Today we’re hosting the final Substack Writer Office Hours. We started Office Hours almost three years ago because there was a gap between the knowledge our company had about how to run a Substack and the knowledge a typical writer had access to. We wanted to close that gap, while creating a space for writers to interact and get to know each other in the process. Three years later, we believe we’ve achieved those goals together. Office Hours became a central hub for sharing knowledge and connecting to peers in this writer community.
As the product and community on Substack evolve, new ways to access the best knowledge about getting started, growing, and going paid also emerge. Plus, writers are independently forging their own vibrant, supportive communities.
Today, we want to point you to the resources and communities you’ll have on hand going forward.
Communities
We’re dedicating today’s Office Hours thread to help you find or kickstart your own writer community. When we announced we were closing Office Hours, writers told us about a number of online communities that already exist. Others raised their hand to start new ones—
If you’d like to bring a writer community into your world, here’s how to participate in today’s thread:
If you host an existing community, let other writers know who you bring together and how they can join.
If you are looking to meet other writers in your category or working towards a similar goal, tell us. Please be specific:
Who do you want to connect with? Substack categories are a great shared thread for connecting with writers and creators. Or you can get even more specific by niche shared interests. Plus, if you can, connect with writers who are at a similar stage or just ahead of you, to share what you are learning.
Why do you want to connect? Maybe it’s for accountability, guidance or simply for fun!
Visit our mini-guide on finding and connecting with the right people to support you on your journey:
When you see someone in the thread you want to continue a conversation with or make plans, now you can simply use our new direct messaging feature to send them a message.
Resources
Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid? Here’s where you can go to access the best insight and guidance from the Substack team.
The Substack chatbot. One challenge with Office Hours was that it only took place one hour a week, which was especially hard for international writers. The Substack chatbot now offers writers an on-demand, 24-hour support hotline.
even called the chatbot, “the nicest person on the whole Internet.” Powered by new technologies, the chatbot contains all of the knowledge our team has generated for writers over the past six years—for our blog posts, resource pages, email support, and help center articles. When you ask it a question, you’re tapping all of those resources and lessons to help unblock you.
The Help Center. Search the most frequently asked questions by writers and readers on Substack plus, learn how to technically use every nut and bolt of the Subtack product.
On Substack. Dig into our archive of resources, news, and stories for and about writers. Read the Grow interviews where writers share how they built an audience and an income, or revisit our strategic guides on Chat, Notes, collaboration, and more.
Our team will be in the thread today from 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT / 1 p.m.–2 p.m. ET answering outstanding questions and helping connect you to the right people. Then, we’ll close the curtain on Office Hours!
Before we do that, one final note. Thursdays have been a special day for us at Substack HQ because we get to connect with you—the writers, many of whom have shown up week in and week out. On occasion, there were thousands of us in this thread together. The insights we gleaned from Office Hours conversations affected our team’s understanding of Substack, and even influenced the products we built. So thank you, and this isn’t goodbye. You can expect to hear more from us on the
Are you are looking to meet other writers in your category or working towards a similar goal?
Tell us! Please be specific:
--> Who do you want to connect with? Substack categories are a great shared thread for connecting with writers and creators. Or you can get even more specific by niche shared interests. Plus, if you can, connect with writers who are at a similar stage or just ahead of you, to share what you are learning.
--> Why do you want to connect? Maybe it’s for accountability, guidance or simply for fun!
I’d love to connect with creatives, especially those who are in the Philippines (where I’m from), Japan (where I’m now), and the US (where I’ll be moving to)! Aside from writing, I also do photography and love art and music events!
I love to connect with people who love traval, watching Netflix, Amazon prime or Hotstar or maybe kind hearted. As a person who's sweet with everyone including the people who wrongly did anything with her. I wanna find my own tribe
Thank you, Substack, for this resource. I look forward to connecting and engaging with other like-minded writers in my niche. New subscribers to me are welcome and will be reciprocated. Cheers!
I need help. I somehow have two accounts . My first account has my original handle but i have tried everything to get back to that account and cannot get there. Signed out ect ect. I have read all I can on substack and this problem is not addressed. I cannot find a way to contact Substack regarding this. I would gladly pay for someone to help me fix this problem and other set up questions I have.
Thank you for your commitment, so grateful to have found some peeps along the way and hope we can all PICK UP THE TORCH!
