I’m creatively empty — and I’m now at peace with that
There was a time, in 2014, when a full-time writing career seemed possible. My pieces were garnering tens of thousands of views, established writers and quasi-famous people were reaching out with kind words about something I had written, I was being interviewed as a talking head, and I was taking meetings with outlets about joining their teams. I had other very cool opportunities. The money just wasn’t there, and once I learned the economics of writing online I doubted it would ever be there, but I still had dreams…
It wasn’t a pipe dream and it wasn’t necessarily an attainable goal. It hovered somewhere between the two.
Then, something happened.
The attention economy changed. The internet changed. The way people consume content changed, especially the way they read (they don’t; they watch videos). The algorithm changed. My readership changed. I changed too — I moved away from my primary niche (hip-hop) and even my secondary niche (NBA) to write about other topics. This made me happier creatively, but almost certainly less successful.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 