Where to for Struggling?
Decision time
I started writing to clear my head when my stress was off the charts during the lockdowns.
The pub was closed, I was trying to rebuild Alfred, trying to study computing with the kids at home, and I had no back-up career.
I didn't know what to write about so I just wrote about whatever, which helped clear my head and feel I’m discovering my writing voice. Things I couldn’t have done without your support, as I doubt I would have kept writing had you not kept reading.
From sharing my mental health struggles in retirement, to my thoughts on the state of Rugby Union, I’m absolutely loving writing, and have come to the conclusion that I’m going to keep it up.
I feel I’m just getting started and have a long list of things I want to write about, but I need to figure out how my writing will fit into my life, and where I should take it.
But getting up at 4am to write before the kids wake is becoming unsustainable, so I’m considering turning on a paid subscription option for those who want to support me to write more.
My main articles will always be free, as I want to help more people who are struggling with their mental health and self-esteem like I did. But I need more time to write, as I feel what I’m producing is rushed.
I'm also excited about the future of Rugby in Australia and want to write about it more, so if you were to pay between $6-8 per month for a paid subscription to Struggling, what would you expect?
Huge thanks to those of you who’ve already pledged a subscription via Substack's pledge feature should I turn paid subscriptions on. Your support and willingness to invest financially in my writing gives me the confidence that I can make something of this, and help more people who are struggling as I did.
Thanks for reading.
If you're writing about rugby get The Roar or G&GR to throw you a few bucks. You aren't just some random punter so worth it from their POV. Even if it's just a hundred bucks for 1000 words. The Roar would also do some editing on it as well!
Right now with inflation and cost of living it could be hard to get people to fork out for a subscription. Would Kofi or something similar work where people can support with one off donations when they can as well as a sub if they can afford it?
In terms of what I'd expect from paid content is (a) regular schedule of publications and (b) a good active discussion thread including yourself. You already do (b) but you'd need to figure out your content plan. E.g. Monday is the "Weekend Dump", Wednesday is a shifting topic week to week and Friday is "Check Out" to reflect on the week gone and weekend ahead.
You writing about rugby, could be the voice that helps lead the sport out of the doldrums!