🎨 I write about ways we can develop our ARTISTS EYE through mindful practices which open us to noticing beauty in the every day and leads to more GRATITUDE and POSITIVITY. 💫 HAPPY TO CONNECT with others who may find this valuable or sympatico !
Late to the party- but happy to connect. I'm a personal trainer, yoga instructor and plant-based diet enthusiast who writes about healing through the lens of my expertise and also through memoir / personal history. Looking forward to connecting!
I am looking for other cleantech writers. Hoping to highlight eco products and increase awareness to drive adoption and accelerate emissions reductions.
It's great that you're getting close to having a manuscript finished. However, Snowflakes in a Blizzard (snowflakesarise.wordpress.com)
snowflakesarise.wordpress.com) has to focus on books that have been published (or self published) for a very practical reason – the idea is to entice potential readers to buy books, and they can't buy something that has no outlet yet.
However, your note reminds me of another issue we all face. Perhaps there could be some better mechanism for disseminating a completed manuscript among a group of writers such as Substack. Any positive comments could be then used in the search for a publisher. It seems to me that a manuscript shouldn't be just an inert prisoner of someone's computer or desk drawer, a caterpillar waiting to hatch – it should be working for the author who created it.
Anyone who feels lost trying to navigate the world, I'm right there with you. Check out my weekly newsletter, Brach's Thoughts, as I try to formulate my ideas into sentences that sounds pretty. I'd love to connect and read other people's work too! Please give my work a read!!
Hi I have two SS's. The first going onto 3 years is very niche topic that combines my lived experience returning back to authenticity and soul truth and reconnecting with my body and life. This covers lot of things including deconstructing from Christianity, deconditioning from wider societal and cultural influences, parenting and re-parenting, inner-outer healing, embodiment, complex trauma/ACEs and explores various aspects of spirituality, philosophy and psychology along the way. This has a podcast attached mainly directed towards deconstructing Christians.
The second SS is new. I am an ex-teacher with a love and specialism in psychology. I write to support transitioning teachers find work and create a life they love after years of self-sacrifice and burnout.
I would love to connect with anyone who has an interest in the above and see where it leads.
I am also very interested in connecting with other people with similar lived experiences and other Black and ethnic minority writers in general but particularly non-US.
To whoever has a moment - I'm relatively new here & still trying to find out how it works. So far I know how to follow people I.e. read articles & like them & comment. But I still can't work out how to write something....could someone please tell me how I do that then I can invite friends to read my small writings. As an oldie I would really appreciate some easy how to steps, thank you in advance 😊
👋 Hey there. I'm Zoë -- looking to connect with other writers and readers around how small things can = big changes. I write about simple habits and playful experiences that help open us up and transform into new ways of living and being. 💛
first I stopped to received email messages from readers posting comments under my posts. Today I can't even respond to them any more under my own post, even when trying different types of browsers.
Please, let me know, is this a CENSORSHIP, or some kind of 'strange error'???? PLEASE RESPOND.
Substack really needs to feature more creative writing or (even better) poetry. Or at the very least have a better way of finding more people writing the sort of obscure things one may be interested in.
Hi! I'm Najwa, a nigerian law student that writes fictional comedy, sometimes. Or just random things. So um, i don't know if anyone would be willing to start a community or add me to an already existing one. Thank you in advance❤
El primero ( El camino del autodidacta) es un boletín en el que comparto mis aprendizajes sobre temas variados: filosofía, psicología, historia, ciencia....
El segundo ( Objetivo: Emprender) comparto consejos prácticos sobre marketing y emprendimiento.
Así que me gustaría conectar tanto con otros multipotenciales/ mentes inquietas y con emprendedores. Nos podemos ayudar, y compartir aprendizajes en comunidad :)
Connecting to other writers in the fiction, comedy, science, philosophy, history space, a lot of spaces. Let's connect, and exchange thoughts on why baked beans are the future.
As the author of an original new technical explanation of our social system, which unlike all past explanations is logical and not intuitive, I wish to share these important better definitions, analyses, deductions and principles that convert the past so called pseudo-science of macroeconomics into a true one. My 310-page book "Consequential Macroeconomics--Rationalizing About How Our Social System Works", is available in e-copy form and it is offered for free because of my belief that new science should be shared not exploited for profit. chestdher@gmail.com Can we form a group for discussion and development of these ideas?
