Get over yourself
Recently, I've noticed an uptick in conversations around 'content.' Too many creators want to decide what should be called content and what shouldn't.
Most comparisons stem from a sense of self-superiority on "the process" one has, before one publishes or creates.
The complaint is usually one or the other variations of the following -
"I do thorough research before putting out anything";
"I don't like my content being edited for Instagram posts";
"I don't like creating just to post on Instagram" or (repeated like a broken record) "I don't like my work being called 'content.'
As someone new to publishing things I create, the gripe above sounds meaningless. It sounds like that alternative/indie movie actor waxing eloquent about "method acting."
Why do I say meaningless? Because it reeks of the obsession with how something is labeled. If your "process" is so wholesome, shouldn't your worth be tied more to it than the labeling or packaging it goes out with?
Shouldn't the majority of your satisfaction revolve around the places you get to because of your process?
The obsession with labeling also puts you as a creator higher up in the hierarchy than what you create or the process you took to get there. It says my feelings about how my work is perceived are superior to the creation.
And I sense that if a work is of superior quality, it will connect with a reader, viewer, or listener. The labeling it arrives in will not matter.
As a content consumer, I want the creator to trust me with discernment of why some writing or music is just better than the rest in that category. People know.
But I reckon losing the obsession with any labeling requires one to lose any and all self-importance. You are just a medium.