1 year on Substack

Why I joined, what I've learnt, and what's next

Hi all, and welcome back to rumblewrites. Today marks my 1 year anniversary on Substack. Well, technically I created my welcome page (and therefore account?) on 25 April, but it wasn’t until 9 May that I posted my first article: my review of Late Night With the Devil. Since then, I’ve gained roughly 2400 subscribers, and have written 53 articles. Today, I’d like to talk you through my journey: what brought me here, the lessons I’ve learnt, and what the next year holds in store. Pretty standard stuff, really.

If you’d like to support me on this journey, please consider subscribing. It’s free (unless you decide otherwise) and in return you’ll get an article every Friday (or thereabouts) on something historic, literary, or linguistic. Thank you.

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The past year

Why did I join Substack?

I joined Substack because I missed university. No, really. I had just finished my master’s degree a few months prior and, after deciding to decline my PhD places, I was missing the research and academic-style writing that had become such a massive part of my life. And while I was still surrounded by history in my archival day job, I missed being able to sink hours into learning about the niches I enjoy the most. I still don’t quite have enough time to do that, but at least it’s something. And something I’m proud of.

What have I done?

I’ve learnt a lot, and I’ve shared a lot of knowledge with you. I’ve spoken to many of you in Notes and in the comments section of my articles, and I’ve been surprised to see quite how many of you are interested in my work:

Today, rumblewrites has gained just over 2400 readers. Not all of you tune in every week, and that’s ok. Expected, even, given the variety of topics I write about. I’m not trying to amass a following, just an engaged audience who enjoy reading my work. (Yes I write for myself too, but if that were purely true, I wouldn’t bother publishing on here).

I’m proud of this number, and I’m proud of the work I’ve produced. Some pieces more than others. But I didn’t get here without some degree of trial and error: I’ve started and abandoned more than one project too. For example, my etymology series. I gave it up because I was bored. I just realised that I wasn’t as interested in etymologies as I had presumed, and that the way I was going about it (in alphabetical order, explaining the history) just wasn’t fun to research and write. I think this taught me that the advice to write what you want to read isn’t always true. I still enjoy reading about etymologies, but I don’t like writing about them.

I also started a guide to writing for my paid subscribers, but I quickly got burnt out. I started it as a means of encouraging people to sign up for a paid membership, but again I just didn’t enjoy writing these posts. I was trying to churn them out monthly on top of my existing weekly schedule, and it was just too hard to manage. Plus, I discovered that ‘advice’ posts weren’t something I found enjoyment in writing. So I decided to stop.

I don’t view either of these endeavours as failures, though. They were just experiments. I’ve learnt that it’s ok to try things out, and it’s ok to figure out what style of blogger you want to be. Are you trying to appeal to an audience and make a living? Or do you just want to write? I thought I could do a mix of both, but I haven’t found a means of doing so thus far. And having abandoned the former, I am much happier just doing this as a hobby. (Although I’d still say money is a wonderful motivator ;)).

What have I enjoyed the most?

• The community. As much as I am trying to leave my obsession with Notes and numbers behind, I still want to interact with the people on here. The people who read my work, and other writers whom I admire. I had so much fun interviewing amazing female authors for my series a few months ago (you can read the first post here), so that is a real standout for me.

• #onthisday deep-dives. Unsurprisingly, my historical deep dives are some of my favourite posts to write. They allow me to continue my passion for classical and early modern European history in a way which also means I can learn something new. They also challenge me to present history in a way which is accessible to a non-expert, something I never had to do during my degree.

What have you enjoyed the most?

Compared to your favourites, as dictated by the algorithm:

1. Finding my voice

2. Submission opportunities - October 24

3. Now you hear me

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What I’ve learnt

I know I said I don’t enjoy writing ‘advice’ style articles, but I still want to mention a few of the key lessons I’ve taken away from this past year on Substack. I don’t intend these to be instructive, just informative - but if they apply to your situation too, that’s great.

You can’t grow without Notes

At least, not very much. I stopped posting on Notes around the beginning of this year as I made it a resolution to focus on different aspects of my life. I wanted writing to stick around, but it had become all-consuming. Advertising my articles on social media, building a brand, posting on Notes 3 times a day, networking, etc had burnt me out so much and was keeping me from doing all the other fun things I wanted to in life. So now I only post spur of the moment Notes, random thoughts or things I genuinely felt impassioned to share.

But that’s had consequences: my growth has slowed significantly. My average number of views per month has gone down. And more people are unsubscribing. It’s hard not to take it all personally, but I just have to remind myself: just because I’m not putting myself out there as much doesn’t mean my work isn’t as worthy of attention. Sure it’ll be harder for it to gain that attention with less advertising, but growing quickly isn’t worth anything when it comes at the expense of my mental well being.

Substack is a social media too, and it can burn you out

This is why I stopped posting on Notes (as much). And why my dedicated Instagram and Twitter writing accounts have laid dormant throughout 2025. I won’t bore you with a ‘why I quit social media’ spiel, but essentially it was due to pressure (largely piled on by yours truly), and burn out. Writing lost its sparkle when I turned it into a capitalist exercise, and it started impacting other areas of my life: I was spending less time with family and friends, and less time on my other hobbies.

Just remember that while Substack might be a more creative place filled with like-minded people, it’s still a social media. Popular Notes and posts are still largely dictated by an elusive algorithm, you will still compare yourself to other writers, and you will still be obsessed with numbers and stats. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s any different from Insta or Twitter or the rest.

And please, don’t take advice from the people telling you ‘how to grow’ on Substack. The people talking about ‘content calendars’, optimising the algorithm, using AI to your advantage, etc etc. Just no.

My final point in this section: while I may be on here less, I still read, and I still appreciate you all ☺.

Create the content you want. Your niche is you

This last lesson isn’t really something I’ve learnt, as I’ve known this since the start. But I felt it important to include primarily in response to the dozens of articles I’ve seen talking about ‘building your niche’. This idea that your blog needs a strict direction / theme to be appealing is bollocks, honestly. I write about whatever I like, across a wider range of topics, and I’ve still done pretty well for myself this past year. The way I see it, topics draw people in, but the writing is what makes them stay. Having a unique voice and a unique perspective is your niche. Don’t waste time thinking about it any more deeply than that.

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The year ahead

Over the next year, I’m sure I’ll learn even more about Substack and about myself. But for now, I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing since the start of 2025: being more mindful of my time, writing about the topics I enjoy, and growing slowly. As someone who always strives to push herself, this still feels slightly uncomfortable. I could be optimising! But why would I? This is just a hobby. I want to have fun.

To my readers, thank you all for your support this past year. It’s helped grow my confidence, and find the motivation to carry on writing. Thank you.

Til next time (Friday at 10am).

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