With this final office hours, I want to share that I have paused my paid subscriptions. This pause will remain until Substack makes a commitment to rejecting individuals and organizations who use this platform to incite or cause harm to groups of individuals based on race, ethnicity, or beliefs.
Hello everyone! So great to see so many passionate writers in this comment thread! I'm Heather and I'm a writer from Canada who publishes "watch this; feel that" here on Substack -- film & TV recommendations for the mood you're in, or how you want to feel. I also love writing about food, people, travel, mental health, and dogs, but I keep my Substack (so far) limited to my film & TV reviews and recommendations. I'd love to connect with other Canadians out there and also any other writers who are covering lifestyle topics or nerding out on movies & TV like me! I'm early in my journey here on Substack but so far I'm loving it. Let's connect!
Hi friends! I'm the founder at Chasing Sound's Six String Sunday. The newsletter has been going out every Sunday for seven years! I'm looking to connect with other guitarists, musicians, and people who record and mix music. I'd also love to connect with people who have a strong passion for listening to all different styles of music...I think we'd get along!
I just joined and started my Substack on Feb 1. I feel like I missed out! I hope maybe there will be a chance to have some kind of office hours on a less frequent basis... this community outpouring and connection is happening because you made a space. Maybe Substack Central could make a space like this four or six times a year? "Post what you do" "post who you want to connect with"
So helpful for beginners like me. And you will keep having newbies. Their experience will be very different without these office hours.
I'm honestly looking to connect with other Black and Queer Culture Writers, I want to create opportunities for us to write and share on our substacks and use each other to get our content and culture writing out into the world. Media is in a tough spot right now but we can have each others backs! So if you're interested in culture writing and building that Black Queer Culture Writing Community here on Substack PLEASE DM ME or send me an email at writing@hishelli.com
I love to be organized lol so i can create all we need to link up and help build each other up on this platform!
Thank you Substack team for Office Hours, this place was the inspiration for me to start my 'Help with Substack' publication after successfully building a paid pub under a different account.
I got so many helpful tips and tricks from hanging out here, and met beautiful creators from other topics and niches.
Office hours made me realise that the hive mind knowledge shared here needs a permanent accessible home, which inspired me to create my free publication and (soon) my 'How to Substack' book.
So sad to say goodbye to Office Hours, see you on the other side!
I'd love to meet other writers serving professionals in the food industry and agri-food chain.
I write for food safety managers and quality managers specifically, but just interested to connect to food industry tech, marketing, sales, managerial, production, growers and others...
How about a step by step mechanicals list of how to do a stack (not writing but what exactly goes where and how? For example, I wanted a quote to start my last stack and it was put in as a header DUH.) I had to delete and re-submit. Simple examples would work. Also, sometimes cartoons I have dropped in with full credit launch but lately not.
I forgot when I posted here the first time, but another of my big interests is folklore/fairy tales, whether modern retellings or scholarly works...anything on those themes.
Hi, I’m an aspiring NATURE WRITER and ILLUSTRATOR living in Wales, UK. I write about ecology, our interconnectedness, walking, drawing, environmental politics, growing food, and building habitat. I’m quite new and have been taking a little time to find my feet. I will be posting weekly illustrated essays from late March 2024 onwards and would love to connected with any like minded writers or creatives?
I was shocked to hear this is the last edition - I felt honestly sad! Even though I haven't been able to join every time, I have found amazing community, talks, writers and advice through Office Hours. It will be missed! Thanks to all of you who made it possible and awesome each time, and all the best with whatever comes next in this endeavour Katie @ Substack and Bailey @ Substack. I'm sure I speak for many when I say we're hopefully here for the long run! Love you all <3
Haha, glad I'm not the only one to who this happens! Also to meet another illustrator. I was trying to reply to you by DM but somehow the app won't let me. Until I figure it out, thank you for sharing your article on hero posts. It's great to have examples of people who do that well :)
So sad to hear this is drawing to a close, just as I start on Substack.
As someone new to Substack, definitely feeling like a wallflower and a little intimidated. This feels like the first day of school. I guess I'm wondering where newcomers can go to meet other newbies on this platform, where to learn from other, more seasoned writers, and where to go to make new friends.
