What a divine article to read just as I approach a new year and the age of 30. I've been wanting to write for so long and have suffered from various reasons or forms of procrastination such as: "what if no one reads my writing?" "what if I have nothing valuable to say?" and "what if my friends read my writing and I self-censor my words from fear of exposure?"
Anyway, off to publish my second newsletter feeling much better about all of this. Thank you thank you for another thoughtful piece.
Your approach of encouraging reading and writing as a way to facilitate metamorphosis regardless of motivation is so important and has struck me deeply - thank you for sending this just before the New Year!
One reason I started my own newsletter was that you showed what was possible. Inspirational is a word often used too lightly. Here, it fits exactly. Thank you, Celine.
Congrats on 2 years and 52 newsletters, Celine! It has been incredible to watch you grow as a writer. You’re inspirational in many ways, but the sheer amount of care you put towards transparency and respect for other people’s writing is unmatched.
It's fabulous to learn about your well deserved success through your persistence 💖 I wrote every day as part of my humanities PhD and it basically broke me by the end, so the practice of writing more swiftly and writing in public seems like a pragmatic antidote.
BTW I think the message about the crisis in literacy is only going to get amplified in 2026. My day job is in public libraries and we're preparing for participating in a government-instigated 'national year of reading' about making reading more fun and attractive. I realise the irony of that sentence: government...."make" it fun...
Thank you so much for this piece, it is truly inspiring! I have been thinking of starting my own newsletter, but have held back for all the reasons you discuss – worrying that I am a bad writer who no one would want to read (but so what – no one would be forced to read me! It’s not an actual crime to write badly), spending too much time ‘thinking about it’ (that fine line between preparing and procrastinating, both of which are very far from doing), assuming I don’t have time (when really I could make time), thinking it is ‘too late’ somehow (what does this even mean?!).
One of my biggest reasons for not starting a newsletter, however, is an embarrassingly dumb one, which is going to make me sound a hundred years old – I can’t work out how to be truly anonymous on Substack. I signed up here with an email address that is my real name, which is very unusual and identifiable. Given that only, like, three people would likely ever read my ramblings, this probably doesn’t matter that much, but I feel anxious about (1) trolls/being a woman on the internet and (2) certain personal topics that I would rather die than disclose to my family. So, if I start a newsletter now, how I will send it to people? Will it go from my real email address? If I get a new email account just for Substack, can I link it to my existing account/username or will Substack give me a new account (which I don’t want). If anyone in the comments can answer these questions I would be grateful and you’d be giving me a big push to actually start writing by removing one of the made-up reasons why I can’t.
‘You must write or be written on’ – I can’t trace the source of this quote but it’s a big reason why I want to write. (Hopefully it's not one of those 'hang in there' -type posters or something equally uncool).
Thanks again for this essay. I felt really energised by it. I’ve spent the day ‘writing’ for work but it doesn’t give me the same feeling.
One of my favourite emails I’ve read this year! I like the idea of ContraPointsing on Substack (as a reader whose inbox is always full and as a writer who needs a good week on jstor before I’m confident I’ve done enough research for each very silly post that almost definitely doesn’t need it).
What a divine article to read just as I approach a new year and the age of 30. I've been wanting to write for so long and have suffered from various reasons or forms of procrastination such as: "what if no one reads my writing?" "what if I have nothing valuable to say?" and "what if my friends read my writing and I self-censor my words from fear of exposure?"
Anyway, off to publish my second newsletter feeling much better about all of this. Thank you thank you for another thoughtful piece.
Your approach of encouraging reading and writing as a way to facilitate metamorphosis regardless of motivation is so important and has struck me deeply - thank you for sending this just before the New Year!
One reason I started my own newsletter was that you showed what was possible. Inspirational is a word often used too lightly. Here, it fits exactly. Thank you, Celine.
Such an inspiring post, thank you Celine! Will be saving this and coming back to it often!
Congrats on 2 years and 52 newsletters, Celine! It has been incredible to watch you grow as a writer. You’re inspirational in many ways, but the sheer amount of care you put towards transparency and respect for other people’s writing is unmatched.
To many more incredible years of writing!
Congratulations on all you’ve achieved with this newsletter Celine - your clarity of ambition and taste is inspiring and enviable!
Your writing proves length doesn’t matter, I will read regardless! Congrats on a great year, I’m inspired and will continue to read your work.
It's fabulous to learn about your well deserved success through your persistence 💖 I wrote every day as part of my humanities PhD and it basically broke me by the end, so the practice of writing more swiftly and writing in public seems like a pragmatic antidote.
BTW I think the message about the crisis in literacy is only going to get amplified in 2026. My day job is in public libraries and we're preparing for participating in a government-instigated 'national year of reading' about making reading more fun and attractive. I realise the irony of that sentence: government...."make" it fun...
Precisely the kind of sober encouragement I wish there was more of online, thanks for this lovely reflection.
Thank you so much for this piece, it is truly inspiring! I have been thinking of starting my own newsletter, but have held back for all the reasons you discuss – worrying that I am a bad writer who no one would want to read (but so what – no one would be forced to read me! It’s not an actual crime to write badly), spending too much time ‘thinking about it’ (that fine line between preparing and procrastinating, both of which are very far from doing), assuming I don’t have time (when really I could make time), thinking it is ‘too late’ somehow (what does this even mean?!).
One of my biggest reasons for not starting a newsletter, however, is an embarrassingly dumb one, which is going to make me sound a hundred years old – I can’t work out how to be truly anonymous on Substack. I signed up here with an email address that is my real name, which is very unusual and identifiable. Given that only, like, three people would likely ever read my ramblings, this probably doesn’t matter that much, but I feel anxious about (1) trolls/being a woman on the internet and (2) certain personal topics that I would rather die than disclose to my family. So, if I start a newsletter now, how I will send it to people? Will it go from my real email address? If I get a new email account just for Substack, can I link it to my existing account/username or will Substack give me a new account (which I don’t want). If anyone in the comments can answer these questions I would be grateful and you’d be giving me a big push to actually start writing by removing one of the made-up reasons why I can’t.
‘You must write or be written on’ – I can’t trace the source of this quote but it’s a big reason why I want to write. (Hopefully it's not one of those 'hang in there' -type posters or something equally uncool).
Thanks again for this essay. I felt really energised by it. I’ve spent the day ‘writing’ for work but it doesn’t give me the same feeling.
One of my favourite emails I’ve read this year! I like the idea of ContraPointsing on Substack (as a reader whose inbox is always full and as a writer who needs a good week on jstor before I’m confident I’ve done enough research for each very silly post that almost definitely doesn’t need it).
Also congratulations on 2 great years! 🎉