Want to use Instagram to find more readers? Ask me your questions, or share your frustrations in the comments - I want to know how I can best support you!
Hello! I am Cressy McLaughlin, I am an author of contemporary, often cosy romance books, including a series set in Cornwall called the Cornish Cream Tea series. I have been writing full time for the last seven years, and I absolutely LOVE it. Instagram is definitely my favourite social media platform, because it's fun and creative and, certainly in my little corner of it, seems to be a really positive place. I want to do more with it, be more innovative and use more of the features, and I also want to be better at reels. I feel like my reels are so clunky, but I like the possibility they have, and want to be able to create reels that feel fun and interesting. I also just want to be better at engaging with the community on Instagram. I have peaks and troughs of being really inspired and into it, and then my brain feels empty and I have no idea what to post. I am @cressmclaughlin on Instagram.
Dear Nicola, you know me a little already (thank you so much for sharing about my writing course!) but I am introducing myself here to say hi to the rest of the Too Much community. I'm Huma Qureshi, author of the novel Playing Games, the short story collection Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love and the memoir How We Met. I have a lovely little newsletter list (off Substack) called Dear Huma, and I also have a Substack celebrating Alice Munro called Reading Alice & Others, and I teach online writing courses via my website also.
I've joined Too Much because publication has really taken its toll on my confidence and that in turn has really affected the way I use Instagram (ie, now not at all) whereas once upon a time I genuinely enjoyed it. Where once I gained followers easily now I lose them every single time I post and my account hasn't grown for over a year if not longer. I really struggle with self doubt and therefore also self promotion, and I'm here for some gentle encouragement to not be so scared about it all. My instagram handle is @humaqureshiwriter and I'd love to connect with any fellow uncertain and slightly shy authors too x
Thank you for the lovely introduction Nicola, it’s nice to find out more about you.
I’m very excited to join the TMI community. I’m a newbie to Instagram and only just started posting recently. I want to use it to help promote my Substack newsletter ‘The Hobblicious Chronicles’ which is all about my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis and all the jazz that comes along with that! https://janeharrison.substack.com/.
My Instagram handle is @ms_hobblicious where you can see me having a stab at it!
Hello. I'm a newbie in the adult short and steamy romance industry, starting out by posting chapters bi-weekly/monthly on Ream starting sometime next month. I indie pubbed two YA novels in the early 2000's, but have been reading adult romance for over 30 years and decided to dip a toe in the Sexy Pool. I don't have an IG handle yet for my author persona, but the issue I'm going to have with posting is finding the motivation to do so. I know I'm going to need to find readers, so I plan to use it as a way to drive traffic to my Ream page. I just don't know what that looks like. I joined in the hopes of getting ideas that I can use that will appeal to my personality.
Hi fellow Nicola! We have other similarities - I'm a former teacher (lasted 13 years!) of music and English, lived in London until 2020 (yes, that year), married for nearly 7 years after 15 years with my partner.
I'm a reluctant Instagram user - I joined when I left Twitter, but never really got going with it. I don't know if I will use it to find more readers; the posts I write were originally intended to be added to my website, but it was only joining Substack that motivated me to start writing them, and I feel they will have limited appeal!
Hi Nicola, welcome! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to see your comment - sometimes the Substack inbox isn't the most helpful thing! I'm really curious about what your posts are about and why you think they'll have limited appeal - often it's just about finding the right corner of the internet to hang out in! I look forward to seeing you more on SS and Instagram
I need a creative outlet for all the buzzing around the event horizon that is my life at the present here and now. As you can read in my bio, I have many interests, so contrary to what the super duper substack honcho recommendation is, I will not limit myself to just one subject. Like a mini magazine, I will write shortish op/eds about my passions, my loves, my life as an expat in #Floriduh🐊 But for the time being, to start with, I will be publishing bi weekly, depending…
Will also share my Speculative Fiction short stories that are part of my Circadian Tales anthology. I’ll even share carefully curated recipes of the locations said tales take place in, hoping their flavors and aromas mingle with my words to create a vivid picture in your mind.
