Things I Thought About Turns 1!!!
And I am taking a small break to come back looking better than ever!
Dear all–
I can’t believe it’s already been a full year since my newsletter made its debut to the public. What was born as a challenge to myself–a way to become a better writer and convince myself I could actually do it–quickly turned into a weekly literary exercise that resonates, in one way or another, with hundreds of people.
When I first set out to create this space, I didn’t have a big plan for it. I just wanted to build a house for my thoughts. Somewhere I could flesh them out better than what I did on social media. I wanted to allow myself to experiment with words in ways I had never done before.
Keeping myself accountable in public gave me a reason to keep going, it provided a latch towards pulling together a consistent body of work without relying on external commissions, which usually put limitations on what I can and cannot write.
Seeing people interact with my writing, liking it and inboxing their respective thoughts validated my need to continue producing material and respect the recurrent schedule I set for myself–it’s like I have a breakfast (or lunch, based on where you are) appointment with each one of you every Wednesday.
Over the course of this prolific year, I learned how to put boundaries around my personal work.
I overcame the fear of losing my passion for writing while nurturing my skills; I became more confident in my narration.
I can finally answer by saying that I am a writer without giggling when people ask me what I do–and it’s not restricted to one specific topic.
I even stopped thinking people would get tired of me for continuously promoting my work. If they do, well..their loss.
Forty-nine essays and fifty-two weeks later, I can pat myself on the back and be proud of my production. I did it. I proved myself I am capable of coming up with an idea and sticking to it until the end.
Actually, it doesn’t even have to provide an end. I can just do it for the sake of it. It’s funny that I am writing this text sitting in the same exact position, in the same exact spot, where I was when I first decided to give Substack a go. It feels like the cycle has come full circle.
If you are new here, and you are just getting to know my work and how my brain works, here’s a sample of my most popular articles as rated by my readers:
If you are a seasoned subscriber, thank you for bearing with me.
I never even thought I would grow such a visceral attachment to my newsletter as I originally believed “forcing” myself to sit down and write every week would make me resentful towards the discipline all together. I found out it was quite the opposite. Because I made it a priority, I finally became aware of my talent. And this is why I am here writing today. Tomorrow December 1st, Things I Thought About officially turns 1 and, while I never intended to turn this into a paid service, I have come around the idea that I deserve to give value to my work, even when I consider it art.
For this reason, I decided to take the month of December off from writing and employ my time to design a strategy that will allow me to monetize the newsletter without alienating my readers.
This means that you will have to find something else to read until January.
From then, you will have different options in how you want to support my work.
Obviously most of the good stuff will continue being free as I want it to reach as many eyes as possible, but I also want to be able to write without having to prioritize other work in order to pay for my morning coffee.
By contributing to my ascent as a writer, you will essentially invest towards better reading material as I will have a clearer mind and less pressure to take on projects I don’t really want to because I need to pay my growing energy bill.
You will get better edited articles because I will be able to take time to write them instead of doing it last minute before my deadline comes.
As I have been collecting material for a book but never found the time to actually sit down and even start on it, I thought I could maybe serialize it and offer it as a paid subscription.
At the same time, I thought I could provide deep dives about the topics I write about by interviewing experts and give that as an option.
I am still very unsure of the route I will take; it’s hard for me to choose when it comes to attaching a price to my personal production.
However, I can reassure you that whatever I decide will be good stuff. For now, enjoy old pieces and stay tuned.
If you are in NYC, this Friday I am hosting a World Cup game with a few friends at Olly Olly Market in Hudson Yards, flyer attached!
Until then, thanks for reading and happy holidays!
Congratulations on reaching 1 year and congratulations for what’s ahead of you. I’ll be a paying subscriber and I’m excited to be able to watch you start a paid subscription on Substack and support you. Again, congratulations! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 see you when you’re back!
Parabens!