It’s Substack karma time: Captivating reads I’ve gathered for you
Today, I’m giving shout-outs. I call it karma because other people have tagged me in their work and I want to return the cycle of love and sharing.
You ever hear of something called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?
It’s a cognitive bias that happens when you learn something new or think about something a lot, and then suddenly it's everywhere. Like when you want to buy a red car, they’re parked in every parking lot, driving past you on the road; even your neighbor has one.
I was feeling the Baader-Meinhof pretty hard after last week’s post—I couldn’t shake the feeling of not being good enough. In my previous week’s post, I wrote about feeling down when I publish my stories and I don’t get as many likes, shares, or comments… are they just going into the Substack void?
Some of you commented and said you experienced the same thing, which made me feel less alone (thank you). The general consensus was to be mindful about when that happens and to focus on why you’re writing in the first place. For me, and maybe for a lot of other folks on Substack, writing is about forming connections with others and yourself.
So I thought I’d shift do just that and share what other talented people on Substack are doing. I’ve been making more of a conscious effort to read and engage with more content creators on Substack because I learn so much. And let me tell you, there are some badass writers on Substack.
Here are some Substack reads that captivated me recently.
Outstanding (minus) ← Don’t you love this title?
I do. I follow journalist
, who writes about prison reform in Moth to Flame.Her latest piece, called Outstanding (minus), is about a podcast series about the wrongful conviction of Toforest Johnson, who has been on Alabama’s death row for 25 years. She expresses excitement but is nervous before the podcast is released.
In this “quiet time” before the podcast is set to launch, she recalls her past life of being a staff writer and TV reporter and dealing with performance reviews. (I also disliked having to go through these in my full-time jobs!) Because she was on TV, she recalls all of the comments from viewers. As you might guess, some of them were pretty brutal.
I gravitate to her story because it’s so real and honest—it’s about not feeling good enough when you try your best.
The dreaded routine of these reviews, being called into the boss’s office to go over their findings, sitting on the other side of the desk and nodding along. I remember signing the document, saying thank you and yes I’ll work on that, then sliding out of the seat and slinking back to my desk in the newsroom, wearing a hot-faced shame, like when my 5th-grade teacher announced in front of the class, ‘Beth Shelburne, nobody in here is impressed with you.’
The Dangers of Substack for the Chronically Low Self-Esteemed
Oh yikes. Oh, joy. It makes me giddy when people have strong opinions and aren’t afraid to write about it.
This story is from
(Is that not the coolest name ever?) and I stumbled upon his article right after I published mine.It contained two elements I so appreciate—it was both hilarious and brutally honest. It’s a rant aimed at esteemed writer and professor George Saunders. It’s what we all think but never say, much less write about, when we see someone’s success thrown in our faces.
George has made it—he’s already there (and living it up in the most delightful writing cabin, ever). George the kind of dude who can join Substack and instantly gain 50,000 subscribers.
Shalom explains what happened after he subscribed to George’s Substack.
A week later, I received George's latest Substack post. This is what it said: A New Story in The New Yorker.
"It's a thrill," George wrote, "to have a new thing in the world."
Fuck you, George, I grumbled. It's a thrill for you, not for me. A thrill for me would be my story in the New Yorker. You have a story in there every fucking week, how is that a thrill? A thrill for you would be NOT having a story in the New Yorker, at least it'd be a change of fucking pace.
We need to be happy for others and feel inspired by their success. Eh, but do we?
A Timeline of Growth: Luck Needs a Place to Land
My little roundup would not be complete without mentioning a fellow Substacker, writer, and all-around awesome person,
. She and I first connected after she left a lengthy comment on one of my newsletters. It was probably the first thoughtful comment I received. I was taken aback. I wondered, “Who is this person?”Her Substack is called The Editing Spectrum and she helps others with writing and editing. The “spectrum” part alludes to her autism, something she also writes about regularly.
I quietly watched Amanda crush it on Substack. She’d engage with her audience on Notes, asking questions and diving into discussions. Then, she appeared on Substack’s Featured Publication, which is like hitting the jackpot for any Substacker looking for more subscribers (uh, everyone??).
This story she posted talks about her story of growth and how she got recognized as a featured pub. It just goes to show you that when you work hard and kick ass, you may get recognized in a big way for it.
I kept trying new things on Substack. New ways of sharing and commenting; I kept researching newsletter directories to submit my information to; and I kept sharing my writing even when it felt absurd, embarrassing, impossible. Because even if this meant my writing went nowhere, at least I was giving this writing energy somewhere to go besides my unstable GI system.
Young Again
Yes, I’m plugging my mom’s Substack. 🤗 I’m proud of her for getting back into writing again, despite English not being her first language and being consumed with taking care of my dad.
I’m lucky my parents are still alive. I want my mom to share her insights with a broader audience because she has so much to say. Her wisdom and encouragement have served as a guide for hard times in my life—I hope her Substack Young Again is able to do that for others too. She writes short essays about life, death, God, communication, laughter, and her biggest takeaways as a septuagenarian.
Eventually, she wants to write about my dad, who is a decade older and suffers from neuropathy in his legs from diabetes. My mom is his primary caretaker. She tells me she’s learned so much from watching him struggle with constant pain—life is uncomplicated and simple. It’s all about the little things, the sun on your face, sharing a funny joke, and sipping on a delicious drink.
Quick memoir recommendations
It’s been a while since I’ve written about memoirs I’m reading. Here’s my last newsletter with some fantastic memoir recommendations, in case you missed it.
Admittedly, after I wrote that post, I wasn’t reading much. But this summer, I’ve made a conscious effort to go back and re-read favorites, plus new stories I can’t seem to put down.
Here’s what I’m reading right now:
Honeymoon With My Brother – Funny memoir
“This is the true story of Franz Wisner, a man who thought he had it all, a high-profile career and the fiancée of his dreams, when suddenly, his life turned upside down. Just days before they were to be married, his fiancée called off the wedding. Luckily, his large support network of family and friends wouldn't let him succumb to his misery. They decided Franz should have a wedding and a honeymoon anyway- there just wouldn't be a bride at the ceremony, and Franz' travel companion would be his brother, Kurt.”
This is Ear Hustle – Short stories about incarcerated individuals, based on the podcast
“When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows... and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for ‘eavesdropping.’”
Stay True — Immigrant story
“A Pulitzer Prize winner, Stay True is about friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken—with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity—is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes ’zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to.”
Look for Me There – Celebrity memoir
“Written by journalist Luke Russert, an exploration of finding oneself and one’s place in the world in the face of crushing grief after his news legend Tim Russert died unexpectedly. Luke kept looking for his father, following in Tim’s footsteps and carving out a highly successful career at NBC News. Eight years later, Luke realized he had no good answer as to why he was chasing his father’s legacy.”
I want to make these roundups a regular part of my Substack, so if you’d like to be featured, please contact me in the comments or editorclairetak@gmail.com.
One more…
