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Lots of Office Hours writers let us know that they didn't like the "No thanks" language on your Welcome Page.
So we shipped a change that allows people to customize this language. If you want to change the "no thanks" language there back to "Let me read it first" text, you can now do that via your Settings page.
Just as a little reminder: we originally made this text change because "No thanks" performed better in terms of creating sign ups for writers. So if that matters to you it may make sense to keep "no thanks" or at the very least be careful about what customizable language you add - checking to see how it impacts your sign ups. That page is very important for your publication's growth!
I’m taking my shot and asking fellow Substackers like you support a goal to be featured on the platform after 2 years of posting, please support, I love you all!
The welcome page is what people who are not subscribers see when they visit your page. Try clicking someone's substack that you don't subscribe to and you'll see. You have an option to subscribe or click "No thanks" and continue to the 'stack.
Ha! I didn't know that if you click 'no thanks' it continued to the stack! I guess I always subscribed. But that has led to an overwhelming amount of subscriptions, which I am now trying to cull. This little chat has made me realise that I want people subscribing to my stack because they actively want to subscribe, rather than because they thought they had to in order to see the content. Will be customising mine to reflect that. Thanks for the insight.
Yes Matthew, I find substack team seem to be interchanging those pages. Welcome page not Home page they have different functions and content. Team should be mindful of this slip up esp for newbies here
I think I agree with your statement? I'm such a newby, that I am just wandering mindlessly, through from 1 thing to another trying to get a handle on what and how I should do?
I’m taking my shot and asking fellow Substackers like you support a goal to be featured on the platform after 2 years of posting, please support, I love you all!
One thing for people to consider is that readers need to have a consistent experience across different Substacks. When people follow a link to a post on Substack, they quickly learn that clicking "No thanks" lets them read free posts.
When they see different messages on every newsletter, they have to reevaluate each message. That might sound good to us as authors, "Yay they're thinking individually about me", but it's the kind of friction that can turn people off to an entire platform.
I do agree with the idea of readers having a consistent experience on the platform and that experience should be prioritized. And Ramona, I also agree: I thought and still do that "Let me read it first" was perfect as it was.
I also find it charming, but my Substack is primary a podcast and "Let me read it first" is confusing. It should be "Let me listen first" or something neutral like "no thanks".
I get this. It’s like users just KNOWING the menu to a website is usually in the top upper left hand corner and the shopping cart on the top right. Hamburger style for the menu, etc.
Hopefully that change is small enough where it won’t deter readers from the platform altogether!
I was one of those people that thought it was weird to get taken deeper into the substack you said “no thanks” to signing up for, but am seeing the idea of people saying “no thanks, I wanna see it first” so that next step happens automatically after they click “no thanks.” My eyes are opening to why that would optimize.
Thanks, Bailey. "No Thanks" seems abrupt and dismissive, as well as final. Once they've said 'no thanks' they're in that mindset, but 'Let me read it first' is open to all kinds of possibilities!
After Bailey's explaining why they were using it, I realized that it's probably because people think "no thanks" is too dismissive and would rather subscribe than say "no thanks." Reverse psychology?!
It smells like a trick to me. "No thanks" carries a finality that may cause people to think that there's only two options: enter your email or exit the stack. My ATM uses similar trick language when it asks if you want to donate to X? The button marked "Exit" actually means continue without donating.
That's what I thought the options were (until I read this thread). I ended up subscribing to a bunch just to be able to see them. (I now know better, but will still change the setting on my stack.
May I also suggest an option to change the “Subscribe” button text. For instance, I suspect “Subscribe free!” may encourage more people to sign up. There may be people who think subscribing involves payment, as has been traditional in publishing.
Thanks for making this text we can customize. "No thanks" may perform better, but it's misleading, maybe even a trick. It sounds too final, like by clicking it you won't be able to enter the stack, as if you're dismissing the whole thing.
I'm late to this but I've been mulling this over and I've finally changed to wording on both of my newsletters to 'Click here to enter'. There are plenty of invitations to subscribe on the inside.
Oh thanks, I will try going back to Let me read it first, because that feels more Me...but I will pay attention to the effect it may have. Thanks for listening!
Good morning! Me being new at this substack, experience. I am wondering is what I am replying to right now, is this your substack account or is it something different?
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here's a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you:
Do you get caught up in the comparison game? Do you see other writers doing the things you do, or the things you want to do, and think, "Ugh, there's no room for me and my work." Here's some amazing news: the people we compare ourselves to aren't our competition. They are our *community*. They are people we can learn from, collaborate with, and look to for motivation. Knowing that others are doing similar things doesn't mean that there's less pie to go around. It means that the pie is bigger than you thought!
Whatever you do, don't let the comparison game rob you of your joy and purpose. Instead, let it light a fire under you to keep pursuing your passion, because the audience is out there, waiting for you to share what you've got!
I support your point of view and am curious if you could answer the following:
Suppose you’re working on a specific project for a long time, yet not seeing any results, no matter how hard you try and no matter what you do or change, when is it worth stopping and trying something new?
Sometimes people try to open a door that is closed to them, not because they are doing something wrong, but because we are all different and someone can succeed in a specific aspect and someone just can’t. I believe that it’s important to acknowledge the situation in time and assess when it’s best to let it go in order to start something new and prosper in it, instead of burning even more of your time on nothing
This is such a good question, Ted! And not to cop out, but I think the answer would be different for everyone and every project.
My personal litmus test? I can tell when the "spirit" has gone out of something I'm working on. Sometimes a project slows to a crawl and finishing it feels like a drag, but I still know deep within myself that it's the right thing to do, and to keep working on. It's a commitment I still feel connected to in some way. Hard work, but good work. But as soon as that goes away, I know that I need to step away from it. And not always forever; sometimes a project needs to be shelved for a time so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes and a renewed perspective.
If you still have an inner fire, you're enjoying yourself, and your work still has "spirit"--even if it's not giving you "measurable" results--I say it's still worth working on. But if it's all pain and zero pleasure, time to take a break. 🌿
I myself try to fight till the last breath in all my projects, because after some time, even if I understand that everything is over and this project needs to be closed, for me this decision is given with particular difficulty - the realization that so much time and effort have been spent for nothing is mortifying. Of course, I gained experience, but sometimes the realization of having to close a certain path is given very hard.
