Your journal prompts this week:
What, in theory, do I want to do or create but have been avoiding starting?
Why do I think I’ve been avoiding this, and would I be disappointed if I never tried?
What do I need in order to feel ready to this?
What is the worst thing that could happen if I did this? And, on the flip side, what is the best thing that could happen if I did this?
When I’m ready, what is one baby step I can take to make progress on this?
At long last, I am back with a new episode! I took some time off for the arrival of my second child, Avery, who was born at the end of June. At the time of recording this, it is now September, and I’ve admittedly been absent from the podcast a lot longer than I intended. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it turns out quiet finding time to sit down and record a podcast is much harder to do when you have two children under the age of two. It is rare the house is truly quiet, and if so, it’s late at night or early in the morning, when I’m likely exhausted, and I certainly can’t trust that the quiet will last very long!
But I do love to write and create these podcasts, so now that I’m finding my new daily flow, however unpredictable it might be, I’m going to keep showing up.
And to be totally honest with you, the podcast portion of the Soul Journaling Sessions Substack will likely not be consistent, which is one reason I briefly contemplated not coming back. I’m already embarrassed I’ve been gone for so long, and I’ve wondered if people will no longer care since I’ve fallen off their radar. But these types of fears have gotten the best of me plenty of times before, and I’ve seen it get the best of others, and I’m determined not to fall into that self-pity trap. If you’re meant to find me, you’ll find me, and if you’re meant to stay through all the ups and downs and inconsistencies, I think we’re meant to be connected. And I’m also deeply grateful to you for appreciating my work.
I’m also going to try something else I’ve been avoiding doing on Substack for a long time, and this, too, is tied to fear: I’m going to now be offering a paid subscription and offering exclusive content to paid subscribers.
Very rarely in my life have I had people pay directly to consume my creative work. I can count the number of times I’ve done it on one hand. I didn’t realize this until recently, and it was because I was forced to, of course, which is how we often have so many epiphanies and realizations—in the wake of something else falling apart.
Many of you know that I am a teacher on the meditation app, Insight Timer. It has been my favorite platform to create and share content, and much of that content I’ve also shared for free with my Soul Journaling Sessions substack subscribers. I enjoyed the app so much and was making a good income off of it, and just a couple months before giving birth, I decided to discontinue all client work and focus on making content there as my main source of income.
We’ve heard it all before . . . never rely on one platform as your main source. And I learned that lesson when, the night before I gave birth, Insight Timer’s CEO sent out an email announcing changes to their payment structure. They announced they would no longer be paying teachers for engagement on the app, which included comments and reviews. The bulk of the money I made on that app was from that engagement, which I worked hard to maintain and genuinely enjoyed doing. I felt like I had built a real community and that a platform finally saw some value in that, rather than just valuing the number of follows, plays, or views I had.
While Insight Timer tried to be kind by offering bonuses for the next three months to those 17 percent of their teachers most impacted by this change, of which I am one, it was a shock to realize just how much my payments will be impacted. Without engagement payments, I go from making $800-$1000 per month (and growing) on the app to just about $30. Yes, just $30 dollars. That’s definitely enough to send a mama of two into panic mode.
Again, here I am feeling embarrassed as I write this. How could I have put all my eggs into one basket like this? What will people think? But I want to share this because it taught me a very important lesson that could perhaps give someone else that extra push they need. And maybe that person is you.
Of course, the overarching lesson here is to never rely on just one platform when you’re a content creator or solopreneur. Period.
But that’s also a bit of a simplification of the lesson. What’s more important is that it taught me to stop relying on any middleman (or app) to pay me for my creations—and to stop relying on someone else to determine what I should be earning for them.
Using a middleman has just allowed me to keep avoiding what I’m truly terrified of: First, directly asking people, the consumers, to purchase my work, and second, assigning a monetary value to my work, or a price that I determine on my own.
If anything, my time on Insight Timer has showed me that my creations are not just something fun for me to do, but they are indeed valuable to others. I am worthy of being paid for them and my intuitive insights. And while I am still honestly a bit upset with Insight Timer, I do feel grateful to them for helping me realize this truth: that it is time to stop hiding behind or relying on someone or something else instead of going all in on myself.
And one platform that allows you to go all in on yourself as a creator is Substack. Yes, it is becoming more and more of a crowded place, and it will be much harder to grow on this platform, but it is time for me to stand up to this challenge and all the feelings of self-doubt that come with it. Because if I can finally get past this, if I can finally take control of how I make money and how much I charge for my creations, I’ll have a real shot at making a living doing what it is that I truly love. And that is worth every uncomfortable moment.
As with any big change or fear I face, I’m taking baby steps first. Since this is still experimental for me, and I’m figuring out what I want to share and how often, I’m starting my subscription at just $5/month. This will give me room to play a little bit and see what types of content my subscribers enjoy most and what they benefit from.
So, if you want to join me on this journey over on Substack, here’s what all you will get for $5/month:
A monthly personal one-card Tarot or Oracle reading delivered to you in one of three ways, you get to choose: direct message on Substack, email, or snail mail. With snail mail, I’ll send you a physical card in the mail with a reading. (I was part of a Patreon group where the reader did this, and I absolutely loved getting a physical card in the mail. This is something I really want to offer to others because it’s so much fun.)
A meditative journaling audio course that is normally only available to Insight Timer Premium members.
Exclusive collective Tarot/Oracle reading with journal prompts, sent out as I get inspired to share.
Plus, some additional perks I’ll be playing with:
Additional exclusive meditations, readings, pdf downloads, and musings as I am inspired to create them.
An exclusive chat thread where I will do occasional additional card readings for individuals, and we can all share our favorite journals, Tarot/Oracle decks, etc.
I’m truly excited to have this offering—even if it takes months or a year to get my first paid subscriber, something I’ve told myself repeatedly is okay. These things don’t always happen overnight, despite what we are led to believe by other posts we see.
And what does this mean for my free subscribers? You will continue to receive episodes of the Soul Journaling Sessions, with some changes. Before my second baby, I had been doing these (or at least trying to do them) weekly, but I’ve realized that isn’t possible for me right now. So these episode will be more sporadic, and I’ll work them in as I am able, but I intend to keep them going. (I’m also going to be inviting in more collaborators and getting clearer about what guest hosting and posting looks like. I’ll share more on that soon.) And I’ll be sending out occasional free posts with Tarot/Oracle readings and/or journal prompts, as inspired.
I’ll be trying out a lot different things over the coming months, including sharing more of my passion for Tarot/Oracle reading, and how I couple this with my journaling practice. I hope all the new topics and content types I create peak your interest, and you stick around. If not, that’s okay too! We are all always refining our interests and priorities, and I know there’s so much content out there—we can’t all take all of it in, even if we wanted to.
Thanks again for being on this journey with me. I look forward to beginning a new phase and evolution of the Soul Journaling Sessions with you all!
What have you been afraid to try, or what have you been avoiding? Have you ever struggled with charging for your creative work? I’d be honored if you shared your story with me and the community, so we can feel less alone and learn from each other!
With much love and gratitude,
Marcy
I've been afraid to try this . . .