Six Months on Substack
The journey so far & what's coming next...
It’s been a very busy week for me on Substack. I went live three times (with Nick Pero, with Sarah Levis, and on the Tell Me No Lie livestream with Nieta Greene.) I also wrote a guest post for Flare and Flair’s 5 Questions With… series, and Friday marked my 6 month milestone of posting on Substack.
If you haven’t had a chance to read my guest post for Flare and Flair’s new series, you should check it out. I discuss the reason behind the title of my Substack publication, common misconceptions about accessibility, and what I hope others will take away from my writing. Though this is only the first guest post I’ve written on Substack, it’s my intention to collaborate with other writers across Substack through more guest posts, participate in more Substack Lives / podcasts, and generally do what I can to get my name and writing out into the world. If this is of interest to you, please reach out.
If you’ve been following my writing here over the last few months, you know that I’ve also launched my Disability Unfiltered series, which runs until the end of July. If you didn’t know, July is Disability Pride Month. I used to think disability pride meant I had to be proud of my disability. Instead, what I’m realizing is that disability pride is about not apologizing for who I am. It’s about saying “Yes, I’m disabled, and I belong here.” It’s realizing I deserve to take up space. It’s having the courage to exist fully, unapologetically, and without hesitation.
My goal with my Disability Unfiltered series has been to highlight other disabled writers on Substack. As Nieta Greene and I discussed on Friday night’s Tell Me No Lie livestream, there is no Disability category on Substack, so it’s my hope through the series that not only will other disabled writers be able to more easily find each other’s writing, but that others will learn that disability is diverse and a normal part of the human experience.
If you were to tell me six months ago that Trailblazing with CP would become what it has on Substack, I wouldn’t have believed you. And yet, here we are. I’ve connected with so many amazing people, grown stronger in my writing, and found a community of disabled creatives and other writers I can’t imagine life without.
And you may be asking “So Amelia, what’s next?”
I’m glad you asked.
As it turns out, I’m toying with two different ideas for a new series. The first is a look at Parenting with a Disability. Not only am I a parent with a disability, but my son also has a disability (autism). There are plenty of publications out there focused on parenting kids with disabilities, but what does that look like when a parent is disabled too? I hope you’ll tune in once that series kicks off later this fall. My second idea for a new series is a look at Disability in the Workplace. In addition to being disabled myself, I also work in the accessibility field, and I feel it would help others to not only know more about the accessibility field, but also what it’s like to be a disabled professional within the accessibility space.
I’ve considered making my upcoming series’ only available to paid subscribers. However, I also firmly believe in educating as many people as possible about disability inclusion, parenting with a disability, and what being disabled in the workplace actually looks like. In addition, I want to do what I can to make disability awareness accessible to everyone, and that means keeping the large majority of it free. On the other hand, I’ve also considered opening up a Substack chat specifically for paid subscribers to ask accessibility questions, but I don’t know if there’d be enough interest in it (but I’m open to your thoughts/suggestions).
My first six months on Substack have been truly incredible. Over the next six months, I hope to bring you a more behind the scenes look at living with a disability, parenting with a disability, and what it means to be a disabled employee in today’s workforce. I hope you’ll not only join me for the ride, but be open to sharing this publication with anyone else you think might enjoy it.
If you’re interested in collaborating with me in some way or you’d like to interview me via Substack Live or podcast, please reach out.
Congratulations on hitting the 6 month mark!
I love your writing so much and I can’t wait for your new series to begin.
Amelia, this six‑month reflection is such a clear picture of what happens when someone shows up consistently and writes from lived experience. I especially appreciated your framing of disability pride as “not apologizing for who I am” — that line landed with the kind of quiet truth that stays with you. Your plans for the Parenting with a Disability and Disability in the Workplace series feel like exactly the kind of conversations people are hungry for but rarely see handled with nuance. Congratulations on six months of building something meaningful here. I’m looking forward to what comes next.