This is not a growth post

But it is also a growth post

Photographs by Nadia Gerassimenko

Dear hopeful reader,

This week I’m celebrating my first year on

Substack

!

When I started

when hope writes

, I felt a strong pull to write and experiment with writing. And I didn’t realize it at the time, but I also needed a supportive, nurturing community to engage with, to grow with.

A lot of Substack guides encourage a writer to choose a niche to focus on and stick with it. As a person who is curious about and interested in many topics, I felt dispassionate about that tip.

After some rumination, I decided to write on a smorgasbord of subjects like films, video games, health, culture, music, literature, poetry, and such—all the things that concern me, that relate to my life somehow, that I also enjoy.

I wanted to write from a hopeful perspective, or with a hint of hope—something so deeply ingrained in my name. I also wanted my newsletter to be a space where people from all walks of life would feel welcome and freely share their points of view.

A year later, I’m delighted to say I’ve succeeded in cultivating a flowering space in which I’ve been unraveling in many surprising ways, in which others have been empowered to do the same.

That wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have an audience coming in the first place, that wouldn’t have continued if I didn’t have readers giving encouragement about my work. For you, my dear fellow hopefuls, I’m always grateful and always will be.

I still want to push myself further in how I approach writing and the extent I want to go in exploring the depths of our humanity. But having lost my voice times before and with my physical limitations, I can only go in brave but safe strides.

Meanwhile, I want to encourage both established and budding creators here to continue with your passion projects. I want to share some insight so you feel more confident in your Substack, in yourself. (And gosh, I wish I heard it from someone else when I began my journey here so I wouldn’t be so doubtful and afraid.)

This is not a growth post, but it also is.

Choose a niche…or not

To choose a niche or to not choose a niche? That is the question! Having been on Substack for a year and read a variety of newsletters, I can see the appeal in focusing on one subject matter over writing on various topics, or vice versa.

If you’re someone passionate about a particular endeavor and can only concentrate on that one thing, it’s probably best to just stick with it instead of trying to hug the world. But if you love discussing different issues and feel you may get overwhelmed only focusing on one, then go explore the world!

People may discourage you from writing broadly, thinking it could get messy, or you may have doubts about it yourself as it may lead to being all over the place. But I say, tell the fear-mongering to go you know where! I’m a testament that writing about all kinds of stuff works.

However, you still need to be focused and creative while exploring la variété. You still need to make your craft appealing, interesting, and refreshing. Writers have critiqued Sisu before, but have they composed a poetic review of the film? Has anyone written a meta flash fiction piece introducing a poetry mechanic in the cult classic video game Grim Fandango?

All this to say, whatever your focus, novelty or a fresh perspective intrigues readers, listeners, and viewers. As we humans are learning beings, learning something new is nurturing for the mind, heart, and soul. Relatability is also compelling. Hence, even writing on a niche topic but relating it to others in a way that’s uniting and universal will inspire and move them deeply.

Be yourself and genuine

Other than novelty and relatability, now more than ever people seek authenticity, vulnerability, honesty, and rawness in others and in their craft. We must be so hungry for human connection because everywhere else we see anything but that—in the news, on social media, in cinema, in discourse, even amongst our neighbors.

Anyone can create robotically, and AI is already doing that to a degree. (I mean, some scripts of movies and shows today truly read like they were AI-generated messes or written by the great Tommy Wiseau, the first and foremost AI writer, director, actor, and all the stuff and things in the creative sphere.) But people are being radically turned off by that; they had enough of imitations and fakeries, and so they find, choose, and consume that which genuinely feeds their whole being.

We want—and have the need—to go back to how life used to be: interacting with others in good faith, disagreeing with each other while remaining friendly, having genuine connections with one another. In a way, Substack acts as that online space for connectedness, openness, fairness, and truthfulness. Just spending more time on the site instills curiosity and receptivity in one. That has been the case for me!

