I write about grief and while it is not sexy I am told over and over that we need more of it. How best to get seen and followed? I have grown to 600. I have been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets. How do we make noise on a topic that is decisive? Sad. But pervasive!
I write about grief and while it is not sexy I am told over and over that we need more of it. How best to get seen and followed? I have grown to 600. I have been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets. How do we make noise on a topic that is decisive? Sad. But pervasive!
I recommend building a network of other publications by creating some sort of roundup, or virtual conference or meetup. Everyone wants to be a part of a thing. Nobody wants to start a thing. I would probably start with a roundup and then go to something bigger once people notice and see you're cool. Here is my last one if you want to see what mine look like, but mine are pretty intense. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/digest-home-alone
I'll check this out Russell. I post a monthly roundup listing all the movies I've watched and then ask my readers what they saw. So far no one has replied lol. I'll keep trying.
That’s not what I mean about a roundup. That is not intentional. A roundup that is effective would tag other Substacks who wrote interesting piece and becoming a curator of your peers, not some movie you watched that can’t actually help you grow.
I love this question! I also focus a lot of my newsletter on grief and just launched a new poetry series that I wrote in the aftermath of my father's passing, while also becoming a first time mom! This time of year especially, I find it difficult to express the sadness and the void of the missing loved one- while we're also expected to celebrate the present moment. It's definitely a paradox and in general, I think our society does a poor job of honoring individual and collective grief.
I lost my mother in 1993. I am a grief specialist and have trained with David Kessler, Hope Edelman, Claire Bidwell Smith and feel passionate about bringing grief out of the shadows and into the daily vernacular. When I became a motherless mother, I became more aware of the need for community and grief support.
I'm so sorry you lost your Dad, Mariah 💙 Mine just came out of heart surgery today (he's 93) and I was getting ready for everything. I feel for you and you are so right, our society could definitely do a lot more to honour and support people working through grief.
Oh wow, Joe! My thoughts are with you. I was in the hospital during this time three years ago and it’s especially hard. Sending you and your family love and a big hug!
I just wanted to say that I also find it deeply healing to read/write about grief, as it's helped me a lot on my own journey. So thank you for writing about this topic! Have you considered writing on Medium? There are a lot of publications on there that publish grief-related content, and a very supportive community like there is here. It's slowly helped me build up my following while also connecting with people who care about the same issues.
I asked a similar question above. I write about detoxing from diet culture and what I've learned from the process. I find growth has been very much two steps forward one step back. We can all get behind growth and empowerment, but so many of us still can't quit diet culture.
I adore the relationship of Grief and Joy. Ancient cultures understood this better than our adolescent society (Martin Prechtel, a shaman I worked with, writes about Grief and Praise). Grief circles are growing here here in the PNW. In my experience, the deeper I went into shadow emotions, the more Joy I could access. This relationship can temper the Downer aspect (ever see the Pixar film "Inside Out"?)
I wish I had advice but I can definitely relate to this. I write about pregnancy loss and every post is just so sad. But at the same time, I think it’s important to talk about this stuff. It is hard to find the right audience though. Thanks for your efforts!
It’s not much advice but I think continuing to talk about what you write about it important. I also cover grief since losing my mom last December, and just talking about it brings in people who want to talk about it but have nowhere to turn
I agree. I have built a 5k on IG and have had great press. I think grief does not translate as easily here. Sorry to hear about your Mom. What is her name?
Her name's Carla! And oh, do you think? It may be more niche, but I'm finding people reaching out and me finding more people talking about death and loss than I've really noticed much elsewhere. There's another writer who is a bit bigger on here who writes about grief too... I'll see if I can find her name...
I write about grief and while it is not sexy I am told over and over that we need more of it. How best to get seen and followed? I have grown to 600. I have been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets. How do we make noise on a topic that is decisive? Sad. But pervasive!
Here is my guide to getting noticed. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
I recommend building a network of other publications by creating some sort of roundup, or virtual conference or meetup. Everyone wants to be a part of a thing. Nobody wants to start a thing. I would probably start with a roundup and then go to something bigger once people notice and see you're cool. Here is my last one if you want to see what mine look like, but mine are pretty intense. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/digest-home-alone
I post a weekly round-up of posts/writers I've come across that I like, and people definitely like it.
I'll check this out Russell. I post a monthly roundup listing all the movies I've watched and then ask my readers what they saw. So far no one has replied lol. I'll keep trying.
That’s not what I mean about a roundup. That is not intentional. A roundup that is effective would tag other Substacks who wrote interesting piece and becoming a curator of your peers, not some movie you watched that can’t actually help you grow.
Always helpful. 🙏
Thank you Russell. Will definitely read this.
I love this question! I also focus a lot of my newsletter on grief and just launched a new poetry series that I wrote in the aftermath of my father's passing, while also becoming a first time mom! This time of year especially, I find it difficult to express the sadness and the void of the missing loved one- while we're also expected to celebrate the present moment. It's definitely a paradox and in general, I think our society does a poor job of honoring individual and collective grief.
I lost my mother in 1993. I am a grief specialist and have trained with David Kessler, Hope Edelman, Claire Bidwell Smith and feel passionate about bringing grief out of the shadows and into the daily vernacular. When I became a motherless mother, I became more aware of the need for community and grief support.
I'm so sorry you lost your Dad, Mariah 💙 Mine just came out of heart surgery today (he's 93) and I was getting ready for everything. I feel for you and you are so right, our society could definitely do a lot more to honour and support people working through grief.
Oh wow, Joe! My thoughts are with you. I was in the hospital during this time three years ago and it’s especially hard. Sending you and your family love and a big hug!
thank you so much, Mariah, i know you understand. Hugs back!
I just wanted to say that I also find it deeply healing to read/write about grief, as it's helped me a lot on my own journey. So thank you for writing about this topic! Have you considered writing on Medium? There are a lot of publications on there that publish grief-related content, and a very supportive community like there is here. It's slowly helped me build up my following while also connecting with people who care about the same issues.
I used to be there and have a potent community for my personal newsletter. Have grown to about 650 here. Was looking for stack growth tips. Thanks.
I asked a similar question above. I write about detoxing from diet culture and what I've learned from the process. I find growth has been very much two steps forward one step back. We can all get behind growth and empowerment, but so many of us still can't quit diet culture.
https://www.almostsated.com
I adore the relationship of Grief and Joy. Ancient cultures understood this better than our adolescent society (Martin Prechtel, a shaman I worked with, writes about Grief and Praise). Grief circles are growing here here in the PNW. In my experience, the deeper I went into shadow emotions, the more Joy I could access. This relationship can temper the Downer aspect (ever see the Pixar film "Inside Out"?)
I wish I had advice but I can definitely relate to this. I write about pregnancy loss and every post is just so sad. But at the same time, I think it’s important to talk about this stuff. It is hard to find the right audience though. Thanks for your efforts!
It’s not much advice but I think continuing to talk about what you write about it important. I also cover grief since losing my mom last December, and just talking about it brings in people who want to talk about it but have nowhere to turn
I agree. I have built a 5k on IG and have had great press. I think grief does not translate as easily here. Sorry to hear about your Mom. What is her name?
Her name's Carla! And oh, do you think? It may be more niche, but I'm finding people reaching out and me finding more people talking about death and loss than I've really noticed much elsewhere. There's another writer who is a bit bigger on here who writes about grief too... I'll see if I can find her name...
Found her and a post I saved: https://www.deathandbirds.com/p/this-is-my-church?lli=1
https://open.substack.com/pub/barri?r=7n8ag&utm_medium=ios