Shellshocked Turns One: Happy Birthday to My Newsletter
What you read, what you skipped, and one post that blew up on Threads
A year ago I started writing on the internet for no money with no audience and no particular reason to believe that would change. A year later, I have slightly more audience and still no money. But I also have almost 100 published posts and a much clearer picture of what this thing actually is.
The most-read posts from year one:
Four out of five are about women being told how to feel about something—work, their bodies, their interests, their grief—and pushing back. The fifth is me hate-reading Elizabeth Gilbert so you don’t have to.
The least-read posts from year one:
Not every book review can be a ten-hour Elizabeth Gilbert takedown, I guess.
What the numbers told me
We Don’t Owe You an Explanation outperformed my average post by 800%. Eight. Hundred. Percent. That is legitimately crazy. It blew up on Threads. Turns out women are pretty tired of being asked to explain why they like things. I guess the lesson here is, if you’re thinking about writing an anthropological study on why women love Heated Rivalry, maybe... don’t.
The least-read posts taught me to be pickier about which books I choose to review on Shellshocked. I read a lot of genres, and not all the random niche interests I have are going to hit with a wider audience. Apparently not everyone wants 2,000 words on a nonfiction book about the invention of reality TV. Who knew?
The stuff that seems to resonate most is either cultural criticism about the things women are expected to quietly tolerate, or book reviews that dig into something bigger than the plot—work that hollows you out, privilege that goes unexamined, the performance of wellness as a substitute for actually being well. That’s where the energy is. I’m paying attention.
Year two and beyond
If you’re not already following me on Instagram and Threads, come find me. I’ve been putting a lot of energy into building both accounts, and I’ve already connected with so many incredible women (and some great men!) over there. I post daily about midlife, books, and whatever else is on my mind—it’s become its own little community and I love it. Plus: you’ll get pictures of my cats.
As I head into year two on Substack, I’m excited. I know more about what works, I know more about what I want to write, and I know that the people who show up here actually want to be here. That matters more than any stat. I still cannot figure out how to successfully use Notes, but you can’t win ‘em all.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Thanks for being here.
Congratulations on one year of writing, Shelly! I first discovered you through your excellent deep dive into Lee Tilghman, so I'm wholly unsurprised to see that was one of your top posts. I can't wait to see what you cover in this next year.
Congratulations on your one year anniversary! 🥳