Thank you so much for this post. Gonna be re-reading this one for the next week for sure. Perfectly represented the feelings of myself and other creatives. To be human is to just be.💜
It's challenging to remain true to ourselves as writers when technology and capitalism constantly conspire against us! And you're right, the chicken marbella recipe from The Silver Palate is the best!
It’s an eternal push and pull and internal battle. Do we want to be authentic or do we want to be seen? We want both! We love that cookbook. Such a classic! I think we’ve had it for over 25 years.
Im starting to believe that one of the problems is that there are different kinds of “seen,” but we don’t acknowledge that. There’s the technical being “seen” measured in likes, reshares, comments, subscriptions, etc. And then there’s being “seen” on a deeper level, which is more, I think, about authenticity and connection. If you aren’t authentic, how can you really be “seen” no matter how good your numbers look? I think our single-minded focus on metrics leaves us in this hollow space where no matter how much we’re “seen” in this way, we always need more because it’s not actually satisfying that need for connection beyond a temporary dopamine hit. It’s like an addiction. Which is my long winded way of saying, yes, be human. Especially since, increasingly, it seems like no matter how hard you try to play by the rules, you end up not far off from where you would have landed it you just said, screw it I’m doing what I want. More and more the rules don’t work for many of us, and yet we spend our lives throwing ourselves at that wall, and for what? A tiny smidge more “security” than we otherwise would have had? What do we give up for that? Those are the questions asking myself lately.
Jen, you make such good points here. Bigger metrics, bigger likes, views, and shares, and once you've tasted that kind of being "seen," you chase it even more by trying to recreate what worked. That's where the formulaic replication can come in. It's never going to be enough!
Thanks for the link! And also for articulating something I've been thinking about a lot lately, how much Substack seems to push us to have a niche (I had not made the connection with the way that algorithms function) and I have very little interest in that — I publish a *personal* newsletter precisely so I don't have to write about the same thing all the time! Though I do sometimes worry what folks who subscribed because they read a post about punk rock will think when they get ... well, something else the next week!
I understand why algorithms exist and I understand their role in personalizing content for users, but it’s so uninspiring to just stay in the same lane. We’re not machines. I understand your worry, but I wouldn't be too concerned about it. I think I’ve learned over the many years that readers/supporters hang in because they like a creators voice and perspective, no matter the topic. Others who don’t vibe with the content will drop off. It’s all good.
I’ve been wrestling with this alot lately, too! I don’t love the pressure of niching down but — wow — the prreesssuurrrreee!!! And then my substack starts to feel like work and I begin to feel resistance…. So thank you for the reminder that we get to write for humans and it’s all about connecting to each other with our words — niche be damned.
The ULTIMATE brag about your dad 💯 Also, a store that only sells pens 👌🏽 I love that you let come what May when you sit down to write. This is part of the magic of Substack, I think: a more private glimpse into people’s psyches and also a little dance with the muses. What else I love about is its scattershot capabilities: for me, it holds the wholeness of all the writers - those who may (or may not) have a specific niche but who also, like, want to write about TV shows they’re watching or what pants they bought that they really like 😅 I know this comes with all kinds of over commercializing problems but I like the shaggy dog qualities of a form like that - it’s like bumping into your really smart neighbor while out on a walk everyday. Some days they have a funny story, other times you don’t say much but something about the exchange boosts you. ✨🛼 I think with your newsletter, specifically, its beauty is a balm. Like: your eye, what you’re thinking about, your pictures: it’s all enough and it’s wonderful.
Aw, thank you Kara. And that's what I enjoy about Substack too. I think why people loved the blogging era was because it was like having a weekly conversation with a friend. Get a good recommendation, commiserate, share and learn. Organically, like a real life human experience, not one lead by an algorithmic machine.
Yes, yes, yesssss to all of this!!! I couldn't agree more and couldn't have said it better. Here's to letting humans be human in all our messy and diverse glory and pushing that more than another ai robot or algo or capitalist machine. If we actually gave people and the world more grace for all of that I wonder what kind of environment we could create.
Thank you for continuing to write and for expressing a tension I also feel, as a writer of a small, niche-less newsletter! I keep coming back to you for exactly what you describe: that genuine connection, which does not need to rely on SEO or viral hits to be compelling.
Jenna, this essay was right on time! I needed this reminder as I sit here stumped about the newsletter I am supposed to publish today. Much like you, I started this substack as a creative outlet while I transition (empty nester to ??? Still figuring that part out). Writing has always felt intuitive and emotional. Oftentimes, very spontaneous; thinking in niches and content pillars doesn’t allow for that level of freedom.
