That $30 subscriber didn't just give you money; they gave you permission to take your writing seriously as a profession, not just a hobby you squeeze in around "real" work. When I was in my early twenties, trying to figure out what to "do with my life," I entered a zine poetry contest and won first place and $100. That small amount of money and recognition encouraged me to take the chance on writing as a career. It's things like that moment, and yours with your subscriber, that have sustained me over decades even when writing gets hard and I wonder if it's worth it.
The rapid evolution you're describing sounds both exciting and a little disorienting. Sometimes I think we change so fast that our old selves can't even recognize who we're becoming. But there's something beautiful about claiming all those previous versions of yourself as the writer you are now - the 25-year-old who typed a whole book, the woman who wrote the screenplay, all of them leading to this moment on Venice Beach where you're finally giving yourself full permission to be what you've always been.
@Kathryn Vercillo your comment touched the many fragments of self that are stitching together! Thank you for reading me and seeing me as one who knows.
That $30 subscriber didn't just give you money; they gave you permission to take your writing seriously as a profession, not just a hobby you squeeze in around "real" work. When I was in my early twenties, trying to figure out what to "do with my life," I entered a zine poetry contest and won first place and $100. That small amount of money and recognition encouraged me to take the chance on writing as a career. It's things like that moment, and yours with your subscriber, that have sustained me over decades even when writing gets hard and I wonder if it's worth it.
The rapid evolution you're describing sounds both exciting and a little disorienting. Sometimes I think we change so fast that our old selves can't even recognize who we're becoming. But there's something beautiful about claiming all those previous versions of yourself as the writer you are now - the 25-year-old who typed a whole book, the woman who wrote the screenplay, all of them leading to this moment on Venice Beach where you're finally giving yourself full permission to be what you've always been.
Beautiful.
@Kathryn Vercillo your comment touched the many fragments of self that are stitching together! Thank you for reading me and seeing me as one who knows.
I have five paid subscribers and am so chuffed that people like my writing enough to support it in that way.
I love the word chuffed. Five is a brilliant number. Thank you for commenting!