3 Things That Have Changed Me- A Substack Beginner's Diary

My first month and a half on Substack. What's changed?

---

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel like I should be doing anything else. - Gloria Steinem

Art by Kiki Ljung

---

I never saw myself making a newsletter.

Honestly, it wasn't even a thought until May, when I first hopped on Substack thanks to

Jordan Scott

. I clicked on the link to his publication, Student Economy, and it brought me hand-in-hand to a world of bright possibilities.

At that point I had been trying to find a way to improve my writing skills for a while. I'm a future English teacher, so I'd better be good at writing and learning, if I want to teach my students English. Other than my WIP, I didn't have a clue what I should do.

Then I jumped on Substack and allowed myself to close my eyes and imagine—

What if?

Here I am two months later, well into August with:

• 10-I guess this makes 11- published articles

• A community of 85 lovely people from 25 countries

• 250+ followers who I banter with daily

This Summer has brought me a community that I've once dreamed of. So, thank you, for reading, for the support, and for guiding me into a world where writers can write for the sake of writing.

Let's talk about what's changed by hitting the publish button.

---

1. The Balance of Courage and Consistency

As a young writer, I've never published my work before, most of it stays in the dark cavern of my many google docs. Substack has given me a platform to gain the courage to share.

With a lot of goals, from climbing Mt. Everest to learning a new recipe, it's another kind of battle to pass the first hurdle. Hitting the publish button the first time was practically the Battle of Hastings.

I was self-conscious, worried that what I had to put out wasn't any good—it wasn't worth the effort. I did it any way though, for the sake of a new start. An adventure I'd yet to explore.

I convinced myself, that “if I could help one person, it'd all be worth it”.

I continue to write today with the vigor of that quiet-wayyy to hot- June 25th day, with the same message. A message I think can benefit every writer.

If we can make one person smile, change their perspective, make one person snort a laugh—our work is worth every sleep-deprived riddled hour of writing.

Art by David Fernandez Saez

Consistency. My best friend and worst enemy. I've always struggled with consistency. But Steeped In Success? The newsletter is a whole new mountain to climb. To put some things in perspective:

• I'm a college student- about to go back full-time on the 11th actually.

• When I'm not in class, I work full-time.

So, juggling a busy schedule along with Steeped In Success is difficult, an uphill battle of an intensity I have never once taken on—let alone successfully.

I'm not going to lie and say I've made it to the mountain peak with this one. I haven't and I still have a long way to go, but Substack has helped me make undeniable progress in that pursuit.

Despite getting stuck in the mud with writing sometimes and outside problems, I've kept my promise to upload once a week with a regular post, and bi-weekly with a Sunday spotlight. I'm proud of that.

The kind messages I see everyday on Notes help keep me motivated. From the comedy genius writer memes and heartfelt discussion from

David McIlroy

to the adorable dog pics from

Nur Nadar

. The community on Substack is welcoming and supportive. I can't ask for anyplace better.

---

2. Reflecting on Waves of Writing

Has my writing changed in the past few months?

The short answer? Of course!

The long answer though, well—it's a bit more complex than that.

It's been a month and a half, so although my writing changes as I continue to write there isn't a big difference yet. It's like when you see a relative you haven't seen in years. They say you've changed so much! Even when you don't feel like you've changed much at all.

We live with ourselves every second of every day, it's hard to see changes when you're always there.

What I have noticed is the change in my writing based on my emotions. Since I publish every week, I spend a lot more time writing than I used to.

If I'm excited like when I wrote like last Sunday’s spotlight, I'm more peppy. My sentences are shorter and I make maybe too many jokes and references.

When I'm angry, I write more opinion pieces, like To Hell With Consistency. I'm much more reflective and frank than usual. I don't ramble—I get straight to the point.

If you have never gone back and read over some old articles, it's fun to reflect on them and remember the headspace you were in. How does your writing shift based on your emotion? The events you've gone through?

---

3. Substack's Stats Sanbox

This is one of the biggest growth points I have so far. My writing has changed, but Substack has given me a glimpse into the world of buisness and marketing too.

I'm no stranger to business—more like an aquaintence. I don't run any type of buisness, but I have taken classes and have been around enough business-minded family that I have half the mind to think about the mindset of an entrepenuer when I walk into a resturaunt or company building.

All of that to say, Substack provides an almost overwhelming amount of stats, have fun with them. From open-rate to a subscriber location map, substack gives creators a wealth of information. It's how I've been learning more about marketing!

I'm the Substack Bill Nye with this stuff—I love doing experiments on Notes to see what gets more engagement! The stats tab enables that.

---

The Takeaways

The 3 Things that have Changed about Me and How to Apply Them.

• The courage to hit publish and reach for hard goals—I'm not scared anymore, in the wise words of Nike, Just Do It. Make mistakes and see where those land you. Have fun on the journey and the destination will be more rewarding.

• Write when your emotional, and reflect on the results—It's surprising to see the small differences that change the flow of you're writing.

• The Substack Stats feature is a gold mine—I seriously feel like a little kind panning for gems in the stats section of the creator UI; experiment! It's a great way to learn.

---

Resources to Learn More

• Are you also a beginner or looking to work on your writing skills? Substack is a great place to do that, if you can't tell by me singing its praises in this article. Here's a few places where you can learn more about writing and Substack in general.

  • For my fiction writers: Check Out Reedsy! Reedsy is has access to a marketplace for editors and proofreaders, short story challenges, and free courses to learn from. I recently did a 9 lesson course on the art of show-don’t tell, it was really helpful for my WIP!

• If you’re looking for more resources on starting out on Substack, check out How To Writing For a Living by David Mcilroy and Story Craft Online Writing by Khadejah J. Both are great for getting into the nitty gritty of writing, especially online. I’ve personally been reading both for a while and they’ve helped me become a more polished and experienced writer.

---

Thanks for reading today! How would you guys like to see more content revolving around writing? Or should we stick to intersections of productivity? Please let me know in the comments! Your feedback means a lot to me.

The Sunday Spotlight comes out this week and will cover a more writing theme as well with the resource Reedsy and a discussion on discipline and reflection. See you then!

Until next teatime,

Kate