You are not a fraud

And hopefully I'm not, either 😳

So I have an orange check mark next to my name now. I guess that means I’m a Substack bestseller?

Except I’m not. The check mark is entirely thanks to SmallStack, which I love deeply and work hard for, AND SmallStack is made possible by a whole team of beautiful, hard-working people. It isn’t fully mine in the same way Creative Letters is mine.

I don’t feel like I’ve earned this check mark. In fact, I’m having some serious Imposter Syndrome about it.

So today’s letter is as much for me as it is for you:

Wherever you are in your creative journey, you are not a fraud.

You are not a fraud if you just started writing on Substack and only have 5 subscribers (4 of whom are family members).

You are not a fraud if you’ve been on Substack for years and still haven’t hit 100 subscribers.

You are not a fraud if you have thousands of subscribers who love and support your work.

You are not a fraud if you have an orange check mark, even if you feel like you didn’t really earn it.

You. Are. Not. A. Fraud.

You’re something so much better. You’re an artist.

Obligatory disclaimer: I hope it goes without saying that you are not a fraud as long as you aren’t using Substack to intentionally mislead or literally defraud people.

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