Hello lovely,
Recently I’ve been pondering on how you’re supposed to promote and sell your art (or words in our case) without losing your authenticity.
How are you supposed to market your creative work without leaving your authentic self lost and confused by the side of the road?
I’ve been going through somewhat of a creative burnout these past few weeks, and wanted to share this honestly in case anyone else is feeling that way too.
I started my first Instagram to share my poetry back in February 2021, and in September 2022 it was wrongfully disabled without a reason. I had lost over a year and a half’s worth of hard work, time, dedication and loyal following.
At the time I was just shy of 3k followers, and I had to start from scratch. It may have not been that many followers, but more than anything what I did lose was my confidence.
I am very lucky to have some lovely close friends on Instagram within the poetry and writing community, and everyone rallied round with their support when I started my second page. However, it has felt like such a gruelling and long trek to even get back to 1000 followers, which I recently hit.
I am immensely grateful for everyone that follows and supports my work, I just hate how much control these social media platforms have when it comes to our work.
In terms of ‘selling’, I want to be honest with you. Last year, I sold 12 books. But regardless, I did a happy dance every time I sold one. I try so hard not to focus on the number of books I sell, because no matter what, it truly makes my day when someone supports my work.
However, it’s only natural to desire growth, and to want to share my words with more people. So how is it that so many other creatives are having wonderful success on other platforms?
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been beginning to find it exhausting spending so much time, hard work and mental energy, and not seeing the results that others do. Despite trying all the different trends.
I worry that I’ll lose my authenticity as a writer if I try to keep up with the trends just to get more views and followers.
And yes, I do have a tendency to compare myself to others, but I’m working on that.
The constant change of the rules within social media is really starting to take the spark out of my creativity.
This doesn’t count for Substack by the way. I feel very peaceful in this little corner of the internet and I’m grateful for the wonderful connections I’ve made so far. I know wholeheartedly that this will be the place that I experience more success compared to other platforms. Yet I don’t want to leave the other platforms because they have brought me so many great friends and connections over the years too.
Again, I try not to focus on the numbers too much (I never liked maths!), but when it feels as though things aren’t getting seen, it often leads one to feel as if they are doing something wrong, or their work isn’t good enough.
This is in no way a pity post or me ‘begging’ for likes. It’s just something I felt pulled to share, in case any other creatives are also feeling this burnout on social media platforms.
The endless stream of posts and reels stating how someone went from 1k to 100k within a matter of weeks is truly draining. What have they done differently to me? Is it sheer luck? Is it that what I’m sharing isn’t inspiring or worthy enough to go viral?
I mean it isn’t a burning dream of mine to go viral, but at least then it would feel as though I might be doing something right!
How else can we share our art, if not on social media in this modern world?
The desire to share it with the world, knowing that if it helps just one person, then that is all that matters. Yet, there’s also the contradiction of wanting more and more people to witness said art that makes it a constant battle.
My dream is to one day be a full-time writer and have my work provide some sort of financial return. However, I’m also very conscious of not putting so much pressure on myself it that it steals my creativity away.
Finding that balance is hard.
My ‘why’ when it comes to my writing is to spark inspiration in others and leave them with that feeling you get when you experience a glimmer.
So, I don’t want the restraints of social media and the never-ending pressure to take that away. I want to be authentic in what I’m putting out into the world.
Added side note: This post was all scheduled and ready to go for at least a couple weeks, but I read something yesterday that I knew straight away resonated and I needed to share it in this post.
It was a letter by
on the power of dreaming big.This hit me… I had been feeling so bogged down recently about not feeling seen, and this made me realise that a lot of the magic involved with growing an account and a following goes on behind the scenes. I just need to be patient, believe in what I have to share and offer the world, and most importantly, keep dreaming big.
I wasn’t even sure how I wanted to end this post, I just knew I wanted to get some things off my chest, no matter how imperfectly it turned out.
I would love to hear if you have any tips on getting through creative burnout, or tips on how to grow on social media without losing your authenticity.
I know there will be others out there feeling the same, so let’s create a thread in the comments to provide some support to those going through this as well.
We’ve got this!
Keep dreaming.
Keep creating.
Keep sharing your art and words with the world.
I don’t have any tips but I wanted to say I relate with this so much - the pull of wanting to be known and remaining authentic. I also often worry about my audience and the various places they come from and who will think what about the things I say. It’s a constant struggle that I’m fighting through. I’m also doing instagram poetry btw. But I know there are more words in me, so I finally decided to add Substack to my collection of places I’m afraid . Haha. Hopefully I’ll be better at allowing me to be me here. 😊
Lovely read! I struggle to find a balance between wanting my art to provide some financial returns while, at the same time, not completely zapping it of its authenticity and fun. You mention that you're very conscious of this push and pull. I'm curious, when you find yourself in times where the balance between writing-as-money-maker and writing-as-fun is out of whack, do you have specific exercises to help you re-achieve balance?