In the English Literature world, Speculative Fiction is usually based on real events, a memoir most likely, but it’s up to you the reader, to speculate if it really happened the way I narrate it. It’s the real translation for Realismo Mágico. The only difference is that for my people, it’s normal. We are infused with this reality from our mother’s milk. When such magic happenings occur, we just shrug it off and say… “de que vuelan, vuelan” meaning our apparitions, witches, ghosts, or even our cockroaches, fly.
So there you go.
Sometimes I will publish in Spanish, and the section will be called “Con EÑE”
This sounds amazing - I'm fascinated by the different threads of your online presence and creative work, and also the ways in which they might overlap and feed one another! Welcome to TooMuch!!
Such a lovely introduction Nicola! I’m Océane. I’m a spare time artist with big dreams and one of them is to write. I studied Screenwriting at Uni, failed at it, tried to write short stories and failed at that too. I’m in Lucy’s hype yourself membership and have been thinking about writing on Substack for a while - just need a little push. I’m @papergraphie on everything.
Hi Océane, and welcome to TooMuch (and Substack!). I love Lucy Werner's SS - one of my faves - is that how you found me? Will you be sharing any of your short story writing on SS or focusing on something else? And fwiw I don't believe any writing is ever a failure because every time we write something we're honing our craft and developing our voice ❤️
Hello, I’m from Staffordshire too! Although I live in Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) now with my small son and husband. I’m a doctor, and I also experienced a huge shift with motherhood - in many ways I feel it’s brought me back closer to my truest self than I have been in years. I love being a mother, but I love medicine too, and I love the excitement of discovering and exchanging ideas, of lively conversation with likeminded people. It is a struggle for me at present trying to find a way to combine it all, but I have faith that I will, ultimately.
I have been a reader since the beginning of time, and have kept journals on and off for almost two decades. Now I am working on a memoir of my year of pregnancy. I discovered substack via Tanya Shadrick’s project, and decided to start writing here myself and exploring the platform only a month or so ago. Having never really used it much before, I was inspired by you to play around with Instagram too. I’m zks_writing there.
Hi Zofia! Gosh so much here that resonates with me (not just originating from the same part of the world!). Motherhood was transformative for me too - in terms of my day to day life and career, but also in my world view and interests. How are you finding Instagram now you've been on there for a little while?
I’m enjoying playing with it right now! Just trying things out and seeing what happens. I’m testing out lots of your tips and tricks and I’d love to do one of your Instagram for writers courses a little further down the line 🥰
Ohhh I don't know if I'm needed more here - one of things I miss most about teaching in schools how tangible it was that I could be helping make people's lives better. I suppose I still am doing that in some ways but it doesn't feel as profound! That said, I totally agree - once a teacher, always a teacher. I can't help myself lol!
so nice to meet you! I am writing about life in New England, travel, family, motherhood! Food and drink! just pinned my hero post and am working on my cape cod travel guides.
I love this post and reading all the replies. I'm typing this from my sofa in my house in amongst all the trees in Ilkley, the moor a few minutes walk away. I live here with my husband, two of my children (the eldest is at Northumbria Uni) and another teenager who needed a home and support while they do their A Levels. Then there's our ageing yellow labrador Bella and the three chickens. I've been helping businesses to communicate for most of my working life, other than a short lived foray into being a SEN Teaching Assistant which was cut short when we moved up here. I've been writing for me for a few years now after a particularly difficult time in forties. My parents and grandmother died in 2015 just a few months apart, my sister and I had breast cancer a few years apart, we relocated twice in three years due to redundancy and I had chronic fatigue. I write to clear my head, relax my shoulders and move through life more freely. I write 'Gently Does It' here where I share my reflections on trying to live a gentler life and I have a memoir project on the go. I love words - reading and writing, I love ambling on the moor, I also love my new part-time job in our local Oliver Bonas because it gets me out of the house. I work with fab people (customers and co-workers) and the interior of the shop is like a shot of vitamin D!