As a beauty brand founder and creative director, creating content has always been about niching down and a culture of competition—content pillars, metrics, engagement, trending topics. It becomes debilitating. I realize I’ve been conditioned like a serial dieter counting points long after quitting the Weight Watchers program. I am constantly reminding myself—continue to enjoy this and don’t let it become a job (i.e., albatross around my neck). But it’s difficult to operate in that space when money is thrown into the mix. “Why not make money doing something you love?” they say. Because I’m not sure how to do that without losing a little (or a lot) of the love that brought me here to begin with. It happened with fashion when I opened a boutique in Chicago, it happened with beauty when I founded my beauty brand. Beauty—something I once thought of as self-care, now oftentimes, is the reason I need self-care.
So when it comes to this—my Substack—I don’t want to be bound by the same constraints. I am going to put a Post-it note on my laptop screen that says, “You are writing for humans, not the algorithm.” You have definitely moved *this person* with your work! And last but not least, thank you so much for the shoutout, it means so much! 🤎
I hear you about being a small business owner and having to niche down. I felt like this was my achilles heel the entire time we ran our business. Maybe our instagram marketing would have been way more successful if i played by the rules and posted about cookies and sweets all day long, but I couldn't do it. Probably what I should have done was just hire that out to a social media person, but that also felt really weird (also, no money in our budget for that). So we ran our business the way we did, intertwined with our personal stories, and it may not have been the most effective in terms of sales and views, but we ran it the way we wanted to. It just felt right.
As far as writing and Substack goes, I really resist any notion of being some kind of "expert" or "influencer" in any topic or area of life. I just would feel so insecure about writing about one thing with some kind of authority? That's partly my reason too, I think.
This reflection comes at the right time. Over the past few weeks, I deleted six Instagram accounts, one Facebook page, and one Facebook group. Every time I wanted to express something “different,” I felt the need to create a brand-new channel—just to keep things consistent, coherent, and niche-specific.
But of course, over the years, these profiles didn’t just drain my time creating niche content—they also pulled me into consuming it. And every time I moved on from a phase or a season in my life, I’d abandon the dedicated profile.
So here we are: no Facebook, no Instagram.
I just hope Substack won’t try to box me in or push me into a category. I’d like it to remain open—a space for cultivation, that rare and almost forgotten art of making things. Still, I’m old enough to have seen giants fall before, so… I try not to get too excited.
I've been here two and half years and haven't boxed myself in, so it's possible! And whoa, that is a lot of accounts opened. But I've had similar dilemmas about opening different accounts for different purposes and interests and OMG that is soooo exhausting. Who wants to spend that much time online creating content??
Part of what I love the most is reading about what *you* are thinking about and how you are living. Its always well-considered, and as a city-dweller myself, I love to see your urban thoughts. When I was writing my final project for school, I was surprised at how long good writing took. Many hours. So many rewrites. I am always reading your newsletter, and thank you for what you do!
You've been such a long-time reader, Gizella. I'm surprised you're not tired of my rambling 😅. Thank you for sticking with me over the years. We have both gone through a lot.
I can't even remember how I found your Whimsy and Spice site. I'm not tired of your writing at all. Its hard to find someone who has your authentic voice!! Yes, we have gone through a lot. 2025 is not playing.
A beautiful read Jenna, and so many observations that rang true. I think you just captured in words for me why I subscribe to you. I don't want the same content sent to me over and over - I love that every time I open your newsletter, you're exploring what's actually on your mind, rather than what you think I want to hear. There is something really powerful and subversive about this in a world of algorithms.
Hard agree. Sticking to a niche is something I've always struggled with and it'a always felt like a failure or a lack of coherence. Only in the last few years have I come around to seeing it as an expression of where my head is at any given moment. It feels more authentic than to arbitrarily define a niche just because something worked and then dancing like chimps for the algorithm.
Jenna, I do not have a niche and I write about things I’m interested in. I write to have fun. Lately, it hasn’t been fun on Substack. But with writers like yourself, I can regain my energy. Thanks. Randy Kaplan.
Thank you so much for this post. Gonna be re-reading this one for the next week for sure. Perfectly represented the feelings of myself and other creatives. To be human is to just be.💜
Thank you so much for reading and restacking 🫶
It's challenging to remain true to ourselves as writers when technology and capitalism constantly conspire against us! And you're right, the chicken marbella recipe from The Silver Palate is the best!
It’s an eternal push and pull and internal battle. Do we want to be authentic or do we want to be seen? We want both! We love that cookbook. Such a classic! I think we’ve had it for over 25 years.
