A Year of Weekly Writing
A review of the project and what comes next.
I did it. This is my 53rd weekly newsletter in a row. I hadn’t realised at the that there were going to be 53 Saturdays in 2022, but I followed through and today complete the year-long writing project.
Writing helps structure thought. Publishing writing helps give you feedback about whether your thoughts accurately describe reality. I had been thinking about writing again for a long time, but life and work got in the way. To make it as easy as possible I called this Substack “a letter to the world” on the basis that anyone can write a letter. With a letter you have an identifiable recipient whose reactions you can imagine in advance. It also helped that most of my early subscribers were people I knew.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the project, whether through reading, sharing, submitting to my questions, providing feedback, or just enduring me talk about future blog topics. A special thanks to Laura, who was my main proofreader, and Ellie, whose Stakhanovite commitment to year-long projects kept me inspired throughout.
At the beginning of 2022, I wrote:
I have committed to publishing a letter to the world, once a week, for 2022. There is the discipline in a weekly deadline combined with time and space in which to complete it.
Everyone who I have talked to about the project thought it is too big of a commitment to do every single week. And it’s true that I had some sleepless nights and early mornings to get it done. But having the weekly deadline and a weekly word count meant that I always knew what was required.
There were two types of post: those that had been fermenting in my notebooks for months and those that I dashed off in a week. Publishing the former gave psychological relief as the burden of carrying certain unresolved thoughts was lifted. The latter had more purpose and energy. They also tended to get the best feedback.
The Year in Numbers
At the time of writing (19 December 2022), my stats look like this:
136 subscribers
63-78% Open Rate
347 highest number of visits in one day
9,586 visits in total
These are rookie numbers, I know. However, I started this blog from nothing: no pre-existing mailing list, no import of my contacts. The only people who read it are those who signed up or found it via a link.
What makes something shareable?
The film Field of Dreams (1989) is famous for the line “if you build it, they will come.” The line is actually “if you build, he will come” and is about a ghost baseball player. Ever since Field of Dreams, anyone with a half-baked business idea has justified it by imagining that the public will magically start visiting their shop.
Writing this newsletter has made me aware that this line is a lie. You may be lucky and have someone share your work with their followers, but for the most part every reader has to be earned. Whilst I hope what I offer adds value for people, I am aware that it is an idle amusement that probably isn't going to make you richer, cooler, or more productive.
The question of what makes something shareable hasn’t led me to change the type of content I’m producing, but it has been at the back of my mind when seeing the reaction to each post.
My sense that something is shareable if it is:
well-researched (my most popular post — 817 views — had me visit Glasgow’s city archives twice)
useful (Kia Naddermier shared my post because it helped sum up her teachings at a specific point in time)
surprising (Cynthia Haven shared my post about Cool partly because it was odd to see René Girard described as cool)
funny (if I smile at something on Twitter, I like it. If I laugh out loud, I retweet)
politically advantageous (ie signals something to your tribe)
makes the sharer look good (ie “look how intelligent I am for the articles I read”).
The last three are things are things I need to work on. However, if you have enjoyed this year of posting, do consider sharing.
What comes next?
In 2023, I’d like to write for other publications. I get the impression that this will be a new skill to learn and help me understand what it means to write for different audiences. If you edit a magazine or a website and want to commission me to write something, do get in touch: neil@neil-scott.com
Subscribers, I will continue to do a weekly newsletter, but will make it lower maintenance. I see it being somewhere between a blog, a weeknote, a diary, and review of the week in photos. I’ve been experimenting with something similar on Instagram, though Substack is a lot more flexible in terms of layout and actually allowing links. It starts tomorrow.
As I was preparing to publish this post, I saw that Duncan Stephen was celebrating his 20th year of blogging. He invited comments from his readers about what they wanted him to do more of in the future. I replied:
It seems to me that the fundamental tension in blogging is between personal expression and cultivating an audience. The early days of blogging were all about personal expression, however the bloggers who became really successful were the ones who focused on a specific topic.
Personal expression, in this sense, means writing about whatever you find interesting, the beautiful freedom of following your thoughts wherever they take you. On the web, though, it helps to be legible to others. It’s difficult to have an audience when people don’t know where you fit into their lives. I have written previously about finding your thing and still hold out hope of cultivating a life project. Until then I am going to stay curious. See you in 2023.
The Archive
I find the infinite scroll of the Substack archive somewhat frustrating, so have put together a list of all 53 posts from 2022 here:
Happy New Year Neil! And congratulations on completing your challenge! I enjoyed being described as Stakhanovite! Although, I admit that I had to look up the meaning 😂
Looking forward to Parkruns in 2023!
Well done m' Man! It's very impressive that you've stuck with the project for 53 consecutive weeks. I haven't read all the posts but must have enjoyed at least 75%. I look forward to seeing what comes next!