The question that's sitting with me now: How many producers do I actually know as people? Not "connections who might read my work someday," but people I'd genuinely want to spend years collaborating with?

Right now that number is one. Maybe two.

So I'm taking your advice: keep writing, keep building real relationships, stop optimising for reads. The work will catch up, hopefully.

Thank you for articulating what I've been sensing but couldn't name.