LOL, my 30-year old copy is falling apart!
Love it!
Im starting to believe that one of the problems is that there are different kinds of “seen,” but we don’t acknowledge that. There’s the technical being “seen” measured in likes, reshares, comments, subscriptions, etc. And then there’s being “seen” on a deeper level, which is more, I think, about authenticity and connection. If you aren’t authentic, how can you really be “seen” no matter how good your numbers look? I think our single-minded focus on metrics leaves us in this hollow space where no matter how much we’re “seen” in this way, we always need more because it’s not actually satisfying that need for connection beyond a temporary dopamine hit. It’s like an addiction. Which is my long winded way of saying, yes, be human. Especially since, increasingly, it seems like no matter how hard you try to play by the rules, you end up not far off from where you would have landed it you just said, screw it I’m doing what I want. More and more the rules don’t work for many of us, and yet we spend our lives throwing ourselves at that wall, and for what? A tiny smidge more “security” than we otherwise would have had? What do we give up for that? Those are the questions asking myself lately.
Jen, you make such good points here. Bigger metrics, bigger likes, views, and shares, and once you've tasted that kind of being "seen," you chase it even more by trying to recreate what worked. That's where the formulaic replication can come in. It's never going to be enough!
Thanks for the link! And also for articulating something I've been thinking about a lot lately, how much Substack seems to push us to have a niche (I had not made the connection with the way that algorithms function) and I have very little interest in that — I publish a *personal* newsletter precisely so I don't have to write about the same thing all the time! Though I do sometimes worry what folks who subscribed because they read a post about punk rock will think when they get ... well, something else the next week!
I understand why algorithms exist and I understand their role in personalizing content for users, but it’s so uninspiring to just stay in the same lane. We’re not machines. I understand your worry, but I wouldn't be too concerned about it. I think I’ve learned over the many years that readers/supporters hang in because they like a creators voice and perspective, no matter the topic. Others who don’t vibe with the content will drop off. It’s all good.
I’ve been wrestling with this alot lately, too! I don’t love the pressure of niching down but — wow — the prreesssuurrrreee!!! And then my substack starts to feel like work and I begin to feel resistance…. So thank you for the reminder that we get to write for humans and it’s all about connecting to each other with our words — niche be damned.
Yes, niche be damned! I don't want to be pigeon-holed! Let's resist!
The ULTIMATE brag about your dad 💯 Also, a store that only sells pens 👌🏽 I love that you let come what May when you sit down to write. This is part of the magic of Substack, I think: a more private glimpse into people’s psyches and also a little dance with the muses. What else I love about is its scattershot capabilities: for me, it holds the wholeness of all the writers - those who may (or may not) have a specific niche but who also, like, want to write about TV shows they’re watching or what pants they bought that they really like 😅 I know this comes with all kinds of over commercializing problems but I like the shaggy dog qualities of a form like that - it’s like bumping into your really smart neighbor while out on a walk everyday. Some days they have a funny story, other times you don’t say much but something about the exchange boosts you. ✨🛼 I think with your newsletter, specifically, its beauty is a balm. Like: your eye, what you’re thinking about, your pictures: it’s all enough and it’s wonderful.
Aw, thank you Kara. And that's what I enjoy about Substack too. I think why people loved the blogging era was because it was like having a weekly conversation with a friend. Get a good recommendation, commiserate, share and learn. Organically, like a real life human experience, not one lead by an algorithmic machine.
Yes, yes, yesssss to all of this!!! I couldn't agree more and couldn't have said it better. Here's to letting humans be human in all our messy and diverse glory and pushing that more than another ai robot or algo or capitalist machine. If we actually gave people and the world more grace for all of that I wonder what kind of environment we could create.
Oh yes, all of this. 👏 We should celebrate our messy human-ness. In the age of AI, this is going to be so valuable and desired.
Thank you for continuing to write and for expressing a tension I also feel, as a writer of a small, niche-less newsletter! I keep coming back to you for exactly what you describe: that genuine connection, which does not need to rely on SEO or viral hits to be compelling.
🫶 There are lots of personal niche-less newsletters out there, feeling maybe a little lost in a platform of categories. We are not alone 😊
Jenna, this essay was right on time! I needed this reminder as I sit here stumped about the newsletter I am supposed to publish today. Much like you, I started this substack as a creative outlet while I transition (empty nester to ??? Still figuring that part out). Writing has always felt intuitive and emotional. Oftentimes, very spontaneous; thinking in niches and content pillars doesn’t allow for that level of freedom.
