Episode Details
Back to Episodes👋 The Privilege of Leaving Social Media — Being a Working Writer & Valuing Art with River Selby
Description
“My constant longing to be without social media is actually a longing to be in deeper connection with the world.”
River Selby was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. They worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, and their debut memoir, Hotshot: A Life of Fire, was published in 2025 by Grove Atlantic.
Today, River joins me to talk about the realities of being an author from a working class, no-safety-net background — and how that has shaped their relationship to social media.
Together, we explore:
- The gifts (and perils) of refusing to niche down
- How to quit performing & projecting on social media
- What to do when compare & despair becomes unavoidable
- How financial insecurity might impact your social media options
- Why many authors have to hire publicists (but we couldn’t afford to)
- Ways social media impacts your financial well-being
- Why we have to stop commodifying books
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!
✨ Ready to finally figure out relationship marketing & affiliates? Join my friend, Janna Carlson, on Monday, June 22 from 12:30–1:30pm EDT for a workshop: Your 2026 Referral Partner Playbook: Strategies that Work NOW.
FREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK
❊ Protect Your Magic from Katherine de Vos Devine
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❊ FIRST RUN from Karly of The Public Run Club