Great information, but @substack, I’d love to hear a similar piece from someone who writes fiction or poetry.
It’s easier to understand how Katelyn grew so quickly, she was a health professional during a pandemic (this is not to take away from her accomplishments at all).
I'm really glad that Katelyn is right at the top of the Science category on Substack. This is a time when scientists in general and those working in healthcare in particular are getting truly nightmarish amounts of abuse flung at them - which Katelyn just wrote about: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/harassment-against-scientists-is - so it's heartening to see this kind of mass-support of medical science when it's being delivered in such a compassionate way.
it is just so sad how she doesn't even look at any thing outside the mainstream narrative. sadly she probably convinced a lot of people to take the clot shot
Such great advice here, not just for Substack, but for life: "Be consistent. Always show up. Let your voice and personality bleed through." Thanks for sharing, Katelyn!
Interesting to see your (Katelyn's) journey, and how you went about building your substack. The part about the 1200 page word count I recognise. The way I write and report about different topics requires depth and nuance, so the posts can easily become very long. However, I have started to transform most of those posts, with the exception of a few where I felt that the entire context was necessary to be inside one post, into sort of an 'ongoing look at topic x'. This allows my readers more time to read it and come to grips with the information, and makes it easier to bring in new people through spreading the word / sharing it. All the best with your substack in the future!
Conformity, calling herself “science” and aligning with the status quo allowed a public health professional to earn a side hustle during COVID. This is not worth celebrating. Nonetheless, I support free speech.
I'm really disgusted to see Substack pushing a big pharma propagandist. P-harm-a products kill and injure people every year, they have paid huge fines, and hire liars like this woman to spew disproven nonsense.
YLE was my first substack subscription I believe, and my first paid subscription. I liked what she was doing so much that I came in at the 'Founding Member" level. Yet I no longer subscribe! Why? Because for one, when she told us how very many subscribers she had I no longer felt she needed my financial support and I shifted my subscription dollars to other, much smaller, substacks that could use it. The other and stringer reason was philosophical. YLE went to a tiered model where only paying subscribers could comment. I STRONGLY disagree with that model. It was the primary reason I left. YLE didn't change, the excellence of her information and the meritorious mission was the same..it was just a have/have not wedge in the heart of her subscribers. If she removes it, I will assuredly be back.
Substack comment sections are a surprisingly toxic place lol. Except for maybe the writer's room it's just people going after whoever they featured as some weird personal branding strategy.
Helpful insights. I like the practical tips that align for growth no matter what you’re writing. The word count is interesting; it seems reasonable to keep those limits especially with lowered retention. Publishing twice a week would be difficult but I can see the traction it would provide.
Reading these comments, several thoughts come to mind. "It takes a village". Not a city, not a megalopolis, not a conurban region. Just a village. It's not necessary or even desirable to chase after large numbers of subscribers. Just have better discourse and relations with the subscribers you have. I have one of the smallest newsletters out there, but I treasure each and every one of my readers. If my numbers got huge, I wouldn't have the hours in the day to give them what little I have to offer. So making of Substack a get-rich quick opportunity based on cultivating large numbers of readers offends what's left of my sixties idealism. I prefer a small group of friends chatting in a sunlit room, than an auditorium full of people being addressed by a small figure with a microphone on the stage. Quality not quantity whenever possible.
This is great! I started following Katelyn on IG during the pandemic, and I am glad to learn she found a home on Substack. Thank you for sharing this insight!
Meh interview. This woman got lucky and cashed in. Good for her. She could never replicate her success again though. Another swing and a miss from Substack.
TLDR: Fear sells! The CDC, Fauci, Wallensky, Hotez, and Jetelina have never been wrong. We should censor and ignore anyone who challenges them. Follow the science unquestioningly, that’s how religion (oops I meant science) works! https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/how-to-follow-the-science-join-the-resistanc
Great information, but @substack, I’d love to hear a similar piece from someone who writes fiction or poetry.
It’s easier to understand how Katelyn grew so quickly, she was a health professional during a pandemic (this is not to take away from her accomplishments at all).
I’d like to understand a fiction writers take
This is such a great interview.
I'm really glad that Katelyn is right at the top of the Science category on Substack. This is a time when scientists in general and those working in healthcare in particular are getting truly nightmarish amounts of abuse flung at them - which Katelyn just wrote about: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/harassment-against-scientists-is - so it's heartening to see this kind of mass-support of medical science when it's being delivered in such a compassionate way.
Bravo, Katelyn.
it is just so sad how she doesn't even look at any thing outside the mainstream narrative. sadly she probably convinced a lot of people to take the clot shot
Such great advice here, not just for Substack, but for life: "Be consistent. Always show up. Let your voice and personality bleed through." Thanks for sharing, Katelyn!
Interesting to see your (Katelyn's) journey, and how you went about building your substack. The part about the 1200 page word count I recognise. The way I write and report about different topics requires depth and nuance, so the posts can easily become very long. However, I have started to transform most of those posts, with the exception of a few where I felt that the entire context was necessary to be inside one post, into sort of an 'ongoing look at topic x'. This allows my readers more time to read it and come to grips with the information, and makes it easier to bring in new people through spreading the word / sharing it. All the best with your substack in the future!
Conformity, calling herself “science” and aligning with the status quo allowed a public health professional to earn a side hustle during COVID. This is not worth celebrating. Nonetheless, I support free speech.
I'm really disgusted to see Substack pushing a big pharma propagandist. P-harm-a products kill and injure people every year, they have paid huge fines, and hire liars like this woman to spew disproven nonsense.
YLE was my first substack subscription I believe, and my first paid subscription. I liked what she was doing so much that I came in at the 'Founding Member" level. Yet I no longer subscribe! Why? Because for one, when she told us how very many subscribers she had I no longer felt she needed my financial support and I shifted my subscription dollars to other, much smaller, substacks that could use it. The other and stringer reason was philosophical. YLE went to a tiered model where only paying subscribers could comment. I STRONGLY disagree with that model. It was the primary reason I left. YLE didn't change, the excellence of her information and the meritorious mission was the same..it was just a have/have not wedge in the heart of her subscribers. If she removes it, I will assuredly be back.
This is an excellent piece. Thank you for sharing these valuable insights, as well as the reminder to be consistent always show up!!
Substack comment sections are a surprisingly toxic place lol. Except for maybe the writer's room it's just people going after whoever they featured as some weird personal branding strategy.
Helpful insights. I like the practical tips that align for growth no matter what you’re writing. The word count is interesting; it seems reasonable to keep those limits especially with lowered retention. Publishing twice a week would be difficult but I can see the traction it would provide.
Reading these comments, several thoughts come to mind. "It takes a village". Not a city, not a megalopolis, not a conurban region. Just a village. It's not necessary or even desirable to chase after large numbers of subscribers. Just have better discourse and relations with the subscribers you have. I have one of the smallest newsletters out there, but I treasure each and every one of my readers. If my numbers got huge, I wouldn't have the hours in the day to give them what little I have to offer. So making of Substack a get-rich quick opportunity based on cultivating large numbers of readers offends what's left of my sixties idealism. I prefer a small group of friends chatting in a sunlit room, than an auditorium full of people being addressed by a small figure with a microphone on the stage. Quality not quantity whenever possible.
Thanks for these--all very inspiring!
This is great! I started following Katelyn on IG during the pandemic, and I am glad to learn she found a home on Substack. Thank you for sharing this insight!
Meh interview. This woman got lucky and cashed in. Good for her. She could never replicate her success again though. Another swing and a miss from Substack.