Substack - what went wrong?

I was waiting for you all .....

Hello Wildlings,

I utterly love this photo - it was taken about 4 years ago after an exhausting couple of conference days - I was completely knackered but still quite playful - hence the photo. Now, I sit here feeling equally as exhausted but not very playful.

My exhaustion this time, comes from throwing one of those grapple hooks, the ones I wrote about in the last newsletter. I threw one towards you all, inviting you to the Storytelling Salon. I made it open to all of my subscribers, free of charge and then I waited

and waited

and waited

for the tug of response

for your lovely faces on the screen.

But the screen was empty, apart from one of my dear friends and someone he had invited.

This is me waiting for everyone to arrive, my backdrop up, my make-up on and joy in my heart!

It was a horrible feeling to be standing there with none of you present, yet I came away more confused than hurt. I think we always have choices regarding the story we tell ourselves in these situations. I really felt the problem was with Substack, (rather than me) and the way my newsletters arrive in your inboxes. I did not advertise the Storytelling Salon as a public post because it contained the Zoom link and was only open to my Subscribers. I asked some friends if they had seen the newsletter and a couple of them said the newsletters often go to their junk or that they do not read the newsletters, as much as the posts I put up here …..

It was, and still is interesting for me to think about how I made sense of this whole situation. I feel that in the past I would have taken it as a sign that I was a failure, or I had messed up somehow. Now though I experience it as a puzzle to be solved. There was no tug at my self-belief, only an interest in finding out why it had happenned.

So now I am a little unsure of how to invite you all to the Storytelling Salons that I am intending to organise. I am thinking I will have to export all of your emails and send you the link that way - so it doesn’t come from Substack, but directly from me, yet the whole point of Substack is to be a platform for writers to send newsletters! Argh! I do, really and truly want a way to thank you all for subscribing. I want to see your faces and hear your voices and also answer any questions that you may have for me. I want to share the power and potency of story with you all and the Salons would be a great way to do that.

So, I have a favour to ask. Can you let me know whether you read my newsletters that end up in your inbox, or do you mainly read the posts that appear here? That way I will know how to proceed. My self-belief is such that I am pretty sure it was a communication issue and not the fact that none of you were interested. I know you are interested otherwise you would not have subscribed to The Wildling’s Path.

I am going to try and organise another Salon, based on how you respond to this post. This time I hope many more of you will turn up. However, it will not be for a couple of weeks as I am away to this wonderful place called Noppikoski.

Isn’t it wonderful? The little cabin that we hire has no electric or running water, but it has a stream next to it and a cast iron stove that uses firewood. I will be there with my Love and my Beastie and with my gratitude for all of you who read my words.

Finally, whilst in the cabin I am also going to be rehearsing my new show Mythcelium. It is a powerful piece of storytelling that helps us to explore myths as a human mycorrhizal network. Within the show, I have woven three ancient stories that are powerfully relevant to us today. If you want to see it online, tickets are available and for those of you in the UK, I would love to see you at the venue IRL. Take a look here.

I now need to go and pack ready for the trip north. Please know that I will be carrying you all with me and for my paid subscribers can you PLEASE send me your addresses and I will post one of my DVD collections to you as a thank you, plus something a little special.

With curiosity, trust and hope.

Kx