I’m used to the daily grind of hitting deadlines. On the page, I can knock out an op-ed, essay, or article with precision and always on time. What I struggle with is everything that comes after: making a video to promote it, staying present online, feeding the content machine.
These days, you’ve got to promote your work — and yourself — in every way possible. It’s an algorithmic jungle out there, and a machete to slash through the noise is mandatory.
And I’ll be honest — I struggle with that. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. It takes a different kind of stamina to be visible all the time. For people who live and breathe this stuff, it’s not laziness or luck that keeps them afloat; it’s discipline and emotional resilience. Every day, I look at my phone and wonder, What can I make a TikTok about?
Some days I do. Most days I don’t.
I have the discipline to be an everyday writer, not an everyday creator.
How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?
I suck at trends. I don’t know what’s happening half the time, and at 44, with gray creeping further into my beard, I’m not about to start dancing or doing skits. I don’t even like dressing up for Halloween. (No disrespect — I love the holiday, I just hate hot costumes.) I hate pop music, so that’s out. And like a pretentious dork, I read all the time, which means I’m always late to the conversation on what movies are popular.
But visibility is everything now. People want more opinions, more moments, more of you. And that’s hard for a lot of us. Being Chronically Online isn’t just turning on your camera and talking — it’s planning, curating, working. For the people who pull it off every day, I respect the hell out of it.
It’s like going to the gym, getting a killer workout in, only to realize you still have to walk home. You’re still getting in more reps with the walk, but damn, some air conditioning would be nice, too.
Even among content creators, many report spending 15–20 hours a week just producing and editing content — before they even touch promotion. The algorithm doesn’t care about your art; it cares about attention.
And now I’ve got to do this after I write something? It’s a test of fortitude, plain and simple.
Exposure Doesn’t Pay the Bills
Most of the time, I just want to write. But relevance has become its own hustle. I create content in the hope of meeting new people who might eventually check out my writing because they liked a particular take I had online. It’s a strange inversion: creating not for expression, but for exposure.
That’s the issue. I have no problem making something — but most of it’s just my hot takes. I don’t have the mind for anything else. I used to think it was easy. It’s not.
Writers, artists, and creators are now expected to be marketers, too. We spend our days posting, replying, captioning, clipping, editing — paying a creative tax just to stay visible. It’s emotionally expensive work in an economy where the currency is content. It can feel fake, forced, or draining, especially when all you want to do is make the thing, not sell it.
And yet, I get it. This is the game. The people who make it look effortless deserve more credit than they ever get. I think I’m faking it, okay. Everyone else? No idea. But they’re probably doing the same — figuring out how to push their passions outward. Because no matter how you slice the content cake, it’s the new economy.
The Creator Economy is Here
There are ways to make peace with the grind. Repurpose longform work into short posts — pull quotes, stats, quick rants. Batch your content so you’re not constantly chasing the algorithm. Use automation tools to stay engaged without being glued to your phone. (Insert shameless plug here.)
Most importantly, focus on community over virality. It’s better to matter to 500 people than to disappear in front of 50,000. The joy of creating is in the lack of guardrails — the freedom to make what you want, what represents you.
And for some of us, we’re just not used to being cool in front of the camera. That’s okay, too. At least I hit my deadlines. That counts for something.
Now, what the hell can I make a TikTok about?