Not sure exactly who I want to connect with as I am still figuring out what my Substack will be, but I’d love to connect to be inspired and meet other writers as I ease into writing more publicly.
I am about to start a channel dedicated to traditional Catholicism. I would like to connect with all those interested, to include non-Catholics and those who can have an intelligent discussion even if they disagree.
Are you are looking to meet other writers in your category or working towards a similar goal?
Tell us! Please be specific:
--> Who do you want to connect with? Substack categories are a great shared thread for connecting with writers and creators. Or you can get even more specific by niche shared interests. Plus, if you can, connect with writers who are at a similar stage or just ahead of you, to share what you are learning.
--> Why do you want to connect? Maybe it’s for accountability, guidance or simply for fun!
Do you host an existing community for Substack writers and creators? Let other writers know who you bring together and how they can join.
Abdiarahi746 4@gmail.com
I’d love to connect with creatives, especially those who are in the Philippines (where I’m from), Japan (where I’m now), and the US (where I’ll be moving to)! Aside from writing, I also do photography and love art and music events!
Gedaa
I love to connect with people who love traval, watching Netflix, Amazon prime or Hotstar or maybe kind hearted. As a person who's sweet with everyone including the people who wrongly did anything with her. I wanna find my own tribe
Thank you, Substack, for this resource. I look forward to connecting and engaging with other like-minded writers in my niche. New subscribers to me are welcome and will be reciprocated. Cheers!
I need help. I somehow have two accounts . My first account has my original handle but i have tried everything to get back to that account and cannot get there. Signed out ect ect. I have read all I can on substack and this problem is not addressed. I cannot find a way to contact Substack regarding this. I would gladly pay for someone to help me fix this problem and other set up questions I have.
Thank you for your commitment, so grateful to have found some peeps along the way and hope we can all PICK UP THE TORCH!
🎨 I write about ways we can develop our ARTISTS EYE through mindful practices which open us to noticing beauty in the every day and leads to more GRATITUDE and POSITIVITY. 💫 HAPPY TO CONNECT with others who may find this valuable or sympatico !
Hiya gang hi hi
Late to the party- but happy to connect. I'm a personal trainer, yoga instructor and plant-based diet enthusiast who writes about healing through the lens of my expertise and also through memoir / personal history. Looking forward to connecting!
I am looking for other cleantech writers. Hoping to highlight eco products and increase awareness to drive adoption and accelerate emissions reductions.
Dear Jay Ann:
It's great that you're getting close to having a manuscript finished. However, Snowflakes in a Blizzard (snowflakesarise.wordpress.com)
snowflakesarise.wordpress.com) has to focus on books that have been published (or self published) for a very practical reason – the idea is to entice potential readers to buy books, and they can't buy something that has no outlet yet.
However, your note reminds me of another issue we all face. Perhaps there could be some better mechanism for disseminating a completed manuscript among a group of writers such as Substack. Any positive comments could be then used in the search for a publisher. It seems to me that a manuscript shouldn't be just an inert prisoner of someone's computer or desk drawer, a caterpillar waiting to hatch – it should be working for the author who created it.
What is your current project about?
Best,
Darrell Laurant
Anyone who feels lost trying to navigate the world, I'm right there with you. Check out my weekly newsletter, Brach's Thoughts, as I try to formulate my ideas into sentences that sounds pretty. I'd love to connect and read other people's work too! Please give my work a read!!
https://brachsthoughts.substack.com
Any sports writers, head to sports.substack.co
Hi I have two SS's. The first going onto 3 years is very niche topic that combines my lived experience returning back to authenticity and soul truth and reconnecting with my body and life. This covers lot of things including deconstructing from Christianity, deconditioning from wider societal and cultural influences, parenting and re-parenting, inner-outer healing, embodiment, complex trauma/ACEs and explores various aspects of spirituality, philosophy and psychology along the way. This has a podcast attached mainly directed towards deconstructing Christians.
The second SS is new. I am an ex-teacher with a love and specialism in psychology. I write to support transitioning teachers find work and create a life they love after years of self-sacrifice and burnout.
I would love to connect with anyone who has an interest in the above and see where it leads.
I am also very interested in connecting with other people with similar lived experiences and other Black and ethnic minority writers in general but particularly non-US.
