Not An Anniversary Letter
No graphs or subscriber growth tips, no numbers or charts or advice. Just a celebration, some thoughts, some words and some pictures.
Not quite so simple
As the years tick by faster and faster, there are an ever increasing number of milestones to mark. Joyful, sorrowful or somewhere in between, it feels important to reflect, reminisce, remember and celebrate.
I thought it would be fun to celebrate my Substack anniversary, but to do so, having a specific date would be somewhat helpful.
On 13th July 2022, I signed up to Substack. But that doesn’t feel particularly noteworthy as I did nothing but lurk around wondering what Substack was all about.
On 11th October 2022, I wrote my first post that was sent to three email addresses (one of which was my own). I was still not sure what Substack was all about and what I thought I was doing on a platform built for writers.
On 28th January 2023, I surfaced from a particularly all consuming drawing session realising that I’d forgotten to feed the children their lunch. They were not amused, but I thought it was quite funny and I so I decided to renamed my Substack and While I Was Drawing came into being.
While I was drawing, the house burned down and the kids died of starvation….
Well, not really - but one day, I’m convinced that the world will end while I’m drawing and I won’t notice until I put down my pencil…. (posted on Instagram on 28/01/2023)
But even then, I still didn’t really know what I was doing, I didn’t share anything particularly regularly or with any real purpose other than to tentatively explore some of the thoughts that were bouncing round in my mind. It wasn’t until late in March when I transferred my blog from my website that I started to write more regularly and really enjoy myself. I turned on the paid option in April and got my first paying subscriber in September, so perhaps one of those dates would be the right ones?
It would be good to have a nice clear date to celebrate. To say, “that was the day when this all started”, but life doesn’t fit into neat little boxes and timeframes. Its messy and complicated and contradictory.
So lets pretend it’s today and celebrate regardless!
Celebrating a year(ish) on Substack
Not really knowing what Substack was or what I was doing, having no expectations or preconceptions turned out to be the perfect starting point.
When very few people were reading my words or seeing my artwork, I let my mind wander and my thoughts and drawings coalesce as and when they would. Without a particular schedule or theme, I found a magic in them that was new and exciting.
Previously, when I wrote for my blog, the purpose was to drive traffic to my website, improve my SEO, for things like ‘Reach’ and ‘Click Appeal’. There were considerations like using the right key words and phrases, making sure to re-purpose and re-share. My words and my thoughts were not the point, selling my work was.
But I found myself writing here for different reasons.
“Write because you believe in yourself, because you deserve it, because it’s fun to explore the inside of your mind. Write about the anxiety, if need be. Write for peace and for joy.”
& from“When you stop caring what other people will think, and you do it for the sheer, selfish joy of it, that’s often when other people respond most favorably to your work.”
With the freedom I found, my own writing changed. I stopped sharing what I thought I should, what I thought others would like and what I thought might be popular and wrote just for fun and for joy, without purpose or expectation.
My favourite letter of the year was a celebration of creativity…..
“She has been there from the very first time I discovered the joy in my own creativity. At my side through every discovery, every experiment, through every success and every failure. She is with me still, when each beautiful creation from another soul touches my heart.” - Dear Creativity
And my most popular letter of the year was a celebration of being on Substack, that I wrote sort of by accident…..
“I think Substack is great. So much so that I am often a little evangelical about it. But I’m not an idiot and I know that it wasn’t created by some altruistic deity to bring peace on earth to mankind. It was created by regular human beings a bit like me, with arms and legs and a brain and a heart and wotnot, who are doing their stuff. Just like I am.” - Confessions of a Middle Aged Substackaholic
I got lost reading here too. I found the most beautiful stories, words that filled me with wonder, sadness, joy and hope.
I found myself reading for endless curiosity, exploration and adventure. Because I longed to be delighted, enthralled, surprised. I read things that were light and bright and good for the soul, that made me laugh. I read things that were melancholic and deep. That made me cry. I read and read and read. And I loved it.
And that is worth celebrating.
One of my absolute favourites, was this from
…
Truth is, they need the same stories I need. Same stories you need. I’m aching for stories of hope. Real hope. Not fluffy/empty/pretty hope. I need a scrappy kind of hope. I need a hope that acknowledges struggles and shows up anyway. I need hopepunk. - We Need You Hopepunks
I’m sure you’ll love it too.
A place to share endless creativity
Substack is about creating a media system that’s based on different rules from today’s dominant platforms…. [It’s] home for all kinds of creative works, from illustrations to photography, discussions to workshops, and narrations to music. -
After a year(ish) on Substack, I’ve been reflecting on why I enjoy writing and sharing here so much. Why it feels like home, why I get so lost here, drawing, writing, reading.
I think it is this; in this place, we can share creativity, imagination, inspiration, ideas and hope with each other unfettered by algorithms and character counts. We don’t need to learn a silly dance, pick the the latest trending music or niche our work to within an inch of our lives. We can just show up, share our creativity and enjoy the creativity of others.
The possibilities are endless.
And finally, I couldn’t finish this letter without saying a heartfelt thank you for letting my words and pictures take up a little bit of space in your life.
Bye for now,
If you’ve enjoyed reading, send some hearts (click the ❤️), comment 💬 or restack🔁 on Substack or share on social media.
When you subscribe, you’ll get a beautiful bundle of illustration assets in my Welcome Letter or upgrade to access my every growing gallery brimming with gorgeous illustrations to create beautiful things for your home, your life and online spaces.
Happy anniversary, Emily! What a lovely reflection on the year! I love your art and photography--it always brightens my day. 😊
We need more of these kinds of celebratory posts: celebrating the magic you’ve found, what a treat! A lovely piece of writing Emily x