No July collaborations to share…
It was a quiet month (and that’s okay)
It seems not much collaboration happened this month . . .
For the first time since I started these Collaboration Celebration emails, I sent out the email to my Premium Members asking for links to their collaborations, and I did not receive any submissions!
Perhaps some collaborations happened and weren’t sent to me, but instead of not sending a Celebration email this month, I decided to share this to let you know that if you’ve been too busy or too overwhelmed to collaborate, you aren’t alone.
I figured there would be a slow down during the summer months, but this is also a reminder that not every season of our lives is a season for collaboration.
Sure, if I wanted to sell more Premium Subscriptions, I’d use this email to tell you how important it is to make time for collaboration. I’d say in ten different ways how it will change your life and your business and/or skyrocket your Substack growth.
And yes, it absolutely can lead to amazing opportunities and growth, but I created CollabStack with a focus on connection, community-building, and fun—not pressure. You know what’s not fun? Forcing collaboration for the sake of growth, rushing it, and ending up with disappointing and draining collaborations.
So this month, I celebrate us all taking the breaks we need. I celebrate all of us honoring what’s right for us and the current season of our lives.
And if you did have the space and energy to collaborate this month, please feel free to drop any links in the comments below so we can check them out and cheer you on!
See you next week for August’s Call for Collaboration (for those of you ready to start up again—no pressure).
Marcy
I appreciate you noticing that sometimes it's not good collaboration time. I've been in deep collaboration with a local artist friend for a couple of years and we were going really strong then for the summer I haven't even seen her - mostly due to me and the commitments that came up on my end, and partly due to changes in how I'm approaching work and life in general with an emphasis on slowing down and committing less so that I can commit more authentically. But also because she's traveling and her summer location is different and our timing is just different. Summer schedules shift things!
Interestingly, I feel like some collaborative conversations I had in previous months with people, including from this group, are gelling in me... it's like the collaboration is still continuing in the background of my creative process even though from the outside it doesn't look like there's active collaboration.
Marcy. This is very interesting and your thoughts are poignant. Some days and months we do need a break and then we can come back energized. I have done some work around interviewing different creatives and how the “creative process” helps them in their lives, from managing stress to creating a breakthrough in their life or in their work. I have found that others have been willing to answer my questions and then do a short interview.
But I notice too that other projects have kind of stalled or did not happen at all. There was one big trip I was planning with another person. And then no one could participate - so these things happen.
Thanks for the article regardless