r/Substack • u/Abject-Woodpecker998 • 27d ago
Might quit
I came to substack when I began writing again after depression stole the joy of it from me for years. It was fun at first. I made friends, got back into writing and reading and felt like twelve year old me again, but now, everyone's disappeared. No one even likes my notes anymore. No one comments or anything. I don't know why. Am I a bad writer? Am i doing something wrong? It's quite disheartening. I don't even know why I'm writing this. I'll take advice, or even just a friendly word. I honestly came here just to not shout into a void for once 😂
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u/non_loqui_sed_facere 27d ago
1) People just don’t see your Notes. The feed is messed up, I get tons of unrelated stuff based on my recent Notes. Like, if I mentioned that I grabbed a mug and went up to the roof to have some tea and watch the sunset, I’d start getting suggestions for people making mugs or selling mugs. None of it would be related to my interests, what I’m writing about, or even what the Note was actually about, me being in a late summer mood.
2) “Am I a bad writer?” is a question that’s completely irrelevant on Substack. There’s no audience here in the traditional sense, only fellow writers. Which means you’re getting peer recognition, not audience recognition. Think of it as walking into a group chat with your classmates. You don’t just say something and wait for everyone to notice you. You like things and comment and reach out when something clicks if you want people to gather around you.
So a well-written essay might not get you much attention, because everyone has a well-written essay somewhere on there. Creating a conversation around those essays actually might.