The Writing Circle-Jerk: How can I find an audience?
I don't like Substack.
I was excited by it when I first heard about it, but once I dug further, I didn't have enough reasons to switch from my main platform to Substack at the time.
Eventually, after constantly hearing people talk about how great Substack was, I gave in and started a small side project to test it out.
It was fun, but ultimately felt like a giant waste of time.
Maybe it was just a nature of who I was following and how the algorithms pegged me, but the entire Substack ecosystem felt like one big, unsustainable circle-jerk.
It's writers writing for other writers.
Everyone on the platform, myself included, was drawn there by the promise of building and monetizing an audience.
It didn't feel like there were any real people there.
Everyone who consumed content on the platform, was also making content on the platform.
That kinda thing creates a really circular and self-serving ecosystem.
That's not the kind of place where I want to be.
I'm a writer, an artist.
Of course, I want the recognition and admiration of my peers. I want other writers to get something out of what I have to say. But, ultimately, I want my work to reach and be enjoyed by non-artists. I want my work to give those doing the real hard work some reprieve. I want my work to be an alternative to the short-form slop shoveled to those who are worn out from a long day.
Substack can't give me the audience I'm looking for.
Bear is better.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen some pretty insular posts make their way up the ranks of Discovery.
But Bear is fundamentally different.
Bear isn't marketing to grifters.
Bear is marketed towards simple people who want something simple.
This is where I think I have the best chance of finding my people.
Huddled close to the void, we're passing notes of encouragement back and forth.
I'm excited.
~ V