Something Creepy This Way Comes

Also, Medium updates and “new rules”

Image of me, age 47, by Brian Limoyo

When I hired the talented, kind, gracious Brian Limoyo to take pictures for my brand and business this month, he had his work cut out for him.

For one, I have a major aversion to getting my picture taken — a story wrapped up in anorexia recovery and ongoing body dysmorphia. It’s a whole thing, and one I talk about on Medium and even more intimately (if you can believe it) in my newsletter.

But also, I’m like: “I cringe at having my picture taken and especially my face. How about you shoot this shape instead?”

Upon seeing the shot (pictured above), Brian was like: “Um, that’s creepy.”

Yeah, kinda is.

Thank you for helping me through this photo shoot, Brian! Wait until you see what I pull next time!! Also, that was clickbait…

Now, about Medium.

Here’s the thing. I don’t love Medium anymore. I do adore a handful of writers here (maybe two handfuls). But otherwise, the platform hasn’t been the best fit lately.

Why? It’s not you, it’s me.

When it comes to writing, I’m working on a Big Thing. That’s my priority, and glimpses of it find their way here.

More of it finds its way to my Substack newsletter. More still is being worked through on my laptop — a special, separate laptop that I purchased exclusively for that purpose. Thank you, Tony Stubblebine, for the final nudge:

In praise of single-purpose devices.

When it comes to paid writing, more specifically (which is not the same as my Big Thing), I make far more as a copywriter and ghostwriter than I do on Medium.

Depending on the client, that currently looks one of two ways:

1. I sit down and ghostwrite a blog post every other week. Less than 1,500 words and two hours later, I’ve made $363 USD (which converts to even more in CAD and arrives via direct deposit like clockwork, every two weeks).