[Landline] A pause

Just a note that I’ll be pausing Landline. Not sure for how long. For Landline’s paying subscribers, that means you won’t be billed until I start posting again.

I’m pausing because over the last few months, I haven’t been posting as often as I’d told people I would, and when I do post… well, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a positive response. On the one hand I want to be bullheaded and just do my thing, whatever that is, and if people enjoy it, great. Whatever. But there is another hand, which says… waitasec, how is a hand speaking?… anyways, on the other hand, I am interested in being of use to folks, with whatever skills/energy/time I have left in my middle age, and perhaps those could be better employed elsewhere/elsehow than sending occasional emails into the generally indifferent Void.

Also, frankly, and perhaps more to the point… I feel like I really don’t have a good handle on what people… need? want?… from Landline. Which, absent something I feel super-compelled to throw out there, leaves me day in, day out, week in, week out wondering what would work for Landline, what would connect, what would be of use, what would be off-putting, what would be too much, what would be too boring, etc. This constant wondering, this constant indecisiveness, turns into fretting and brooding, and for my wee little brain, is seriously fatiguing.

When I started Landline a few years ago, I liked having it be super-open, whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it, within reason, watch me skip carefreely through the tulip fields, doodle-do. In the last few months, that’s become an approach that is clearly not working for me from a writing/amplifying/distributing point of view.

And it’s not working on the $$$ front either; as of this minute, Landline has 4,835 subscribers, but only 193 pay anything at all for it. What that says to me is Landline is just not worth much — okay, actually, it’s literally worth nothing — to most folks. I’m not giving almost all of y’all what you’re looking for when you signed up for this thing, or when you got grandfathered in from the old Arthur Magazine email list…which makes me feel less than good.

Further, because this is Substack, I can (kind of) see what links people are clicking on, too, and even there I’m constantly seeing a lack of enthusiasm — or even curiosity — for what to me is so clearly intriguing or exciting or of use. Maybe I’m being too lazy, not “selling” stuff enough, especially given all the noise and promotion that everybody gets clogged with…? Well, that, of course, is on me, not on Landline readers. But I may be past the point of going on and on about stuff I’m into as I did many years ago during my freelance writing days…

In any event… diminishing returns have set in! I need to do a major re-think of what I’m doing with this here Landline. That might take five minutes, five hours or five months. I appreciate your support, your patience, and any feedback/critique (public or private!) you wish to share.

all the best,

and yippie Katie Hobbs!,

Jay Babcock

Arizona