After reading this book, my perspective in life has changed completely.
Ted, there must be some confusion as to the reason I'm here. I have no one to talk to and at times I just need to voice my opinion. That and Robert's caption contest. I'm at the end of this life experience and I have no design on producing a work of any kind. But thanks for the recommendation.
I haven't read this (yet), but the author Oliver Burkeman gives an amazing discussion around his philosophy of time management on Sam Harris' Waking Up app (possibly also on his Making Sense; not sure).
Somewhat related, I recently watched the Netflix documentary Stutz; I find the notion of "Pearls on a string" (always with a turd within!) a very comforting way to approach everything now. It's progress, regardless. There's peace in that alone.
This is excellent thought! Every week your prompts and sharing have been so insightful and inspiring. Thank you!
I am the same way. Not all that I do generate “measurable” results that’s set by general standard of success. I used to (and on some bad days still do) beat myself over this and question if anything I do even worth it. But what’s good with doing that? So I have to shift my perspective and expand my awareness in noticing the tiniest progress that aren’t quantitative, like the satisfaction of completing a piece of writing and hit publish, the new connections I got as a result of publishing my works on Substack, gaining new knowledge as a result of exploring this new medium, and many others. And when I still am not feeling I have done enough… not worth it, etc - I do something else until I get the wind and flow to come back.
I agree! There can be an ebb and flow to projects, I found this to be the case when working on my first novel, something that's taken me almost a decade to complete! It has undergone lots of versions and evolved along the way to become something very different than I originally imagined- but the "spirit" of the stories has always been there!
Inspiration is like a singularity. It starts out as a single idea and it blossoms into a finished product that only needs to please one person, yourself.
Wise words and thoughts. I have a small goal for my nascent Substack, but so long as I'm finding creativity and enjoyment and a sense of wellbeing from it, then I'm absolutely going to keep going.
I hear you, Ted. In 2016 I shut down my business because the market was saturated, and the things I would need to do to stay competitive were not things I enjoyed doing. It was a hard decision, but in the end I found work more suited to my skills and passions on a team that was doing great things.
I also think it's important to clearly define what your goals are and what success looks like so you know what results are being measured when determining if something is or isn't working. At least for me, it's too easy to experience FOMO around other people's successes and lose site of what my own goals are. For instance, it would be easy feel like my substack is "not working" because my new subscriber count has slowed down. But my goal currently is to establish a weekly publishing cadence, build community, and explore what topics resonate with my audience. And since I have an idea of how I'm measuring these goals, I can confidently say it IS working!
It's true, isn't it? Makes me appreciate Substack's emphasis on community that much more. I've also enjoyed discovering some online writer collectives -- most recently Foster.co -- where I can share work and get feedback before hitting "publish."
I've not shred my pre-published work with anyone since 2015 because of a horrible experience I had -- unless it's in the context of a writing workshop. I will, however, check out Foster, so thanks for that.
Sorry to hear that Terry. Personally I don't share it either except with maybe close friends or colleagues whose opinion I seek specifically. And yes, unless it's a writers workshop as well, of course.
If I may add my two cents here... from both personal experience and watching my artist sister respond to criticism or at least commentary (one of her pieces was recently featured in the Philly Museum of Art, by the way): you really should share your pre-published work, and take any and all feedback as a way to grow and learn about your craft. And whether you make changes based on the comments or not, keep writing and putting your stuff out there.
I'm the same, Terry, although it's because my brain has a bad habit of reading anything other than 100% enthusiasm as disapproval. So I would much rather show someone a finished product and ask for feedback for the next draft than tell people what I'm working on and lay awake at night thinking about their "oh, that's nice" response. 😆
Some of my best ideas come from conversations with the Substack community. Also, conjuring thoughtful comments to write, usually sets my creative mind in motion and makes a great warm-up to writing.
Same. Many of my best ideas are generated through conversation/reading other work. And those ideas are often not directly related to the topic at hand, but something that just sparks in my mind.
Exactly, I just received a commission to write an article about the importance of finding small joys in the every-day mundane. At first I thought; hasn't that been done to death? But once I got writing and put a different spin on it, it's been really enjoyable and turned out quite well!
I greatly value connection. If I could do anything in life, I think I would be an assignment editor because the story ideas just flow when I connect with others. Sometimes I have too many ideas to sort through, too many stories to tell, and I wish I could farm them out to others who could do them just as well or better than I could.
Haven't tried it or seen it tried, but you could add a list of topics you'd like to see others write, like assignments. Sometimes I'd like to do the same!
Great point and well said. I also touched on this with an essay about how creative AI is. What's interesting is what creativity really is in humans, how interconnected we all are, and how non-creative many humans are!
Here's the thing. AI cannot give people personal stories. That's where we humans come in. Use the human component that AI cannot. For now anyway;) PS I think everyone is creative to some degree. The key is having the discipline to express it as often as possible. Write, write, write!
I read an article about the “Eureaka” moment in science being a lot rarer than we think. Even in the days before the WWW presented us with all the connections and interactions, in the snail Mail Era scientists and artists built on each others work. Including Einstein when he was developing Relativity.
A foundational belief of mine is that humans are social creatures in every area, from basic survival to singing around the campfire. A lone human on the savannah was Leopard lunch and “*Daddy sang Bass* and mama sang tenor. Me and little brother and I would join right in.” Tucker is a fool on a lot of levels and diversity is one of humankind’s biggest strengths. Perspectives from other that can change our own, in a heartbeat, like an optical illusion that shifts right in front our eyes.
I came up believing that writing is a solitary business. I still believe it, but being part of a growing community of writers who encourage and amuse each other brings me great joy and makes me a better writer, one post at a time!
I have to say I am loving the interaction, feedback, conversation and community that has already grown out of my new Substack. That was a surprise benefit for sure :)
Interesting, I've never thought of any business as a solitary enterprise. But that may be a more common view than I’m aware of.
We all think of ourselves as unique, but I’ve struggled to find newsletters or writers on Substack that are similar to me or the content of osmanliseyfo.substack.com.
As a result, I’ve looked toward writing style and higher-level concepts to find similarities to make comparisons. I’m okay with not being unique, but maybe there is more to why I’m more relaxed with the idea than others.
