Busy, Busy, Busy!
The sound of crickets can be calming in some circumstances, but in others, it’s a sign of uncomfortable silence.
I suppose in the case of this blog, the sound of crickets may have left you wondering, are we going to get anything new here?
Short answer: “Yes.”
Long answer: Life has been happening lately. My wife recently had surgery and then promptly got sick. One of my sons got sick and missed an entire week of school (with only two weeks of school left – I’ll let you decide whether that’s good or bad).
I’ve been trying to get caught up on narrating Paul Thompson’s third book, Dance of the Nutcracker. I feel like I’ve been hitting one roadblock after another. You know the sickness I mentioned? Well, it came with loud hacking and coughing. I can’t hit record if there’s loud coughing every few seconds just on the other side of the door. And now, to top it all off, I’m getting sick.
In the meantime, I’ve decided to focus my efforts on writing short stories for my new publication on Substack, which, if you haven’t been over there to check it out yet, I really encourage you to do that. Substack is a place for you to share your thoughts, stories, essays, photos, videos, podcasts, etc., and it gives you the opportunity to be paid by your readers. The platform itself is free. It’s a pretty sweet deal. Now, it’s not a full-blown website builder like WordPress is, but in my opinion, it hits the highlights.
For the last month or so, I thought I was going cancel all other social media and even this website and focus 100% on my new Substack publications. Now? I’m not so sure. I know I’m not going to close any accounts, but for many of them, I may simply be absent most of the time. When I say, “I’m not so sure,” what I don’t mean is that I’m not sure about Substack. I’m actually very excited about that. I’m just not sure that I’m ready to completely pull the plug on what I’ve built here on WordPress. Although I have a very small number of people that follow what I write on WordPress, it actually comes down to an economic decision for me. You see, I’ve invested nearly $100 in this site this year, and it isn’t due to renew until February of 2024. I’m not sure that I want to let more than six months of my WordPress benefits go to waste.
That means I need to make a decision. But I don’t need to make it today.
One option is to post essentially identical content on both Substack and WordPress. But, as simple as that may sound, that’s a bit more work than I really want to do. Both platforms have certain idiosyncrasies, meaning I’ll need to tailor each post for each site individually. Arg! My goal is to make things simpler, not more complicated! See my dilemma?
Another option is to transition my WordPress site from being a blog about everything to a site more focused on my Photography.
It’s not an easy decision to make. I’ll be thinking it over during the next six to eight months. I don’t want to be constantly changing the format of my blog. I want to decide what makes the most sense and then stick to it.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. What would you do if you were me?
Interested in seeing what Substack is all about?
Hang with me here for a moment. Am I trying to get you to leave WordPress? No, not necessarily. That’s a personal decision that you will need to make on your own. But I will tell you that on Substack I’m getting all of the benefits of blogging without the pricetag. Oh, and there are no advertisements. None. That’s one of the main reasons I pay nearly $100 each year here on WordPress. If I pay, there are no ads shown on my site because it’s important to me that when you come to my site, you see my site, not ads. I know that there are cheaper tiers on WordPress that also eliminate ads, but I wanted the benefits of the more expensive subscription tier. But hold it! Pause. Stop. So far, I don’t feel like my Substack experience is missing anything. So, should I really be paying someone else for something I can get for free elsewhere? Seems like a no-brainer.
OK, enough of that.
I want to give you a little sneak peek at what I’m working on over on this Substack thing I’ve been going on and on about.
I give you…
From The Artifact’s About Page:
About The Artifact
The Artifact is a collection of original short stories written by me, David Sheley, your Museum Director. I am a husband and a father of three. I love to practice photography, creating stories, and giving voices to my characters and those of others.
As a story for The Artifact is completed, or as a segment of a serialized story is completed, I will post it to the Current Issue. The Artifact will initially be a bi-annual publication, so at the end of June, all of the stories written so far this year will be accumulated into an “Issue.”
All stories in the Current Issue will be available to read for FREE. Once an Issue is closed for printing, the stories will be archived. Archived stories will be available to Paid Subscribers. I will also create eBook and Print Versions of The Artifact (see Subscription Details below).
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.
Why Call it “The Artifact”?
I want you to imagine that you are an archeological researcher in the early to mid-nineteenth century. We’ve set up our camp in the deserts of Egypt, and we’re following a cryptic lead in search of ancient treasure. Suddenly, your shovel hits something hard in the sand.
You’ve just taken the first the first step toward uncovering something of massive proportions. With each shovel full of sand, your excitement builds. Finally, you are standing in the doorway to an ancient library. The scrolls, books, and documents within seem to be from another time and another place. You carefully select a piece of paper from one of the thousands of shelves. This particular artifact seems to tell the story of a race of winged creatures that sought to enslave humanity. What other stories will you discover within the walls of this ancient place?
Subscription Details
What Do I Get for FREE?
- All stories in the Current Issue sent directly to your email inbox
- An eBook Version of The Artifact, twice per year
- Once in July (contains stories from January through June)
- Once in January (contains stories from July through December)
What Do I Get with a Subscription?
- All FREE benefits, and:
- Access to all of the stories in the Archive
- An Economy Print Version of The Artifact
- This will be a 6 x 9-inch softcover book
- Follows the same release schedule as the eBook
What Do I Get if I Subscribe as a Fellow?
- All FREE benefits, and:
- Access to all of the stories in the Archive
- A Premium Print Version of The Artifact
- This will be a 6 x 9-inch hardcover book
- Follows the same release schedule as the eBook
Stay up-to-date with my nonsense by subscribing to my email list. By subscribing, you’ll receive email notifications when a new post is available. You can unsubscribe at any time (but I hope you don’t).
Can you believe it’s May already?!
You may have seen a notification from me elsewhere explaining that I’ll soon be focusing (nearly) exclusively on my Substack content. I am truly grateful to everyone who has been following my journey here on WordPress over the past couple of years. I would be honored if you would head over to davidsheley.substack.com and subscribe to my newsletter. Initially, it will be the same content as you see here, but as I make the transition, I will allow my WordPress site to fade into the background as my Substack publications come online. If you’d like to know more about what this Substack stuff is all about, drop me a comment, and I’d be happy to tell you more.
The Nutcracker Trilogy
I will continue to shamelessly promote these books because I’m so excited about being a small part of Drosselmeyer’s journey. If you’re new here, let me encourage you to check out The Nutcracker Trilogy by Paul Thompson. All three books are available in print and as e-books. Books one and two are available as audiobooks, narrated by yours truly. Click the links below to explore.
Oh, and it doesn’t have to be Christmas for you to enjoy these stories (just like it doesn’t have to be Christmas to enjoy Harry Potter).
Apple Books / Apple Audiobooks / Amazon / Audible
Want to see what else I’m up to?
If something you’ve read here on my website has piqued your interest, click the link below to see all the places you can find me. Granted, I take every opportunity to point people to this site, but I encourage you to explore my links.
David Sheley 