Hello! My Substack has been really taking off. I'm not sure how to reach the leadership at substack, but I wanted to know if you could consider making an option with the subscriber chat (if the author wanted) for it to only be enabled for founding members.
A lot of people have told me I should be doing monthly subscriber chats to answer questions my readers had, but I'm in a position where it is not in anyway realistic for me to be able to do that with all of my paid subcribers so I need a fair way to filter it to a smaller audience.
Getting the reader to care is such an art! And doing that while writing about things you care about- it’s a tightrope yet you have to walk it without fear. I enjoyed this!
Also, this: "Do not write for free. If anyone expects you to write for free, they are bad people."
Not at all. This is a misunderstanding of exchange. Not all exchange is monetary. And, to use the seduction language of this post, as long as its consensual, then by all means write for free. When I write for Jane Friedman, I *always* write for free. She is one of the best people on the Internet—and writing for her always brings me good things that are hard to put a price on (though a dedicated economist probably could). Jane's name and the word "bad" simply don't belong in the same sentence.
I find the superlatives problematic, the ‘everyone’ and ‘no one.’ These are the binaries we desperately need to rid ourselves of. Self-promotion is healthy and normal. Most of us on Substack don’t come from traditional publishing or huge platforms; we have to work for our subscribers. I agree you shouldn’t just needlessly spam the platform solely adding your links for no reason. But you can contribute to people’s stacks AND promote your work. No one else is going to do this for you. As a writer published in magazines and journals as well as Substack, and as a book editor with clients at major Big 5 publishers: Trust me; you have to advocate for yourself.
Agree. A wonderful example of a positive share from this week:
someone became a paid subscriber to 'The Write to Poetry' and then he dropped in a link to the very first poem he published on Substack as a result of meeting us and deciding to try writing poetry. Not only did I not mind that he shared the link, but also we had a good opening conversation about this new writing endeavor of his. Here's the thread (ha! realize i am now sharing a link! ;-) ) : https://thewritetopoetry.substack.com/p/paradise-on-the-way/comment/17337471
This is an excellent conversation. I disagreed with much of Lori's point of view, but I am aligned with her spirit and commitment to the creative fire that burns inside every human wordslinger.
Please keep this content coming. One writer's opinion will never reflect all writers, but a great writer's opinion should always be weighed against the ever-changing reality of the moment at hand.
Thank you again Hamish and Laurie for the shout out for Beyond Bloomsbury on Notes. Sorry that I couldn’t make the workshop, so thank you also for this update on the event :) :)
A conversation that includes a creepy story about an unsolicited seduction by a writer who gives tips on how to write effective Substack seductions, hosted by Substack's CSO (Chief Seduction Officer). Yipes. I'm getting lost in the meta... 🙃
"If the solo performer leaks anxiety or need to the audience, they’re dead. The audience wants to sit back and not care about the performer’s need to be reassured or to think they’re going to fail."
I think there are many ways to attract others, and anxiety and need and fear of failure are actually among the ways. Maybe not for standup, but certainly on Substack. And, perhaps it comes to context (say, the Comment Box instead of on Notes).
Attracting others through need isn't something I personally tend to do, but I almost always respond positively to true need and honest expressions of frustration and doubt. Case in point: in the past 2 weeks, I featured two Substackers I had met in one of these comment boxes. I quoted one as an article opener. The other I shared as a central example. I subscribed to both of their Substacks afterwards.
Sorry, I don't agree that I have to be paid for what I write. I enjoy writing. I enjoy reading other people's thoughts and opinions. I am 90 years old, I have sufficient money from pensions to support myself. I don't want to be bothered with keeping track of income for the IRS.. I didn't enter final unequivocal retirement until just before my 88th birthday. I do not believe my readers either take advantage of me, nor do they undervalue me.
I view notes as an opportunity to community build. I write humor on my newsletter so it’s nice to take off the irony mask and connect over mutual interests and talk art, sports, nature, music, books, etc. I do a Friday weekly six story challenge and post jokes and try to offer advice and insights in other chats. My rule to myself is Self-promo should be 20-25% of what I post, but I like that I can restack pull quotes to give a little nibble of what I’m writing.
I don't have much of a network on Substack as most of my readers don't engage here. But I do find that offering my thoughts on other people's notes seems to be the most value I can add with my tiny network.
I know that when I publish a Note only 1-2 people even see it, but more people see it when it's attached to a conversation. So while this article is very interesting, some of the advice is a lot of effort for those of us that are screaming into the void.
Hello! My Substack has been really taking off. I'm not sure how to reach the leadership at substack, but I wanted to know if you could consider making an option with the subscriber chat (if the author wanted) for it to only be enabled for founding members.
A lot of people have told me I should be doing monthly subscriber chats to answer questions my readers had, but I'm in a position where it is not in anyway realistic for me to be able to do that with all of my paid subcribers so I need a fair way to filter it to a smaller audience.
Please send me an email! hamish at Substackinc dot com
Nicer advice
Just did. Let me know if you got it.
