You've inspired me. You've articulated my exact experience. At this point i just want to write a third novel. I am not even sure if at this rate it will ever get published. But I cannot do this social media shit anymore. You are right. It kills real reading and writing and it kills joy. Im stopping reading Notes and I might even delete the app and try that RSS thing. Thanks Marina.
Hey Emma, thanks for your comment! I'm glad the essay resonated and inspired you. Seeing your resolve made me very happy! I understand the uncertainty about your novel. I have it, too. But at this point, I'm willing to trade (potential) success for peace of mind and a better relationship with my writing. Please let me know how quitting Notes goes!
I think you made some good points about writers being potentially sold "success" as a realistic possibility too when it has never, truly, been a realistic possibility for the vast majority of us. I've been realising this after respectable, but less than staggering (and way less than printed) sales of second novel and I think these points at which you realise this, and decide to focus MORE on writing despite it, is perhaps the point at which you set yourself free.
Terrific post, Marina, and nothing I'd disagree with. I think one of the best things you pointed out near the end is the importance of interacting and meaningfully engaging with posts over notes, which is where the best magic happens. Sadly, it does seem like many people are doing it perfunctorily, and it's so easy to tell when people aren't being genuine/authentic.
I think (?) I have a good, healthy approach to Notes: I don't consider it a part of growth strategy at all and I'm just trying to have fun with it. I put very little thought into my notes and I can't stand the notes that seem so contrived in their desperation to go viral (the banal, empty, one-line platitudes or anything talking of 'showing up' and 'giving permission' and 'grow, grow, grow'). I have plenty of fun banter and chit-chat on notes, and that works for me and keeping me sane and balanced.
What kills me and drives me berserk are the writers with modest engagement who don't respond to comments consistently. I will stop reading them if the frustration gets too much (especially when they're writing stuff I disagree with or want to discuss a bit).
There are enough good people on Substack to keep this place fun and grounded (I hope!)
Thanks, Daniel! I think some people do better than others on Notes and social media. Some writers are able to do both and produce great work. For me, at this point, is not possible. It might have to do with having small kids who already compromise my brain integrity on a daily basis, or with my high sensitivity/ADD. I don't know.
Maybe this is similar to alcohol or drugs, where you can be an abstainer or a moderator. I need to totally abstain from social media if I want my brain to work decently. But I can see that not being the case for everyone else.
I agree...and YET I will say, that sometimes, I delay responding to stuff not because I haven't read it and want to, but because a) I'm overwhelmed by real life or b) (and I realize this makes me sound insane) it sometimes gives me anxiety. Especially if things pile up and especially if I think the comments will either be positive or negative...it's like looking at a paper review or course evaluations. I get all in my head about it and too frightened to look head on. I know that's insane but just wanted to share that sometimes people aren't engaging not because they don't give a fuck but maybe they give too many! Still, I agree with you, what makes this place great is community and it doesn't feel good to feel like that's one sided.
I agree on this. Also, I personally never feel entitled to an author answering my comment. It's nice when they do, and I do it myself most of the time, but I understand that people have different relationships with their audiences, technology, etc., and sometimes it can become way too much even if it doesn't seem like that from the outside.
I hear you on the overwhelming aspect - just to clarify, I mean the people who consistently fail to respond to anyone, and not even like or acknowledge them. There are some repeat offenders with a very modest number of subscribers and likes. A mere 'like' is totally fine - in fact, I'm delighted with that, I'm happy that they see my comment.
You make so many great points here, Marina! Notes can become an addiction. It feeds these pleasure centers inside your brain, making you want more, more, more, driving you to chase the high of viral success, even as it also makes you miserable and rewires your creative brain.
Good idea to take a step away. I'll look forward to seeing your work in my inbox, and not in my Notes feed.
Well said, Marina, thank you! You put into words an incoherence I've felt, myself; I'm sure this will resonate with many. Thank you for taking the time to take the time! :)
Thank you, Casey, for taking the time to comment! I'm glad it landed. It felt good for me, too, to articulate the whole thing properly and make sense of my own experience.
It’s true. We’re all in the Substack mill that largely does not reward writers with smaller footprints. It’s only slightly galling that a big name gets a “happy to have you here!” and instant paid subscribers. Proximity to fame thing. I didn’t have any expectations when I joined almost a year ago. But the siren song of notes is impossible to ignore—and it’s where I met so many great people. So I won’t be leaving notes, but I will try to be a bit more systematic with my posts. I’m the world’s worst self promoter. And that’s the one thing you have to bite the bullet on. Thank you for writing this!
