I'm also dealing with the twin-headed monster of "I should have done more / I should have been recognized more". Those feelings are honest and complicated, and can really leave you in a weird place. If you say you hold values like gratitude and humility, then why do you feel this way, etc. But, I think what you're doing here is the best thing you can do. Take inventory, what worked, what didn't, what's a better use of my time, what am I going to try and do differently. Back to the lab again.
Back to the lab indeed. I have some ideas on how to pivot towards a Substack/YouTube approach to social rather than the IG/Twitter/Substack pipeline that I don’t feel is working well for me.
Like you, I’m long winded by nature. I can’t keep tryin my to squeeze myself into a box fit for people who lip sync, dance, and perform skits. Not knocking it, but I just don’t think it’s gonna be me. I don’t want to position myself that way because that’s ultimately not the type of engagement I want for Ennead.
Yeah, it's gonna have to be more of a "skyscraper" approach for me where if I have something, I can split that into a bunch of smaller things to tease the bigger thing, but if I don't have something, I shouldn't feel pressured to MAKE something just to fill dead air. I definitely think I drifted a little too far into the latter direction last year as well, BUT, glad to have tried it and figured out a better approach NOW.
Great food for thought. When you're early on in a creative endeavor or career - and you're already pretty established on the comic front, but you tried a slew of new things for the social media/engagement front - that "being proud of what you're putting out there" is the important part at the beginning, not the impact. Figure which things you enjoy doing, and quietly get better at them, or turn them into things you like to do and feel proud of the final product, and maybe then turn towards getting more eyeballs on it all. It'll probably work better then because the quality is more consistent and the exact approach you're taking more consistent as well, rather than a series of stabs in the dark. That said, I do love watching creators find their way in this sense, poking at things and rejecting them. For some of us, the process can be just as absorbing as a the inevitably more cohesive, consistent output.
You nailed it. While I’m proud of all things creative I’ve done in the last few years I’m not super proud of the “content for content sake” stuff I’ve felt the need to push.
I’ll be going back to the drawing board next year to see if there isn’t another way to thread the needle. More long form discussions, something like a video essay, may ultimately be where I land. But j have to wrap my head around what kind of voice I’d like to have before I enter that space so I don’t end up just mimicking others.
I'm also dealing with the twin-headed monster of "I should have done more / I should have been recognized more". Those feelings are honest and complicated, and can really leave you in a weird place. If you say you hold values like gratitude and humility, then why do you feel this way, etc. But, I think what you're doing here is the best thing you can do. Take inventory, what worked, what didn't, what's a better use of my time, what am I going to try and do differently. Back to the lab again.
Looking forward to 2023!
Back to the lab indeed. I have some ideas on how to pivot towards a Substack/YouTube approach to social rather than the IG/Twitter/Substack pipeline that I don’t feel is working well for me.
Like you, I’m long winded by nature. I can’t keep tryin my to squeeze myself into a box fit for people who lip sync, dance, and perform skits. Not knocking it, but I just don’t think it’s gonna be me. I don’t want to position myself that way because that’s ultimately not the type of engagement I want for Ennead.
Yeah, it's gonna have to be more of a "skyscraper" approach for me where if I have something, I can split that into a bunch of smaller things to tease the bigger thing, but if I don't have something, I shouldn't feel pressured to MAKE something just to fill dead air. I definitely think I drifted a little too far into the latter direction last year as well, BUT, glad to have tried it and figured out a better approach NOW.
Great food for thought. When you're early on in a creative endeavor or career - and you're already pretty established on the comic front, but you tried a slew of new things for the social media/engagement front - that "being proud of what you're putting out there" is the important part at the beginning, not the impact. Figure which things you enjoy doing, and quietly get better at them, or turn them into things you like to do and feel proud of the final product, and maybe then turn towards getting more eyeballs on it all. It'll probably work better then because the quality is more consistent and the exact approach you're taking more consistent as well, rather than a series of stabs in the dark. That said, I do love watching creators find their way in this sense, poking at things and rejecting them. For some of us, the process can be just as absorbing as a the inevitably more cohesive, consistent output.
You nailed it. While I’m proud of all things creative I’ve done in the last few years I’m not super proud of the “content for content sake” stuff I’ve felt the need to push.
I’ll be going back to the drawing board next year to see if there isn’t another way to thread the needle. More long form discussions, something like a video essay, may ultimately be where I land. But j have to wrap my head around what kind of voice I’d like to have before I enter that space so I don’t end up just mimicking others.