Thanks for this Jenna — my process is often also very rambling. I used to have a friend who would say in a very prim, self-satisfied way: "I begin every piece with a strict outline — only once I am certain the outline is perfect do I begin to worry about the pretty words." She turned out to be not much of a friend as I'm sure you can guess.
A few years ago, I had a Big Title at a Big Deal start-up — we used Instagram to dominate our industry, and it was so FUN to build and grow there. Having had that experience, I can say for sure that the current platform is hot garbage if you actually want to connect with people.
I do more writing than art making these days, but I will never let go of my love of a beautiful image and I actually LIKE to make the content for Instagram — I just hate that (as you've mentioned here) it's basically just throwing things into a vacuum. I got particularly pissed off recently when I tried to PAY for an ad and they told me it violated their content guidelines. It was about love.
Thanks for articulating (and quantifying) so much of what I’ve been feeling, going through, avoiding. There’s a direct correlation between my weekly screen time (insta) and how present/productive/cheerful I am. But I am very much digging the return to the Blogosphere feeling of Substack. Great post!
Hi Jenna, I don’t even know how I came up to sign up to your newsletter. And don’t even know how I started reading it almost religiously, sometimes forwarding it to friends. Your words are talking to me. You know how to express beautifully emotions. Your reflections are real and belong to many of us. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. Now I want to start writing too. 😊
I really love your You Tube posts and am excited when I see a new one. Your aesthetic and content is both soothing and life affirming in showing a piece of beauty in this chaotic world. It may not reflect your inner soul but it brings peace to mine. Thank you.
I kept a blog (for myself…. I didn’t share it with anyone) for 10+ years. Now I post a few times a year mostly to either save a quote or to memorialize a moment in time.
I have a corporate job so any social that I do is just to journal, share with a few close friends etc. but your post reminded me of an old post I wrote as I was working through a big job transition. The Seth Godin quote might resonate: https://notestolaney.blogspot.com/2017/02/quitter.html?m=1
“this system that pushes you to post consistently in a niche topic and punishes if you don’t is the kind of abusive relationship behavior that I don’t need in my life.” Seriously. I feel bound to it as a professional photographer but am slowly weaning myself from it. I’m so glad newsletters/blogging is back. I love reading and learning from folks like you. It also has forced me to slow down rather than scroll through mindlessly
It’s always an extra meaningful read when I’ve gotten to talk to you the day before it lands. My own deeper engagement. Maybe you should offer office hours as a next level of subscription 😜
Hi! I don't usually comment but your post about writing this newsletter drove me to it :-) I don't recall how I stumbled into your orbit, but I *love* everything about your writing. For me, your voice and the subjects that you address are fresh and thought-provoking and beautiful. I loved the early days of blogging, when I felt like I was making friends and connecting with people that I didn't know. I get the same feeling from your newsletter. Insta is pretty, but the algorithm drives me crazy and I'm always on the verge of quitting. Your newsletter? Never. Thank you for writing and for sharing, and for creating something that I am honored to support.
So many thoughts. I too, wing it on newsletters. I have no queue, no drafts, no calendar. It’s literally just me cathartically forming sentences in my brain and then sometimes on the Notes app. When I do sit down to write it’s all at once or not at all. I think this is why I’m resistant to monetize…I don’t want to be beholden to a schedule and be forced to produced at a specific moment unless the idea is fully formed? I need to unpack that more.
Re: Instagram: even though I post regularly I will say 90% of IG is for the messaging value for me. I have so many connections with parents and group chats with friends that only exist on here. I think because it allows us to respond to culture/news/memes/etc together and the content can be a convo starter? I also think of posting primarily as my own visual journaling. I’m sure this will change as my kids get older and the dynamics around sharing things changes. But I don’t have the same kind of conversations on other platforms so even though I hate the endless scrolling / aspirational lifestyle feeling I value it for that.
Jenna, I always look forward to your writing and art to help me articulate what’s in my head and in my heart. We are in similar life stages but that’s not the only thing. It is also your honesty and the fact that even when you’re feeling or expressing hardship you always seem to find a silver lining. Good for you for slimming down the things that seek your attention. I look forward to what comes next at any pace you feel is best for yourself. Sending love.
