What is Substack Envy?
When you are envious of the growth, check mark (transparent, filled in, or that they have one and you don’t!), and overall curb appeal of a Substack that isn’t yours.
Some of you might be reading this and thinking to yourself, “I don’t suffer from Substack Envy!” Really? Let’s see if that is true.
Signs you may be suffering from Substack Envy
Ever find yourself reading the Substack Reads email and wish your Substack was mentioned? Or try to avoid Thursday Shoutouts because you know it’s frowned upon to shoutout yourself and you also know that no one is going to shout you out. But why? 😢
And don’t you just hate those Notes from the Substack team that come along every once in a while asking us for our favorite thing we read so we can share and highlight someone else. But what about me? 😠
If any of this sounds familiar to you then, I regret to inform you that you suffer from Substack Envy.
Not to worry! There is a cure! It might seem painful at first and can take a really long time to cure, but it is possible.
The cure for Substack Envy
Every moment of envy is, in fact, a teachable moment! Use it as a time to reflect. What is it about that Substack you envy that makes them more desirable to readers? If you’re not even in the same niche, don’t bother doing this exercise as you can’t (and shouldn’t) compare apples to oranges.
Cliche saying incoming! No two paths are the same! Sure, we see someone else’s success and almost always say “why not me?” or “I can do that!” But what you should be focusing on is your own journey. Maybe they’ve been at it for way longer than you have. Maybe they have some level of expertise in that thing that you don’t. Or maybe they just said the right thing at the right time in that moment. Whatever the reason for their success it in no way impedes upon your ability to have success. So don’t sweat it! Your day will come.
How do you define success? Sure, that’s more a question than a cure but the answer can be medicinal. And try, if you can, not to measure or define your success by what “he’s got going over there.” It’s not a “I want whatever he’s got” kind of answer. Be serious. Not everyone who writes is doing it so they can pay the bills. Sure some of us hope to wind up like that, but many of us are pretty set with our financial situation and are writing for fun or just want to see their work enjoyed by others and if that leads to a bit of pocket money, great! Writing on Substack doesn’t always have to be a zero sum game. It can just be a fun activity you have the time to do and you enjoy it and let that be the end of it. That’s not to say if money is a determining factor as to whether or not you can continue to do it, then sure, put on your business hat and crunch the proverbial numbers. How many paid subs to you need? Start small and within your means. Don’t aim too high. Which leads me to the next cure:
Failure is not an option! This is the tough pill you must swallow to get over the envy. Because we are all vastly different we will all have different levels of ups and downs. We want to have way more ups and hardly any downs. In order to achieve that we need to be real with ourselves. Stop trying to compete with what someone else is doing and start maximizing what we can do and do it better every time! Do I want to write a novel or a series that contains 60+ epic sized books? HELL YES! But I’m not stupid! My goal is not that! I gotta think within my means. What can I do today? Today I can write one 100 word story. That’s it. It’s not my epic novel by any stretch of the imagination. But (and here’s another cliche) Rome wasn’t built in a day. My novel will come. My series will come. But today I’m going to be awesome at writing 100 word stories to the point where no one can touch my super powers! Failure is not an option for me. Because no matter whatever happens in my day I will always have at least 15min to spare to write 100 words.
IN CONCLUSION
Take the envy you’re feeling and turn it into a positive. And it doesn’t have to apply just to Substack. I have so much envy when I look at all the books on my shelves. Where are my books! 🥲
Now, it’s my fuel, my inspiration, my motivation. If I want that I can’t complain about it but ask myself, “what are you doing about it?”
And then get to work!
Exactly what I needed to hear this morning, thank you!
Great insights! I like your attitude of working to improve in the face of the green-eyed monster.