No one cares, and that's a good thing!

When I talk to creative people, I love seeing and hearing and reading examples of their work of course! Doesn't everyone? But if you notice, a lot of creative people are very wary of posting stuff online. They have normal, rational anxities:

• What if it's not good enough and everyone hates it?
• What if they then proceed to tell me that?
• What if I forget that I posted it and people find it 6 years from now when my actually-amazing-and-good-enough work is gaining traction?
• What if someone tries to steal it?

I've been posting online for over 20 years and I am here to tell you the terrifying, yet liberating news: no one cares, and that's a good thing!

If you wait 10 years or 10 minutes to post something creative that you spent 8 months or 8 hours on, it doesn't matter. No one will see it besides the 14 people that you send it to, only 5 of them will actually click, and only 1 of them will sit with the piece for more than 20 seconds. None of them, none of them, will share it with their own friends. It will not go viral. The 5 people that clicked it will say "Wow, that's cool!" and maybe ask "Did you make this in ?" and that's it.

This is the lesson I've learned, and it can feel deflating and demoralizing and a bunch of other de- prefixed words. But here's why it's a good thing.

What happens to bands after a hugely successful debut album? They get boxed in, right? This is the Sophomore slump: their next album has to be better, but different, but similar enough, etc. People start hanging labels on them. They're a "metal band" or a "new wave pop project" or whatever. They have an attractive lead singer. They have a great drummer. Whatever it is, that album, that artifact, is now fully baked and delivered. It is fossilized in the public mind and can never be changed, and it has established a reputation and expectations for the artist, for better or worse.

When you post your songs and music and other creative output online and no one hears it? You retain your freedom. It's disappointing that you didn't hit it big, but that was never going to happen overnight. More importantly, you shipped. Maybe you're using the the chain method? You've got another x to put on your calendar. Maybe you're trying out a new approach, or a new genre? You've proven that you can do it, you've finished it and made it public.

Listen, I'm not selling a course. I'm not trying to convince a generation of creative people to open their eyes and blah blah blah. From twenty years of experience, I'm telling you that you will find out for yourself that no one cares and that's a good thing, maybe not until you touch the hot stove yourself.

But here's a hypothetical: Is it better to wait 6 years and publish 10 things that no one cares about? Or to publish something every 6 weeks and start to realize the fact for yourself, draw strength from it, and come out swinging?