Hi Harriet, Thanks so much for this gorrrgeous introduction to you. Life sounds like it has given you a really tough time but maybe things are starting to look up? Long may it continue. When I read that you live in Ilkley I was reminded of my dad who like to sing "Ilkley Moor baht 'at" when he's had a few drinks - I have no idea why, we're from North Staffordshire!!
Hi Nicola! I was also pointed somewhere completely different before motherhood. But I quite like where the shift has taken me. Since my four year old was born I’ve had a lot more clarity on what felt important for me (as I have so much less time to do it.)
I’ve self published my first book, Discover Your Creative Ecosystem. It was inspired by the fact none of my previous (read: perfectionistic & rigid) approaches to creativity were serving me. I also started making and exhibiting conceptual art. And I have three other books coming down the pipeline: a picture book about neurodiversity, an creative mother anthology, and a fantasy novel (taking it very slow on that one, but it’s been a joy to revisit fiction.) I have a few other projects as well. Moving between them seems to keep me in creative flow.
I love your posts and approach. So nice to meet you and connect here. 💫
Motherhood was completely transformative for me - I often say, only half-joking, that is radicalised me. I love that you have multiple projects on the go at once and that moving between them keeps you in creative flow. I sometimes feel guilty (is that the right word?) for at times choosing to work on a short story rather than finish my novel manuscript (which has been in progress for over three years) but you've given me something to think about here. Maybe I need these creative breaks to give my novel time to breath and stretch... I certainly feel like every time I return to it I edge closer to making it something I can be proud of... Something for me to think about - thank you!
Hi! Love the idea of not letting your job title define you! I’m a journalist/ copywriter natch, mostly covering all the good things in life: travel, trains, food, art, music, dating, museums and galleries etc.
So let’s see... I’m something of a flaneur, poser, lover of laboured dad jokes and puns, gin and rum drinker, phone addict, animal and nature lover, lazy hiker, social media obsessive, bad photographer, indie snob, twitcher, occasional mod, railfan but not a trainspotter honest!
All the essentials right there (although I had to look up what a flaneur... now I have, I approve of this use of your time ;-) - job titles are so boring. This is a much better way of introducing ourselves. WELCOME!
Hi Nicola, I remember now reading this, that I heard you on Penny's podcast and thought you were brilliant.....I was at work and promptly forgot to follow you up so I'm glad now our paths have crossed again.
I'm a full time dog walker but have been doing that really as a means to work around my children who are now nearly secondary school age. I'm a solo parent so wanted something flexible that I could control a little bit. My pre-children life was in mentoring and horticulture (a funny mix) working with disabled children mainly.
I'm an older Mum, having just turned 50 (actually I've just realised I'm 51 next month....that flew over 😭) so I'm hoping to reduce the walking, my knees are not enjoying it, and write more about nature as a therapy, the benefits of nature, why we need nature in our lives and other personal stories etc.
I'm on Instagram but am struggling to bring in the nature when some people are still expecting dogs from me, also I did a reel about the Beatles Now & Then song and it went viral (for me!) so that got me more followers, but my only connection is that I'm from Liverpool....a lesson learned that I should only post what's really relevant to what I want to talk about 🙈! So I'm a bit confused about Instagram at the moment (also I hate doing video), difficult to know what to focus on next on there. My handle is @sarah.marles, and I'm on Substack as the same. I'm very new here but enjoying it so far.
Hi Sarah, and welcome! I'm so pleased you found me again! I loved doing that podcast with Penny - she's brilliant and such a generous person. Re. changing the focus of your account, it does take a little time to shift focus as your followers won't see every post, so I wouldn't worry too much. You could do an announcement post that you pin to your profile for a little while, so that people get the right message about who you are when they visit your page, and current followers can understand why your content has changed. You might even like to revisit this idea once a month for the next few months... And yes, that lesson about going viral not being everything its cracked up to be is one I return to time and again - how brilliant that you've literally lived it! PS I've just seen your top reads of the year - some absolute corkers in there, I wonder if we have similar taste!