I truly believe that everyone has a unique voice. Give two writers the same topic and you'll get two very different articles. There's always space. If you have something to say, say it, write it, post it.
I agree that each writer has their own voice, but its dangerous to underestimate the challenge inherent in finding it. So many external things influence our writing that its often difficult to determine if we're writing in our own unique voide or just reflecting those influences.
After 14 years as a successful commercial copywriter I've recently been encouraged by my mentor to embark on an earnest search for my voice. His position is that I've mastered commercial writing to compel interest in potential customers for my clients, but that bears no resemblence to my own true voice.
He also suggests that my best writing is yet to come when I do find it, and I'll deeply regret not finding it if I never try. Would love to hear others' thoughts about finding your voice!!!
I think finding your voice relies on a lot of experimentation. Always challenging yourself to write on different subjects or to alter the tone. I write a lot of life reflections, how to let go dead weight to feel a little better, these pieces (I'm told) are usually moving and make people stop and think. Then I have other pieces in which I bring out the humour and have quite a different tone. Through writing every day and not judging myself too harshly, I see the voice evolve, sometimes the emotional one combines with the humorous one. It's an ongoing process and can be very joyful to watch unfold. I certainly like to think that my best writing is ahead of me too, that it always will be and that I will always be improving!
I love what you've said here, Tamzin! I joined Substack to get writing, to keep writing, to practise and develop my writing. I can't believe how much more confident I feel in my writing life simply BY writing. Yes to the ongoing process! 😊
One phrase I keep hearing as I struggle to write in my own voice is "Just be yourself." How many times have we heard this advice in all kinds of contexts. As a writer, I think its a matter of trusting yourself to be authentic, and not trying to manipulate it too much, if at all.
I have to stop and say that these conversations I'm having with you and others on these threads is EXACTLY what I've been seeking from EXACTLY the right people to have them with. I'm truly grateful.
Great question, Howard! This might be a controversial take, but I think as writers we are the worst people to understand what "our voice" is, because it's hard to recognize your own uniqueness. We can't read our work objectively. And just like theme--which I could talk about all day--I believe that voice is not something you necessarily work on. It happens, whether you like it or not, and it grows out of your unique experiences, work patterns, and worldview. But it can be honed, certainly, by reading the work of others you admire and writing, writing, writing all the time, as much as you can. Even if you don't recognize your voice, others will.
The closest I've ever come to "hearing" my own voice in my writing was setting a draft of a novel I had written aside for almost a year, then coming back to it. And certain word choices, sentence structures, and concepts really leaped out at me, more than usual.
Last tip? Read your work aloud. Always always read work aloud. The places where you trip and stumble are often places where you're writing away from your voice. Writing like you speak can be very useful, if done well. 🌿
Love your suggestion to 'read out loud'. After I'd been writing Kindness Magnet for a while, I decided to try podcasting. It was a huge Aha moment for me and it really helped me lean into my voice, tone, inflection and then bring that out in my writing. I would sometimes find myself changing up the words a bit to fit how I was feeling when speaking.
And for anyone wanting to try this, if you are nervous about podcasting....you don't even need to publish the podcast. You can use Substack's podcast feature, record your written work, listen to it (and use that to improve your writing), and then nuke it if you like. After a while you may decide you like it and are having fun and you may just hit 'send' on your recording!
I think David Sedaris is an example of a writer who uses his readings to gauge his timing and laughs. Not all for laughs, but also if you're repeating yourself or rambling on, reading aloud will help! Good point on the nuke option!
Thanks, S.E.! As a frequent webinar presenter I almost had to develop the habit of reading myself back to myself, and you're absolutely right. If I can't say it comfortably, it's written poorly. To encourage myself, I sometimes go back and look at work I did when I first went freelance and compare it to now. It's a good thing today's me wasn't around to critique yesteryear's me. Oy!
Like most everyone else in these threads, I'm addicted to writing. It may be that my problem isn't "finding" my voice or developing it, as much as it is stripping away the craft of ghostwriting I've honed so well for so long. I'm either writing for a sponsor, or for some executive. Now, I get to be me writing for me. A scary proposition to be sure, but something I have to do now.
I really appreciate the time you and others take to respond to me and everyone else. It's a real pleasure to be becoming part of this community.
Hi Howard. I started writing Kindness Magnet in 2021. I set a goal to write for 1 year and then evaluate. I had a voice when I started, but it was timid and uncertain. It got better, not because I had really changed, but because I started to write the way I would speak to people. I became more 'me'. I'm in the planning stages of another Substack based on showing people how to use kindness skills in professional and personal relationships. It follows a different path than KM, but I'm hoping that my voice will still be there.
You have written successfully for 14 years helping position other people's voices. My advice to you would be to just start writing. You will find your voice without needing to force it. Don't give up before you have become successful!
And thanks Heather for the info on Deplatformable. It can't of course just be the power of our beautiful words that brings people round, right? There has to be some hustle too! I'm not one to toot my own horn, but there comes a time when you're interested in reaching an audience.
Awwww, thank you Paul. You just made my day! You know I am a fan of Deplatformable. You provide so much useful information in an engaging way. If I were on Substack (Oh, I am haha!), I would make Deplatformable a must read, especially for those of us who are somewhat technically challenged! (Not that I am, of course....)
So much of getting your message across is doing it in your voice. I know it is cliche to speak about the 'writers voice,' but it is vital. Explaining it is personal, and about as successful as explaining to a non-runner what it is like to 'hit a wall.' But when it comes out — a beautiful form of communion is established and the peace that goes with it.
Heather, I want to thank you for this excellent advice & support. In essence, you've given me exactly what I've been looking around for, the perspective of other writers on how they went about finding their voice. Some disagree with you, but many definitely agree.
Part of my reason for starting my two Substacks was to have a channel through which I could share my thoughts in my own way without concern for advertisers, sponsors, or anything else but the relationship between the reader and me. Like you, I am a very conversational writer. I write it the same way I would say it.
It has been a long time since I've experienced the kind of writing catharsis I get into when writing for my Substacks. It's that pure "in-the-zone" experience that inspired my total, passionate devotion to writing from the outset. It is beyond great to be back.
I look forward to continuing our conversation going forward. Thanks again!!
