Thank you for being so generous with your time and guidance Melinda! I can't help but wonder what you might think about an article I wrote on the parenting advice found in popular movies:
Movie Wisdom On Parenting Children
How To Be A Better Parent According To 14 Family Movies
I wonder if there is anything you would object to, or if it these particular messages have withstood the test of time? Anyway, thank you once again for sharing your wisdom with us!
Melinda, that's not really a meaningful distinction, as you can either way make the NYT claim, and most readers don't know whether you're technically salaried or freelance.
Yes, I totally see your point. When I think of the staffers who left publications to make Substacks I think of people who already had huge followings (Bari Weiss, Casey Newton), and just wanted to clarify that I'm not in that category. But I totally understand your point. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Wendy, try it for three months and post once a week. See what happens. I haven't been writing on Substack for very long and neglected it for two months, but I think it's worth it. Where’s the harm in writing more often?
Whether you gain an audience or not, you’ll most likely become a better writer by having another outlet requiring you to conjure thoughts and words. That was my initial outlook (still is) when joining Substack. I needed something to push me to write more, a theory that hasn't yet came to fruition.
Wendy, it might save you a lot of headache and heartache to start with a writing group of trusted fellows before leaping into publishing your work prematurely. You want people who are encouraging but push you to be better.
Bailey @ Substack: Your link above was somewhat helpful, and somewhat not. I browsed the top 'stacks in a couple of different categories, and that confirmed my problem with your category selection. Some of the successful 'stacks in my topic area have chosen to go with Food & Drink and Culture. I'd chosen Climate/Environment, since that's the motivation behind our work, but we're not debating policy issues.... Still, a lot of other garden 'stacks have chosen that category as well. You'll see the gardening/home/homesteading folks are spread across multiple categories, which must be confusing for readers. I'm trying Food & Drink as primary and Culture as secondary, but I'm not sure that's right, either. It was useful, however, to read a lot of other descriptions, which helped me tweak ours. Thank you! Now if the tech glitches would stop... Last week, I had a slew of them in which one post I'd scheduled for a future date was immediately published instead, and one I set for free was sent only to paid subs.
Bailey @ Substack: A few other questions: What do you have to do to appear on the Leaderboard? How are you all measuring success? I see 'stacks on there that have only just launched, and I'm not sure why they're on the list.
Hi, Mitchell. Couldn't have said it better myself. I have been making a living as a writer for 30 years, and I'm struggling on Substack. My writing has been for the past 15 years for game-industry clients (I run a successful studio of 5 FT writers w/ benefits, and our words are read by billions of players worldwide), but there's no crossover audience I can pull into the niche nonfiction gardening writing I do here. So I'm sympathetic to noobs because it's like I'm one myself, when it comes to this platform. This experience is reminding me of why I left journalism 15 years ago... if you didn't go to the right schools and aren't part of the cultural elite, it's hard to gain a toehold and make a living in publishing. At least the game industry was much more wide open, and not under that cultural clinch.
Great interview, love the topic of Melinda’s newsletter. I don’t have children myself but my brother has two and even an auntie needs some tips. It’s good to see a parenting newsletter grow and be financially sustainable. It gives me more hope for fiction.
So happy to see you in the Grow series, Melinda! I’m also a parenting writer, so your tips really resonate. I appreciate the clarity of your newsletter goals, and your mindful and deliberate approach to meeting them. Thank you for sharing so generously.
I was thinking of adding paid content to my newsletter in the not too distant future, so this is very encouraging to read. And well done, Melinda, on your hard-earned well-deserved success! 💕
For someone growing a digital writing business from scratch (after walking away from 6-figure salary in Apr. '22) - I really appreciate these kinds of posts-interviews. Love hearing how other creators, writers, authors are building on Substack. :)
"Earlier this winter, I sent out a paid newsletter with a free preview in which I admitted that I didn’t really have a proper newsletter to share because I’d just stabbed myself in the eye with scissors."
Haha, this is awesome!
It sounds like Melinda puts so much thought and care into her reporting and writing, and provides a much needed service for her readers. Not surprising she's done so well. Very inspiring!
This was a great read in particular seeing the steps and stats broken down into detail! It would be awesome the see the same kind of breakdown from a non-established writer, who went fro building a sub-stack audience to getting published.
For someone starting a newsletter like me, seeing the numbers and how the newsletter grew was very interesting. In moments of uncertainty, I will remember Melinda's tips and strategies. Thank you for sharing with us, Melinda.
I wonder how many successful Substacks are *not* mainstream journalists defecting from newspapers like NYT.
Great question/point. Just to clarify, I have never been on staff at NYT — I just freelance for them.
Thanks, Melinda. I found your advice helpful. It's evident that you're a freelancer from the article.
Thank you for being so generous with your time and guidance Melinda! I can't help but wonder what you might think about an article I wrote on the parenting advice found in popular movies:
Movie Wisdom On Parenting Children
How To Be A Better Parent According To 14 Family Movies
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/movies-on-parenting-children
I wonder if there is anything you would object to, or if it these particular messages have withstood the test of time? Anyway, thank you once again for sharing your wisdom with us!
Melinda, that's not really a meaningful distinction, as you can either way make the NYT claim, and most readers don't know whether you're technically salaried or freelance.
Yes, I totally see your point. When I think of the staffers who left publications to make Substacks I think of people who already had huge followings (Bari Weiss, Casey Newton), and just wanted to clarify that I'm not in that category. But I totally understand your point. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Yep, and congratulations on your success, by the way!
I wonder that as well, Lisa. I haven't started mine yet and I wonder if it's worth it. I don't currently even have publishing credentials.