Thanks for commenting, Debra! I think you're right, there are bullets to bit if you want to get somewhere in the current ecosystem. For me, though, at this point it was a matter of self-preservation. As in I wasn't biting the bullet, I had it lodged deep inside my brain. I'm sure many won't need to be so drastic and can succeed by, like you said, just being a bit more intentional. Good luck!
Good Lord you just started writing in English??? Color me ashamed of myself 🤣
Glad this came across my feed (in Notes, sorry! Blame Lee). I feel all of this.
Last week I spent time researching writers in the “rising” and “top bestsellers” …looking for some type of magic answer to where all of the “readers” were. My answer: I don’t think there are as many here as we all hope.
Most of those people with like 20k/100k subs are barely getting any engagement whatsoever.
Hahaha thanks, Henny! I started taking the writing seriously in June, but I've been consuming media in English for the last fifteen years, and I use English a lot in my day-to-day life because our family is bilingual and I'm an expat.
To be honest, I'm also surprised by my progress. It's insane how the brain improves and adapts once you commit to writing only in your second language. Many linguistic skills do transfer well from one language to another, and I've been writing in Spanish since I was seven. But still, I'm proud of myself! Thanks for acknowledging my work!
I think there *are* people here, as in users, but I'm afraid we're all slowly becoming followers more than readers. Apparently, most of the users on any given platform are lurkers, so there's that, too. But the ones that might engage are being discouraged from doing so via the feed.
This is so fascinating. I’ve experienced an evolution on this platform—from thinking it was the best thing in the world (while I was going viral and growing like never before) to actually FEELING my attention span diminish to that of a goldfish while scrolling through notes, to desperately trying to get back into the spotlight, while being painfully aware my creativity was dying in plain sight. Now it feels like IG and FB circa 2022 and my resentment is off the charts. I haven’t written a long form post in ages because that resentment has decayed my inspiration.
Your suggestions for engaging more with long form again and supporting writers who show up thoughtfully in the comments is spot on. I’ll be making some serious changes and will probably re-read this post every so often to ensure I’m protecting my concentration, much like I did when I deleted all the other social media platforms last January. Thanks for writing this manifesto for us.
Thank you, Jennie, I'm glad it helped! I'm particularly happy that you found it actionable and worth revisiting in the future. For what is worth, I've seen my state of mind reversing back to reasonable peace and work capacity after just a couple weeks of reset, which gives me hope. Please let me know how it goes for you!
So many good points and ideas. Thank you for bringing this up. I came here because of the longform posts (I've always had trouble to keep my writing short and sweet😄), and to get away from Instagrammy and Facebooky feeds that mess with my sanity, and yes, it has been soulcrushing to realize it's pretty much the same here. At one point I was actually dreaming how cool would it be to mail out actual paper-form newsletters. It's insane, I know. And time-consuming and pricey. But oh my, how I miss the calm we had before the algorithms.
Laura, I was dreaming about paper newsletters the other day, too! Maybe someone could create something like on-demand magazines, where they print out your favorite newsletters and mail them to you monthly. I'd totally pay for something like that. And maybe it would encourage quality, thinking that your articles might end up printed somewhere?
I love the idea! Probably that would be a very, very niche thing, but, on the other hand, seems like quite a few people are craving to go offline once in a while :)
Actually, some people do mail their newsletters in paper form, at least they did a few years ago, particularly old-school copywriters (Ben Settle comes to mind). I've been subscribed to a couple, and the feeling of receiving it in your physical mailbox is exhilarating. I even published my own a few years ago, for almost a year, as part of a psychology membership where people would pay 50-70 euros/month (depending on shipping costs). It was very rewarding but a pain in the ass. It can be done but it's tricky and logistically way way harder than this.
The “thinking in bangers” mindset is so real. I had it worst with Twitter and now I have it with Substack though it’s for both notes and essays since I feel like I could win big for both (perhaps all platforms with a heart feature are just casinos?)
The only thing that has helped me – and I want to write about this more - is thinking about the long game. What do I want my career as a writer to be in 5, 10, 15, 30 years? And how do I make decisions now that move toward that path and then how does Substack fit into that?
