It’s been thirty-four days since I slept in my own bed. I didn’t intend to be gone this long, I just didn’t know how easy it could be to peel dirty camp clothes off children and send them directly through a spin-cycle that spits them out thirty minutes later free of dirt and halfway to dry. I hadn’t considered that when grandparents are around to serve bowls of ice cream and squirt whipped cream into the open bird-mouths of my children, there’s the possibility of bike rides with the person I married and would still, most days, like to spend some time with. I didn’t pause to predict that sea air and sunshine and my own legs pumping the pedals of an old bike would give me the time and confidence to contemplate changing my entire business model; hadn’t quite calculated that the summer camp allowing me the quiet to figure it all out would cost our family less than half of the ones in the city.
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9 Comments
I think I understand your change in a business plan per starting to have paid subscribers.. we all need to have an income. I’m trying to decide about paying to read your newsletter; part of my hesitancy is that you very rarely post and your blog has not been consistent. I was wondering if you plan to write regularly since you’re going to a subscriber model.
Hi there! The choice is very much up to you and you’re welcome to sign up for a free trial or poke around the newsletter archive to get a sense of how often I’ve been writing, but yes, definitely, this is a switch that I’m hoping will allow me to spend much more time here and there! You can also cancel any time via Substack!
Gail, for what it’s worth, as someone who decided to subscribe, I’ve already found the content to be well-worth the price of admission 🙂
Me too! I was on the fence bc I have a lot of subscriptions that I read sporadically but I really appreciate your blog Erin! It’s an always read 🙂
Erin has been posting regularly on Substack, and it’s been so lovely read her voice and support her work. Highly recommend subscribing!
Are you no longer going to be at “reading my tea leaves” blog?
still working out the future of this place, but i think it might largely exist as an archive as i transition to the newsletter more full-time!
Hi Erin, I stumbled serendipitously upon your RMTL site just a couple years ago, and it is a treasure trove of heart and delight! I also understand the rationale for your new business model but think it would be such a pity to have RMTL largely exist as an archive. Is there a way that you can continue to provide newsletters directly from RMTL but *by subscription?” Or a way to link up RTML and Substack to work in tandem, such that RTML is your primary platform? When you announced your Substack, I thought of this topic of “tech independence” by Derek Sivers: https://sive.rs/ti#:~:text=No%20more%20subscriptions%20needed.,like%20learning%20how%20to%20drive. Seems like hosting your own server and email is indeed a huge feat; I, on the other hand, barely just know what “html” stands for :). In any case, I adore RMTL in any form and wish you the very best.
hi there! yes, been doing a whole lot of thinking about all of this! right now, it feels fairly cost prohibitive from both a maintenance and managing perspective but also from a tech perspective. as is, my hosting fees for this site are pretty significant and i frequently encounter server issues which makes things…complicated. feeling like this might be the best route forward for me, but not taking it without some reservations to be sure! thanks so much for your support and well wishes!
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