I didn't come here to make friends

(But I accidentally did)... Celebrating half a year on Substack

Last week I realised, with a bit of shock, that I’ve been on Substack for six months.

Allow me to rephrase; I’ve been posting consistently on Substack for six months. Half a year. 183 days.

I missed the actual milestone (because I rarely know what the date is) but still, it’s something I want to celebrate with all of you. Because I feel like I, we, you+me, have a community over on this lovely platform.

And that, right there, is the premise of today’s post.

I never came to Substack with the intention of building a community, or - dare I say - making friends. I just wanted an outlet to write. Of course, as a writer (if I can call myself that) you always want people to read what you share, and hopefully engage with it in a positive way, but I never ever expected how deeply I would care for these other people who have their own outlets on here.

Take

Ella

for example. I found out not long ago that my Substack was the first she ever subscribed to. Isn’t that just bloody mental?!

Despite not knowing (or caring) what Ella looks like from the neck down, or what her voice sounds like or how she has her tea, I consider her a friend. In the DM feature on Substack, Ella and I discuss two of the most important parts of my life right now - Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off - as well as various other topics. Because isn’t that just how friendships are formed in the ‘real world’ - over common interests?

If you’d have told me, when I hit ‘publish’ on my first-ever Substack post, that I’d be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed you.

How I see myself when I’m writing my silly little Substacks

It’s a two-way street, too. When I started out, of course I wanted to gain subscribers (let’s be real, who doesn’t?) but, if I’m honest, I didn’t massively care for reading or supporting other Substacks. I had the ones I subscribed to and that was that.

Boy, how that viewpoint has changed. I had no idea just how many amazing writers there are on this platform.

I get as, if not more, excited to read someone else’s Substack articles as I do about writing my own.

I look forward to Wednesdays, when

Ella

shares her weekly ‘Sunny Side Up’. Or Fridays when the lovely

Michelle

shares her ‘Open-hearted joys’ for the week. Or when

Madeline Paige

publishes a new ‘Breakfast in Bed’.

When a new post from

Alanna Duffield

or

Ellen

appears in my inbox, I know I’m in for a treat and make sure I find the time to read their content properly. They are always making me think hard.

Freya

is one of the most talented, poetic writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

Izzy

and

Martha

write amazing bookish content.

Marta Carvalho

combines books and critical thinking (her post about book ratings is a personal fave).

anastasia k

writes incredible social commentaries.

Nora Westgeest

shares beautiful, personal content.

abigail

recently shared a thought-provoking piece about - of all things - stickers.

gloria

is the queen of recipes, and has begun to share her brilliant fiction writing too.

Connor Warman

shares his experiences navigating this crazy ol’ life. And if you want entertainment inspo, look no further than

michela

.

This isn’t just an algorithm-buster - you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Not in the slightest. I don’t even know how the Substack algorithm works and, to be frank, I don’t want to know. I also subscribe to and support Substackers who have probably never even seen one of my posts. I do it because I love writers and reading other people’s viewpoints, and because I like these people. The ones who are sat at their laptops on their bed, at the kitchen table, on the train, wherever, bearing their souls. People who might not be making a penny out of this but the satisfaction they get from hitting ‘publish’ is priceless.

Each day, I find new Substacks to subscribe to. New words to read, new perspectives to see from and new people to connect with. How bloody fantastic is that?

I came to Substack for the writing possibilities. I stayed for the community I found.

If you made it this far in my very random ramble, then thank you. Whether this is the first post of mine you’ve read, you’re an OG subscriber, or you’re somewhere in between, thank you so much for making my first six months on Substack so wonderful and for supporting my writing. It is baffling to me that people like what I write, and I don’t think there is any better feeling than that. So thank you, thank you, thank you <3