I think a huge part of finding one's voice as a writer has to do with just writing honestly about your own experiences and how you view the world. Whether I'm writing fiction or nonfiction, I have this tendency to try to manipulate where the story wants to go. The story itself is the same but I want a certain lense or theme on it. When I fall into this trap, the story itself might be ok, but overall the writing seems a little too "copy" or "journalistic", something I'm sure you're familiar with! When I stop resisting what wants to be written, my own unique voice comes out.
Like Tamzin said, we already have our own unique and inherent voices. It's just letting it be free.. and not trying to cage it in based on what everyone else is doing.
I think there should ideally be the balance- we need other writing for support, inspiration, knowledge, etc. But we also need to learn to turn that part off sometimes and just write and not worry about how we fit into the bigger scheme of things.
Ironically, there's a perfect space in the market for your voice. Because no one else is doing it!
That is such an awesome point, and nothing ironic about it! A writer simply has to trust and believe that their voice brings value to readers. Otherwise, why write?
I think trying lots of styles might be helpful! I am an experienced blog writer, so used to writing in that style but a few years back I realized what I was writing was starting to resemble poetry instead of blogs! I've been practicing that writing form for awhile now and it's fun to see the throughlines. I've also dabbled in fiction which presents new challenges!
Experimenting with different forms I bet you'll see your "voice" come through and be able to identify it more easily.
I've always written for myself. Congrats on making a living and having that person who sees your talent in that field encourage you into the private sphere.
This is where the real fun begins. There are no limits. Only the limits you place on yourself.
Substack is the perfect place for you to hang out. See where your spirit and your soul lead you.
I bet you find yourself and your true distinct voice much faster and steadier than you can imagine at this moment possible. Do it for yourself. Experiment. Ask your deepest self for his/her secrets.
Great advice! People kept telling me to develop an avatar of my audience and write to that person. For me, that took the fun out of it. Fortunately, I began writing what I wanted to read and it made all the difference... The whole 'my voice' thing came out of being myself.
My newsletter is all about my real-life trials and tribulations as a man who went from an upstanding family man and law-abiding citizen of thirty-nine years to criminal. After enduring 10 years of incarceration unsuccessfully objecting to being certified as Paranoid Schizophrenic, four years of which spent in the notorious Broadmoor Hospital, I am free again. I spend my days diarising my experiences in the Mental Health System and Adult Care Services in England, UK as therapy to myself and interested readers. I am trying to figure out if my story has legs? Or am I wasting my time? https://billybumbo.substack.com/
As a memoir coach, I think your story absolutely has legs. Congratulations to you for working your way to freedom. Based on what you wrote, there's definitely an audience for a story like yours!
I think your assessment if your story "has legs" or if "you're wasting your time" depends on how you want to move forward. Will writing about these personal experiences be therapeutic or painful? Do you see adding a "running commentary" of your therapy on your 'Stack anything that can be helpful (to your readers) or adding to your forward track at all?👍
Clichéd I know but I guess I look at it like 'sharing is caring'. Plus as you can see I work under a pseudonym so I have my anonymity for insulation. Thanks for your perspective as it compels me to think it through. 😊
Your "sharing is caring" outlook, then, seems to answer the questions you were asking originally! Holy enlightenment, Batman! Now, go change some lives, BB, and do yourself some heart-healing in the meantime!💝💪😉
My problem isn't motivation it's generating interest! I see you have an interest in 80's music. My latest newsletter is inspired by 'Life's What You Make It' by Talk Talk. https://billybumbo.substack.com/p/the-black-sheep
Oh. Guess I misunderstood the "I am trying to figure out if my story has legs" and the "Or am I wasting my time?" as being a far less interest-generating dilemma than simply wondering if there's a rationale for you to be writing about your story.
Swing-and-a-miss to open the game, Brad! Good thing the bases weren't loaded! Thanks for subscribing, Billy, and good luck in generating interest!
As a marketing guy, I gotta say that your elevator pitch is fantastic. I'm sure you will get a lot of people wanting to hear more of your story, Billy. I just subscribed!
Hey Billy. I believe your story has strong legs. You are not wasting your time. The beauty of substack is that everyone has a story to tell that appeal to the interests of probably millions of people. Reaching those people takes time. Just keep spreading the word any way you can. In particular, get to know others writers, subscribe to their newsletters, and recommend them/cross post with them. Our first audience is ourselves. Get your story out there. Recognition is not overnight, but comes gradually as we continue to publish. Vary your genres and alway include some sort of encouragement for whoever reads your newsletter. I will subscribe to your newsletter today and I'm sure others who read it will also.. Hang in there, mate. One article at a time. Remember the phrase, "Rome was not built in a day".
Hey Cork, thanks for the encouragement. Been feeling quite isolated since I started publishing. Good to know there's no reason to be given the community that's here on Substack.
I have been publishing UnCorked about the same length of time as you have been been publishing Billy Bumbo. After approximately 1.5 months, I have exactly 39 subscribers. My goal right now is to keep publishing 3-4 times a week and get 20 subscribers/month. Going as planned so far. Once I reach 100 subscribers I will offer a paid subscription in addition to the free one.
Endear yourself to writers you like reading who have large subscriber base and interact with them. Visibility through them will increase. and write multiple time per week. Tell stories, give advice.
I believe that even as a result of this office hours discussion, you will see an uptick. It will be exciting to see how your newsletter grows to the point where you won't ever need to look for a "job" of any other sort. Keep the faith . . .
IMO this is your hook "the pressure of being the sole breadwinner led to my descent into sadness," because it is relatable. One of the problems of writing about madness and the madness industrial complex is that disability (in general, but specifically the type of disability you were assigned) is still acceptably "othered" by polite society, which runs the publishing industry.
As a recovering person and retired Addiction Counselor, I think your idea has more legs than a millipede. With the caveat being, “It will depend on how you handle it.” You appear to be able to write with clarity and share with honesty, so the rest will be up to letting your passion inform your “voice” and go for it. You may have a style that doesn’t meet today’s market or you may create a new market for your style. Like HST’s *Fear and Loathing*. Although, his was not *brand* new. I later read Charles Dicken’s *The Pickwick Papers* and thought I saw similarities.
As a counselor, I often struggled with the MH system myself, but by the time I retired in 2013 a fresh wind was blowing and the non-existent “wall” between Addiction and MH no longer tried to separate the two. “Cooccurring Disorders are not the exception. They are the expectation.”