And I’ve noticed that in others too. So knowing that, I feel courage and confidence to be open about things I wouldn’t normally be comfortable sharing about myself such as my health challenges. For instance, I once honestly talked about how my husband and I both differently experience and feel about my chronic condition. Oftentimes the focus is on the chronically ill, deservedly so, but not the caretaker, although they too struggle in their own way and deserve our compassion and understanding. Others may find it taboo to discuss, but it’s the truth. And as much as truth hurts, it also helps.

So I say, write from your gut and heart, frankly, earnestly, and unabashedly—how ever safe you feel doing so at the moment. Challenge yourself incrementally as you get comfortable writing about hard, heavy truths in essays or memoir pieces, experiment with themes, language, and format if you’re a poet or fiction writer. Through all this, as our beloved Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Have patience and persevere

Growth doesn’t happen overnight, or in a week, not even in a month sometimes. Just like with seedlings, it takes time for budding to transform into blossoming. It doesn’t mean it’s not happening already. Just by writing and pressing the publish button, your audience is finding and reading your work while they may be quietly doing so, at first.

Growth may also be slow for some, fast for others, non-linear, not happening for a period. Everyone’s growth is individual, dependent in part on what is created and their goals. Plants and flowers flourish differently, as do newsletters. It’s neither good nor bad; it’s a fact of life. Someone achieves thousands of loyal subscribers, while another person cultivates a strong readership of several. And it’s all right if you don’t compare yourself to anyone and have a positive mindset about it.

For the first month of publishing on my Substack, I wondered if I was writing to a wall, and I doubted myself, my abilities, my value. But I decided to feel the fears unconditionally and keep going, with patience and perseverance. Eventually readers started engaging with my writing. Hard work and waiting it out paid off.

Likewise, there were times when engagement dipped for my newsletter, slightly shaking my self-worth. I took it as a learning opportunity for me to work harder, to continue anyways—for myself, for my core audience. Engagement falls from time to time, but I don’t beat myself up about it anymore. I give thanks to this phenomenon because now I feel unshakable, in other aspects of my life as well.

Had I known how fluctuating my journey on Substack would be when I started my newsletter I wouldn’t have internally freaked out as much. I’m sharing what I felt then today to assuage you even just a little bit. If any of that experience is reflective of yours, know that there are others who go through it or went through it.

The most freeing course of action—as was the case for me at least—is to accept your feelings, work through them, keep it moving. Never lose hope, always be patient and persevere. The fruits of your labor will in time pay off.

Check your work and layout

I could be saying that it doesn’t matter what the layout of your newsletter looks like and how many typos you missed in your latest post as long as the content of your work is substantial and indispensable. But I would be lying if I said that’s enough. Humans are still visual creatures, and some of us find all kinds of oopsies even if we’re not searching for any—I swear, we don’t always mean to!

Glaring grammar errors can be off-putting, especially if they break a sentence to the point of not making any sense. Lengthy phrases and paragraphs can be indigestible, especially for those who easily get overwhelmed by reading. So the important message you want to convey becomes unreadable—lost in translation, lengthiness, and mistakes. And you want your work to reflect authenticity, professionalism, and credibility.

So check your work before sending it off to your subscribers, recheck it after publishing it. I myself go back to my previous publications months later to make sure there aren’t any more errors, but that’s my editorial obsession, I suppose. Use Grammarly as your spell checker, or Word, or Google Docs. Use Hemingway Editor to cut down on wordiness and redundancies unless your work calls for that.

As for your layout—make sure people can read your writing and their eyes aren’t strained from blinding color combinations. You can absolutely have a black background as long as the font color is white, for example, and not neon green. You can make your font be the same color as your background as long as the hue is of different degree, e.g.: the background is baby blue, while the font is navy blue.

Ensure your design and navigation are as clean and clear as possible so your newsletter site overall is appealing and user-friendly. As much as it shouldn’t matter, it still does. We don’t only judge a book by its content, but also by its cover. It’s the same with sites. Messy sites turn people off; minimalist ones keep them.

Engage with your readership

Engagement on Substack is a two-way street. You can’t build and foster a community on the premise of just writing and publishing your newsletter unless you’re famous and beloved by all.

As fascinating as your work may be, if all readers hear are crickets from your side when they interact with your publication, they may eventually engage less or, worse, leave. You’ll then hear the crickets!