I think you’re right there are only a few slots for the Armageddon’s but I don’t even think I want one of them. When I think about my Internet writer heroes very few if any are on Substack the three line for most of them is independence they’ve created something that is truly a direct to audience thing. Are platforms involved? Definitely, but these people never live or die by them.
Idk if this makes sense but hopefully it does a little?
I'd love to read your take on thinking long-term about your career, Alex. I try to do this too but it's difficult because the landscape is changing so fast, and sometimes it feels like even if you know where you want to go, the path to get there keeps shifting form and becoming muddled. One moment I think Substack will help, then I find myself deep into "thinking in bangers" mode and I realize nope, this is not it. So it's kinda annoying to have to keep making decisions about how to connect with people because of the constant enshittification of everything.
Great post, Marina. I completely agree with almost everything. The only thing I don't agree with is the list of tips for generating change on Substack. In my opinion, Substack is behaving like other social networks because those platforms have already consolidated a business model—and user habits—that are difficult to challenge. Furthermore, as you rightly point out, Substack has investors and the numbers are relatively poor (in terms of user volume and revenue), so it's only a matter of time before they succumb to the trends of other platforms and start targeting a more general audience. This doesn't mean, per se, that Substack will cease to be an interesting social network, but it certainly doesn't seem that writers (or long-form content) are going to be their priority.
I'm with you - a bit disillusioned but still appreciative of the platform and especially the connections I've made. I don't have thousands of subscribers, but I do have some very engaged and loyal ones. I won't take this for granted even as I continue to try to slowly but genuinely grow my audience one single reader at a time.
I cannot stress enough how much I loved your post, Marina. It gives me a lot to think about and I will have to come to it several more times to digest all the goo reflections you have shared.
I am not a writer or any closer, but wanted to land in substack just to let go what I "had to" write. Looked for now audience and though I put the platform aside because I felt anxious thinking that I wasn't keeping up, but keeping up with what? Not posting enough? Not writing enough notes and with a tone that was engaging enough? And for what? Or for whom?
I put the platform aside because I felt anxious thinking that I wasn't achieving everything, but achieving what? Not posting enough? Not writing enough notes and with a tone that was engaging enough? And for what? Or for whom?
The part where you mention that dreaming small should be a revolutionary act really resonated with me, and I hope to anchor myself in that mantra: Dream Meaningful! (and let's make T-shirts out of it!!!)
I showed up on Substack nearly three years ago for long-form writing. Then came the Twitter saga… and Notes. Now we’ve got Posts and Notes sharing the same house but living very different lives. You nailed the tension.
my comment on your viral note brought me five subscribers. i was just as shocked as you were about the ordeal.
i agree, the note brain part of substack can be such a drag. i really like the idea of deleting the app. you bring up some really interesting points here. thanks so much for sharing!
I love this post. Notes make me terribly anxious. I had a note with photos of a cloud that got me about 20 subscibers and got about 995 likes and then I lost all those subscribers, cause I don't post pictures of clouds or inspirational quotes in my actual posts. And I hope you get all the right readers, but please don't become another Emma Gannon. I may get into trouble for saying this out loud, but I really don't get why she has so many readers. I was a paid subscriber for a year and even bought one of her books, but really, it is like one long note...not much substance in my opinion. I'm off to figure out the RSS feed.
Hahaha respectfully, I don't find her content that interesting either and don't get the hype. I've browsed her newsletter many times and I still don't get what she's trying to do there. I guess she's more of a vibe? With great branding, though. I think she exploded when Elizabeth Gilbert recommended her. At some point, fame just compounds. People see so many subs and think "there must be something of value here." Like assuming a full restaurant is better than an empty one.
I'm glad you didn't double down on cloud pictures and inspirational quotes, Liza!
You've inspired me. You've articulated my exact experience. At this point i just want to write a third novel. I am not even sure if at this rate it will ever get published. But I cannot do this social media shit anymore. You are right. It kills real reading and writing and it kills joy. Im stopping reading Notes and I might even delete the app and try that RSS thing. Thanks Marina.
Hey Emma, thanks for your comment! I'm glad the essay resonated and inspired you. Seeing your resolve made me very happy! I understand the uncertainty about your novel. I have it, too. But at this point, I'm willing to trade (potential) success for peace of mind and a better relationship with my writing. Please let me know how quitting Notes goes!