When I was the Director for the Sioux Falls Detox/Arch Halfway House, it would take me six-weeks to get a resident into MH services across town. By then, the equally arbitrary six-week discharge required by our contract with the state would have made the referral a moot point. The rules I inherited from my agency when I took the position also interfered. “A resident will be out of the house from 8 to 5, except for lunch.” I found one guy sleeping under his bed after eating. I thought that is not laziness. That is depression!” When I tried to get the rules changed, I was told, “I’d like to nap after lunch myself.” My response, “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t realize that you were in Early Recovery!” did not endear me to my boss.
I wanted to get this posted before our guardians check out, but I see I ran off at the fingers again. It was a bit I wanted to include in my own memoir, *Drunkard’s Walk*, but hadn’t gotten around to. In fact, I wanted to stop writing and take a nap myself, because I was feeling quite sleepy. I am a short-cycle Bipolar, a non-existent diagnosis, but one that describes me.
I am a devotee of Winston Churchill who said, “When you nap, you get two days in one.” I loved doing Outpatient groups, held in the evenings, so I needed that second day.
From your writing style I feel like your Memoir will be a humdinger! I currently live in a Halfway House and live with people with addictions so can relate even from the other side of the pond!
My newsletter is for writers and one sign off I use is ‘Did you write today?’. I’m working to learn more about building engagement as I get ready to enter year two next month. My sub count grows everyday but I’d love to have more interaction. So, that’s my year two resolution!
I'm curious if the use of prompts or the call to share in a specific way helps with engagement? I've been starting new chat threads every Tuesday with prompts but so far no bites! I only have 48 subscribers so I'm wondering if it's just needing to build a bigger community before I see more engagement?
Hi Mariah! Chats and discussions can be tough at first, but stick with it through the initial "crickets" phase. I do weekly discussions, and early on I would be lucky to get any response at all. Now, some topics really click with folks and some don't, but I don't worry about it as much, because my followers know that I'll be posting a discussion every week whether they choose to engage or not. Also, I make sure to set the tone and expectations for discussion so everyone knows that it's a safe place to chat.
I'm busy at work today and only have a hot second to drop into office hours, and THIS is what I'm here for: the community. Connecting with other writers and building genuine community is what keeps me motivated to continue writing. It's easier to avoid the comparison game when you can genuinely be excited for your friends and community. Thanks for always bringing the encouragement, S.E.!
I'm lucky being on GMT that this is exactly the right time of day for me for Office Hours. Very grateful. And yay to community, Holly! Maybe see you tomorrow?
Awww, I had so wanted to be on Write Together Friday last week - https://juliebhughes.substack.com - we were away Thursday for just one night originally, but ended up extending our stay until Saturday! I'm going to try to make it tomorrow. I love having the opportunity for half an hour of uninterrupted writing! Maybe see you next time!
I've been part of these discussions just long enough to know that we can always count on you, S.E. Reid, for some thoughtful words of encouragement. Thanks for that!
And, not to be maudlin, but I think seeing others as possible points of connection rather than as competition is key to a happy, abundant life. It's a choice we get to make daily. So, if we're just not feeling like being part of the world sometimes, so be it. But, the next day, and the one after that, and so on, we get more chances to practice the fine art of optimism.
My post this week is about broadening our understanding of what love means. I think cultivating a collaborative mindset fits within the context of that idea.
Maybe I’m just a starry-eyed storyteller…but I view this kind of work as a journey, not a tournament. I’d rather be a little flicker of light on the trail that gives fellow travelers a glimmer of hope than a looming shadow for them to race against.
I just wanted to give a shout out to Paul Macko from the Deplatformable Newsletter (https://pau1.substack.com/) for the help finally getting Google Analytics set up. Big help and seems like it will be a gamechanger for the overall SEO game.
Wondering who else has implemented Google Analytics and how it's gone?
Also, I've noticed an overall improvement in my recent traffic - wondering if anyone else has seen the same.
Drop in and subscribe for weekly playlists if you're interested as well.
I noticed that my publication doesn't have Google Site Verification option in the analytics section in settings. Do you know if this is because my publication is new and Substack will add it after a certain number of posts/subscribers are present on the publication? I have two others where I was able to set up my google search console day 1...
I keep encouraging people to come and join Substack, on the same subject as me, there's room for all. I follow a lot of bloggers on other sites and they all give me something different on the same overall subject, it's a big field but space for all.
When a vendor I worked with long ago introduced a service that competed with my own, I asked why he was competing with his own sales channel. He suggested that his company's entry into that offering had the positive effect of validating mine. The vendor was IBM. Ensuing experience proved him right!
Hello everyone! Quick tip for everyone who posts during office hours, and then can't find their post or replies:
As soon as you make a comment, your comment shows up with a timestamp. If you click on the timestamp, it brings you to a page that shows just your comment and any replies. You can bookmark this page, or just leave it open in a separate tab. That way you won't have to scroll through 1,000+ comments to find your comments and replies.
Ditto … and I would add to that request the ability to “expand all” replies/comments. Doing so would allow us to do simple searches for anyone’s name, including our own.
When you comment, you'll see your photo (or in your case, your orange circle), your name, your substack's title, then the timestamp to the right of that. For example, I'm looking at your comment here and it says you posted it "11 min ago"
On this thread there are many people talking about approaching a 1000 subscribers... congrats to all of you!! Stories like yours, Hal, help me see what's possible. But at the same time I have to grapple with how far I am from the summit you're preparing to crest. (Cue pep talk.)
I've been writing every week for three months (about to post #15 this weekend.) I have 75 subscribers, most of whom are my friends and family. And for anyone else in a similar boat, I just wanted to share a perspective shift.
75 people is a lot of people! 35 people is a lot of people! If that many people showed up every week to our yoga class/craft workshop/speaking event, we'd be pumped!! So let's give ourselves permission to be happy that even a dozen people care what we have to say in this world so full of strangers shouting their thoughts and opinions from social media rooftops that many of us can't hear ourselves think.
Amidst that dim, they still CHOOSE to listen to you. To have YOU arrive in their inboxes every week, alongside essential emails about work deadlines and doctor appointment reminders. That's huge. (Giving this pep talk to myself too.)
Love to all of you!! And congrats on reaching your current subscriber count! Whatever it may be.