Getting the reader to care is such an art! And doing that while writing about things you care about- it’s a tightrope yet you have to walk it without fear. I enjoyed this!
Also, this: "Do not write for free. If anyone expects you to write for free, they are bad people."
Not at all. This is a misunderstanding of exchange. Not all exchange is monetary. And, to use the seduction language of this post, as long as its consensual, then by all means write for free. When I write for Jane Friedman, I *always* write for free. She is one of the best people on the Internet—and writing for her always brings me good things that are hard to put a price on (though a dedicated economist probably could). Jane's name and the word "bad" simply don't belong in the same sentence.
I suddenly see NEW Queenhell possibilities, Hamish! Thank you, Laurie Stone!!
I find the superlatives problematic, the ‘everyone’ and ‘no one.’ These are the binaries we desperately need to rid ourselves of. Self-promotion is healthy and normal. Most of us on Substack don’t come from traditional publishing or huge platforms; we have to work for our subscribers. I agree you shouldn’t just needlessly spam the platform solely adding your links for no reason. But you can contribute to people’s stacks AND promote your work. No one else is going to do this for you. As a writer published in magazines and journals as well as Substack, and as a book editor with clients at major Big 5 publishers: Trust me; you have to advocate for yourself.
I write about this stuff often.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
Agree. A wonderful example of a positive share from this week:
someone became a paid subscriber to 'The Write to Poetry' and then he dropped in a link to the very first poem he published on Substack as a result of meeting us and deciding to try writing poetry. Not only did I not mind that he shared the link, but also we had a good opening conversation about this new writing endeavor of his. Here's the thread (ha! realize i am now sharing a link! ;-) ) : https://thewritetopoetry.substack.com/p/paradise-on-the-way/comment/17337471
Thanks Laurie and Hamish for this conversation the other day. Laurie, your good advice was good to hear.
This is an excellent conversation. I disagreed with much of Lori's point of view, but I am aligned with her spirit and commitment to the creative fire that burns inside every human wordslinger.
Please keep this content coming. One writer's opinion will never reflect all writers, but a great writer's opinion should always be weighed against the ever-changing reality of the moment at hand.
Well said! I feel the same way.
Thank you again Hamish and Laurie for the shout out for Beyond Bloomsbury on Notes. Sorry that I couldn’t make the workshop, so thank you also for this update on the event :) :)
A conversation that includes a creepy story about an unsolicited seduction by a writer who gives tips on how to write effective Substack seductions, hosted by Substack's CSO (Chief Seduction Officer). Yipes. I'm getting lost in the meta... 🙃
Would it be fun if you get a "seduction" from a reader of yours
"If the solo performer leaks anxiety or need to the audience, they’re dead. The audience wants to sit back and not care about the performer’s need to be reassured or to think they’re going to fail."
I think there are many ways to attract others, and anxiety and need and fear of failure are actually among the ways. Maybe not for standup, but certainly on Substack. And, perhaps it comes to context (say, the Comment Box instead of on Notes).
Attracting others through need isn't something I personally tend to do, but I almost always respond positively to true need and honest expressions of frustration and doubt. Case in point: in the past 2 weeks, I featured two Substackers I had met in one of these comment boxes. I quoted one as an article opener. The other I shared as a central example. I subscribed to both of their Substacks afterwards.
See:
Carolyn: https://thingsbegunandneverdone.substack.com/p/something-new-substack-tips-and-logos
Mike: https://tspoetrypress.substack.com/p/lets-decline
Sorry, I don't agree that I have to be paid for what I write. I enjoy writing. I enjoy reading other people's thoughts and opinions. I am 90 years old, I have sufficient money from pensions to support myself. I don't want to be bothered with keeping track of income for the IRS.. I didn't enter final unequivocal retirement until just before my 88th birthday. I do not believe my readers either take advantage of me, nor do they undervalue me.
♡♡♡
This is such brutally honest and valuable writing advice! I'm seduced.
I view notes as an opportunity to community build. I write humor on my newsletter so it’s nice to take off the irony mask and connect over mutual interests and talk art, sports, nature, music, books, etc. I do a Friday weekly six story challenge and post jokes and try to offer advice and insights in other chats. My rule to myself is Self-promo should be 20-25% of what I post, but I like that I can restack pull quotes to give a little nibble of what I’m writing.
I also like that I can take pieces of essays I edit out and can repurpose them as a note when I share it!
Could you promote mine 🙂
Such an interesting viewpoint, thank you! I really like the concept of flash memoir and will definitely experiment with using Notes in that way.
I don't have much of a network on Substack as most of my readers don't engage here. But I do find that offering my thoughts on other people's notes seems to be the most value I can add with my tiny network.
I know that when I publish a Note only 1-2 people even see it, but more people see it when it's attached to a conversation. So while this article is very interesting, some of the advice is a lot of effort for those of us that are screaming into the void.
Any solution to change that
Oh man I’m so jealous at how good Alex is at notes!