Shifting gears

& why I'm refunding and ending paid subscriptions

Hi all, and apologies for the radio silence on Substack. Lately, I’ve been quietly but drastically rethinking how I work. Writing will always be my first love, but honestly, I’m burnt out on being a content machine. I’ve been writing non-stop for 15 years, and as a lifelong freelancer who would never again go back to a corporate 9–5, I see the digital media landscape shifting in ways that doesn’t make sense to keep chasing.

It’s time for me to jump ship.

That doesn’t mean I’m quitting altogether. I’m still pitching to editors I have relationships with, working on book-length projects, and telling the stories I genuinely care about; it just won’t be the primary way I make a living. And to be honest, even with the autonomy of this platform, I still felt the pressure to constantly churn out ideas. I had paused paid subscriptions to give myself breathing room, but somewhere in that quiet, I realized: I don’t have the heart to recommit.

I’ve discovered that making things that exist in the real world is what makes me happiest. My first cookbook, Made in Taiwan, was the most difficult project I’ve ever taken on. Sleepless nights and me losing it in the kitchen and questioning my own sanity for nine straight months. But it was also the most rewarding : a tangible, physical artifact of research built on on-the-ground reporting, and meticulous recipe work. I feel that same pride for my second cookbook which is coming out next fall.

In this noisy world of hyper-short videos and AI slop, being behind a physical product helps me feel grounded. So last summer, when I was brainstorming how I would pivot away from depending entirely on digital media for my primary source of income, I came up with this: I’m going to sell a physical product. And then — I’m going to sell soy sauce. And I am.

Introducing HEYDOH. Single-origin soy sauce from Taiwan. One month in, and we’re already in 20+ boutique stores. It’s been surreal and I’m honestly really enjoying the journey.

In a way, it’s more work than ever before, and I’m not at all divorced from grind of content production. I’m still churning out scripts and social media reel ideas, but unlike pitching and writing one-off articles to big media, which often felt like being stuck in the doldrums, there’s real momentum and excitement in the consumer product space. Doors are opening quickly. Opportunities are flooding in. It’s like finally getting out of an abusive relationship and seeing what a healthy one looks like.

To my paid subscribers: I’m sorry for not meeting the mark. I’ve issued partial refunds to everyone to make up for the months I didn’t deliver. I’ll still write here from time to time, but only when I have something worth saying.

Thank you for sticking around and for reading. I’m still writing, just not in the same way, and I hope you’ll come along for the slower, quieter version of it.