My Liz Explores Substack just reached 100 subscribers, including 10 paid subscribers! What a huge milestone! 🥳

A year ago, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. I contributed a chapter on “The Problem With Perfectionism” to the book Quiet & Badass, which became an Amazon international best-seller on launch day. I loved the process of writing that chapter, and I needed an outlet to write more.

In December I was winding down my group coaching program and deciding what to do next. I needed the same kind of guidance that I gave my clients, so I hopped on a call with a coach. She asked me, “What would you do if success were guaranteed?”

I didn’t miss a beat, and replied: “I want to be the next

I dove into studying the craft of memoir and personal essay. I started my Substack blog at the end of December, sharing a response I had written to one of Cheryl Strayed’s pieces “The Ghost Ship that Didn’t Carry Us.” I enrolled in writing courses and started working on a memoir about hiking the hundred highest peaks in New England.

But writing the memoir felt forced. I was trying to remember events that happened 10 years ago, and the details weren’t there. There are a lot of things from that time that I’d rather not remember, as it was in the wake of a painful divorce. I struggled to keep up the momentum.

Meanwhile, I started writing on Substack about what was happening in my life currently: launching into a new round of fertility treatments after three miscarriages and a canceled road trip. I wrote spontaneously, freely, experimentally, seeking my own voice. I processed what was happening and put it out into the world, resonating with the quote: “We don’t write what we know. We write to find out what we know.”

I didn’t tell anyone about my writing, except for sharing links to a few pieces on Facebook that got buried by the algorithm. Still, some of you discovered my work and became my biggest fans, cheering me on when I wondered what was the point. I began engaging more on the Substack app and people found me there—strangers who didn’t have to subscribe; they just liked my writing and wanted to read more.

I was gathering momentum, and then… life happened. I didn’t write for two months, as I was in an especially busy and stressful period with all the fertility and adoption stuff. I collected stories in my mind and on my notes app, but didn’t have time or energy to write them. My subscriber list flatlined.

Finally this month, I started a new chapter: moving on from fertility treatments and buying a camper van to drive to Alaska for the honeymoon Seth and I have put off since our 2020 wedding! I had the time and space to write again, and I put down 20,000 words in two weeks and dumped them onto my blog.

As you can see from the graph, it paid off: my subscriber list has grown exponentially this week! It’s incredible what happens when we do the work. I decided to finally open up paid subscriptions for $36 a year or $5 a month, and I already have 10 new members of what I’m calling my Inner Circle—folks who will be treated to my most personal stories.

Today I received payment for the first batch of subscribers: a deposit of $248.48 in my bank account. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten paid for my writing (the proceeds from my book last year were part of a group project and were donated to charity). This, too, is a huge milestone.

I’m so grateful to everyone who has followed my writing journey, and especially to those of you who have become free or paid subscribers! I set the annual subscription price really low ($36) so that it would be accessible to everyone, but that means I need to reach a lot of people. So if you enjoy my writing, please subscribe, share, or give a gift subscription! My goal is to reach 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year. 🤩

Here’s the link for more information and to sign up:

lizexplores.com/p/welcome-to-liz-explor…

And while you’re here, find me on Facebook (facebook.com/lizexplores) and Instagram (instagram.com/_lizexplores) to follow my adventures!