I don’t have a great answer to that question as I bring a significant amount of personal uncertainty to this endeavor. I’ve spent the last two years writing short stories, researching lit mags for publication, submitting works, receiving the occasional positive feedback (as opposed to stock denial emails) and seeing my work published online in a few lit mags. As I entered this year, I was prepared to begin the process all over again with a strong short story that I was confident could make the short list of a fiction contest. Then came an existential crisis full of questions like “Why am I doing this?”, “What if I’m not a good writer?”, “Should I take on some extra student loan debt for a creative writing degree to confirm this or tell me otherwise?”, “Would I continue to enjoy writing if no one ever read anything I wrote?”.
I revisited Substack with an idea of telling a True Crime story that still lingered from my childhood. In my research, I stumbled upon an interview with Elle Griffin about her experiences that resonated with much of what I was feeling. You’re welcome to check out her Substack here, but the main takeaways for me were 1) If I ever wrote a novel, no one was going to read it 2) The cycle of continually pitching stories is soul-crushing and 3) Serialized fiction has been a thing for a while (nearly 200 years) and Substack makes a good home for it. It was then I resigned myself to doing things outside of my nature to ensure this newsletter found an audience, whether it be ten subscribers or a hundred. I set goals, identified my target audience, planned content, joined writing groups (ugh…networking), updated a social media presence (also…ugh), told people about my idea, created a logo and an alliterative title, and finally committed to a profile picture (huge step).
After an unhealthy amount of second-guessing, I’ve created a space for my writing in Serial Smithery with only one question still in mind: Can I reach the crime fiction, mystery/suspense/sci-fi audience here on Substack? I hope to find an answer with this weekly newsletter, where on Wednesdays I publish serialized crime fiction with the occasional mystery and sci-fi story sprinkled in for good measure.
If you love these genres in the books, podcasts, shows, and Substacks you consume, then you’ll enjoy what’s created here at Serial Smithery. The official launch is planned for March 1st, but since you’ve already found your way here, do me a favor: subscribe below and share on social media, anything to help this newsletter reach its audience.
I started with all the same concerns, Scott, PLUS the concern of will I even be able to figure out the "setting up and listing process". All my fears were unfounded. Substack makes it so easy. And my progress has been great in seven months - considering that I am not on any social media. I hope in the last five months you have been able to silence those critical, undermining voices in your head and proven them wrong! I am not typically a fan of crime stories, but I am reading YOUR stuff to see what you are about. More comments later. Again, thanks for the help with creating sections. Sharron at Leaves.
Thanks for the recommendation! Much appreciated! Every little shout helps, as you know. I appreciate your confidence in my work. You have been recommended by 🍁Leaves ever since I started slobbering over Genesis Block a few months back. I hope it helped in some way.
Sharron