Deciding on WHAT to Share on Substack

I'm too vulnerable in cyberspace. Nothing has changed since 2005.

I’m struggling for topics to discuss on this lovely Substack platform of mine…kind of. I’ve promised myself that I’d publish on the first and 15th of each month as a personal creative goal, and the pressure is too much. Of course, the pressure is solely in my head.

Here’s the thing: I have PLENTY of topics to discuss which I hope can help out my fellow millennials - I currently have 16 drafts saved! - but I harbor ample paranoia. I worry that a more discerning family member or a snarky person who does not find me to be their particular cup of tea may not like what I have to write / may take it too personally / may spread it to people I’d prefer be kept in the dark about this here platform.

Honestly, I’d move most of this to Subscriber Only if I had more paying subscribers, but alas…how can I come across the online path of a random person which my writing may resonate with *if* I put this all behind a paywall, even if said paywall makes me feel like I can write more freely?

*sigh*

Damn this wide open web of the world!

I often struggle with this as well: What is the difference between sharing stories which I hope will resonate + help folks vs. sharing stories which may come off as too “Me, me, look at me! Validate me!”? I’m proud that I am an only child who lacks Main Character Energy…unless publishing twice a month on Substack IS some manifestation of Main Character Energy?

GAAAH!

Ya know, writing that entire post about how I felt oddly feral in those few months after Mom died didn’t stumble across the inboxes of the wrong people, so this paranoia likely lives in my head only.

Gotta just take a risk, I suppose.

Join me again on August 1st when I talk about how I found out one of my septuagenarian aunts is spreading stories about me behind my back, as told to me by a mutual friend. HA!

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Call To Action: Fellow writers, how do you decide what to share + what not to share? Do you harbor reservations when it comes to how vulnerable you choose to be on Substack and/or your social media platform of choice? How do you turn off that little voice in your head that’s holding you back?