Give Your Writing to the World in Equal Parts Playfulness and Wisdom
SmallStack’s Guest Post Premier
SmallStack has been growing in what our publication provides over the course of this first month. We started out asking for folks to get listed in our Library, and then we opened the doors to guest posts. For those of you who have shared your pitches with us, or if you’re still noodling on a topic you’d like to write, today’s essay gives you a glimpse into the possibility of what guest posts can look like. These are not a one-size-fits-all post—We want to hear what you think the SmallStack community would like to see!
It’s been absolutely inspiring to read the ideas our community is gearing up to write for all of you, and today we’re sharing our first one, a truly special offering from one of the friendliest writers you’ll find around Substack.
started her own Substack with just twelve subscribers, but her audience and her craft have grown as she has focused on the meaning of her writing. We welcome her voice to SmallStack!Give your writing to the world in equal parts playfulness and wisdom
What I’d tell myself a year ago when my reader list looked quite different
By Amanda Bray Hinton
In January 2023, it was me and 12 readers.
With my daytime job as a writer, editor and strategist, I had been working in service to everyone else’s voice but my own for more than 18 years. Time and again, I stood on the sidelines, scratching my head and wondering why their work seemed to lift, but mine didn’t. In joining Substack I decided to construct a fresh start.
Leave it all behind, I told myself. There’s more to learn. Maybe this place will be different. And so I tried to forget everything I had given others in my day job. I approached this new writing world as a student.
Even more importantly, I let writing be rooted in playfulness and nourishment for the first time in my life. I followed my bliss and did not apologize. I joined comments sections, practiced my storytelling and lapped in the wonder of authors who love hearing from readers. I let myself feel free to make mistakes in my final drafts, and I practiced dropping the construct of an “online persona” in exchange for living online as the real me (which is especially helpful when you’ve been autistic your whole life and never knew it).
Maybe you’re in this place today, too. Perhaps you’re trying to find your own voice again or you’re also toiling in your free hours outside a full-time job. I’ve written before about what my early months on Substack were like and some practical shifts I made that preceded an uptick in readers. (You can read about that here in A Timeline for Growth: Luck Needs a Place to Land.)
I let myself feel free to make mistakes in my final drafts, and I practiced dropping the construct of an “online persona” in exchange for living online as the real me.
These days, I’m writing to quite a few more readers on my newsletter, The Editing Spectrum. And I’m swimming in the gift of getting to talk to the wonderful readers of this SmallStack publication.
had a wonderful idea when he and I were chatting the other day, and it’s given me a joyful chance to reflect. To imagine what I would say to that tired first-time mama, plunked down at the kitchen table after taking care of a baby all day by herself in the mountains. Today’s essay is for her and for you—for anyone who’s starting from scratch on Substack and hoping to find a home for their voice. Here’s what I would tell us both.Sometimes the best writing is born from saying, “I don’t know”
There’s something about desperation, frustration and longing that fuels writers. Let that fuel your writing when you’re reaching a breaking point. Fill in the blanks on “I’m mad because…” or “Why doesn't anybody…” and see what happens. You just might write a piece that starts changing the trajectory of your writing life.
There are two things you’re responsible for
You have two things to nurture here on Substack: how you pull your writing out of yourself onto the page and then how you bring that writing into the world when you publish it. For most brand new writers on Substack, it’s important to realize that your reader’s primary relationship is with the work you publish, not the process it takes to get it onto the page. (There are exceptions of course, for a master writer like George Saunders, for example. He could write a 10,000-word essay on how he chooses to italicize for emphasis, and we’d all be putty.)
But you’re here and you’re you and that’s also a great thing! Your first job is to be a good steward of the voices, longings and stories inside you. Your second job is to learn how to be a student of how readers experience your writing online, which, thankfully, takes many forms and leaves a lot of room for variety when you’re being your authentic self.
Measure your inputs by more than the essays you publish
Part of the work on Substack is to participate. And part of the gift is that readers have the power to lift your stories to a broader audience. In other people’s newsletters, you are letting the author (and their readers) get to know you in settings outside your main essays. Demonstrate that you’re a thoughtful reader and a good listener (traits we all love in writers!). Practice a little storytelling in the comments when it feels right. If you’re ever losing steam to read and chime in on your favorite newsletters, cut back on your own publishing queue so you have the energy to nurture the friendships and connections you’ve made.