P.S. Thank you for your work, Hal. Your comment led me to take a gander through your Substack, which is galvanizing and humanizing all at the same time. Very grateful to have stumbled across you here!
Yes, and I tend to write for the 3 or 4 people who have encouraged me and who I KNOW truly want to hear what I have to say. I silence all other voices when I'm down.
Hal! I love his newsletter a ton. I’d highly recommend it (both listening to him narrate and seeing his pictures). Just throwing some love out there in case anyone else sees this thread. His newsletter is called, “Living in a Body” and he talks about his life and trials living with a chronic illness.
Hello Everyone! If you have specific questions about writing fiction on Substack, or are looking for a like-minded community of fiction writers, then I suggest you check out Fictionistas.
We're now over 1200 subscribers strong, have our own office hours, zoom calls, prompt parties, guest posts, writing challenges... it's getting wild! We're a laid back, open group, ready to help you succeed on Substack.
Thanks, this looks really interesting! I've challenged myself to write a story a day for 100 days (17 stories in so far!) and I've been looking for more fiction writing communities on Substack today.
When I started I didn't realise quite how long it would be... I won't finish until May 10th, if I hit my goal. It's been great so far - it's really helped combat my perfectionism, and I've also felt much more free to try different genres and different styles. Some of the stories are awful trash, but there are a few I genuinely like, and if I had stuck to my usual "agonise over a story for a week and then give up halfway" I wouldn't have any of them. Even the mediocre stories usually have some element in them that I could repurpose later.
Join Serialize! If you’re interested in writing and publishing memoir or fiction, let this be your guide. I’d love to have you. https://serialize.substack.com/
Thanks Sarah, will check it out. Quick heads up: when you include the "www" in the url, it throws a security error, at least in my browser. Might stop some people from getting to the stack.
I haven't been aiming for any specific word count, so it varies wildly. So far the stories range from 276 words to just over 5200, so maybe 30 minutes (I'm slower on the shorter ones) to over six hours? I haven't been keeping track of my words per hour, but in the past I know I've written 800-1000 words per hour. My editing afterwards is minimal. I just read the story through once and amend a few words here and there. It's too hard to switch my brain to a proper structural edit on the same day that I'm writing, and when I've written longer pieces (yesterday's was over 4000...) I feel too worn out to do any proper editing! Obviously it means the pieces aren't as high quality as I know I could make them, but its more about getting into a habit and not thinking "Wow, I have this great idea... I shouldn't write it yet, I couldn't possibly do it justice," which I know is silly as ideas are actually ten a penny.
I know just enough about SEO to know I don't want to think about it so I appreciate that someone else is.... thank you, Substack! Would love to reach 1,000 subscribers in 2023. Here's to #NewsletterGoals. :)
I'd love the same, but also I'm so proud to have the number of subscribers I have, even if it is lower than 1000! Every last one who opens the email and reads it is just so encouraging. Also hard relate re SEO !
Absolutely! Nothing can beat actual engagement: opens, likes, the occasional text message to say "I enjoyed that piece." Far more gratifying than statistics.
Exactly! I got a message a couple of weeks ago from someone saying that my post had been shared with them and that it was what they had needed to read/hear for a really long time, and that it made a difference in their lives immediately. That feeling is so amazing, even if nobody else had read it!
Had one like that too Tamzin 😊 Group gathering and waiting just to read my thoughts and perspective. Nothing has topped that comment yet. Well tobe true comments and esp shares are rare
It's that personal connection that makes writing so fulfilling. I recently had a pro that I really respect thank me for writing content "that really matters." I'm still flying from that one comment.
Exactly! I've been meaning to get back to having a file where I keep those meaningful comments and replies, to build me up on the days when self-doubt show up!
We just got you one closer! We are trying to build our substack community because the grind of self promotion is rough. We got you, Alicia! LYLAS, Sam and Marilyn (Misguidance Counselors)
I hate hopping into the office hours and just talking about my own Substack, but... I DO want to share something exciting!! Little Things was featured in Fortune today, specifically a post I wrote this fall about embracing your "down cycles" -- https://fortune.com/2023/02/16/how-to-feel-ambitious-wintering/?winter The article discusses the ebbs and flows in a creative life and how we can learn to embrace and accept the inevitable shifts.
The article also discusses the concept Wintering, and of course Katherine May, the author of the book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, has her own amazing Substack, too! -- https://katherinemay.substack.com. (Hooray, I made it not entirely about myself!)
Brava, congrats! Did you pitch the article to Fortune? If so I'm sure some other writers here would love to know more about that process if you feel like sharing !
I actually didn't pitch them! The author reached out to me saying she'd recently found my newsletter and was currently working on a series about ambition in 2023, and wanted to interview me about my "down cycle." I did not think I'd be featured so heavily (and had a momentary wave of anxiety when I saw the article began by talking about me having a hard time... I was nervous about being so vulnerable on a bigger platform) -- but ultimately happy to have talked to them and to share my perspective on the subject.
I wish I had pitching advice, but I suppose the reason my newsletter was featured was because this particular author was working on a series on a topic I've been writing about a lot -- reframing success and ambition, and the ebbs and flows of a creative life. So if you see a journalist investigating something you have a personal connection to, reach out!
Thanks Ali! I subscribed to your newsletter this morning and spent an hour being inspired. I'm doing a course called Creating the Impossible, and my 'impossible project' for the course is getting cast in a Broadway musical. I was having a down day with regards to my project and Little Things helped lift my spirits! Thank you! xoxo
I know the feeling, a few weeks ago my Substack was mentioned on Slate (by another author who cross-posted there and kept the mention), and I got to know from a friend. It was nice!
I've been asking for categories for writers forever. "Personal Essay" would be good. So would "Writing Community" or "Writing Tips". Also, "Creative Writing".
I agree that adding some ‘writers community’ type categories would be beneficial..the ‘education’ category has so many wildly different newsletters, it’s barely a category.
Thank you very much for this feedback! We are taking this into consideration, but want to ensure we are making the categories as useable as possible for discoverability purposes.
I'm gratified to have just passed 400 subscribers and I'd like the option to display that on my Welcome Page as well. Showing no figure leaves it to the potential subscriber's imagination, which means they could assume you've got 10 subscribers or a thousand.