Ah yes, the Beatles reel is a lesson learnt, although I do love the song and am still in awe at it's brilliance (all these decades later, I'll always be a John Lennon fan).
Thank you for your advice, I will pin a post about the change of focus, that's a great idea.
Yes I was an avid reader/ listener in 2023, long may that continue. I only have time to read what I'm really in to which is non- fiction nature writing/ memoir. I'd love to read more but just don't have the space in my schedule. Glad we have similar taste, I'll be sure to keep tabs on what reads you're talking about.
Hello, Nicola! I come from a family of teachers, though I'm not one myself, so every sympathy. I retired from my secretarial/admin role last year after having a bit of a melt-down and really wish I'd done that sooner! Um, the retiring bit, rather than the melt-down bit, though I suspect they're two sides of the same coin ... Anyway, I'm a multi-genre writer with a focus on gay and women's fiction, and I love gardening, crosswords and the theatre. Though not all at the same time. I'm currently editing my latest women's fiction novel which I hope to publish at some point this year, and my Instagram handle is @annebrookebooks - all best to you, and thank you for the great advice.
Hi Anne, thanks so much for joining me here, and WELCOME! Yes, teaching is an IMPOSSIBLE job but this tends not to be a commonly held opinion, apart from in people who have loved/ lived with/ worked as a teacher! What is your novel about (haha I HATE that question - tell me the themes, if that's easier ;-)? And are you looking to self-publish? I'd love to hear more about that decision, if you are.
Thank you, Nicola! Yes, my mother was a Special Needs teacher for many years and LOVED it. She also taught English to a lot of the Vietnamese Boat people who were refugees in the 1970s and who ended up on the Essex coastline. To this day, she's never told me some of their stories, which were horrific, as for refugees everywhere, and she even now gets Christmas cards from the families whose parents/grandparents she taught! The novel I'm editing is called Three Perfect Gifts and is about three women who meet during an accident and form a very unlikely friendship which helps all of them in the problems they face. Yes, I'll be self-publishing as usual, and have done so since my US publisher retired in 2016. I really like having the independence that gives me. xx
ooh maybe one day we could arrange an Instagram Live or something similar and we could talk about your experiences of self-publishing. Is that something you'd be interested in doing?
Gosh, that sounds very technical to me as an Instagram novice, but if I know what to do to get to the Live version, am happy to give it a go at some point, thank you! Mind you, I only ever publish on Amazon and sell very few copies of anything LOL, so that may not be what you need? Anyway, hugs for the week to you! x
Hi Nicola, I'm excited to hear more after seeing your posts on Insta. I'm well into writing a Napoleonic-era historical novel (tragic love story) and my socials are in their infancy. It's more than three years in the works and only on its second edit, so you are doing better than me on that front. In terms of what I used to be (love that), I'm a former lawyer who left that world when my neurodiverse son was in high school. I'm intrigued by the control that self-publishing offers, but I'm not sure about it, and whatever route I pursue, my goal is to build a community without getting caught up in a lot of the negative aspects of the social media world. I look forward to reading your newsletter! @kellyscarb
Hi Kelly, and welcome! Thanks so much for introducing yourself. I'm enjoying finding out about the people joining me here in this corner of the internet, and our various paths to where we find ourselves now. In my 'old age' (I'm 43) I'm embracing the evolutions that life involves in contrast to the certainty I had in my 20s. I love what you say about your goal being to pursue community - these social media platforms and their cultures will try to convince us that growth and big numbers are the Holy Grail but I'm with you - it's all about the connection ❤️
Hello! I am Cressy McLaughlin, I am an author of contemporary, often cosy romance books, including a series set in Cornwall called the Cornish Cream Tea series. I have been writing full time for the last seven years, and I absolutely LOVE it. Instagram is definitely my favourite social media platform, because it's fun and creative and, certainly in my little corner of it, seems to be a really positive place. I want to do more with it, be more innovative and use more of the features, and I also want to be better at reels. I feel like my reels are so clunky, but I like the possibility they have, and want to be able to create reels that feel fun and interesting. I also just want to be better at engaging with the community on Instagram. I have peaks and troughs of being really inspired and into it, and then my brain feels empty and I have no idea what to post. I am @cressmclaughlin on Instagram.
