Episode
👋 The Privilege of Leaving Social Media — Being a Working Writer & Valuing Art with River Selby
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3494
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- http://offthegrid.fun/shownotes/river-selby
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Summary
“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 ! FREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK ❊ 10 Ways to Market Your Healing Business When Money & Time Are Scarce from Andie of Spiral Tending ❊ Simple Tech Stacks Field Guide from Heather of Small Business Rodeo ❊ Soulpreneur Corner from Julia Kyambi ❊ More free resources from Close Biz Friends! 🌟 Join COME TO CLASS — a 3-day intensive on how to teach online with confidence & care. Rescheduled for June 4th, 5th & 6th. Learn more & sign up here: https://softersounds.notion.site/come-to-class