I can’t believe this happened.

Exactly four months ago, I received a direct response on an idea I had randomly posted on a local subreddit.

It might’ve been my third comment on Reddit ever, and definitely the first time anyone had replied to me directly.

The idea was for an alternative local print magazine, something a bit more sideways than the long-reigning Ann Arbor Observer. The response:

‘How about contributing to the Observer? (I’m the deputy editor.)’

I’m dm’d her, she emailed me back, I sent her links to my Substack newsletter—my only published editorial work. I pitched her several ideas, we met for ice cream. We kept talking.

Yesterday, after a weekly online pilot since August, I got to see my first monthly advice column in ink, literally hot off the presses.

The audience? 53,000 direct mail recipients.

Please, friends: Have conversations, online and off. Share your wildest dreams and ideas. And most importantly, even when it feels like no one’s paying attention…

DO NOT STOP CREATING.