🧑‍🍳 Why her newsletter is a work-in-progress

As someone who’s still trying to figure out how this newsletter could best support you, I can’t say that I don’t envy Brenna whose newsletter exists to help her discover what she likes writing about. She told me, “I have so many interests and I’m not ready yet to pick a lane. I want to fully enjoy each step of this journey”

You’ll find her writing about pretty much everything she’s curious about — right from places she’s visiting and what she’s eating to the cultural values of the places she visits and advice for your upcoming travels so that you can make the most of them.

She generously came up with a framework for us which is very different from what we saw last week.

Keep reading if you’re:

🥣 Trying to figure out how to take a curiosity-led approach towards creative expression

🥣 Not ready to write for a specific audience yet (and maybe want to write for yourself instead?)

If her recipe resonates, I’d love to gift you one month access to Brenna’s subscription where you’ll find:

🍒 Monthly deep dive into her personal creative process, what she’s struggling with, and what is inspiring her. She shares her personal goals and invites you to share yours

🍒 Travel guides

🍒 Access to the subscriber chat where you can ask her for advice about travel, moving to Italy, quitting your job, and more!

🍓 Once you’re ready to vote, scroll to the very bottom — I’ve switched from survey to poll so now it takes just 1 second to let me know which recipe you liked and be eligible to win a prize from the creator you voted for.

I have always been interested in entrepreneurship, and in my corporate life, I pursued jobs that exposed me to different facets of running a business. I had always been very serious about my career and didn’t consider myself creative.

When the pandemic hit, all those hours in isolation made me realize that corporate life wasn’t allowing me to express my full self. I began exploring new ideas for professional fulfillment.

I thought about opening a bilingual daycare, a co-working space, or a video-based dating app. At the same time, I started a newsletter on Tiny Letters and started giving space to new ideas.

When my initial business ideas didn’t work out, I started thinking about a business I could run as a solo entrepreneur or freelancer. I thought about what gifts I had that I could offer the world, and had the idea to use my personal Instagram, with a modest 600 followers, to advertise a personal development group coaching course I created called How to Make Friends as an Adult.

While the endeavor was successful in terms of engaging my creative side, pursuing a coaching business was not for me.

I also realized that I despised creating video content on social media. I hated the form! I felt like I was being sucked into a content vortex I couldn’t get out of.

I decided to abandon all of my socials and focus solely on Substack, which aligned with what I wanted from a writing community.

It took me 5 years, lots of experimentation, and building of good habits to get to 3,000 readers.

Following my curiosity and continuing to engage in my writing yielded lots of good results. I started seeing more subscribers, more likes, more comments, and higher page views on all of my posts once I started investing in my curiosity.

Here’s how my curiosity-led approach led me to finding a supportive community of readers on Substack:

Follow your instincts

When I first explored life beyond my corporate career, I was drawn to the idea of starting my own business.

I signed up for an intensive social impact business incubator called Seed Spot. I loved it. I loved all the creative components of business building and meeting with other social impact entrepreneurs.

Ultimately I decided it wasn’t for me yet - but who knows what the future will bring?

Following my curiosity and fully engaging in my interests was an important part of the process for me to come to my own conclusions.

Start with small habits

I started my Substack with occasional posts sent to my family and friends. In 2023, instead of posting whenever an idea came to my mind.

I started posting weekly to create my own artistic sense of rhythm. Having a deliverable that needed to be published on a set date and time created the constraint I needed to push myself.

My first posts are more like a personal blog than publication-ready writing.

The important thing was that I was building a weekly habit and flexing my writing muscles. I think at the beginning it’s important to “Make Bad Art” and get it out there. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Constantly Iterate

In the corporate world, I am trained in shipping a “minimally viable product” and iterating based on customer feedback.

I published my coaching course without an official “brand” or large investments - I simply tested a few theories and launched the course using low-tech.

When I finished the course, I learned that I didn’t love coaching as much as I thought I would.

Now, I have the content ready to publish as a book or a journal, something that feels more aligned with my passion for writing.

Had I not gone through the process of experimenting, adapting, and reflecting, I never would have learned this about myself.

Ask for help

One thing I learned while building my friendship course is that friends get you where you want to go much faster than going alone.

By building a community of writer friends on Substack, I’ve been exposed to authors who create in a variety of forms; some as a hobby, others as a career, and many variations of paid work through freelancing, writing fiction, self-publishing, and more.

I’ve asked people with more experience than me for advice and they’ve been thrilled to give it. It has expanded my sense of what is possible for me. 

Building a community of writers on Substack has not only benefitted my writing skills and my perspective on the art form, it has also grown my readership. Engagement has to come from a place of earnest caring, not simply interacting.

Pay attention to what brings you joy

Once I committed to Substack and my writing practice, there were several signs I knew I was on the right path.

The biggest clue was a sense that I was working “in the flow”. I would leave my writing desk with a renewed sense of energy and ideas.

Unlike before, when I would iterate and pivot to something else, this time I doubled down on building my skill set. I signed up for more writing courses and experimented with new mediums.

I also received some external signs, like feedback from readers, paid subscribers, my first piece published in a literary magazine, and my first few paid freelance articles that helped me feel like I was on the right path.

Alright, it’s time to tell me which recipe you found most useful this month:

— Linda