I Have a Branding Problem
Why does it still take me about 25 minutes to explain my writing career?
ANNOUNCEMENT
My semi-hiatus is over, billing has resumed and people can now become paid subscribers if they so wish! However, I have tweaked my benefits for paid subscribers—an annual practice that made me somewhat cringe, until I realized it was pretty standard for Substack users I admire LOL. The changes are a result of me realizing what brings most value to my readers, yes. They are also an acknowledgement that I can only do so much, especially given 2023’s current economic realities. Moving forward, paid subscribers get:
Full access to the archive. For free sign-ups, posts are paywalled after a year. Not for you special folk, though!
Subscriber-only posts where I share my accepted pitches, residency and intensive applications, query letters, LOIs, templates and other miscellaneous material that I used to get published. This is by far what most people want access to and, since they are sensitive materials and shit I worked really hard at, I think it is fair to put them behind a paywall.
A weekly, one-hour zoom write-in for paid subscribers only starting January 2024. I’ve been taking advantage of many of these from around the web and have seen my output increase quite a bit. It’s a way to make community too, see some of your lovely faces.
Other benefits coming in June 2024. Sorry for being so mysterious but I don’t want to get ahead of myself! There is some behind-the-scenes work I need to do before I can really show all my cards.
To celebrate the changes, I’m offering a 30% discount off annual plans until Tuesday, November 28. This is a 30% discount FOREVER aka if you choose to renew next year, your price won’t go up. I hope you join me in this newer iteration!
And if this displeases you greatly (or isn’t really what you’re looking for), here are easy-to-follow instructions on canceling your subscription.
Thanks once again for your support!
After my month of rest and relaxation, I returned to New York in chaos mode. Deprived of social interaction for most of September and October, my body threw itself into any party-adjacent activity it could find. Dressing up as a half-assed decorative gourd for Halloween. Attending one, two, three readings a week. Oversharing at a boozy craft circle. Realizing at least 50 of my closest friends are Scorpios and RSVPing yes to every single birthday celebration. Going on too many dates with self-described Kendall Roys. It was glorious and fun and messy and almost always rewarding except when it came to answering that constant question:
“What kind of writing do you do?”
It’s not that I don’t have a canned answer for such a circumstance. It’s that the canned answer always feels kind of small and limiting, both descriptive and prescriptive, slightly needy in its quest for validation, and exaggerated for how much I have yet to do, failed to do.
I know what most people want to hear about. The essays, the humor, the food writing, the interviews, those two novels that died in the query stages, the book I was hired to write, the poetry collection I co-translated. But then it’s assumed that is how I make my living and, friends, it is not. Most pay, but pittances. Some have paid through prize and grant money. Others have not paid one cent. And though I know—nay, it is VITAL— to separate my literary output from its monetary worth, I can’t help but want to be transparent about how I make most of my money. Because, at the end of the day, it I’m a buzzkill. The kind of person to ruin a party by bringing up colonialism as that meme goes. Not because I want to drag others to my misery, but because only feel empowered when I have access to accurate knowledge and want to share that with others. So much of writing in this current economic structure is still shrouded in a facade.
Therefore, I tell people everything I do to make ends meet. This month it included:
Writing pages and pages of web copy for a higher education marketing agency
Rewriting a commissioned piece for a consultancy
Translations for several non-profits
Spanish-language consultancy and translation services during recording sessions for an ad agency
Newsletter redesign for a higher education client
Interviews for a former client who wants me to revamp their company’s About page
The unpaid writing I did:
Pick at my potato essay
Write a first draft of a short humor piece
Send one pitch to a travel outlet
Other work I did to get more business:
Send introductory emails, so many introductory emails of potential leads
Send resumes/updated LinkedIn profiles for potential gigs
Try to revamp my marketing strategy now that Twitter is useless, Instagram wants video and TikTok scares me.
This is where those readers who have been following me since the beginning will yell out in unison, “JUST GET A DAMN WEBSITE!” I know, I know. Yet, I think one of the reasons why I’ve dragged my feet is because I do not know how to brand myself. CLEARLY. As described above, I do so many types of writing. Mainly because I’m not independently wealthy.
I also like writing many different things! Early on in my career, I was advised to pick a lane. Find a beat. Stick to a genre. It’s not bad advice. I think most people benefit from it. I probably would too. I can’t help but like trying out all the things. My main attachment style is a commitment to commitment-phobia. It is probably leading to some sort of financial ruin or at the very least a big delay in whatever career success I envisioned for myself LMAO.
At the end of the day, I know two things: I like words. I like stories. I like turning words into stories. The rest is just details.
Huh, maybe that can be my brand.
Homework
What is your brand? Does it matter? Do you need to revamp it?
State of My Wallet
October Invoiced: $8,561.56
October Received: $3,722.96
Chasing down payments. Delays in payments. Miscommunications. Processing errors. It’s been a bit of a shit show in this department, which truly makes me wonder if we’re all hanging on by a thread.
Progress Report
Pitches: 1
LOIs: 2
Commissions: 0
Residency/workshop applications: 0
Events submissions/requests (everything from readings to classes): 1
Contests: 0
Rejections: 1
Acceptances: 0
Total number of submissions for the year: 30
Total number of job-related applications for the year: 29
Last month, I mentioned how I was accepted into two residencies but had to say “no” to one due to conflicting dates. Well, lo and behold, they were able to offer me a one-week residency at another time. Yay! That means I have both the Wedding Cake and Sundress to look forward to in 2024. I was rejected for Peter Bullough, to keep me humble. I am officially done with residency applications for 2024 though I’ll probably apply to the Kenyon Workshop and Sewanee when those open.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Do you have residencies or workshops in your 2024 goals? I can help! I’m teaching a single-session course on writing the artist statement on January 11. I’ll also be teaching a one-night workshop on how to use reporting to shape your creative writing projects.
You can now pre-order Gabriela Mistral’s Desolación, the poetry collection I co-translated!
I have availability in 2024 (especially the first quarter) for new clients or projects. Hit me up! My services include content writing (articles, blog posts, web copy, newsletters), internal communications (toolkits, reports) and English<>Spanish translation and copywriting. If you’re an editor, my usual beats are food, culture and personal essays.
Find out what’s in store for 2024! My donation-based virtual Tarot card readings have officially re-opened and I’ve added more availability. The half-hour sessions are a great way to gain some insight into whatever pressing question you may have or to simply ask for a vibe check. I swear they are not scary at all—I am simply not that powerful lol—though a friend of mine did send in the following review: “Did y’all know that Ines diagnosed my entire love life?” Maybe I can diagnose yours too! Suggested donation is $30.00 but you can give as much or as little as you want. Books yours here.