{"id":6303,"date":"2026-03-31T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/31\/write-of-passage-create-deliver-disappear\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-create-deliver-disappear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/31\/write-of-passage-create-deliver-disappear\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: Create. Deliver. Disappear?"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6303-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/192692240\/bf21b92d8952a5a9000a93dacbb6ac43.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/192692240\/bf21b92d8952a5a9000a93dacbb6ac43.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/192692240\/bf21b92d8952a5a9000a93dacbb6ac43.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p><strong>Time is spinning. Faster than truth. Faster than publishing. Faster than we can think.<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"vanes-2842752516\" class=\"vanes-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 2px;margin-right: 2px;margin-bottom: 2px;margin-left: 2px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\" aria-label=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1706&ssl=1 1706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1365%2C2048&ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"569\" height=\"853\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>Half the workforce is going gig\u2014but writers? We were the prototype.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now AI wants in, the rules are changing, and the question isn\u2019t <\/strong><strong><em>can you write<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s <\/strong><strong><em>can you survive the revolution?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Create. Deliver. Disappear?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Time keeps spinning.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lately? It feels like it\u2019s whirling faster than any of us can keep up with.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I saw an article last week\u2014data pulled from Statista and reported by Fast Company\u2014that said by 2027, 86.5 million people in the United States will be freelancing, That\u2019s over half the workforce.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Half.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Half of American workers won\u2019t have a steady paycheck or dedicated pension. Half will be finishing one job while waiting and watching for the next.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Half will be part of what they call the \u201cgig economy\u201d . But as I look around. The gig isn\u2019t just coming. It\u2019s here.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As I chat with friends, I think we can commiserate. We are the original gig workers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We write a thing\u2014out of nothing but imagination, research, and discipline\u2014and then we send it out into the world. Sometimes directly to readers. Sometimes to agents who sell it to publishers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>No matter the distribution, at the core, it\u2019s the same model:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Create. Deliver. Hope it sells. Do it again.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sound familiar?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nonetheless, something feels different right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Time itself feels different.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s March 31st, and I swear January was just yesterday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was hawking Fire Sword and Sea- and folks don\u2019t forget about it. I need your bookclubs to pick it up and discuss. We still need revolution.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The air of oppression is the only thing that\u2019s not speeding up. Anxiety has us constantly scrolling, looking for endless updates, the noise\u2014wars, prices rising and Druski sketches. People are stockpiling water. And everyone\u2019s trying to figure out is it Ai or truth? Where do we get news from. Substack? YouTube? TikTok? If it\u2019s IG how do you fit all in 60-second posts?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Everything is whirling, spinning faster.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And layered on top of that acceleration is AI.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What was supposed to be a technological revolution.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With Hachette pulling the novel <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.millersbookreview.com\/p\/bookish-diversions-use-ai-lose-your-book-deal-maybe-more\"><em>Shy Girl<\/em><\/a> from publication because of AI editing\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>and New York Times parting ways with a Gig Book Reviewer \u2014<\/strong>who used AI to help write a review that inadvertently borrowed elements of a Guardian review<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/06\/books\/review\/watching-over-her-jean-baptiste-andrea.html\"> of \u201cWatching Over Her\u201d by Jean-Baptiste Andrea<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The AI revolution is feeling a little French, as in the French Revolution. It\u2019s chaos with forces pushing to AI &#8211; I\u2019m looking at you Grammarly and Microsoft Copilot, And other forces trying to shame you for em dash usage\u2014 it\u2019s chaos.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Authors, like many other Gig workers are frightened.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s just say it plainly.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Many of us have had our work scraped, borrowed, absorbed into systems we never consented to. And while companies like Anthropic have at least begun conversations around accountability and repair, the larger landscape still feels unsettled.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Unclear.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And very unstable.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But\u2014life keeps moving.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So here we are, at the end of the first quarter, and I have to ask you\u2014and myself:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you accomplished what you thought you would this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m sitting here thinking about everything that\u2019s happened already with Fire Sword and Sea, how many of you made sure it wasn\u2019t drowned out. They\u2019re are more events happening. April 11th, Come to <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conyersbookfestival.org\"><strong>Conyers Book Festiva<\/strong><\/a><strong>l. April 12th, meet Michigan at the <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/author-talk-vanessa-riley-digs-into-historical-fiction-with-ebony-evans-tickets-1982836199449\"><strong>Detroit Public Library<\/strong><\/a><strong>. All my friends and GM buddies come on out.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You will never know how good it feels when readers show up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>There is joy in that.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Real joy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And I\u2019m grateful.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Truly.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But I would be lying if I said there wasn\u2019t also fear, that the gig I love keeps evolving.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We are living in a time where storytelling itself feels contested.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>There is pressure on what stories get told.