Empowering all publications of all sizes to make the determination of what to display for themselves would be more equitable for everyone.
I would like to see a 'Hundreds of Subscribers' badge as well as 'Thousands of Subscribers'. I think getting hundreds to subscribe is a pretty big achievement!
Absolutely! 400+ people read my nonsense each week. That's pretty amazing! Especially since I used to be a corporate stiff with no official background in writing or media or entertainment.
Hi Amran! Christina from Substack here. I shared your feedback with with team! In the mean time you are welcome to put the number of subscribers you have in your one line description on your Welcome page - some writers do that too!
What I loved about Substack when I started was that it didn't show subscriber numbers, which meant that writers' words spoke for themselves. That's what I hated about Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the other platforms I'm allergic to.
I didn't - and don't - want to be influenced in my subscribing choices, whether that be conscious or unconscious, by a number that is trying to make me evaluate a writer's content by anything other than that content. I'm proud to have subscribers - I don't have 1,000 of them, but if and when I do I'll be very surprised if I feel I want to show that. 😊
I agree, Rebecca! And I honestly try not to be swayed too. If anything, I view the "big guys" with extra skepticism because I love underdogs, plus that's just how I am. :-)
In a perfect world we'd all make fairer, more judicious assessments of each other. In the world we've got I just think it's really important for everyone to have the same tools at their disposal.
I don't think there's anything that keeps you from manually putting that information on your welcome page. In Settings>Basics>Short Description, you can mention the number of subscribers you have.
When you pass 1,000 subscribers I think you'd want to remove that though, because that's Substack's threshold for starting to show a subscriber count.
That's true, but my issue is more about Substack limiting the functionality to larger publications. I get they're the money makers for the company, but I don't see why they should curtail functionality to us nobodies.
I'm slightly embarrassed by my low subscriber count, so I'm glad it doesn't show up automatically. But I would certainly want the option to broadcast it when it reaches a level I'm actually proud of. It's easy to get discouraged when we're watching the already most popular publications become more popular because they're being showcased for being popular. I wanna be popular.
I think there are a number of formatting and other basic options that should be included to help us razzle-dazzle potential subscribers. Some mainstream media article or other described Substack as a cross between WordPress, Mail Chimp, Facebook and Patreon, or some combination of references. It's basic Steve Jobs Marketing 101: Make it beautiful and easy to use, and they'll buy it.
Right now the formatting strikes me as way too limited. If Substack is aiming for uniformity, we're not promoting Substack, we're promoting our own writing and brands. If there were no other newsletters that had more customized options, that would be one thing. But newsletters like Free Press look as good, and are as easy to navigate and understand as the New York Times. Limiting our ability to sell properly, but giving those who are already established with thousands of readers a Pro version of Substack doesn't seem like a sensible model, from a marketing standpoint.
If I were Substack execs, I'd set a meeting with WordPress and form a creative partnership to integrate their basic four or five basic themes into Substack. Anything more complicated than what Wordpress.COM offers — meaning not Wordpress.ORG's limitless options — would require a frontend developer to customize it. I told the SS help desk that I'd gladly pay a small premium every month to have a Pro theme.
However, having the option to bring in your own frontend person, too, is something publications with more than a certain amount subscribers — say 10,000 — should be able to do. I'm a toddler with this, just learning the ropes, banging my head on the coffee table, so maybe that's already an option.
Tangentially: I've been trying to get a response from the help desk for a while now as to how we can organize posts under the customizable tabs on the menu at the top of the page, under the title. Does this involve creating different newsletters? I'd rather just organize it by theme, not create another publication; that also strikes me as a strange way to strengthen any brand.
Being brand-conscious isn't just Trump's preoccupation; a brand is what any product being sold in a marketplace is. You never distract from the name, and change the key art (design) only after it's taken root, at which point the redesign itself becomes a marketing tool, an event that makes loyal customers/readers feel like they're getting something fresh. But even that is 5 to 10 years out.
Regarding your tangential issue- those are sections. You can create them in your settings. Once you do so, you can move existing posts there and write new ones. I have several sections in mine if you want to see how it looks.
HUZZAH! That did it. I looked everywhere for instructions. I explored that setting a number of times, but was deterred: Calling it 'newsletters' and 'sections' is using terminology that's misleading if you're accustomed to WordPress; normally it's 'categories'/'pages' that are added to 'menus.' But they use those terms for other items; for instance, usually the admin of a site creates categories as anything he/she wants, and then assigns them to pages and posts. Substack gives us a choice of categories and subcategories from a dropdown, none of which apply to what I scribble about. And there are no tags, from what I can tell — are there?
You're welcome! I agree that using newsletters and sections interchangeably is confusing, especially if you're used to WP categories (you can put a post in only one section, though). I've seen the WP-style of categories and tags be requested as a feature here. There is no tagging ability in Substack. I've seen people "index" their posts in the context of recipes, like this one: https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/from-the-kitchen-recipe-index. It's super manual, though.
And something I just thought of that is also manual, but maybe easier, could be to add emojis or very specific combos of words, so you can link the search results. For example, I use the magnifying glass for a type of post (they're all in one section, so this would be repetitive for me), but if I wanted, I could say click here for all interviews, and the link is to the emoji search results.
Thanks for this. The recipe index is a hack; Substack can do better. I'm such a know-it-all busybody that I've already offered my services to help them, making the case that the prettier we are, the more people will want to pay for our services. Did that sound like prostitution? Yeah, well, writers...
WordPress is open source, so I'm not sure what the excuse is. Maybe they need to do another round of financing, first; the last round they did was a series B in March '21, so it might be in the works. In my view, focusing on design is exactly what a Series C should pay for, sort of like putting the finishing touches on a house you've built — people do judge books by their covers. Every major and minor author should have a presence on Substack, but none that I know do.
As for the $50 for a simple 3XX redirect to our own URL... Again, I'm an ignorant newbie. I see that you have a customized URL. I hope I'm not being presumptuous, but did you pay the $50, or that's how you chose your URL here in the beginning? If you don't feel comfortable answering that, I totally understand. At this stage it's probably better for me to keep my own name in the URL, get some of that SEO cross-pollination going with my other sites.
