Everything You Make Has to Make Money
and other lies that capitalism told you
In the age of the gig economy, inflation, and side hustles ranging from selling your own digital planners on Etsy to shilling ceramics at the local craft fair, the romantic idea of BYOB (Being Your Own Boss) can quickly sour into into the tough reality of burnout and exhaustion. For those of us who make stuff, whether it's art, books “content," or create-and-ship products, the pressure to turn every idea into something that makes money often leads to a workweek that’s more mentally and physically demanding than any 9-to-5. Despite the flexibility and autonomy of working for yourself, the world of self-employment can be an easy breeding ground for burnout, fueled by the toxic culture of hustle culture and the iron grip of capitalist pressures.
As creators, we get into this work because we’re driven by passion and the desire to bring our visions to life (and, yeah, because we need to make money) Yet in our eagerness to turn our creativity into a reliable source of income, we often find ourselves caught in a hamster-wheel cycle of productivity. Rest? Who needs it when you’re doing something you love? The thin line between personal passion and business ambition blurs, and before we know it, every stroke of the brush, every word written, or every product we make is overshadowed by the pressure to monetize, monetize, monetize.
Hustle culture only exacerbates the race toward burnout. It promotes the idea that success is directly proportional to the amount of time and effort we put into our work, perpetuating the creeping myth that our worth is measured by our productivity. We internalize this narrative if it weren’t already buried deep in our synapses, pushing ourselves to the brink of exhaustion. After all, any pause in our creative endeavors is a setback, rather than a necessary part of being… human.
Not only that, but the mixture of art and capitalism can create its own set of challenges. Sure, we want to make a living doing what we love, but we also want to keep our art pure. It’s easy to end up compromising our creative integrity, tailoring our Substack posts or hand-thrown mugs to fit whatever stats told us the audience loved best, rather than sticking to what we want to make. Innovation and experimentation fall the wayside, leaving us feeling dried up and disconnected from what made us start on this creative journey to begin with.
So, how do we navigate this rocky landscape of self-employment without succumbing to burnout? We have to renegotiate the connection between work and success. We have to understand that our worth as creators isn’t solely defined by output or however much money is direct-deposited into our bank accounts.
Remembering the sheer joy of creation, without the pressure of making money, can reignite the passion and purpose that initially fueled our creative enthusiasm to begin with. Taking the time to dabble in projects just for personal fulfillment, without thinking about how you could stick on a price tag and sell it, too, can ease open some breathing room to care for and water our creativity without the straitjacket of the market.
You’ve been writing... and writing.
Filling your computer, or notebook, with half-formed essays and notes for a dream book that has yet to be written. You’re not sure know how to go about structuring, or writing, work that will one day land on bookshelves—a book that will grasp the hand of a reader who needs to hear your words.
But what you're doing isn't working.
You're one of the many brave writers living with limitations, who wants to write in spite of your circumstances.
But because your limitations won't be magically removed from your life, so that you can luxuriate before the typewriter and create to your life’s content—forever free of symptoms, inconveniences, and mean commenters on the internet...
Here's what has to change.
No more signing up for writing workshops here and there, more often than not never going over the recordings and notes once you’ve done it.
No more collecting books and resources on writing—so that your understand of writing and the publishing industry is hodge-podge and willy-nilly (much like the dish-ware selection at your local thrift store).
READY FOR YOUR LIFE TO CHANGE?
"Wanted to share I finally signed a publishing contract for my first creative nonfiction that deals with sexual trauma, hysteria & liminality! After struggling to find a publisher, there were three publishers offering me a contract. Thank you so much for your brilliant workshops!"
—Susannah H.
“[My debut piece in THE NEW YORKER is] about my experience with heart arrhythmias, and I don't think I'd have had the guts (or coping mechanisms) necessary for writing it without The Unexpected Shape.
Being a member of that community and hearing from speakers like Carmen Maria Machado and Suleika Jaouad taught me so much about sharing the painful, challenging moments of my own life—as did the courses you taught, Esmé, and your own book. I'm hoping to use this essay as the launch pad for a book on chronic illness, similar to The Collected Schizophrenias.
Again, thank you so much for creating a space to talk about our limitations, learn to live with them, and write alongside them. It's really hard being in a disabled/chronically ill body, but having other people who understand makes all the difference.”
—Lorraine B.