Wow, do I hear you on this. Congrats on your third pregnancy. It is SO HARD to be doing this work while raising young children. I have five kids, and my youngest is in all-day kindergarten, so it's the first year I've had about 3-4 hours of time to actually work.
I also understand about lower engagement and the shifting culture on Substack. I've seen it, too. I'd also hate to see AI replace the human connections you have fostered and maintained in this space.
Right now I like the quarterly calls for collaboration. I have actually gotten a few collabs during your calls, which has been lovely.
If you ever want to chat about what you might want to do from here with your publication, please feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you so much, Jeannie! I may very well take you up on that. Getting some outside perspective can help sometimes, since I can get stuck in my own head. Glad to hear you like the idea of doing the Calls for Collaboration quarterly.
I'm also glad to hear that others can understand and relate to how hard this is to do with kids. I'm always wanting to prove people wrong, and to say, "Think I can't? Watch me!" But this is truly one of the more challenging seasons of my life. It won't stop me from following my passions, though I am seeing I need to go easier on myself and adjust my expectations/timetable!
I think that’s wise, Marcy. There are ways to recalibrate in every season of life. I’ve been there, too—I once had a thriving freelance writing/speaking career, and it all abruptly changed in 2020, for multiple reasons. Yes, the pandemic erased all of my live speaking engagements (and they never fully recovered), but I also gave birth to three kids in four years by that time, and I had to learn how to honor my creative needs/work differently. So I get it. And I’m here if you want to process it a bit more.
I loved the CollabLite about sharing a post you're proud of.
I gained several readers from that... since it was a call to share, I didn't feel as icky saying "hey read my work!" (I normally do)
AND found several great publications to read and sub to myself.
Most of the comments seemed geniune, not just some bots/ai trying to get followers.
I never participated in the larger collab posts simply because I'm still finding my traction on my own as a solo writer, so not "ready" to collaborate. But I loved the idea!
The opportunity to connect in community is great and I'm thankful you provided that space. But I think everyone would understand if you need to focus on other priorities like your main Substack and your family. 💓
Thank you so much for your kind words, Stephanie! I am so happy to hear that you gained readers from the CollabLite posts. I so often post things and never actually know the results since I'm not able to follow up with everyone. But that is exactly what I was hoping would happen for people. I will continue to do those!
And totally get the not being ready with a clear ask for collaboration. That does take time, so that affirms again that perhaps these CollabLite opportunities offer a little more flexibility. You can still make the connections without having to have a bigger ask or offer for collaboration. Plus, they are easier for me to create and share out without having to do much facilitation!
Not done collaborating! AND open to a different look for this space!
I have posted at least 5 collaborations this year and have more planned!
It seems Substack set things up differently towards the end of last year and I am FINALLY seeing traction build back up again. I'm excited for what's next!
Marcy, congratulations on your pregnancy! Also, I wanted to encourage you a little bit: you've given a beautiful gift to others within this community, and whether or not it continues in this fashion, you can feel proud. I thought CollabStack was such a generous and lovely idea, and I still do. That being said, everything you stated about your own life shifting and the platform itself shifting makes so much sense. Sometimes it really just isn't the right time; I have experienced that with different ventures in my own life as well. I don't know that I have thoughts on how CollabStack could/should look different going forward, but I trust that you will do what's right for you and your own creative practice. Best wishes! I'll be following along and supporting from here!
You created a great project, Marcy, when the project was needed. I feel a lot has changed on Substack - good, bad, indifferent doesn't really matter. I appreciate the value of collaboration and would hate to see you discontinue but my own experience being that I have answered calls but too many times the other side doesn't respond. Then I blame me for not following up a wecond or third time.
Priority is to take care of yourself and baby to be. Congratulations.
Congratulations! Your Substack is interesting. It seems great for some of us who do not get the attention that the bigger publications do. I am sorry it was not on my radar. Wishing you the best
I think you created something wonderful and it blossomed in the time that it was right for ... and as it morphs it'll do what it is meant to do in that time as well.
Congrats on your pregnancy! I haven’t really posting much on Substack. Might jump over to Beehiiv. I’m still looking to collab with reporters or PR for media placements. I mostly work in marketing.
Hope the pregnancy sickness settles down enough for you to enjoy the rest of the preps for the new baby. Come back when you're ready and just take things easy
I loved this but in the end I realised I couldn't keep investing so much time in substack - I always used my articles here as an opportunity to research and learn but was hoping to build a platform here too. I've now realised that that's almost impossible if you join at a later stage (celebs and newsletters about making a living from newsletters/writing being the exception). Maybe I'll come back at some point but I have to focus on other things at the moment. Thank you for all you've done and hope the pregnancy and birth go well!
Hi Marcy,
Wow, do I hear you on this. Congrats on your third pregnancy. It is SO HARD to be doing this work while raising young children. I have five kids, and my youngest is in all-day kindergarten, so it's the first year I've had about 3-4 hours of time to actually work.