They take the time out of their day to read your work, reflect on it, restack it, leave a comment, write an email of appreciation. Such acts of goodness often get taken for granted. A simple thank you will be muchly cherished.

Understandably, life responsibilities and struggles get in the way sometimes, so engaging with your readership on a regular basis isn’t always possible or realistic, but personally, at least some effort should be made.

I’ve witnessed how positively communication and communities unfurl and strengthen when there’s a consistent exchange between writers and readers. People even meet friends, collaborate with each other, have poignant discussions, get inspired. It’s beautiful, precious, and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Invest in some growth resources

Growth can also be stimulated by other means like social media. Using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn have mostly been fruitless for my Substack’s promotion.

I won’t discount their power for others. My impression however has been that because people don’t necessarily use these sites for reading, most of them won’t convert to readers coming from these sources.

I gradually gave up on social media and instead took advantage of resources that actually target readers. I have three favorite sites, the latter two I still use: The Sample, Lettergrowth, and InboxReads.

The Sample forwards newsletters to readers based on their interests. Lettergrowth connects newsletter writers together for collaborations. And InboxReads lists your newsletter online by categories. All three feature other promotional values such as paid forwards, cross-promotion, advertising, sponsorship opportunities, among others.

They were tremendous help for me as a beginner. Likewise doing collaborations such as cross-posting and guest posts with other fellow creatives garnered more readership for us both. But mutual recommendations on Substack resulted in more than 50% of subscriptions.

So if you must invest in some growth resources while not overextending your time and effort, I highly recommend giving The Sample, Lettergrowth, and InboxReads a try. Recommend and get recommended by other newsletters as well.

The rest is yourhistory

If I sound preachy and pushy, it’s out of care and respect for you and the betterment of your newsletter. If growth is critical for your goals, then I want you to succeed while being aware of all the obstacles and realities you may face along the way.

Most importantly, experiment and have fun with the creative process; don’t take it or yourself too seriously. If sometimes you need to step away from Substack, it’s absolutely okay to do so, to rest and regroup. I occasionally take breaks myself, and advocate it for others too!

And remember when someone lends you a hand, accept it with grace. If you’re in the capacity to do so, pay it forward to a creator who is still finding their footing. Stay humble, human, and starry-eyed as you keep growing. I promise this approach keeps anyone grounded, grateful, and thus fulfilled.

Thank you for celebrating my first Substackaversary with me, for reading my work, for all the lovely comments and restacks, for your openness and honesty when you share vulnerable parts of yourself. I’m excited to see what journeys await us in the second year and thankful you chose to be on board with me!

Yours hopefully,

Nadia

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Thank you

I want to thank my dear parents, husband, cat (for the pettings and naps), friends, and fellow creatives both outside of and on Substack for having supported my writing adventures since the beginning, some who joined me along the way.

Shout-outs to just some of my favorite people on Substack who create with utmost passion, creativity, reflection, and love for the arts and our humanity. They’re awesome and awe-inspiring humans full of empathy and brilliance. Please go subscribe to them (and subscribe to everyone I’m subscribed to—trust me):

Mr. Troy Ford

Garrett Francis

Ellie

Kimber S Prewit

Kharissa Love

Andrei Atanasov

Alexander Ipfelkofer

Nathan Slake

Taegan MacLean

Chloe Hope

Dr. Kathleen Waller

Kimberly Warner

Alisa Kennedy Jones

Justus

Tiffany S.

Gregory Luce

Serena Agusto-Cox

Victoria Kazarian

radicaledward

Mikhail Skoptsov

Priya Iyer

Arundathi John

Felix Purat

Lara Chapman

Jesse Bartel

Cierra

Mya Dexter

David

Alessandro Mortellaro

ars poetica

Ricardo Oliveira

Leslye Penelope

Kristin Garth

Kathy Fish

Wendy Parciak

Weston Parker

Jim M

Kate Shaffar

Lucas Mangum

Arman Khodadoost

Holly Starley

Charlene Storey

Alexander Semenyuk

Joaquin Roibal

Thomas De Moor

Writer's Blog(ck)

Raj Menon

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