Dear Nicola, you know me a little already (thank you so much for sharing about my writing course!) but I am introducing myself here to say hi to the rest of the Too Much community. I'm Huma Qureshi, author of the novel Playing Games, the short story collection Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love and the memoir How We Met. I have a lovely little newsletter list (off Substack) called Dear Huma, and I also have a Substack celebrating Alice Munro called Reading Alice & Others, and I teach online writing courses via my website also.
I've joined Too Much because publication has really taken its toll on my confidence and that in turn has really affected the way I use Instagram (ie, now not at all) whereas once upon a time I genuinely enjoyed it. Where once I gained followers easily now I lose them every single time I post and my account hasn't grown for over a year if not longer. I really struggle with self doubt and therefore also self promotion, and I'm here for some gentle encouragement to not be so scared about it all. My instagram handle is @humaqureshiwriter and I'd love to connect with any fellow uncertain and slightly shy authors too x
Thank you for the lovely introduction Nicola, it’s nice to find out more about you.
I’m very excited to join the TMI community. I’m a newbie to Instagram and only just started posting recently. I want to use it to help promote my Substack newsletter ‘The Hobblicious Chronicles’ which is all about my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis and all the jazz that comes along with that! https://janeharrison.substack.com/.
My Instagram handle is @ms_hobblicious where you can see me having a stab at it!
Jane 💛
Hello. I'm a newbie in the adult short and steamy romance industry, starting out by posting chapters bi-weekly/monthly on Ream starting sometime next month. I indie pubbed two YA novels in the early 2000's, but have been reading adult romance for over 30 years and decided to dip a toe in the Sexy Pool. I don't have an IG handle yet for my author persona, but the issue I'm going to have with posting is finding the motivation to do so. I know I'm going to need to find readers, so I plan to use it as a way to drive traffic to my Ream page. I just don't know what that looks like. I joined in the hopes of getting ideas that I can use that will appeal to my personality.
Hi fellow Nicola! We have other similarities - I'm a former teacher (lasted 13 years!) of music and English, lived in London until 2020 (yes, that year), married for nearly 7 years after 15 years with my partner.
I'm a reluctant Instagram user - I joined when I left Twitter, but never really got going with it. I don't know if I will use it to find more readers; the posts I write were originally intended to be added to my website, but it was only joining Substack that motivated me to start writing them, and I feel they will have limited appeal!
Hi Nicola, welcome! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to see your comment - sometimes the Substack inbox isn't the most helpful thing! I'm really curious about what your posts are about and why you think they'll have limited appeal - often it's just about finding the right corner of the internet to hang out in! I look forward to seeing you more on SS and Instagram
Hi Nicola: I have two IG accounts. My personal and my writer one. I will share what I wrote as a preview of my coming Substack attraction 😉
https://substack.com/@janinevicicampbell?r=ez84n&utm_medium=ios
I need a creative outlet for all the buzzing around the event horizon that is my life at the present here and now. As you can read in my bio, I have many interests, so contrary to what the super duper substack honcho recommendation is, I will not limit myself to just one subject. Like a mini magazine, I will write shortish op/eds about my passions, my loves, my life as an expat in #Floriduh🐊 But for the time being, to start with, I will be publishing bi weekly, depending…
Will also share my Speculative Fiction short stories that are part of my Circadian Tales anthology. I’ll even share carefully curated recipes of the locations said tales take place in, hoping their flavors and aromas mingle with my words to create a vivid picture in your mind.