To whoever has a moment - I'm relatively new here & still trying to find out how it works. So far I know how to follow people I.e. read articles & like them & comment. But I still can't work out how to write something....could someone please tell me how I do that then I can invite friends to read my small writings. As an oldie I would really appreciate some easy how to steps, thank you in advance 😊
Hi Amar. What am I looking for on your page??
👋 Hey there. I'm Zoë -- looking to connect with other writers and readers around how small things can = big changes. I write about simple habits and playful experiences that help open us up and transform into new ways of living and being. 💛
I'd love to connect with people who make zines as well as writing on Substack!
Substack team,
first I stopped to received email messages from readers posting comments under my posts. Today I can't even respond to them any more under my own post, even when trying different types of browsers.
Please, let me know, is this a CENSORSHIP, or some kind of 'strange error'???? PLEASE RESPOND.
Thank you.
Is there a directory of the Writer Office Hours? Being naive as someone can be I think it's the best place to start?
I write poetry, which in terms of obscurity feels more like being in a ditch then a niche.
https://micz.substack.com/p/voice-of-the-fire
Substack really needs to feature more creative writing or (even better) poetry. Or at the very least have a better way of finding more people writing the sort of obscure things one may be interested in.
Hi! I'm Najwa, a nigerian law student that writes fictional comedy, sometimes. Or just random things. So um, i don't know if anyone would be willing to start a community or add me to an already existing one. Thank you in advance❤
Buenas! Soy Plata, y tengo 2 proyectos.
El primero ( El camino del autodidacta) es un boletín en el que comparto mis aprendizajes sobre temas variados: filosofía, psicología, historia, ciencia....
El segundo ( Objetivo: Emprender) comparto consejos prácticos sobre marketing y emprendimiento.
Así que me gustaría conectar tanto con otros multipotenciales/ mentes inquietas y con emprendedores. Nos podemos ayudar, y compartir aprendizajes en comunidad :)
Connecting to other writers in the fiction, comedy, science, philosophy, history space, a lot of spaces. Let's connect, and exchange thoughts on why baked beans are the future.
We’ve worked day and night creating the ACA, the GOP nicknamed it
“Obamacare “. The Final bill was originally 5,000 pages long.
As the author of an original new technical explanation of our social system, which unlike all past explanations is logical and not intuitive, I wish to share these important better definitions, analyses, deductions and principles that convert the past so called pseudo-science of macroeconomics into a true one. My 310-page book "Consequential Macroeconomics--Rationalizing About How Our Social System Works", is available in e-copy form and it is offered for free because of my belief that new science should be shared not exploited for profit. chestdher@gmail.com Can we form a group for discussion and development of these ideas?
With this final office hours, I want to share that I have paused my paid subscriptions. This pause will remain until Substack makes a commitment to rejecting individuals and organizations who use this platform to incite or cause harm to groups of individuals based on race, ethnicity, or beliefs.
(For background on this topic, you can begin here: https://platformer.substack.com/p/why-platformer-is-leaving-substack)
I didn't think I would have to make this decision when I switched from Wordpress to Substack in 2018.
Hello everyone! So great to see so many passionate writers in this comment thread! I'm Heather and I'm a writer from Canada who publishes "watch this; feel that" here on Substack -- film & TV recommendations for the mood you're in, or how you want to feel. I also love writing about food, people, travel, mental health, and dogs, but I keep my Substack (so far) limited to my film & TV reviews and recommendations. I'd love to connect with other Canadians out there and also any other writers who are covering lifestyle topics or nerding out on movies & TV like me! I'm early in my journey here on Substack but so far I'm loving it. Let's connect!
FABU, Thanks. Did I miss this in my welcome to Substack email? Sorry to be snarky but...
Glad to have started on Substack when Office Hours was still a thing!
I'm building a community of dreamers and doomers alike, who long for a world without capital or the state.
I want to connect with folks who are imagining how we can live differently here and now, folks ready to craft a toolbox of rest and resistance.
https://open.substack.com/pub/anarchyemergencelove
Hi friends! I'm the founder at Chasing Sound's Six String Sunday. The newsletter has been going out every Sunday for seven years! I'm looking to connect with other guitarists, musicians, and people who record and mix music. I'd also love to connect with people who have a strong passion for listening to all different styles of music...I think we'd get along!