I think you made some good points about writers being potentially sold "success" as a realistic possibility too when it has never, truly, been a realistic possibility for the vast majority of us. I've been realising this after respectable, but less than staggering (and way less than printed) sales of second novel and I think these points at which you realise this, and decide to focus MORE on writing despite it, is perhaps the point at which you set yourself free.
Terrific post, Marina, and nothing I'd disagree with. I think one of the best things you pointed out near the end is the importance of interacting and meaningfully engaging with posts over notes, which is where the best magic happens. Sadly, it does seem like many people are doing it perfunctorily, and it's so easy to tell when people aren't being genuine/authentic.
I think (?) I have a good, healthy approach to Notes: I don't consider it a part of growth strategy at all and I'm just trying to have fun with it. I put very little thought into my notes and I can't stand the notes that seem so contrived in their desperation to go viral (the banal, empty, one-line platitudes or anything talking of 'showing up' and 'giving permission' and 'grow, grow, grow'). I have plenty of fun banter and chit-chat on notes, and that works for me and keeping me sane and balanced.
What kills me and drives me berserk are the writers with modest engagement who don't respond to comments consistently. I will stop reading them if the frustration gets too much (especially when they're writing stuff I disagree with or want to discuss a bit).
There are enough good people on Substack to keep this place fun and grounded (I hope!)
Thanks, Daniel! I think some people do better than others on Notes and social media. Some writers are able to do both and produce great work. For me, at this point, is not possible. It might have to do with having small kids who already compromise my brain integrity on a daily basis, or with my high sensitivity/ADD. I don't know.
Maybe this is similar to alcohol or drugs, where you can be an abstainer or a moderator. I need to totally abstain from social media if I want my brain to work decently. But I can see that not being the case for everyone else.
I agree...and YET I will say, that sometimes, I delay responding to stuff not because I haven't read it and want to, but because a) I'm overwhelmed by real life or b) (and I realize this makes me sound insane) it sometimes gives me anxiety. Especially if things pile up and especially if I think the comments will either be positive or negative...it's like looking at a paper review or course evaluations. I get all in my head about it and too frightened to look head on. I know that's insane but just wanted to share that sometimes people aren't engaging not because they don't give a fuck but maybe they give too many! Still, I agree with you, what makes this place great is community and it doesn't feel good to feel like that's one sided.
I agree on this. Also, I personally never feel entitled to an author answering my comment. It's nice when they do, and I do it myself most of the time, but I understand that people have different relationships with their audiences, technology, etc., and sometimes it can become way too much even if it doesn't seem like that from the outside.
I hear you on the overwhelming aspect - just to clarify, I mean the people who consistently fail to respond to anyone, and not even like or acknowledge them. There are some repeat offenders with a very modest number of subscribers and likes. A mere 'like' is totally fine - in fact, I'm delighted with that, I'm happy that they see my comment.
FWIW Daniel you are one of the best and most consistent commentators I see on here
Consistent, sure, I'll take that. As for best? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say 😂
You make so many great points here, Marina! Notes can become an addiction. It feeds these pleasure centers inside your brain, making you want more, more, more, driving you to chase the high of viral success, even as it also makes you miserable and rewires your creative brain.
Good idea to take a step away. I'll look forward to seeing your work in my inbox, and not in my Notes feed.
Thanks, Lee. You're really good at Notes, so I bet you know what you're talking about! Looking forward to seeing you in my inbox/RSS feed as well.
Well said, Marina, thank you! You put into words an incoherence I've felt, myself; I'm sure this will resonate with many. Thank you for taking the time to take the time! :)
Thank you, Casey, for taking the time to comment! I'm glad it landed. It felt good for me, too, to articulate the whole thing properly and make sense of my own experience.
It’s true. We’re all in the Substack mill that largely does not reward writers with smaller footprints. It’s only slightly galling that a big name gets a “happy to have you here!” and instant paid subscribers. Proximity to fame thing. I didn’t have any expectations when I joined almost a year ago. But the siren song of notes is impossible to ignore—and it’s where I met so many great people. So I won’t be leaving notes, but I will try to be a bit more systematic with my posts. I’m the world’s worst self promoter. And that’s the one thing you have to bite the bullet on. Thank you for writing this!
I know how that feels! And we’ll see how I do in this rat race!