Wendy, try it for three months and post once a week. See what happens. I haven't been writing on Substack for very long and neglected it for two months, but I think it's worth it. Where’s the harm in writing more often?
That's solid advice, Corey. Thank you.
Whether you gain an audience or not, you’ll most likely become a better writer by having another outlet requiring you to conjure thoughts and words. That was my initial outlook (still is) when joining Substack. I needed something to push me to write more, a theory that hasn't yet came to fruition.
Wendy, it might save you a lot of headache and heartache to start with a writing group of trusted fellows before leaping into publishing your work prematurely. You want people who are encouraging but push you to be better.
I have thought about seeking out a writers' group again. I was in one years ago, but everyone eventually dropped out.
I dont care who wrote an interesting piece.
But if I come across something by a writer i like, yes, I definitely will read that one.
The leaderboards tell this story! https://substack.com/browse
The link isn't working, and I'm not sure what you're pointing to there, as the URL is for the browse window.
There are leaderboards on the right hand side of your screen which you can browse by category. That lists the most successful substacks by category.
Any way we can get a Lifestyle category, or more specifically, gardening? There isn't one that fits the many gardeners on Substack.
I think that's a good idea.
I've mentioned this previously, both on comment threads and via the support email.
Bailey @ Substack: Your link above was somewhat helpful, and somewhat not. I browsed the top 'stacks in a couple of different categories, and that confirmed my problem with your category selection. Some of the successful 'stacks in my topic area have chosen to go with Food & Drink and Culture. I'd chosen Climate/Environment, since that's the motivation behind our work, but we're not debating policy issues.... Still, a lot of other garden 'stacks have chosen that category as well. You'll see the gardening/home/homesteading folks are spread across multiple categories, which must be confusing for readers. I'm trying Food & Drink as primary and Culture as secondary, but I'm not sure that's right, either. It was useful, however, to read a lot of other descriptions, which helped me tweak ours. Thank you! Now if the tech glitches would stop... Last week, I had a slew of them in which one post I'd scheduled for a future date was immediately published instead, and one I set for free was sent only to paid subs.
BTW, those glitches really screwed us up, and the carefully sequenced posts for the giveaway are now totally out of order. BIG FAIL.
Bailey @ Substack: A few other questions: What do you have to do to appear on the Leaderboard? How are you all measuring success? I see 'stacks on there that have only just launched, and I'm not sure why they're on the list.
Hi, Mitchell. Couldn't have said it better myself. I have been making a living as a writer for 30 years, and I'm struggling on Substack. My writing has been for the past 15 years for game-industry clients (I run a successful studio of 5 FT writers w/ benefits, and our words are read by billions of players worldwide), but there's no crossover audience I can pull into the niche nonfiction gardening writing I do here. So I'm sympathetic to noobs because it's like I'm one myself, when it comes to this platform. This experience is reminding me of why I left journalism 15 years ago... if you didn't go to the right schools and aren't part of the cultural elite, it's hard to gain a toehold and make a living in publishing. At least the game industry was much more wide open, and not under that cultural clinch.
That was surprisingly helpful.
I appreciated these tips!! Super helpful advice.
it always seems like the #1 key to success is to "get a wildly famous Substack to recommend you"
easier said than done
Our main focus on this one was to share successful book sale tactics with a Substack, which Melinda has aced
Brava, Melinda! Thanks for all you’ve done for the writer community and sharing these strategies.
Incredible generosity!
Aww, thank you!
I love these kinds of posts-interviews. Love hearing how other creators are building on Substack.
I’ve started a newsletter to help people navigate web3, crypto and personal growth:
https://open.substack.com/pub/growcrypto?r=1r6ngp&utm_medium=ios
So this is really appreciated ❤️❤️
Great interview, love the topic of Melinda’s newsletter. I don’t have children myself but my brother has two and even an auntie needs some tips. It’s good to see a parenting newsletter grow and be financially sustainable. It gives me more hope for fiction.
Just saw that I made a typo: my brother has three children!!
So so helpful and encouraging! Thank you so much.
So happy to see you in the Grow series, Melinda! I’m also a parenting writer, so your tips really resonate. I appreciate the clarity of your newsletter goals, and your mindful and deliberate approach to meeting them. Thank you for sharing so generously.
Thanks for sharing how to grow! Melinda's comments are inspiring. Continued success to all.
I was thinking of adding paid content to my newsletter in the not too distant future, so this is very encouraging to read. And well done, Melinda, on your hard-earned well-deserved success! 💕
This is an important question that I also have, Ali: when to add paid content? Interesting to know that she only closed after nine/ten months
For someone growing a digital writing business from scratch (after walking away from 6-figure salary in Apr. '22) - I really appreciate these kinds of posts-interviews. Love hearing how other creators, writers, authors are building on Substack. :)
"Earlier this winter, I sent out a paid newsletter with a free preview in which I admitted that I didn’t really have a proper newsletter to share because I’d just stabbed myself in the eye with scissors."
Haha, this is awesome!
It sounds like Melinda puts so much thought and care into her reporting and writing, and provides a much needed service for her readers. Not surprising she's done so well. Very inspiring!
This was a great read in particular seeing the steps and stats broken down into detail! It would be awesome the see the same kind of breakdown from a non-established writer, who went fro building a sub-stack audience to getting published.
I would check out the other grown interviews! There’s a wide variety of these and they are linked in the bottom of the post
Thank you!
For someone starting a newsletter like me, seeing the numbers and how the newsletter grew was very interesting. In moments of uncertainty, I will remember Melinda's tips and strategies. Thank you for sharing with us, Melinda.
That was great. Just started out (240 subscribers) and this is really helpful. Especially about the book, cause I'm also an author