Thank you so much.
Part of my struggle right now is trying to determine how many pages the story needs to be. How large is the attention span of a 8-10 year old?
Will they read it in chapters, or will they read it all at once?
In all seriousness, this has been a wonderful resource, and I'm sad it's going away. Happy trails to all.
I just joined and started my Substack on Feb 1. I feel like I missed out! I hope maybe there will be a chance to have some kind of office hours on a less frequent basis... this community outpouring and connection is happening because you made a space. Maybe Substack Central could make a space like this four or six times a year? "Post what you do" "post who you want to connect with"
So helpful for beginners like me. And you will keep having newbies. Their experience will be very different without these office hours.
I'm honestly looking to connect with other Black and Queer Culture Writers, I want to create opportunities for us to write and share on our substacks and use each other to get our content and culture writing out into the world. Media is in a tough spot right now but we can have each others backs! So if you're interested in culture writing and building that Black Queer Culture Writing Community here on Substack PLEASE DM ME or send me an email at writing@hishelli.com
I love to be organized lol so i can create all we need to link up and help build each other up on this platform!
Thank you Substack team for Office Hours, this place was the inspiration for me to start my 'Help with Substack' publication after successfully building a paid pub under a different account.
I got so many helpful tips and tricks from hanging out here, and met beautiful creators from other topics and niches.
Office hours made me realise that the hive mind knowledge shared here needs a permanent accessible home, which inspired me to create my free publication and (soon) my 'How to Substack' book.
So sad to say goodbye to Office Hours, see you on the other side!
How many of you have more than one Substack?
I'd love to meet other writers serving professionals in the food industry and agri-food chain.
I write for food safety managers and quality managers specifically, but just interested to connect to food industry tech, marketing, sales, managerial, production, growers and others...
🍏🍏🍏
How about a step by step mechanicals list of how to do a stack (not writing but what exactly goes where and how? For example, I wanted a quote to start my last stack and it was put in as a header DUH.) I had to delete and re-submit. Simple examples would work. Also, sometimes cartoons I have dropped in with full credit launch but lately not.
I forgot when I posted here the first time, but another of my big interests is folklore/fairy tales, whether modern retellings or scholarly works...anything on those themes.
Hi, I’m an aspiring NATURE WRITER and ILLUSTRATOR living in Wales, UK. I write about ecology, our interconnectedness, walking, drawing, environmental politics, growing food, and building habitat. I’m quite new and have been taking a little time to find my feet. I will be posting weekly illustrated essays from late March 2024 onwards and would love to connected with any like minded writers or creatives?
I was shocked to hear this is the last edition - I felt honestly sad! Even though I haven't been able to join every time, I have found amazing community, talks, writers and advice through Office Hours. It will be missed! Thanks to all of you who made it possible and awesome each time, and all the best with whatever comes next in this endeavour Katie @ Substack and Bailey @ Substack. I'm sure I speak for many when I say we're hopefully here for the long run! Love you all <3
How about a Travel Writers’ Substack Community? DM me.
Haha, glad I'm not the only one to who this happens! Also to meet another illustrator. I was trying to reply to you by DM but somehow the app won't let me. Until I figure it out, thank you for sharing your article on hero posts. It's great to have examples of people who do that well :)
So sad to hear this is drawing to a close, just as I start on Substack.
As someone new to Substack, definitely feeling like a wallflower and a little intimidated. This feels like the first day of school. I guess I'm wondering where newcomers can go to meet other newbies on this platform, where to learn from other, more seasoned writers, and where to go to make new friends.
Not sure exactly who I want to connect with as I am still figuring out what my Substack will be, but I’d love to connect to be inspired and meet other writers as I ease into writing more publicly.
Thank you Katie, Bailey and all at Substack for everything you have done. I love my home here.
I am about to start a channel dedicated to traditional Catholicism. I would like to connect with all those interested, to include non-Catholics and those who can have an intelligent discussion even if they disagree.
I write about travel, and topics relating to aging and retirement.
I'm in the messy middle where I am transitioning from the 9 to 5 to the whenever I want.
But, I deal with aging parents, a still-working spouse and grown children who live far away.
I am also writing a children's short fiction book and possibly a memoir.
I would love to connect with others with any of those topics, particularly the children's fiction as this is very new.