The more time I spend on any given platform the more compelled I am to make work in the platform’s format! With Instagram I want to make and share more art/comics, with Youtube I want to make videos, with Substack I want to blog and write. Because of the flitting across platforms I’ve had a tough time reckoning with what type of creation I most value on the internet. Trying new creative mediums like video is an inherent joy, signing up for a “required” cadence of cranking out videos every week is not. I don’t have any answers but do have lots of experiments, and maybe that’s my way of fighting back against the rot economy and the limited lanes it asks us to stay in.
I don’t often comment here but after reading your post today when it arrived in my inbox I felt strongly compelled to do so! Your words made me feel seen in so many ways, & it helps to know I’m not alone in my feelings…. We seem to be in similar life stages (my oldest left home for college last fall, I just turned 50 in December, I’m in the hellish depths of perimenopause…), so I could relate to every word you wrote; in fact I could’ve written your first 3 paragraphs myself! I’ve also been feeling unmoored (I use that word often to describe how I’ve been feeling lately) & struggling to find direction & motivation in my work. I’ve had “start Substack newsletter” on my to-do list for 2 years now (but knowing how I agonize & panic over every blog post I wrote in the past, I fear that a dive into Substack will just stress me out more, so I remain stuck)! My dad also passed away a year ago & I’m sure part of my “unmoored-ness” is due to that. Anyway… all this is to say that I appreciate you sharing your struggles, & seeing you persist despite them is helpful on many levels. (I also share your feelings about Instagram & debate often about its ROI for me!) Thank you so much for sharing. (P.S. Your drawing is lovely!)
I enjoy your rambling, Jenna. It's a lot of what's been going on in my own head, lately. I was just talking with friends about how much we miss blogs. Blogs before everything became a platform to sell us something. I quit Twitter (I refuse to call it by that other name) at the end of last year and have tried to use the time (so much time!) I've gained on happier things. Teaching myself to draw. Walking my dogs. Is this what getting older is? I can't be bothered to keep up with social media anymore. None of it feels authentic except for Substack.
I really enjoyed reading this article, appreciate your perspective and sharing your train of thoughts. Substack is quite special in how we connect to readers and other writers ❤️.
And keep doing your art and sharing it!! (And the recommendations/links part at the end! - I enjoyed all of this from start to finish haha)
Thanks for this Jenna — my process is often also very rambling. I used to have a friend who would say in a very prim, self-satisfied way: "I begin every piece with a strict outline — only once I am certain the outline is perfect do I begin to worry about the pretty words." She turned out to be not much of a friend as I'm sure you can guess.
A few years ago, I had a Big Title at a Big Deal start-up — we used Instagram to dominate our industry, and it was so FUN to build and grow there. Having had that experience, I can say for sure that the current platform is hot garbage if you actually want to connect with people.
I do more writing than art making these days, but I will never let go of my love of a beautiful image and I actually LIKE to make the content for Instagram — I just hate that (as you've mentioned here) it's basically just throwing things into a vacuum. I got particularly pissed off recently when I tried to PAY for an ad and they told me it violated their content guidelines. It was about love.
Cheers to abandoning crumbling empires
Thanks for articulating (and quantifying) so much of what I’ve been feeling, going through, avoiding. There’s a direct correlation between my weekly screen time (insta) and how present/productive/cheerful I am. But I am very much digging the return to the Blogosphere feeling of Substack. Great post!
Hi Jenna, I don’t even know how I came up to sign up to your newsletter. And don’t even know how I started reading it almost religiously, sometimes forwarding it to friends. Your words are talking to me. You know how to express beautifully emotions. Your reflections are real and belong to many of us. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. Now I want to start writing too. 😊
I really love your You Tube posts and am excited when I see a new one. Your aesthetic and content is both soothing and life affirming in showing a piece of beauty in this chaotic world. It may not reflect your inner soul but it brings peace to mine. Thank you.
I kept a blog (for myself…. I didn’t share it with anyone) for 10+ years. Now I post a few times a year mostly to either save a quote or to memorialize a moment in time.
I have a corporate job so any social that I do is just to journal, share with a few close friends etc. but your post reminded me of an old post I wrote as I was working through a big job transition. The Seth Godin quote might resonate: https://notestolaney.blogspot.com/2017/02/quitter.html?m=1
Phew I feel ALL of this!
