Let's Try That Question Again
Big screw-up yesterday. So sorry!
So here’s what happened yesterday: (But first my sincere apologies. Two newsletters in one day and neither one of them got you anywhere!)
I’ve been on Substack for a while now and always wondered what that “New Thread” button did. So, silly me, yesterday I pushed it. I had been told it was the perfect place to start a discussion or a Q&A, which, I was also told, is just the cat’s meow if I wanted to get some real interaction going here.
Maybe it’s just me, but once I got in there I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. It looked just like a blog page, except the text went into a little rectangular box, with this written in tiny letters underneath: Tip: Write something tweet-length (1-3 sentences) that encourages general discussion.
So I did. I asked a couple of questions, checked the right boxes, and sent it off to you, my subscribers, my dear put-upon subscribers who patiently hang in there as I try to look professional while I’m really bouncing off walls trying to get the infernal mechanics just right in this damn place!
Minutes went by. Hours. And nothing happened. No response. Not a single comment. And just as I was beginning to think something wasn’t right, one of you sent me an email lamenting that you had some thoughts on the subject, but I’d cut you off because you weren’t a paid subscriber.
WUT?? I did a stealth visit as a stranger, using Firefox since it doesn’t know I own the joint, and sure enough—I was locked out of the comments.
I checked and double-checked and couldn’t find the place where that happened, or where I could change it. I contacted Substack support, and I still haven’t heard from them. So all I can do is apologize again to all of you (I’m so sorry!) and hope you can pretend along with me that yesterday’s questions are actually today’s questions.
Can we try this again? Here are the questions:
What scares you the most, either as you hit the ‘publish’ button or see your work in print? Do your fears ever stop you from publishing?
I’m off the push the right buttons and get this convo started!
So, here’s what I should say:
I’m scared no one will read it.
I’m afraid I will be called out on blind spots and make myself look like an idiot.
I’m worried people will read it but they won’t like it.
But, a few years into this Internet writing thing, those things don’t bother me anymore. The thing that worries me most is wasted effort - the time and thought I spend on something that will very likely have no short-term payoff other than seeing my title on Google when I specifically search for its exact wording + my name. No one will care, and I will have wasted the hours it took me to create this thought-provoking content when I could have been doing something “more productive.”
But all that hurling my words into the abyss has given me something of a sandbox to practice. Some of my pieces with the least views/interaction are the ones where I’ve allowed myself to play with style and form, and I’m proudest of them and have learned the most from them.
So. What am I afraid of? Not much. 😂
I'm scared someone I know/respect will tell me my work sucks. I also wonder if my letters are too short, even though people repeatedly tell me they prefer them that way. Lastly, since I write about music (Hi brad!), I know every issue won't hit with every reader. But I often wonder if I'm too into a specific niche, or if I'm too all over the map.