As someone who took a nearly 11 year break from writing and promoting my work (the latter of which took me OUT, lol), I completely relate to your need to step away. But man, you’ve come back strong and it’s very smart to sell your own books on your own platform. We may need to look into this at some point over at ISP.
If you are ever in a place to write about it, I’d be curious to read more of your experience of burnout and then return to creativity. I myself had I period of burnout and withdrawal from my screenwriting career around the time of Covid, but I’ve returned to creativity, writing and screenwriting in different forms.
I think I may have done it here already. If I find it, I will restack it and tag you. It was mental health issues that took me down over about a 2-3 year period. I got to a point where I was experiencing regular anxiety attacks and ended up in the ER. Getting back on meds essentially brought me back to creative life. Once I started writing again, I opened a Substack account and started posting. That was in October of last year.
Congratulations on coming back and getting out out of that spiral. I’ve had success with finding the right meds to get me back on track so I can relate.
I asked ChatGPT to audit my Stack given that growth has stalled. It said that it feels more like a magazine than a newsletter, which I am okay with. It also said my product was better than my visibility and suggested doing this into type post. I have a 30-day plan of action to follow, after which it will reassess.
Yes - I would consider what you’re doing a horror ‘zine, and that’s awesome. There should be more of them. I want someone to do something harkening back to the old EC comics days (I loved the Tales from the Crypt series and have the remastered Amazon editions in print). Your stack is the closest I’ve seen to that style so far with some of the imagery you use.
As someone who took a nearly 11 year break from writing and promoting my work (the latter of which took me OUT, lol), I completely relate to your need to step away. But man, you’ve come back strong and it’s very smart to sell your own books on your own platform. We may need to look into this at some point over at ISP.
Keep doing what you’re doing - it’s inspiring!
Thank you
If you are ever in a place to write about it, I’d be curious to read more of your experience of burnout and then return to creativity. I myself had I period of burnout and withdrawal from my screenwriting career around the time of Covid, but I’ve returned to creativity, writing and screenwriting in different forms.
I think I may have done it here already. If I find it, I will restack it and tag you. It was mental health issues that took me down over about a 2-3 year period. I got to a point where I was experiencing regular anxiety attacks and ended up in the ER. Getting back on meds essentially brought me back to creative life. Once I started writing again, I opened a Substack account and started posting. That was in October of last year.
Congratulations on coming back and getting out out of that spiral. I’ve had success with finding the right meds to get me back on track so I can relate.
Happy to hear that!!
Glad to meet and know more about you, John! ❤️
If there is ever anything else you want to know, please just ask.
Thank you for being open! Perhaps I shall have questions in the future.
Loved reading this. I grew up in the Atlanta area and lived their until I was in my 30s. My dad's still there. I miss the city, just not the traffic.
The traffic is brutal. We are about 30 miles north of ATL and it’s just as bad out here.
So brutal. My dad is in Marietta and my mom used to live in Alpharetta. Sometimes I feel like I spent half my life on 285 and 400.
Making me want to get more organized, sir.
I asked ChatGPT to audit my Stack given that growth has stalled. It said that it feels more like a magazine than a newsletter, which I am okay with. It also said my product was better than my visibility and suggested doing this into type post. I have a 30-day plan of action to follow, after which it will reassess.
Yes - I would consider what you’re doing a horror ‘zine, and that’s awesome. There should be more of them. I want someone to do something harkening back to the old EC comics days (I loved the Tales from the Crypt series and have the remastered Amazon editions in print). Your stack is the closest I’ve seen to that style so far with some of the imagery you use.