“this system that pushes you to post consistently in a niche topic and punishes if you don’t is the kind of abusive relationship behavior that I don’t need in my life.” Seriously. I feel bound to it as a professional photographer but am slowly weaning myself from it. I’m so glad newsletters/blogging is back. I love reading and learning from folks like you. It also has forced me to slow down rather than scroll through mindlessly
It’s always an extra meaningful read when I’ve gotten to talk to you the day before it lands. My own deeper engagement. Maybe you should offer office hours as a next level of subscription 😜
Hi! I don't usually comment but your post about writing this newsletter drove me to it :-) I don't recall how I stumbled into your orbit, but I *love* everything about your writing. For me, your voice and the subjects that you address are fresh and thought-provoking and beautiful. I loved the early days of blogging, when I felt like I was making friends and connecting with people that I didn't know. I get the same feeling from your newsletter. Insta is pretty, but the algorithm drives me crazy and I'm always on the verge of quitting. Your newsletter? Never. Thank you for writing and for sharing, and for creating something that I am honored to support.
So many thoughts. I too, wing it on newsletters. I have no queue, no drafts, no calendar. It’s literally just me cathartically forming sentences in my brain and then sometimes on the Notes app. When I do sit down to write it’s all at once or not at all. I think this is why I’m resistant to monetize…I don’t want to be beholden to a schedule and be forced to produced at a specific moment unless the idea is fully formed? I need to unpack that more.
Re: Instagram: even though I post regularly I will say 90% of IG is for the messaging value for me. I have so many connections with parents and group chats with friends that only exist on here. I think because it allows us to respond to culture/news/memes/etc together and the content can be a convo starter? I also think of posting primarily as my own visual journaling. I’m sure this will change as my kids get older and the dynamics around sharing things changes. But I don’t have the same kind of conversations on other platforms so even though I hate the endless scrolling / aspirational lifestyle feeling I value it for that.
Jenna, I always look forward to your writing and art to help me articulate what’s in my head and in my heart. We are in similar life stages but that’s not the only thing. It is also your honesty and the fact that even when you’re feeling or expressing hardship you always seem to find a silver lining. Good for you for slimming down the things that seek your attention. I look forward to what comes next at any pace you feel is best for yourself. Sending love.
The more time I spend on any given platform the more compelled I am to make work in the platform’s format! With Instagram I want to make and share more art/comics, with Youtube I want to make videos, with Substack I want to blog and write. Because of the flitting across platforms I’ve had a tough time reckoning with what type of creation I most value on the internet. Trying new creative mediums like video is an inherent joy, signing up for a “required” cadence of cranking out videos every week is not. I don’t have any answers but do have lots of experiments, and maybe that’s my way of fighting back against the rot economy and the limited lanes it asks us to stay in.
Thank you for this. Right there alongside you.
I don’t often comment here but after reading your post today when it arrived in my inbox I felt strongly compelled to do so! Your words made me feel seen in so many ways, & it helps to know I’m not alone in my feelings…. We seem to be in similar life stages (my oldest left home for college last fall, I just turned 50 in December, I’m in the hellish depths of perimenopause…), so I could relate to every word you wrote; in fact I could’ve written your first 3 paragraphs myself! I’ve also been feeling unmoored (I use that word often to describe how I’ve been feeling lately) & struggling to find direction & motivation in my work. I’ve had “start Substack newsletter” on my to-do list for 2 years now (but knowing how I agonize & panic over every blog post I wrote in the past, I fear that a dive into Substack will just stress me out more, so I remain stuck)! My dad also passed away a year ago & I’m sure part of my “unmoored-ness” is due to that. Anyway… all this is to say that I appreciate you sharing your struggles, & seeing you persist despite them is helpful on many levels. (I also share your feelings about Instagram & debate often about its ROI for me!) Thank you so much for sharing. (P.S. Your drawing is lovely!)
I enjoy your rambling, Jenna. It's a lot of what's been going on in my own head, lately. I was just talking with friends about how much we miss blogs. Blogs before everything became a platform to sell us something. I quit Twitter (I refuse to call it by that other name) at the end of last year and have tried to use the time (so much time!) I've gained on happier things. Teaching myself to draw. Walking my dogs. Is this what getting older is? I can't be bothered to keep up with social media anymore. None of it feels authentic except for Substack.
I really enjoyed reading this article, appreciate your perspective and sharing your train of thoughts. Substack is quite special in how we connect to readers and other writers ❤️.
And keep doing your art and sharing it!! (And the recommendations/links part at the end! - I enjoyed all of this from start to finish haha)
omg you stole my notes for the newsletter I'm working on this week :)