Why I still post personal essays... And why I'll never stop.

Why do I sprinkle personal essays in among my freelancing content? If most of my readers are here for writing tips & tricks, what's the point?

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There’s nothing I’m more terrified of than being real.

Yes, it’s freeing - but it’s also an unsteady place to be, like I’m standing on a spinning top just waiting to run out of steam.

I mentioned in last Friday’s post that I see a polarization between two types of financially successful writers on Substack. This dichotomy often leads creative writers down a path they never intended to follow - one where their writing ends up looking much like everybody else’s.

I truly enjoy writing a how-to newsletter. My love for the freelancing lifestyle is both real and deep - freelance writing has given me the freedom to create the kind of life I’ve always dreamed of. I am reminded daily of how incredible my job is, and I want others to find the same contentment that I have in their careers. Proving to Substack writers that writing isn’t a losing profession - that they can be financially independent with a career based on their words - is how I do just that.

Substack allows me to share what I’ve learned as a freelance writer, provide resources, and build a community of like-minded writers who want to experience the freedom of a freelance writing career.

Yet I never want to fall into the trap of being exactly like everyone else. I want my page to be a place where things are still authentic, and the only way I know how to do that is to share with my readers the truth - that I’m a human being first, with unique perspectives, observations, and experiences that I don’t want to hold back.

Me: for real.

Maybe it doesn’t make for a great money-making model to redirect my audience to something personal every Friday, but I don’t really care. I care that my readers - you - know that I’m here because I love to write, I love the life I’ve built with freelancing, and I love that I can make writer friends from all over the world because of this platform! I care that each person who reads my “how-to” articles on Mondays knows I’m not sharing them to be another content-churning machine, but to give practical advice that has changed my life. I care that authenticity is the current flowing beneath everything I post.

With this model, I honestly don’t believe I’ll ever have a “famous” Substack with hundreds of paying subscribers.

Why not?

Because I don’t force myself to choose between authentic creation and practical advice.

I just write what I think needs to be said, whether it comes across as too personal or too salesy or… whatever. I think that’s the essence of true authenticity: saying what I want to say regardless of whether it seems authentic enough.

Real authenticity can’t be falsified by pretending to be authentic. I’m Type A, which means my advice/resources posts are probably going to be organized and neat and that’s just how I like them. My creative posts - like this one - will be less structured, without as many headings or bullet points.

Is that consistent? Not really.

But consistency isn’t my goal.

My goal is to write the way I write and say what I want to say.

That’s the beauty of a newsletter - at its core, it’s just you and your words. If other people come alongside you - if a community starts to read and comment and share the things you’ve written - that’s great. But that’s not the point. I won’t feel good about my writing because of external validation; I’ll feel good about it if I know what I’ve shared is authentic.

Personal essays, which I usually post on Fridays, are my way of ensuring this never changes. When it comes to my newsletter, personal essays are how I keep myself centered - how I prevent myself from becoming a content machine.

They are also my way of reminding each of you that I, too, am a real person. I want to connect with you on that level - the one where we can all say the stuff that actually matters. I don’t believe you can build real community - one based on trust, intrigue, and care for one another - without authentic human conversation.

When I ask what your goals are each week, it’s because I want to know how you’re building your ideal freelancing business, but it’s also because I want to know how you’re actually doing.

I want to know. Truly.

So if you’ve read this far and you feel so inclined, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: How are you, really? How can I be praying for you?