As a beauty brand founder and creative director, creating content has always been about niching down and a culture of competition—content pillars, metrics, engagement, trending topics. It becomes debilitating. I realize I’ve been conditioned like a serial dieter counting points long after quitting the Weight Watchers program. I am constantly reminding myself—continue to enjoy this and don’t let it become a job (i.e., albatross around my neck). But it’s difficult to operate in that space when money is thrown into the mix. “Why not make money doing something you love?” they say. Because I’m not sure how to do that without losing a little (or a lot) of the love that brought me here to begin with. It happened with fashion when I opened a boutique in Chicago, it happened with beauty when I founded my beauty brand. Beauty—something I once thought of as self-care, now oftentimes, is the reason I need self-care.
So when it comes to this—my Substack—I don’t want to be bound by the same constraints. I am going to put a Post-it note on my laptop screen that says, “You are writing for humans, not the algorithm.” You have definitely moved *this person* with your work! And last but not least, thank you so much for the shoutout, it means so much! 🤎
I hear you about being a small business owner and having to niche down. I felt like this was my achilles heel the entire time we ran our business. Maybe our instagram marketing would have been way more successful if i played by the rules and posted about cookies and sweets all day long, but I couldn't do it. Probably what I should have done was just hire that out to a social media person, but that also felt really weird (also, no money in our budget for that). So we ran our business the way we did, intertwined with our personal stories, and it may not have been the most effective in terms of sales and views, but we ran it the way we wanted to. It just felt right.
As far as writing and Substack goes, I really resist any notion of being some kind of "expert" or "influencer" in any topic or area of life. I just would feel so insecure about writing about one thing with some kind of authority? That's partly my reason too, I think.
This reflection comes at the right time. Over the past few weeks, I deleted six Instagram accounts, one Facebook page, and one Facebook group. Every time I wanted to express something “different,” I felt the need to create a brand-new channel—just to keep things consistent, coherent, and niche-specific.
But of course, over the years, these profiles didn’t just drain my time creating niche content—they also pulled me into consuming it. And every time I moved on from a phase or a season in my life, I’d abandon the dedicated profile.
So here we are: no Facebook, no Instagram.
I just hope Substack won’t try to box me in or push me into a category. I’d like it to remain open—a space for cultivation, that rare and almost forgotten art of making things. Still, I’m old enough to have seen giants fall before, so… I try not to get too excited.
I've been here two and half years and haven't boxed myself in, so it's possible! And whoa, that is a lot of accounts opened. But I've had similar dilemmas about opening different accounts for different purposes and interests and OMG that is soooo exhausting. Who wants to spend that much time online creating content??
Part of what I love the most is reading about what *you* are thinking about and how you are living. Its always well-considered, and as a city-dweller myself, I love to see your urban thoughts. When I was writing my final project for school, I was surprised at how long good writing took. Many hours. So many rewrites. I am always reading your newsletter, and thank you for what you do!
You've been such a long-time reader, Gizella. I'm surprised you're not tired of my rambling 😅. Thank you for sticking with me over the years. We have both gone through a lot.
I can't even remember how I found your Whimsy and Spice site. I'm not tired of your writing at all. Its hard to find someone who has your authentic voice!! Yes, we have gone through a lot. 2025 is not playing.
No, it’s not 😭
A beautiful read Jenna, and so many observations that rang true. I think you just captured in words for me why I subscribe to you. I don't want the same content sent to me over and over - I love that every time I open your newsletter, you're exploring what's actually on your mind, rather than what you think I want to hear. There is something really powerful and subversive about this in a world of algorithms.
Thank you, Kelly. That means so much 🫶
Yes, yes, yes! All of this: YES.
🙌
Hard agree. Sticking to a niche is something I've always struggled with and it'a always felt like a failure or a lack of coherence. Only in the last few years have I come around to seeing it as an expression of where my head is at any given moment. It feels more authentic than to arbitrarily define a niche just because something worked and then dancing like chimps for the algorithm.
Not a failure! Niches are effective for marketing so it has its place. YOUR voice is your coherence!
Fuck leaderboards and algorithms and SEO. They take the fun out of everything. You do you!
Hell yeah!! 🙌
Jenna, I do not have a niche and I write about things I’m interested in. I write to have fun. Lately, it hasn’t been fun on Substack. But with writers like yourself, I can regain my energy. Thanks. Randy Kaplan.
Writing to have fun is the best reason to write, Randy. Forget all the stuff around Substack and just write for yourself and your readers.
P.S. I’d like to be part of your community.
You've commented here, you're part of the community! 😅 So nice to hear from you today!