The Hard Part Of Writing Online
Happy Friday,
Yesterday I was reading a newsletter by another writer on Substack. She’s mostly a feminist writer (though not exclusively) and most of the time I enjoy her writing. Oh sure, there’s the odd one that doesn’t ring the bell but that’s normal.
No one hits it out of the park every time.
Plus, the topics that leave me cold might be someone else’s favorite. We don’t all like the same thing. Taste is subjective.
Anyway, I finished reading and closed the email. Almost deleted it when I had an aha moment right before I hit delete. So I opened it again.
The aha moment was that I realized I’m one of the 95% that doesn’t respond.
Like, seriously. I read it and enjoy it. Every week. Sometimes, I don’t just read, I devour them. She makes me snork. Or laugh. Or get mad. Sometimes, she sends me digging for more information. But I read and enjoy almost everything.
And then I just close it. More often than not. I didn’t like seeing that about myself. Because I write faithfully week after week and I know what it’s like the be on the other end of the newsletter.
You know what can get to a writer sometimes? It’s one of the hard part.
Radio silence.
Crickets.
Total and utter lack of response.
It’s not the only hard part. There’s lots of hard parts. Facing the blank page time after time is a real thing. And for me, I often wake up Friday morning and hate the draft I did earlier in the week. So I archive the thing and write what’s on my mind.
I envy people who can schedule these puppies weeks in advance. Maybe one day I’ll learn to do that. But for me, writing this newsletter is more like inviting you for coffee. I have to feel some kind of resonance with what I’m sending.
So yeah. Radio silence kind of stings when it happens.
It makes you wonder if you’re boring the death out of your readers. Makes you wonder if you should write about something else. If your readers are even enjoying what you’re writing. Maybe they’re just hitting delete.
So I want to tell you it’s normal to get low response.
It’s not just you. Or me.
Statistically, less than 10% of people respond. And the bigger a list gets, the lower the percentage drops. Like, it’s entirely common to get 1000 reads and 20 comments. It sounds really abysmal, but it’s totally normal.
It might even be good. I’ve had writers with bigger audiences ask how I get so much response and I have no answer. My readers are the best? lol.
I get why people don’t comment. A lot of people aren’t commenters.
But they also don’t click the “like” or “heart” or whatever the platform offers as a thumbs up to the writer. And it’s silly, because it’s right there and it’s free. lol. Especially with Substack. They stick it right in the email. But I was doing it, too. Can’t hardly fault anyone for doing what I am also doing.
That’s what I realized yesterday just before I deleted an email I enjoy.
So I opened it again, scrolled to the bottom and clicked the heart. Took me all of two seconds. You know? Like — why wouldn’t I click a silly icon when I like her writing? I’d miss her if she threw in the towel.
I don’t know. Maybe we just don’t think about it.
But realizing I do the same thing — well, that made me think. Made me wonder why I enjoy someone’s writing but don’t take two seconds to click a silly icon to let them know I enjoyed it. You know?
Yesterday my kiddo and I got takeout and ate by the river. Just a quick little break before going back to another crazy day with more work than hours to do it.
When I paid for the order, the debit machine automatically added the tip. But I still smiled at the server and said thank you. Know what I’m saying here? It struck me that given the tools to say a quick thank you online, I don’t use them more often than I do.
That made me stop and think. And I want to do better at that. At least it’s on the radar now. That’s not nothing.
But mostly, here’s what I want to say.
If you get low engagement, don’t take it personal, okay? Because it’s not. We just fall into patterns and don’t even see it until one day we do. It’s not you. It’s all of us. Keep writing. Someone out there would miss you dearly if you stopped.
Even if she forgets to say thanks sometimes.
xo
Linda
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Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this, click the heart to say thanks. :)
xo,
Linda
Did you tell the writer “ I’d miss her if she threw in the towel?” In the immortal words of the goddess Joni Mitchell, “…you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone (Big Yellow Taxi song).
From the four Canadians I know through their compositions (you, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young) or through friendship ( the husband of a dear friend), ya’ll have that illusive quality of ‘heart.’
This was an informative piece. Thank you.
I always read and enjoy your emails, Linda. But I’m also guilty of not always clicking the heart.