In the English Literature world, Speculative Fiction is usually based on real events, a memoir most likely, but it’s up to you the reader, to speculate if it really happened the way I narrate it. It’s the real translation for Realismo Mágico. The only difference is that for my people, it’s normal. We are infused with this reality from our mother’s milk. When such magic happenings occur, we just shrug it off and say… “de que vuelan, vuelan” meaning our apparitions, witches, ghosts, or even our cockroaches, fly.
So there you go.
Sometimes I will publish in Spanish, and the section will be called “Con EÑE”
Thanks, Janine
This sounds amazing - I'm fascinated by the different threads of your online presence and creative work, and also the ways in which they might overlap and feed one another! Welcome to TooMuch!!
Graaacias!!! ❤️
Such a lovely introduction Nicola! I’m Océane. I’m a spare time artist with big dreams and one of them is to write. I studied Screenwriting at Uni, failed at it, tried to write short stories and failed at that too. I’m in Lucy’s hype yourself membership and have been thinking about writing on Substack for a while - just need a little push. I’m @papergraphie on everything.
Hi Océane, and welcome to TooMuch (and Substack!). I love Lucy Werner's SS - one of my faves - is that how you found me? Will you be sharing any of your short story writing on SS or focusing on something else? And fwiw I don't believe any writing is ever a failure because every time we write something we're honing our craft and developing our voice ❤️
Hello, I’m from Staffordshire too! Although I live in Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) now with my small son and husband. I’m a doctor, and I also experienced a huge shift with motherhood - in many ways I feel it’s brought me back closer to my truest self than I have been in years. I love being a mother, but I love medicine too, and I love the excitement of discovering and exchanging ideas, of lively conversation with likeminded people. It is a struggle for me at present trying to find a way to combine it all, but I have faith that I will, ultimately.
I have been a reader since the beginning of time, and have kept journals on and off for almost two decades. Now I am working on a memoir of my year of pregnancy. I discovered substack via Tanya Shadrick’s project, and decided to start writing here myself and exploring the platform only a month or so ago. Having never really used it much before, I was inspired by you to play around with Instagram too. I’m zks_writing there.
Zofia
Hi Zofia! Gosh so much here that resonates with me (not just originating from the same part of the world!). Motherhood was transformative for me too - in terms of my day to day life and career, but also in my world view and interests. How are you finding Instagram now you've been on there for a little while?
I’m enjoying playing with it right now! Just trying things out and seeing what happens. I’m testing out lots of your tips and tricks and I’d love to do one of your Instagram for writers courses a little further down the line 🥰
If I may say, one never stops teaching. We only move to different subjects.
And the Universe simply shifted you to where you were needed more. :)
Ohhh I don't know if I'm needed more here - one of things I miss most about teaching in schools how tangible it was that I could be helping make people's lives better. I suppose I still am doing that in some ways but it doesn't feel as profound! That said, I totally agree - once a teacher, always a teacher. I can't help myself lol!
Just another blogger turned Substacker here! ;) Instagram @kristenluiso. Would be great to connect!
so nice to meet you! I am writing about life in New England, travel, family, motherhood! Food and drink! just pinned my hero post and am working on my cape cod travel guides.
Hi Kristen, nice to meet you! What are you writing about?
I love this post and reading all the replies. I'm typing this from my sofa in my house in amongst all the trees in Ilkley, the moor a few minutes walk away. I live here with my husband, two of my children (the eldest is at Northumbria Uni) and another teenager who needed a home and support while they do their A Levels. Then there's our ageing yellow labrador Bella and the three chickens. I've been helping businesses to communicate for most of my working life, other than a short lived foray into being a SEN Teaching Assistant which was cut short when we moved up here. I've been writing for me for a few years now after a particularly difficult time in forties. My parents and grandmother died in 2015 just a few months apart, my sister and I had breast cancer a few years apart, we relocated twice in three years due to redundancy and I had chronic fatigue. I write to clear my head, relax my shoulders and move through life more freely. I write 'Gently Does It' here where I share my reflections on trying to live a gentler life and I have a memoir project on the go. I love words - reading and writing, I love ambling on the moor, I also love my new part-time job in our local Oliver Bonas because it gets me out of the house. I work with fab people (customers and co-workers) and the interior of the shop is like a shot of vitamin D!