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pressure on whose histories are preserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pressure on whose voices are amplified\u2014or silenced.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And publishing, like every other industry, is trying to find its footing in shifting political, cultural, and economic ground.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which means writers\u2014especially emerging writers\u2014are asking:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Is there space for me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Will my story be welcomed?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Or will it be turned away before it ever has a chance to live?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I think about the next generation a lot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Are they being nourished?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Are they being encouraged?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Or are they being pushed out by chaos, by confusion, and systems that don\u2019t yet know how to hold onto them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>These stories don\u2019t just disappear.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>They get lost. And when they get lost, we lose pieces of ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So what does this all mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We\u2019re back to where we started.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With the gig. And a marketplace that\u2019s getting more crowded as we all become gig workers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Writing has always been uncertain.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Always.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>There has never been a guarantee that the next book sells. That the next contract comes. Or that markets will hold.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This isn\u2019t new.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s intensified.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So what<strong><em> happens if the book gig dries up?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s a real fear I\u2019ve been sitting with.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Luckily, I\u2019ve done indie publishing and tech startups. I know what it means to build something from nothing. To pivot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m working on my next book with my eyes on other lanes\u2014screenwriting, content creation, serialized storytelling, digital platforms\u2014those are new gigs that haven\u2019t been fully explored.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But all this writing, book adjacent gigs require the same things:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Adaptability.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clarity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And the AI that was supposed to save time, is out there with a wrecking ball.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>All the noise is exhausting.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And I just want to write.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To sit with a story. To shape it. To honor it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Not chase algorithms or decode platforms or constantly reposition myself in the marketplace.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To keep calm and carry on, I:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Find time for devotion.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Find time to learn something new.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Research questions and time periods and people that touch my heart.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m not so good at limiting scrolling.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But when I do I engage, I find trusted content creators.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And friends, I\u2019m not bereft. Each day, something good always happens.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A reader posts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A message comes through.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Someone is smiling, holding one of my books\u2014or a book by one of my peers\u2014talking about how it made them feel seen, understood, entertained, transformed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in that moment, I am the luckiest gig worker in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s book list is all about the hustle and the AI times.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9781250097903\"><strong><em>Gigged<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> \u2013 Sarah Kessler &#8211; A clear look at what gig work <\/strong><strong><em>actually<\/em><\/strong><strong> means\u2014freedom vs. instability.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9781580911863\"><strong><em>Sister Outsider<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> \u2013 Audre Lorde &#8211; Why voice, truth, and storytelling are always political.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9781636795645\"><strong><em>One and Done<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by Frederick Smith &#8211; One prime target for gig work, a consultant, and a university administrator  try to find that forever thing, but might end up one and done.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And some Preorders:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9781400354399\"><strong><em>Writer in Residence<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by Rhonda McKnight &#8211; A blocked writer retreats to the Lowcountry to reclaim her voice\u2014and rewrite her future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9781420154870\"><strong><em>A Deal at Dawn<\/em><\/strong><\/a> coming June 31, 2026 &#8211; The Duke of Torrance and Lady Hampton have to find new spouses, and definitely not each other, not again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Consider purchasing these books plus <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/20190\/9780063271043\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong> from Baldwin Books or from one of my partners in the fight<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>, bookstores<\/strong><\/a><strong> large and small, who are in the trenches with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>, under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Enjoying these essays? Go ahead and like this episode, share, and subscribe to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage<\/em><\/strong><strong> so you never miss a moment.\u201d It\u2019s time to getting ready to write the next book, I\u2019d love to take you behind the scenes and maybe you\u2019ll write one too. Keep listening.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for listening. I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-3125088159\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time is spinning. Faster than truth. Faster than publishing. Faster than we can think. Half the workforce is going gig\u2014but writers? We were the prototype. Now AI wants in, the rules are changing, and the question isn\u2019t can you write\u2026 It\u2019s can you survive the revolution? Create. Deliver. Disappear? Time keeps spinning. Lately? It feels [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,793,9,620,756,694],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-politics","category-recommended-reading","category-syndication","category-technology","category-tv-and-film"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f88423cc59bc94ea6dfe099081512a32-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}