(no subject) #2
why write a post when you can post about posting instead?
The last time I sent a newsletter with the subject line (no subject), my IRL friend replied with this:
i do feel trolled bc the "no subject" subject line made me think this was a PERSONAL email from MY FRIEND ANNA and instead it was a newsletter. but it was an enjoyable newsletter so you get a pass
It’s true, that was a cheap trick of mine and yet here I am again, doing it once more.Â
So I've been trying to write a newsletter for weeks now.Â
You see, what happened was, a domino tumbled in my life that knocked over all the other tiles and somehow writing silly little emails to friends on the internet didn’t seem like such a good use of anyone’s time.
Then some time passed. I opened a google doc and drafted a content schedule for the next three months worth of newsletters. I started writing up one of the ideas, got halfway through it and convinced myself it was nonsense and x’d out.Â
More time passed.Â
Then I remembered that while yes, this is just a silly little email, it’s fun and I like writing it and I know that some of you like reading it (more on that later). So I got over myself and revived the languishing doc.
But every time I struck a key this voice boomed out of the ether, telling me that I couldn’t send an email without first sending another one explaining why I haven’t been sending emails. Rather than write a post, I needed to write a post about posting. Yes, that’s brilliant, Anna, people will love it! Just as much as they do reading posts on Instagram from people announcing they’re taking a social media break.
(Fwiw, I’ve been meta-posting since 2007; my first piece of published journalism was an op-ed for the student paper about student journalism.) Â
So of course I listened to the booming voice and I started writing this (which if you’ve lost track of which post I’m talking about, it’s a different one from the one that I abandoned, revisited and then abandoned again so I could write this one you’re reading right now). "¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
This might all sound unbelievably dumb but now I’ve written it all out, I can see clearly: it had to be done. This right here is my version of scales; warming up my figures before I can type the real score. That’s not quite ready yet, though.
Would ya, could ya, please help me?
To be serious for a sec: what I need right now is some FEEDBACK. If you could, please answer the following questions for me:
Quick! Without thinking – which post of mine do you remember most clearly?
If you’ve ever forwarded this email to someone else, what did you write at the top?
If A-Mail were a TV/movie/book character, who would it be?
In case you can’t see straight through me, I’ll be direct. What I'm trying to ask you is the writer’s version of why do you like me because I’m feeling insecure right now and need a boost! THANKS OK BYE x
I can't answer these questions, Anna, but I will say I always enjoy your posts, whatever they're about. I like them because you're so real. You make me laugh. You make me nod my head with sympathy. I don't count the weeks between your posts. I pay no attention to how productive/timely/useful your material is. I just like you! I think what you describe is a very common feeling among many writers. In fact, I just wrote a post about this what-am-I-doing, is-it-any-use, and who-cares-anyway myself, one I circled around for weeks, feeling ashamed of myself because life is busy and I wasn't getting to it and I dropped out of a conversation with a writer I respect and like in the middle of back-and-forth comments. It's a big club, I think. Why do we like someone? Probably everyone would have a different answer. I like genuine people, which is to say messy, uncertain, sometimes insecure, creative people who share their reality so we all feel a little less alone. And thanks for this post! On posting ...!
I love your writing! The dry humor (I liked the British comedies) is great. Keep it up!