!
Amazing post and well put! I made similar observations on the top posts and that the sort of writing being targeted really isn’t there. But even if it is, it’s free. And if it’s for paid subscribers, you don’t have to pay. I totally get wanting to observe and analyse a certain type of writing, “tumblr-esque” maybe, but an analysis should be more useful or enlightening than coming off as an indictment.
this is such a refreshing and encouraging piece thank you sm
thank you for this!! as a new space-taker on this platform, the essay you are referencing had me feeling, well...inadequate, as i am sure it has the capacity to make any fledgling writer feel. i note that in the orginal essay, the writer mentions vacationing in greece and substack as a full time job - but this is unfortunately not a luxury (see: privilege) accessible to everyone on this app - though, I am sure no one would quite decline the opportunity. there should be no "meritocracy" attached to what is essentially a hobby (turned side hustle, maybe), or catharsis, to some. as you say in your essay, "People subscribe to publications for a reason, they give money to specific writers for a reason. Who are we to judge whether the person on the other end deserves it?" to which i say: period.
Beautifully put! I was looking for something like this!! The original article definitely rubbed me the wrong way too. It felt like a very pretentious ramble. Keep it up. <33
Beautifully said. Very encouraging. Thank you ❤️
Thank you for this, this is how I feel too! I feel like the author could have made the same point without quite so much needless gatekeeping and punching down