My First Year on Substack. (What's next?)
What did I learn?
My year in review on Substack. You can skip to the end and answer my questions. I am nosy and curious! I want to hear from YOU. This is my favorite part of being here.
“Well, how did I get here?’’ Like David Byrne from the band, The Talking Heads said in his song Once in a Lifetime. (Yes, this middle- aged, gen x mom is still living in the 80s and proud of it.)
I let the days go by, all 365 of them. Most of those days, I made time out of my day to write. It was something I needed to do. I think it’s something creatives can relate to.
In March of 2024 when I first started writing on Substack, I was posting essays once a week. As the year went on, I continued to post more often. Then I discovered I loved writing poetry. My obsession with poetry began when I experimented with a short essay, I was writing called The Sea and Me, and decided to see if I could make it rhyme. Soon I was hooked.
https://janedeegan.substack.com/p/the-sea-and-me
Between my nonfiction writing and poetry, I was publishing at least once a day here.
Why write on Substack?
The main reason was for my own accountability. This was the first time in my life I could have multiple people read my writing if they wanted to. That blew my mind!
Writing is therapy
I started writing on Substack to work through some internal struggles. Back then, I wanted to erase the pain of different types of grief I had. Wanting to be seen was and is something I still ache for. I also want other people to feel seen and for them to know they are not alone, and I hope to continue to connect with them through my writing.
It was terrifying at first sharing my writing here that was raw and vulnerable, but it was freeing. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support I received here on Substack and how my writing resonated with other writers and artists here. No paid subscriptions could ever top that.
What was my original writing on Substack?
Menopause. I was writing to take the freaking shame out of menopause and to raise awareness. I was writing to let other women know they weren’t alone. I was writing because this was a new territory for me, and I didn’t want to navigate it alone.
Did I stay writing about menopause? Short answer yes!
There is so much to menopause than hot flashes, for myself it hit me on an emotional level, I wondered who I was, and I didn’t recognize myself anymore.
Has my writing changed over the course of a year?
My writing has shifted. Still, I write about menopause and the struggles that come to us in middle-age, regardless of gender. Other that hot flashes, I wrote about grief, burnout, loneliness, relationships (including pets), body dysmorphia, shame, self-esteem, ADHD and navigating anxiety and depression.
Middle age is a time of looking back and forward. It is also a time of deep reflection. I found myself questioning everything, so I wrote.
What’s next?
I am going to return to writing more essays right now, I have several in my drafts waiting to be edited! I recently finished a second draft of my psychological thriller, The Scripted Stalker, here on Substack. I will be dropping 2 chapters here every Saturday. I will still be sprinkling a poem (or 10) here and there.
My dream is to be published and that is my goal for the next year.
What have I learned about myself during this middle-age transition?
Life is not over. Reinventing yourself is not a cliche. The other side is brighter, it may not seem that way at first.
My exercise routine had to be adjusted due to knee arthritis. This keeps my sanity!
Writing has helped me discover more of myself and connect with others. There is nothing in the world as wonderful as being able to create through words and learn about myself through the process. I’ve discovered so many other writers and authors here and that is a gift
Thank you all that have supported me on my Substack journey there are too many to mention. My biggest thanks goes to my husband Mike,
who has supported me since the beginning. I know my writing, that is honest and vulnerable, may make him uncomfortable at times. Sorry honey!*Disclaimer* This post is not edited by Mike Deegan.
Questions:
How long have you been here on Substack?
What brought you to Substack? It seems like many of us here due to a life changing event. Is that true for you?
I’m a free subscriber, and just found SubStack about a month or so ago. Something you wrote caught my eye so I followed you. I find myself on here several times a day. I follow a bunch of people so that I can see many different viewpoints on different things, but it’s mostly our current horrendous political situation that has me looking for guidance, answers, and most importantly, like-minded people and community.
Congratulations. I started last year but had a massive gap where work became too demanding. Nice to see you doing well.