### Make money doing the work you believe in

Start your SubstackLearn more

### You made it, you own it

You always own your intellectual property, mailing list, and subscriber payments. With full editorial control and no gatekeepers, you can do the work you most believe in.

Start your SubstackLearn more

### Great discussions

Join the most interesting and insightful discussions.

### AËLA's writing

You are allowed  
to not be there yet.  
To rewrite the text  
four times  
before sending it.  
To show up  
not knowing  
if anyone will speak to you.  
To be in the middle  
of something  
that has no shape yet.  
The pressure  
to have arrived  
before you have begun  
is not ambition.  
It is the algorithm  
speaking  
in your own voice.  
The rough edge  
is not something  
to smooth away.  
It is the only part  
that is still  
entirely yours.

— AËLA

### Related notes

#### poetryinpieces._

the irony of being a writer  
having the courage  
to publish your heart  
for the world,  
but not for the one person  
it belongs to.