Thanks for commenting, Debra! I think you're right, there are bullets to bit if you want to get somewhere in the current ecosystem. For me, though, at this point it was a matter of self-preservation. As in I wasn't biting the bullet, I had it lodged deep inside my brain. I'm sure many won't need to be so drastic and can succeed by, like you said, just being a bit more intentional. Good luck!
Good Lord you just started writing in English??? Color me ashamed of myself 🤣
Glad this came across my feed (in Notes, sorry! Blame Lee). I feel all of this.
Last week I spent time researching writers in the “rising” and “top bestsellers” …looking for some type of magic answer to where all of the “readers” were. My answer: I don’t think there are as many here as we all hope.
Most of those people with like 20k/100k subs are barely getting any engagement whatsoever.
Hahaha thanks, Henny! I started taking the writing seriously in June, but I've been consuming media in English for the last fifteen years, and I use English a lot in my day-to-day life because our family is bilingual and I'm an expat.
To be honest, I'm also surprised by my progress. It's insane how the brain improves and adapts once you commit to writing only in your second language. Many linguistic skills do transfer well from one language to another, and I've been writing in Spanish since I was seven. But still, I'm proud of myself! Thanks for acknowledging my work!
I think there *are* people here, as in users, but I'm afraid we're all slowly becoming followers more than readers. Apparently, most of the users on any given platform are lurkers, so there's that, too. But the ones that might engage are being discouraged from doing so via the feed.
I think people are also sort of used to the vitriol on other platforms and that discourages engagement.
Makes sense. I'm so stressed out whenever I participate even in the most obscure subreddit, cause it's wild out there.
I’ve only done Reddit a few times. It scares me 🤣
I looove lurking on Reddit, I find it extremely interesting, but contributing is indeed terrifying.
This is so fascinating. I’ve experienced an evolution on this platform—from thinking it was the best thing in the world (while I was going viral and growing like never before) to actually FEELING my attention span diminish to that of a goldfish while scrolling through notes, to desperately trying to get back into the spotlight, while being painfully aware my creativity was dying in plain sight. Now it feels like IG and FB circa 2022 and my resentment is off the charts. I haven’t written a long form post in ages because that resentment has decayed my inspiration.
Your suggestions for engaging more with long form again and supporting writers who show up thoughtfully in the comments is spot on. I’ll be making some serious changes and will probably re-read this post every so often to ensure I’m protecting my concentration, much like I did when I deleted all the other social media platforms last January. Thanks for writing this manifesto for us.
Thank you, Jennie, I'm glad it helped! I'm particularly happy that you found it actionable and worth revisiting in the future. For what is worth, I've seen my state of mind reversing back to reasonable peace and work capacity after just a couple weeks of reset, which gives me hope. Please let me know how it goes for you!
So many good points and ideas. Thank you for bringing this up. I came here because of the longform posts (I've always had trouble to keep my writing short and sweet😄), and to get away from Instagrammy and Facebooky feeds that mess with my sanity, and yes, it has been soulcrushing to realize it's pretty much the same here. At one point I was actually dreaming how cool would it be to mail out actual paper-form newsletters. It's insane, I know. And time-consuming and pricey. But oh my, how I miss the calm we had before the algorithms.
Laura, I was dreaming about paper newsletters the other day, too! Maybe someone could create something like on-demand magazines, where they print out your favorite newsletters and mail them to you monthly. I'd totally pay for something like that. And maybe it would encourage quality, thinking that your articles might end up printed somewhere?
I love the idea! Probably that would be a very, very niche thing, but, on the other hand, seems like quite a few people are craving to go offline once in a while :)
I’ve thought of this idea as well. So daunting, but would be so cool.
Actually, some people do mail their newsletters in paper form, at least they did a few years ago, particularly old-school copywriters (Ben Settle comes to mind). I've been subscribed to a couple, and the feeling of receiving it in your physical mailbox is exhilarating. I even published my own a few years ago, for almost a year, as part of a psychology membership where people would pay 50-70 euros/month (depending on shipping costs). It was very rewarding but a pain in the ass. It can be done but it's tricky and logistically way way harder than this.
Very cool
The “thinking in bangers” mindset is so real. I had it worst with Twitter and now I have it with Substack though it’s for both notes and essays since I feel like I could win big for both (perhaps all platforms with a heart feature are just casinos?)
