I was a teenager in the 90s and yet I never had a blog. I don’t think I even read any. Here I am, a few decades later, writing weekly on Substack. It’s turned out to be something I didn’t know I needed.
On Sunday I wrote about enjoying the process of reflection and making little changes based on those thoughts and feelings. One of the topics I started to think about was the happy effects I’ve experienced since starting this blog/newsletter/whatever you want to call it ten months ago.
Here are five wonderful things that Substack has done for me.
1. Earned me a little bit of cash
I’ll start with this, which I consider to be a lovely by-product, but by no means the sole reason, for being here. I am awed by the fact that some of you wonderful people support me by paying for a subscription. I never set out to do this, but it felt right a few months ago to turn on the paid subscription option, and when I write pieces on Sundays for paid subscribers I feel compelled to delve deeper into my thoughts because I feel supported and open to sharing what’s on my mind. The comments that often follow are thoughtful, kind, sometimes vulnerable and always honest. Those are exactly the type of insights and connections I’d hoped to discover here, and I’m thrilled that I’ve succeeded in finding like-minded people in this community
2. Discovered that I like the sound of my voice
For years (probably my entire life) I have recoiled in horror whenever I heard my voice played back. As a teacher for most of my career, I’ve been making my living from talking (albeit to teenagers) yet until I started recording voiceovers and making a podcast back in September, I could not stand that sound.
I’m from the Midlands (Leicestershire, to be precise) and live in London. I’m proud of my accent but also aware of it and I think that awareness of my difference to those around me had contributed to not liking how I sounded.
Back in September, a few realisations spiralled together and landed at the revelation that I needed to make a podcast about women who had made career changes. I didn’t just want to do it, I had to make it. It was aided by practical realisations such as remembering that I owned a microphone and knew how to use audio editing software.
I’d heard
and make voiceovers for some of their Substack posts and I was suddenly aware that this was something I could do too. What I’d loved about listening to those posts was being able to hear their voices. It felt like an even stronger connection to the writing; not just imagining what the author’s voice sounded like, but actually hearing it. I relished hearing their accents and I was reminded that voiceover recordings and podcasts don’t need to be perfectly produced because it’s the content that matters. Thank you both of you for inspiring me to dig out my microphone and get recording.The first time I recorded myself, I was terrified. Listening back was cringey and I found myself picking fault with the way I said certain words, but I went ahead and pressed publish regardless. The next time was a tiny bit easier and, from then on, each time I listened back to myself I felt a fraction less judgemental.
It turns out that by doing something repetitively, you get better at it. Who knew.
Now, I look forward to making time to record a voiceover for a post. I’m never sure how many people listen to them, but it doesn’t matter at all because through making myself do this I’ve become so much more at ease with my own voice, and consequently my own inner monologue.
3. Made new friends; both online and in person
When you’re in your late 30s and don’t have children, it can be quite difficult to make new friends. I’m an introvert and so I’ve always favoured having a few close and trusted pals over a huge network, but I still like to meet new people.
I had no idea that Substack was going to help me with this. In the past 10 months, I have gone for coffee with two fellow substackers, attended an in-person writing retreat which resulted in making a whole group of new friends, and had countless zoom chats with others around the world.
Special shout outs to
Oh and
and I met for wine and cheese on Carnaby St when she was here visiting all the way from the US!These connections have all been truly fantastic and meaningful and I wouldn’t have met any of these people without Substack. I can’t wait to find out who I’m going to meet during the next ten months!
4. Pushed me outside of my comfort zone
I’ve spoken about the acceptance I now have of my own speaking voice, but I’ve pushed myself outside of my comfort zone in various other ways too.
On Sunday I joined a group zoom call with the brilliant
. She holds these sessions monthly for her paid subscribers and this is the third I think I’ve joined. The first time I joined one of those sessions I was terrified. There was no reason to be, as talking is optional, but I felt this ridiculous fear of having to speak and looking silly. I’ve participated in a few of these kinds of sessions and each time I’ve found my confidence grow. If you don’t know Farrah’s work, go and check it out. Not only is she a brilliant writer and editor, but she has the most calming, warm presence and she shares her knowledge and skills so openly with her subscribers and I have been inspired by her.So much so, I was inspired to start my own creative online group, Create Ensemble, back in January. It still terrifies me a bit in those moments before I log on to the call. Irrational thoughts come flooding into my mind:
What will I say? Will anyone even turn up? Why am I doing this?
As soon as the hour is over, I feel myself fizzing with energy and adrenaline and feeling warm and fuzzy about the community of people who come along and join me. A community that I have created. I’m proud of that.
Create Ensemble is a calm and cosy online space to gather and work on creative projects in the company of like-minded others. The next session is taking place on Wednesday 1st May at 7:30pm (BST). It’s for paid subscribers and the link will be sent out again next week. I’d love to welcome you there and help you to carve out some time in your week to focus on your creative project, whatever it is!
5. Unleashed the joy of writing
I had to save this until last because it is arguably the most important. I had never ever ever considered myself to be a writer. At school, I was ok at English and got an A at GCSE but never found satisfaction in it in the same way I did with music or French, for example. Other than essays at university and written reports and emails in my teaching job, I didn’t write!
Until August 2023.
Writing here has allowed me to process thoughts and feelings and articulate them in a way that I sometimes find difficult verbally. It has provided clarity for me on several ideas such as making a podcast, accepting that I prefer ‘jeffing’ over running and figuring out that I definitely am an introvert to name a few.
An idea will pop into my head and then by writing it down in the form of a Substack post, I can start to see if it makes sense. Often I will leave it for 24 hours and come back to it and read again. Does it still excite me in the same way, or does it now seem ridiculous or dull or silly? Those ideas and pieces don’t always make it as a published piece but might morph into something else that wouldn't have existed without the initial version.
What has surprised me most is the sheer satisfaction in feeling the words pouring down onto the page in a torrent and the sense of excitement I feel when I know I just have to write something down. I wrote about feeling like an 'ideas volcano' several months back. This eruption has quelled a little since I wrote that, but I still get that overwhelming sense from time to time that I must write.
I've been reading Raynor Winn's second book The Wild Silence* this week and have just got to the part where she realises she must get her and Moth’s story down in writing. My reasons for writing are (fortunately) very different, but I absolutely understood Raynor’s palpable need to spill it all out onto the page.
Just start
Each of those five enriching outcomes are linked. They began with me finding a platform that I could write on. That was Substack. I started writing because I felt compelled to share some aspects of the season of life I had found myself in, blissfully unaware of the adventures that lay ahead.
I could have talked myself out of it, but I’m so glad I didn’t.
Just start. Tomorrow is too late. Whatever it is you feel a pull towards, pursue it. You never know where it will lead.
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Love this Hannah. What a beautiful celebration of being on Substack. So much of this resonates, particularly getting more comfortable with hearing your own voice, love of writing, connection and community 💛💛
Thank you so much Hannah. It has been so lovely to meet wonderful friends like you through Substack. It has been fantastic to watch you grow over the last year. We will make it to the Tate 😘😘😘