Leave a little mystery
Being your true, full self online doesn’t require outlining, exposing or defending every facet of your life. Think of writing online like a really long friendship—where you share more about yourself, your interests and knowledge in layers. And just like in every relationship, there are some things that either don’t matter or are just meant for you. Let the layers of yourself come to the surface when they’re ready. (The best cue for this is when they start showing up incessantly in your waking or sleeping memory. When an idea bugs you like a hungry cat pushing up against your leg, explore that thing more.)
You don’t have to know all the answers or what facets of your life you intend to share right from the start. You don’t need a stringent content plan squeezing the inner parts of you so tightly. In the beginning, the mystery and relaxation is good for readers and for you.
How you relate with 10 readers versus 1,000 readers will change
At the exact same time you’re hoping that you’ll finally grow a “real” readership, you’re also probably hoping that nothing will change. You might even be insisting that nothing changes. And the truth is, it varies for everyone. I think we all have a clear understanding of what happens when someone brandifies themself and turns into a content-churning robot. There are safeguards you can put in place for that.
But the reality is that how you package and deliver your writing to 10 people versus 1,000 will call upon your creativity in different ways. Yes, absolutely, write your first drafts to one specific person, but continue being a student. Ask yourself, “What does it mean to write to a large group of people? How do I stay connected to their experience of my work? How do I get a 30,000-foot view of what’s actually growing inside my newsletter?” As you grow, hold on to the authenticity, truthfulness and other qualities that drew readers to you to begin with—you are your own North Star here!—and embrace what it means to be in service to a larger group of people. It might require different mechanisms and approaches to help folks stay connected.
How you package and deliver your writing to 10 people versus 1,000 will call upon your creativity in different ways.
There is no secret sauce
There’s some good news for anyone who’s hoping to finally wiggle their writing in front of a larger, more authentic group of readers: None of us really know what we’re doing. Some of us have more practice with this online writing thing. Some of us have more failures racked up than we’d like to admit. There’s no true secret sauce here for growing your writing on Substack. But there should always be room for learning a new skill; for changing your mind; for discovering something you never knew about your readers, your writing and the life you’ve been dreaming of. Stay close, hold fast to the good, clear voice inside you—and you’ll always have a home for your writing.
Amanda Hinton (she/her) is a writer, editor and strategist. When she’s not creating writing practices or resources for finding readers, Amanda works with writers one-on-one to help polish their work and navigate the complexities of an online presence. Be sure to join her and 13 other speakers at The Content Spark Summit on June 27, where she’ll explore writing with your instincts.
From the growing SmallStack Team, we’re sending out a great big THANK YOU to Amanda for starting our Guest Post series off on solid footing. If you enjoyed this, please tell us about it in the comments!
And if this has sparked an interest in submitting a Guest Post pitch to us, please visit the Guest Post page for more information. We absolutely want to hear from you!
Small but havin’ a ball,
Robin & Robin
Lovely post, thank you! I'm newish to Substack. I started writing here in late January, and I couldn't imagine how wonderful this experience would be. I'm growing readership slowly, but that's really okay, because it gives me a chance to interact with writers (and readers) in this community. My participation has added new layers to my life. I've met wonderful, generous people who give my writing a read, and come back for more and some have been recommending my newsletter to others. It's very exciting. I love being a part of SmallStack, such a great idea. Your suggestions are terrific and not overwhelming. I find them intuitive and very supportive. It does feel like friendship here. All these new characters/real people are part of my daily life now. Writers are the best people to hang out with!
“Think of writing online like a really long friendship—where you share more about yourself, your interests and knowledge in layers. And just like in every relationship, there are some things that either don’t matter or are just meant for you. Let the layers of yourself come to the surface when they’re ready.” LOVE this idea. As a more reserved and private person, I’ve never been able to get comfortable with the way that other platforms seem to require us to share so much about our lives in order to be marketable, or to commodify ourselves in the name of branding. Your advice feels so much more congruent and authentic to me. This is exactly why I love substack!