The only thing that has helped me – and I want to write about this more - is thinking about the long game. What do I want my career as a writer to be in 5, 10, 15, 30 years? And how do I make decisions now that move toward that path and then how does Substack fit into that?
I think you’re right there are only a few slots for the Armageddon’s but I don’t even think I want one of them. When I think about my Internet writer heroes very few if any are on Substack the three line for most of them is independence they’ve created something that is truly a direct to audience thing. Are platforms involved? Definitely, but these people never live or die by them.
Idk if this makes sense but hopefully it does a little?
I'd love to read your take on thinking long-term about your career, Alex. I try to do this too but it's difficult because the landscape is changing so fast, and sometimes it feels like even if you know where you want to go, the path to get there keeps shifting form and becoming muddled. One moment I think Substack will help, then I find myself deep into "thinking in bangers" mode and I realize nope, this is not it. So it's kinda annoying to have to keep making decisions about how to connect with people because of the constant enshittification of everything.
Great post, Marina. I completely agree with almost everything. The only thing I don't agree with is the list of tips for generating change on Substack. In my opinion, Substack is behaving like other social networks because those platforms have already consolidated a business model—and user habits—that are difficult to challenge. Furthermore, as you rightly point out, Substack has investors and the numbers are relatively poor (in terms of user volume and revenue), so it's only a matter of time before they succumb to the trends of other platforms and start targeting a more general audience. This doesn't mean, per se, that Substack will cease to be an interesting social network, but it certainly doesn't seem that writers (or long-form content) are going to be their priority.
I'm with you - a bit disillusioned but still appreciative of the platform and especially the connections I've made. I don't have thousands of subscribers, but I do have some very engaged and loyal ones. I won't take this for granted even as I continue to try to slowly but genuinely grow my audience one single reader at a time.
I cannot stress enough how much I loved your post, Marina. It gives me a lot to think about and I will have to come to it several more times to digest all the goo reflections you have shared.
I am not a writer or any closer, but wanted to land in substack just to let go what I "had to" write. Looked for now audience and though I put the platform aside because I felt anxious thinking that I wasn't keeping up, but keeping up with what? Not posting enough? Not writing enough notes and with a tone that was engaging enough? And for what? Or for whom?
I put the platform aside because I felt anxious thinking that I wasn't achieving everything, but achieving what? Not posting enough? Not writing enough notes and with a tone that was engaging enough? And for what? Or for whom?
The part where you mention that dreaming small should be a revolutionary act really resonated with me, and I hope to anchor myself in that mantra: Dream Meaningful! (and let's make T-shirts out of it!!!)
Lots to think about, thanks. I’m half Greek. Which island is it ?
Kalymnos! We’re here because of the climbing. Ευχαριστώ!
Nice. Dad is from Salonica. I lived with my Greek giagia.
Speak Greek. Studied Classics. Been too long since I went
Greece is special.
I showed up on Substack nearly three years ago for long-form writing. Then came the Twitter saga… and Notes. Now we’ve got Posts and Notes sharing the same house but living very different lives. You nailed the tension.
Thanks, Cosmo. I like the house metaphor. Posts and Notes really don't have as much in common as they want to make us believe.
my comment on your viral note brought me five subscribers. i was just as shocked as you were about the ordeal.
i agree, the note brain part of substack can be such a drag. i really like the idea of deleting the app. you bring up some really interesting points here. thanks so much for sharing!
I love this post. Notes make me terribly anxious. I had a note with photos of a cloud that got me about 20 subscibers and got about 995 likes and then I lost all those subscribers, cause I don't post pictures of clouds or inspirational quotes in my actual posts. And I hope you get all the right readers, but please don't become another Emma Gannon. I may get into trouble for saying this out loud, but I really don't get why she has so many readers. I was a paid subscriber for a year and even bought one of her books, but really, it is like one long note...not much substance in my opinion. I'm off to figure out the RSS feed.
Hahaha respectfully, I don't find her content that interesting either and don't get the hype. I've browsed her newsletter many times and I still don't get what she's trying to do there. I guess she's more of a vibe? With great branding, though. I think she exploded when Elizabeth Gilbert recommended her. At some point, fame just compounds. People see so many subs and think "there must be something of value here." Like assuming a full restaurant is better than an empty one.
I'm glad you didn't double down on cloud pictures and inspirational quotes, Liza!