Hi Harriet, Thanks so much for this gorrrgeous introduction to you. Life sounds like it has given you a really tough time but maybe things are starting to look up? Long may it continue. When I read that you live in Ilkley I was reminded of my dad who like to sing "Ilkley Moor baht 'at" when he's had a few drinks - I have no idea why, we're from North Staffordshire!!
Hi Nicola! I was also pointed somewhere completely different before motherhood. But I quite like where the shift has taken me. Since my four year old was born I’ve had a lot more clarity on what felt important for me (as I have so much less time to do it.)
I’ve self published my first book, Discover Your Creative Ecosystem. It was inspired by the fact none of my previous (read: perfectionistic & rigid) approaches to creativity were serving me. I also started making and exhibiting conceptual art. And I have three other books coming down the pipeline: a picture book about neurodiversity, an creative mother anthology, and a fantasy novel (taking it very slow on that one, but it’s been a joy to revisit fiction.) I have a few other projects as well. Moving between them seems to keep me in creative flow.
I love your posts and approach. So nice to meet you and connect here. 💫
Motherhood was completely transformative for me - I often say, only half-joking, that is radicalised me. I love that you have multiple projects on the go at once and that moving between them keeps you in creative flow. I sometimes feel guilty (is that the right word?) for at times choosing to work on a short story rather than finish my novel manuscript (which has been in progress for over three years) but you've given me something to think about here. Maybe I need these creative breaks to give my novel time to breath and stretch... I certainly feel like every time I return to it I edge closer to making it something I can be proud of... Something for me to think about - thank you!
I forgot about Insta! Mine is: https://www.instagram.com/sarahdshotts
Hi! Love the idea of not letting your job title define you! I’m a journalist/ copywriter natch, mostly covering all the good things in life: travel, trains, food, art, music, dating, museums and galleries etc.
So let’s see... I’m something of a flaneur, poser, lover of laboured dad jokes and puns, gin and rum drinker, phone addict, animal and nature lover, lazy hiker, social media obsessive, bad photographer, indie snob, twitcher, occasional mod, railfan but not a trainspotter honest!
oh and I’m bipolar too, so there’s that.
Anyway nice to meet ya!
All the essentials right there (although I had to look up what a flaneur... now I have, I approve of this use of your time ;-) - job titles are so boring. This is a much better way of introducing ourselves. WELCOME!
Haha, glad you approve!
Hi Nicola, I remember now reading this, that I heard you on Penny's podcast and thought you were brilliant.....I was at work and promptly forgot to follow you up so I'm glad now our paths have crossed again.
I'm a full time dog walker but have been doing that really as a means to work around my children who are now nearly secondary school age. I'm a solo parent so wanted something flexible that I could control a little bit. My pre-children life was in mentoring and horticulture (a funny mix) working with disabled children mainly.
I'm an older Mum, having just turned 50 (actually I've just realised I'm 51 next month....that flew over 😭) so I'm hoping to reduce the walking, my knees are not enjoying it, and write more about nature as a therapy, the benefits of nature, why we need nature in our lives and other personal stories etc.
I'm on Instagram but am struggling to bring in the nature when some people are still expecting dogs from me, also I did a reel about the Beatles Now & Then song and it went viral (for me!) so that got me more followers, but my only connection is that I'm from Liverpool....a lesson learned that I should only post what's really relevant to what I want to talk about 🙈! So I'm a bit confused about Instagram at the moment (also I hate doing video), difficult to know what to focus on next on there. My handle is @sarah.marles, and I'm on Substack as the same. I'm very new here but enjoying it so far.
Lovely to reconnect again, glad I found you 😁.
