The Valley of Disappointment
That hunts every writer
We show up, we write, we publish, we polish our templates, we schedule our Substack posts, we noodle around in Notion. (Personal experience).
And nothing happens.
Not a tiny blip on the chart. Not a little bump. Not even a pity like.
This is the valley of disappointment from the super bestseller book Atomic Habits. Yeah, everybody has heard of that book. I know.
James Clear basically says habits grow like compound interest, but results don’t show up on day one. Or week one. Sometimes not even month six.
Which makes the whole thing feel pointless, even when it’s working under the surface.
For online writers like us, this valley is the entire first chapter of the job.
Why this valley hits writers hard
Writers and creators not only fight lack of results, but we also fight context.
• Our work is public.
• Our stats are public.
• Our self-worth sometimes quietly hitchhikes on the dashboard of Substack or Medium.
• And in the early months, that dashboard is colder than a German Altbau hallway in January. (Trust me).
The valley of disappointment is basically the part where reality refuses to reward us, even though our effort is real, and our inputs are consistent.
The timeline of progress
Progress is not linear. That b*tch.
We put in effort, then… nothing.
We put in more effort, still nothing.
Then one day the line shoots up like it forgot it was supposed to be depressing.
When we map this to writing online, it looks like:
Month 1: Oh nice, 5 readers. Two friends and three bots.
Month 3: Why am I still doing this? Also, why did the bots unsubscribe?
Month 6: A tiny spike. No clue where it came from.
Month 12: Suddenly people call us “consistent”.
Month 18: People act like we appeared out of nowhere.
Month 36: Overnight success…
What’s happening in the background is compounding.
Compounding requires time spent when nothing seems to be happening. And everything sucks.
This doesn’t apply to only writing. It’s every good habit we want. Fitness. Health. Weight-loss. Work. Learning.
This matters even more in a writing business
The valley hits real hard when we’re monetizing with:
• Substack paid tiers
• Medium Partner Program
• Digital products on Gumroad
• Coaching or consulting
• SEO-driven blog traffic
• Affiliates
Everything we build in this space relies on a body of work. And a body of work takes long.
The early stage of a writing business suck.
I am in year 5…
Most creators bail too early
The valley feels like evidence that we’re doing something wrong.
We’re probably not.
The creators who break through are not the most talented or the most strategic.
They’re the ones who tolerate the longest window of no visible payoff.
Anyone can write three posts.
Anyone can post a week.
A few can write a year.
Almost nobody writes for two years straight without applause.
That’s why the ones who do end up winning.
What this looks like in practice for writers like us
1. Substack grows in plateaus
We might get 2 new subs one week, then 40 the next, then 0 for 50 days. This is normal. The graph lies to us often.
2. Medium recommends slower but more steady
Most writers who earn well on Medium wrote through a long silently depressing stretch.
3. SEO takes forever
SEO is basically the Valley of Disappointment in search. Google will index your work. Eventually. Maybe. If it’s in the mood.
4. Digital product success lags behind audience growth
People need to trust us before they buy. That takes months or years.
5. Social media ignores us
The algorithm is allergic to new faces, it seems like.
The trick that gets me through it
I stopped thinking in outcomes. I think in systems.
Not “did today bring results?” But “did today add one piece to my catalog.”
One post.
One idea.
One paragraph.
One useful template.
One new place people can discover us.
The Bottom Line
The valley of disappointment is tough. Hence… the name.
It’s the invisible phase where all future growth is forming underground. And we just need to keep going.
Every writer, blogger, newsletter creator, and digital product builder moves through it. Most quit inside it.
Some keep going. And win.