Evolution of a Newbie: My First Year on Substack
This is My Story and I'm Sticking to It ...
One of my retirement goals was to write (and publish) on a regular basis.
So, I am happy to report that this week marks the first anniversary of launching my very first post on Life UnCorked (January 12, 2023) - One week after officially pulling the plug on 55 years of work.
Of course, it was fitting that it would be about retirement:
Last week, I posted about reaching my first retirement anniversary. See how God has led us and provided all we needed along the way:
Today marks a milestone in my life - one year ago today, I walked away from trading time for a paycheck.
A year of not having to put on work clothes.
A year of not having to be away from home for eight to twelve hours a day.
A year of setting my own schedule.
Of course, this was something I dreamed about, but for most of my working life, I had no idea how I was going to get there. I could not see how it would happen.
So, imagine my surprise when the inevitable time came and I did the math for a retirement budget, that’s exactly what did happen.
A Look Back
I started out with zero subscribers, so I flat-out floored it out of the starting gate.
As country comedian Jerry Clower used to say, it was “Boogety, boogety, boogety” all the way.
Two months into retirement/writing, I posted an update with this “catchy” title:
I always wanted to be a “writer” when I grew up. At age 70, that time had finally come.
It’s not that I never wrote. I have dabbled at it for years. However, the window of time between work and lights out was not the most productive for me. My best work time is in the mornings.
So, I waited and planned.
My first post, Retirement Is Not A Deadend was launched January 12.
Here are some of the things I learned as I kept at it:
For the unknown writer, the process is for the long haul. Slow, steady growth is a perfect learning environment.
Adjust as things unfold.
You will get frustrated. Write through it.
Find and read a wide variety of newsletters from those on every level of the spectrum.
The heavy hitters offer invaluable insight as to process, format, and encouragement.
Never compare yourself to other writers. Instead, learn from them. We are all unique.
Write about what YOU are interested in, not what you think others are interested in. You will find your audience of Kindred Spirits along the way.
Pay attention to a couple of things:
What seems to be the subject(s) that your articles default to?
What posts get read or liked more than others.
Where these intersect/overlap (think of a Venn Diagram) will be the place to focus your energy.
Be patient. It may take a while to figure this out.
Don’t be afraid to interact with other writers - you never know which one(s) will be the catalyst for exponential growth.
Crossposting, commenting, liking, and taking part in community chats and notes are all part of the process of becoming known.
Remember, most writers started out the same place we did - ground zero.
Learn from those who have figured it out.
Definitely develop a list of topics to write from ahead of time. Otherwise, you will waste massive amounts of time trying to figure out what to write about.
Be consistent. Over time, you will become more proficient, more efficient, and more comfortable as you figure things out.
Never be shy about telling others that you are a writer. If that doesn’t feel natural, it will with repetition.
Study copywriting. It will do wonders for your headlines.
Setting goals is fine, but developing processes to achieve your goals is much more important. The goal is your destination. The process is the route you will take to get there.
95% or higher of your subscribers will never like or comment - get used to it.
As the year progressed, I noticed a trend that
"got my goat” as we say down here in the South.
So I got on my “Soapbox” and wrote a post about it:
I’m sure I’m not the only writer (or any type of creator) who has issues with this.
Close to four months in, I did some revamping, including making a slight change to the newsletter name, (from UnCorked to Life UnCorked) and updated the About Page:
One of the things that I learned as the year progressed was how to balance the various new experiences, including a writing schedule in my retirement life.
By the end of June, roughly six months of writing, I had gained over 100 subscribers. Starting out, one of the goals was to put one of the sections of Life UnCorked behind a paywall.
Around this time, I had an “epiphany” moment. It was that the whole purpose of “retirement” was to enjoy life at a slower pace while pursuing the things that we wanted to do more of.
At the pace I was writing, however, presumably to quickly gain a subscriber base substantial enough to begin a paid subscription fee, it was becoming no different than the work I left behind. I was not enjoying it.
I realized several things:
Although extra income is always welcomed, we did not really need it. Nor did I want the accounting/tax filing headaches that went with it. Since very little of our income is subject to income tax, I did not want to complicate things.
I enjoyed writing and wanted to reach as many people as possible. A paywall, even for just one section would trigger more than a few to opt out of their subscription.
I did not want to write under pressure or obligation which a paywall would require.
I needed to slow down and enjoy the process.
I explained all this in a few related posts on my developing philosophy of retirement & writing over the Summer:
I would not classify myself as OCD.
However … I do like order and organization. As this year has progressed, I have found it frustrating that most of the newsletters I read have no organization of related posts.
Yes one can do section tabs and that helps, but so far, dropdown subtabs are not part of the substack infrastructure. So, when doing a series within one of those sections, there was no obvious way to group them.
So, I came up with a way to create a table of contents as a post to group serial chapters and subject-related posts within a section. You can read/follow a tutorial I created here -
Soon, I will be revising this tutorial to include using the website/site design/posts/groups function in settings to also visually display the section groups on your website below the top section.
You can see how this looks on the home page of Life UnCorked and The Talking Pen. Just scroll down until you see the sections.
I recently got a big thank you from
who writes Traditions for the Future and a number of sub-publications, He was able to use the tutorial for organizing his own website.Hopefully others will find it useful as well.
Another First
Heading for the finish line, I was the guest on a podcast (a first for me) with
who writes and .Richard and I have been friends since grade school and both have a love for Edisto Island, SC. There was a lot to cover, so the podcast was broken up into two episodes.
Who knows, maybe I’ll delve into the podcast realm myself …
Spreading the Wings
Finally, this whole year, I have been posting an eclectic array of posts from financial and budgeting advice, to life principles and personal development, to various forms of Creative writing.
Being the orderly and organized person that I am, I decided to create a second Substack site/newsletter, The Talking Pen, to kick off the new year for the creative side of things.
I transferred all of the creative posts I’ve done to this new site and will republish those periodically as well as write new pieces.
You can view/subscribe here:
Goals
I set a couple of first-year goals as benchmarks, not knowing how things would progress.
At least 150 posts. I hit/exceeded that goal.
200 subscribers. I was humming along at adding 20-30/month and thought for sure I would surpass the goal.
In October, however, I slowed down production considerably for various reasons and the subscriber base has fluctuated between 191-197 ever since. Right now it sits at 193. Close but no cigar.
With just 2 days to go, not sure that will happen. (If you feel inclined to subscribe or share, now would be the time)
It is a little puzzling, but hopefully, we will make up for it in year two.
Like The Jeffersons, I’ll be “Movin’ On Up”:
Final Thoughts
- has been an unbelievable writing site to start (and continue) on. The ease of website setup and the amount of helpful training material is truly phenomenal.
I am so grateful for and have learned so much from the many, many encouraging and helpful seasoned writers who are willing to freely impart their knowledge and techniques.
I’ve met so many (too many to list here) virtual friends at all levels. It has been really fun to see/read the array of diverse talent and abilities.
It’s been a great ride so far. I’m excited about where things will go this next year.
I thank God every single day that I get to do this. (Psalm 30:12)
So, my friends, Saddle up - Year two has left the stable …
This is fantastic, Cork, thanks for sharing your insight. I just subscribed to The Talking Pen :)
I enjoy following the journey. Here's to a strong 2024!