Hi Sarah, and welcome! I'm so pleased you found me again! I loved doing that podcast with Penny - she's brilliant and such a generous person. Re. changing the focus of your account, it does take a little time to shift focus as your followers won't see every post, so I wouldn't worry too much. You could do an announcement post that you pin to your profile for a little while, so that people get the right message about who you are when they visit your page, and current followers can understand why your content has changed. You might even like to revisit this idea once a month for the next few months... And yes, that lesson about going viral not being everything its cracked up to be is one I return to time and again - how brilliant that you've literally lived it! PS I've just seen your top reads of the year - some absolute corkers in there, I wonder if we have similar taste!
Ah yes, the Beatles reel is a lesson learnt, although I do love the song and am still in awe at it's brilliance (all these decades later, I'll always be a John Lennon fan).
Thank you for your advice, I will pin a post about the change of focus, that's a great idea.
Yes I was an avid reader/ listener in 2023, long may that continue. I only have time to read what I'm really in to which is non- fiction nature writing/ memoir. I'd love to read more but just don't have the space in my schedule. Glad we have similar taste, I'll be sure to keep tabs on what reads you're talking about.
Hello, Nicola! I come from a family of teachers, though I'm not one myself, so every sympathy. I retired from my secretarial/admin role last year after having a bit of a melt-down and really wish I'd done that sooner! Um, the retiring bit, rather than the melt-down bit, though I suspect they're two sides of the same coin ... Anyway, I'm a multi-genre writer with a focus on gay and women's fiction, and I love gardening, crosswords and the theatre. Though not all at the same time. I'm currently editing my latest women's fiction novel which I hope to publish at some point this year, and my Instagram handle is @annebrookebooks - all best to you, and thank you for the great advice.
Hi Anne, thanks so much for joining me here, and WELCOME! Yes, teaching is an IMPOSSIBLE job but this tends not to be a commonly held opinion, apart from in people who have loved/ lived with/ worked as a teacher! What is your novel about (haha I HATE that question - tell me the themes, if that's easier ;-)? And are you looking to self-publish? I'd love to hear more about that decision, if you are.
Thank you, Nicola! Yes, my mother was a Special Needs teacher for many years and LOVED it. She also taught English to a lot of the Vietnamese Boat people who were refugees in the 1970s and who ended up on the Essex coastline. To this day, she's never told me some of their stories, which were horrific, as for refugees everywhere, and she even now gets Christmas cards from the families whose parents/grandparents she taught! The novel I'm editing is called Three Perfect Gifts and is about three women who meet during an accident and form a very unlikely friendship which helps all of them in the problems they face. Yes, I'll be self-publishing as usual, and have done so since my US publisher retired in 2016. I really like having the independence that gives me. xx
ooh maybe one day we could arrange an Instagram Live or something similar and we could talk about your experiences of self-publishing. Is that something you'd be interested in doing?
Gosh, that sounds very technical to me as an Instagram novice, but if I know what to do to get to the Live version, am happy to give it a go at some point, thank you! Mind you, I only ever publish on Amazon and sell very few copies of anything LOL, so that may not be what you need? Anyway, hugs for the week to you! x
Hi Nicola, I'm excited to hear more after seeing your posts on Insta. I'm well into writing a Napoleonic-era historical novel (tragic love story) and my socials are in their infancy. It's more than three years in the works and only on its second edit, so you are doing better than me on that front. In terms of what I used to be (love that), I'm a former lawyer who left that world when my neurodiverse son was in high school. I'm intrigued by the control that self-publishing offers, but I'm not sure about it, and whatever route I pursue, my goal is to build a community without getting caught up in a lot of the negative aspects of the social media world. I look forward to reading your newsletter! @kellyscarb
Hi Kelly, and welcome! Thanks so much for introducing yourself. I'm enjoying finding out about the people joining me here in this corner of the internet, and our various paths to where we find ourselves now. In my 'old age' (I'm 43) I'm embracing the evolutions that life involves in contrast to the certainty I had in my 20s. I love what you say about your goal being to pursue community - these social media platforms and their cultures will try to convince us that growth and big numbers are the Holy Grail but I'm with you - it's all about the connection ❤️