I also understand about lower engagement and the shifting culture on Substack. I've seen it, too. I'd also hate to see AI replace the human connections you have fostered and maintained in this space.
Right now I like the quarterly calls for collaboration. I have actually gotten a few collabs during your calls, which has been lovely.
If you ever want to chat about what you might want to do from here with your publication, please feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you so much, Jeannie! I may very well take you up on that. Getting some outside perspective can help sometimes, since I can get stuck in my own head. Glad to hear you like the idea of doing the Calls for Collaboration quarterly.
I'm also glad to hear that others can understand and relate to how hard this is to do with kids. I'm always wanting to prove people wrong, and to say, "Think I can't? Watch me!" But this is truly one of the more challenging seasons of my life. It won't stop me from following my passions, though I am seeing I need to go easier on myself and adjust my expectations/timetable!
I think that’s wise, Marcy. There are ways to recalibrate in every season of life. I’ve been there, too—I once had a thriving freelance writing/speaking career, and it all abruptly changed in 2020, for multiple reasons. Yes, the pandemic erased all of my live speaking engagements (and they never fully recovered), but I also gave birth to three kids in four years by that time, and I had to learn how to honor my creative needs/work differently. So I get it. And I’m here if you want to process it a bit more.
Congratulations on the pregnancy❤️✨
I loved the CollabLite about sharing a post you're proud of.
I gained several readers from that... since it was a call to share, I didn't feel as icky saying "hey read my work!" (I normally do)
AND found several great publications to read and sub to myself.
Most of the comments seemed geniune, not just some bots/ai trying to get followers.
I never participated in the larger collab posts simply because I'm still finding my traction on my own as a solo writer, so not "ready" to collaborate. But I loved the idea!
The opportunity to connect in community is great and I'm thankful you provided that space. But I think everyone would understand if you need to focus on other priorities like your main Substack and your family. 💓
Thank you so much for your kind words, Stephanie! I am so happy to hear that you gained readers from the CollabLite posts. I so often post things and never actually know the results since I'm not able to follow up with everyone. But that is exactly what I was hoping would happen for people. I will continue to do those!
And totally get the not being ready with a clear ask for collaboration. That does take time, so that affirms again that perhaps these CollabLite opportunities offer a little more flexibility. You can still make the connections without having to have a bigger ask or offer for collaboration. Plus, they are easier for me to create and share out without having to do much facilitation!
Not done collaborating! AND open to a different look for this space!
I have posted at least 5 collaborations this year and have more planned!
It seems Substack set things up differently towards the end of last year and I am FINALLY seeing traction build back up again. I'm excited for what's next!
Marcy, congratulations on your pregnancy! Also, I wanted to encourage you a little bit: you've given a beautiful gift to others within this community, and whether or not it continues in this fashion, you can feel proud. I thought CollabStack was such a generous and lovely idea, and I still do. That being said, everything you stated about your own life shifting and the platform itself shifting makes so much sense. Sometimes it really just isn't the right time; I have experienced that with different ventures in my own life as well. I don't know that I have thoughts on how CollabStack could/should look different going forward, but I trust that you will do what's right for you and your own creative practice. Best wishes! I'll be following along and supporting from here!
You created a great project, Marcy, when the project was needed. I feel a lot has changed on Substack - good, bad, indifferent doesn't really matter. I appreciate the value of collaboration and would hate to see you discontinue but my own experience being that I have answered calls but too many times the other side doesn't respond. Then I blame me for not following up a wecond or third time.
Priority is to take care of yourself and baby to be. Congratulations.
I’m not sure where my chronic illness niche would fit but I am very interested in learning and growing!
✨Marcy, you manifested something wonderful and I enjoyed collaborating with you. Be well, be happy—and thank you for planting the CollabStack seed!
Congratulations! Your Substack is interesting. It seems great for some of us who do not get the attention that the bigger publications do. I am sorry it was not on my radar. Wishing you the best
Congratulations on the pregnancy!
I think you created something wonderful and it blossomed in the time that it was right for ... and as it morphs it'll do what it is meant to do in that time as well.
Congrats on your pregnancy! I haven’t really posting much on Substack. Might jump over to Beehiiv. I’m still looking to collab with reporters or PR for media placements. I mostly work in marketing.
Hope the pregnancy sickness settles down enough for you to enjoy the rest of the preps for the new baby. Come back when you're ready and just take things easy
Whatever you need to do to care for yourself is the right answer to these questions. My two cents: I like this idea:
...featured spots in emails/posts for a small cost.
I loved this but in the end I realised I couldn't keep investing so much time in substack - I always used my articles here as an opportunity to research and learn but was hoping to build a platform here too. I've now realised that that's almost impossible if you join at a later stage (celebs and newsletters about making a living from newsletters/writing being the exception). Maybe I'll come back at some point but I have to focus on other things at the moment. Thank you for all you've done and hope the pregnancy and birth go well!