I quit my job to write. Here's a transparent pitch for support.
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Longer version: I quit my job to write about current events and history
My last day at the Embassy of Germany in Washington, D.C. was June 3rd. It had been five years writing public diplomacy for the Embassy and Ambassador.
I took the job after getting my MA in Political Communication at American University. I had dreamed of being a full-time YouTuber after grad school (more on that in a second), but my YouTube income was too inconsistent back then. I pivoted to searching for full-time 9-5 work after graduation.
As it turned out, the Embassy job was a dream too, at least at the start. I was hired on as Senior Press Officer (Social Media). The idea was to take German Foreign Policy and make it accessible online (and in English!). My daily work ranged from corny Facebook posts, all the way to sensitive Ambassadorial communications during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I got to use my love of German History, Democracy and Language while getting paid. So cool!
Like many, the 2020 pandemic was a moment of reflection and change for me. While I was enjoying the prestige and challenge of writing public diplomacy, I nearly burnt out that year. I was doing some of the proudest work of my life, like writing and editing a mini-doc starring the Ambassador on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of German Reunification. But while I put in lockdown overtime, my career with the Germans was already running out of road. Nicht gut.
That’s because as an American local hire (a non-German, a non-diplomat) my opportunity for advancement at the German Embassy was zero. This is the reality, though it sounds harsh: a local-hire position at a foreign Embassy is either a resume-builder or a dead-end. You are not allowed to move up the ranks; leadership roles are for the diplomats.
I was doing satisfying work, writing in the voice of a public official. But would doing this same work in the same position for the rest of my career really stay satisfying? On the many lonely long walks I took during 2020-2021 lockdowns, I realized the answer was ‘no’. I had to go.
And just so there’s no confusion: I’m thankful for my time at the Embassy. It was engaging, challenging, frustrating and fun. When it counted, the Embassy gave me stability. When I went through difficult times, the structure was there. When I needed medical leave for eating disorder treatment, I felt supported. When I announced it was time to say goodbye, the team rallied and wished me well. I am grateful.
So what would be next? A think-tank, a non-profit? Lobbying for German companies? A history phD? I spent a long time wringing my hands about what to do. Like, it was actually a couple years before I made a final decision!
In the end, I decided to go back to creating educational content online. Before I moved to Washington for grad school in 2017, before taking a job at the German Embassy in 2019, I had been uploading current event and history videos to YouTube.
I originally opened my account in February 2015, though it didn’t get serious until 2016. My YouTube channel is called ‘Exploring History with William C. Fox’, though a certain someone who I won’t name insisted on rebranding several times over the years: Political Junkie, The Exploration, The Exploration with William C. Fox…
The constant changing of my channel name was super dumb, but the content was not. The through-line over all these years has been to share my passion for current events and history; to at least attempt thoughtful analysis; to be generous with what I’d learned in undergrad, graduate school, years abroad and half a decade of public diplomacy.
I’ve covered American History and Politics, German History, the Haitian Revolution, Taiwan’s History, UK Affairs and Brexit, local Washington, D.C. History, Ancient Greek History, Russian History — on and on it goes. My curiosity is wide so my subjects are too.
Perhaps it’s been to my disadvantage that my content is relatively unfocused. Despite the clear through-line (current events through history), the actual uploads can cause whiplash: a video on DC riots in 1968, followed by a video on Chinese internet censorship, followed by a video on German Elections in 2025?!
“You’re all over the place, dude,” an author I interviewed told me. He was right.
But my videos reflect my passions, and I don’t apologize for it. Subscribing to me is subscribing to my train of thought, which dips from Thucydides to Tony Blair, and I don’t care.
Well, that’s a lie. I do care. In fact, now I care more than ever.
As I stated earlier, I left my job at the German Embassy in June. If it’s not already apparent, I did so to make a real effort at turning YouTube and writing into my career.
As of this writing, I still don’t know if it will work out. If you’ve ever taken a big career risk, you’ll know I’m feeling exhilarated and deeply puny simultaneously. Emotions are high, especially when they’re low.
So why did I bring my work on current events and geopolitics through history to Substack? Well, two reasons. First, I was told it was fun to write on Substack, that readers were more interested in substance than on traditional social media. That’s definitely true, and y’all definitely are.
But since we’re being transparent, there’s another big reason: diversifying my income as a ‘creative’. I met my newest buddy
, writer of through a YouTube Accelerator course. He told me great things about Substack, so I decided to finally give it a whirl.My only regret is that I didn’t come here sooner. Not long ago, I put out my first post, a meditation on citizenship after the election. I’ve been hooked ever since. Unlike on YouTube, as soon as I could compose my thoughts into words, I could share them immediately. There was no buffer time to shoot, edit, photoshop thumbnails, explore endless title variations - to play the ever time-sucking algorithm game. On substack, ‘think’ to ‘publish’ is more direct.
Though I am still in my ‘dabbling phase’ here on Substack, I know I will stay true to my interest: current events and global politics through history; I will stay true to my education/career: political science and philosophy, political communication, public diplomacy, public policy, history; And I will stay true to my life’s mission: putting good information into the world through storytelling.
And here’s the pivot…
One hangup I had on YouTube was getting the courage to ask my following for financial support. It felt ick.
But around the 50,000 YT subscriber mark, I took the plunge and asked for fan-funding. And it felt… ok. To my pleasant surprise, few complained - and more than I expected signed up to support.
In retrospect, my hesitation was silly: I was taking a ton of time to research, write, record and edit current event/history videos. What was the problem with asking those able to pitch in to do so? Paying bills was secondary - putting out good information through storytelling remained my guiding star. Therefore, I wasn’t violating my values.
And that remains true to this day. In fact, as you’ve learned, I’m so serious about creating education content, I quit my 9-5 job to pursue it full-time.
So now that all my cards are on the table and I’m feeling very exposed, here’s the ask: would you support my work here on Substack? My life’s mission is putting good information into the world through storytelling, and your support helps bring that mission to the public sustainably. If a values-driven minority chip in, the majority can benefit (and be exposed to values-driven content!).
If you decide the answer is ‘yes’, upgrade your free subscription to a paid one. If you make the move in the next week, you’ll get 20% off, forever. Here’s the link again, in case the embed below doesn’t offer the discount.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. If you’re able to support, amazing. If you aren’t able, please don’t worry. Take care of yourself and those you love.
Break a leg!