Why I’m not moving off Substack (for now).

These posts share many of the reasons I find the pressure to leave Substack problematic.

First, ”The amount of revenue Substack makes from my newsletter is insignificant to them, while the income is life-changing for me.” Anastasia Shelby

Second, “All labor under capitalism involves moral compromise.” Tara McMullin

Third, “Every social platform profits from extremism in some way… “ (If not from subscription models then data mining.) ”The only content we can truly control is our own.” (Kathleen Schmidt

Because of these, is no clear alternative.

This is doubly true for smaller creators. (For example, I can’t afford the paid tier of Ghost.org that offers the same storage capacity.)

But also, is it wise to cede this amazing tool for communication and connection to the bad actors? Why not use the platform instead to share positive messages to counter the hate?

Anyway, these posts put it better than me.

Hi, it’s me. I’m here. by Anne Trubek

On Recent Developments at Substack by Catherynne Valente

Rock, Creator, Hard Place by Tara McMullin

See also: enshittification

Art & Advocacy

Part of my graduate studies encompassed Art for Social Change and I’ve noticed my own art practice converging with my advocacy. It feels like coming full circle.

When I make art that speaks to my lived experience it is intrinsically tied to my neurodivergence. This wasn’t conscious when I titled the My Brain on Motherhood series, but adds another layer of meaning and focus to the body of work.

Then there is the direct advocacy and educational work I began this summer.

There is so much potential for these practices to overlap and inform one another.

I’m interested in exploring this intersection further as I create more pieces about neurodivergence and autism.

Book Release

I’ve accepted that pivoting our school / childcare plans means my book release may shift, and that’s okay. It may take some time to find the right person to help out at home and we don’t want to rush it.

Rather than pushing myself into burn out I am taking things slowly.

I’ve been mindful of tending my own creative ecosystem through this process and observing what it needs.

Last weekend Nathan watched Davy while I fixed all of the images for my book. I tweaked saturation and brightness in photos that were printing too dull and standardized all of the crop ratios.

Slow progress is progress.

I’m going to continue making the final edits piece by piece and hope to order the next proof later this month.