I paid the $50, you have to do it to get Substack linked to the domain. But I moved from Revue, where I already had digest.jennchen.com as my newsletter subdomain, and I didn't want to change that. The biggest difference was that Substack supports https while Revue did not and my readers would sometimes come up against a security warning when they went to the site. But I already pay for my domain and the host and subdomains are free. The $50 was a one-time business expense to me and not a huge deal for me.
In Substack's defense, I imagine they're having growing pains. The appeal of it is that you don't need to do much to get started writing, so having tons of features would probably bog people down. On the other hand, in the last 8 months I've been on here, I've seen them listen to people's feature requests and roll out plenty of new features practically every week.
Interesting points, James. Especially with respect to TFP. Good for them for getting so big, and Substack clearly wants to put some muscle behind them for financial purposes. But at this point TFP doesn't even resemble a Substack webpage. So the branding/uniformity argument is moot.
To me it's a no-brainer that the simplest tools always be made available to every Substack publication.
totally agree. When can you get the "hundreds of free and paid subscribers" tagline? I keep asking that - this is my third mention during office hours - and never get an answer.
Seconding this. Even for smaller pubs the message that you've got "hundreds" of people willingly receiving emails from you is a strong signal of quality.
That's great. I think I'll keep "No, thanks", since I assume people at Substack have tested this like crazy and figure out that it is better than "Let me read first" that was there before.
I've found that people assume the "No thanks" means you can't read unless you subscribe. Which could be a good or bad thing... but the people I've talked to don't love it. They feel duped. Like they thought they were going to a post but ended up being forced to hand over their email first!
It's partly about what's statistically better, and partly about letting readers have a consistent experience across different Substacks. People know if they click "No thanks" they get to read free posts.
When they see different messages on every newsletter, they have to reevaluate each message. That might sound good to us as authors "Yay they're thinking individually about me", but it's the kind of friction that can turn people off to an entire platform.
I actually didn't know that clicking 'no thanks' still takes you to the post. I know better now, but I suspect there's lots of people who are not familiar with SS that might think like I did.
The Substack team has the interested we get more subscribers. So I am assuming they have worked on the welcome page a lot (as might be proven by this week's feature). But it might also be that they haven't, given their product team is small.
My thoughts are from a picture book author's mind, so my first ideas were to try to write something funny and random (and therefore probably the opposite of a proven way to get more subscribers).
Let’s consider a paradox. I have a good idea. Such as “do not read further,” as it may damage your sense of self or intellect. Or as the consent forms I use to use and as recommended by my profession. I would often think if someone reads this consent form or all the potential side effects of this treatment, why would they ever want to do this? But anyway, paradox might be worth a try and little humor might lead people to take you seriously or be more curious about your content.
Someone else in the thread said how we can do it, but it used to say “let me read it first” and I personally loved that WAY more. Because when you click a “no thanks” I wouldn’t expect it to continue to take me to the site I didn’t even wanna sign up for (aka- said “no thanks” to).
It's under "Settings" and then "Publication Details." (And then "Opt out message on the welcome page.") It used to be "Let me read it first" so that's what I changed it back to, but you could make it "I'll take a look" or "Maybe later" or "I like to browse before I buy" or "I wanna see what Livio wrote" or, like, anything!
I just subscribed to your newsletter too, Carolyn. Although I'm not a prepper, I come from that generation of "back to the land" fol, many of whom still grow and make much of what we eat.
Thank you so much, Kate! We're less about prepping really, and more about how to grow what you eat, why we should eat better, how to increase our self-sufficiency and back to the land ideas and practices, as well as ideas on how to save at the grocery store. I hope you'll find lots to entertain and inform!
Hi everyone! I'd like to share a tip for promoting your work and ask for a small feature change.
The tip. Your subheadings are sharable. If you hover over the subheads (anything that isn't normal text in the text editor's "style" drop-down menu), you'll see a link icon. Copy that link and you can share it on social media. When someone clicks on the link, it takes them directly to the subheading, as opposed to the start of the post. This is a great way to share a single element of your newsletter, or point readers to something specific you wrote in a previous post.
The feature request. Is it possible for the Substack team to make it so that the subhead link pulls the first image in that subhead? For example, if I write a post about going on an Alaskan cruise, and there's a subhead that's about the whales we saw, I'd like the subhead link to feature the picture of the whale, as opposed to the article's main image, which is of a cruise ship. Hoping that's an easy fix.
As always, thank you & keep up the great work, Substack team!
Thanks, I will check this out. Sometimes, my subtitle is more specific about what I want to share or relates to a key part of the content of my article.
Question of the day: Whose work do you financially support? What Substack writers or Patreon creators or other creative communities do you currently invest in? And why?
Like most of us on here, I am navigating out how to make a living doing what I love. A lot of times, I (we) start by asking how we can get people to pay for our work. But I wonder if the answer begins with a different question.
I wrote a post about this just a couple of weeks ago, how and why artists/writers etc need the investment. I don't have a huge readership yet but I was surprised by how many paid subscriptions it brought in (I just started Substack a few months ago) https://tamzin.substack.com/p/ensuring-the-survival-of-a-very-strange
That's very well done. I have no problem asking clients for money, but I find it hard to ask individuals to pay to read what's going on in my mind. Not sure why that's the case, but it's always been true. I will re-read this and give it more thought.
This makes me so happy. I think what's especially beautiful (and compelling) about what you wrote is how simply honest it is. It holds space for the genuine joy of creating and the truth about the time and energy that goes into making it, which, for a lot of people, is a revelation and a true mindset shift. I'm so glad you received a supportive response.
Thank you! I didn't want it to be a 'begging for money post', but also to make a stand. I know so many artists and writers who do so much amazing hard work, for free, and I fell into the same trap for a long time. All creatives have to reject that system that takes advantage of us and call it out!
So true! I've been thinking about this a lot lately. As and artist I feel like I have done so much for other for free. And often feel undervalued. I've been really starting to stand up for myself and put a monetary value on what I do. I'm heading to read you substack now.
That tug of resentment or feeling undervalued is definitely a clue that we've given beyond what we feel comfortable giving or a misalignment in expectations (even of ourselves). I'm so glad you're feeling more clear and confident in your work and your worth.
I have paid subscriptions to several here on Substack, and I would love to be able to support others that way, but there's only so much to go around. I choose who I'll pay to read based on many things--exceptional writing, important information, general support.
I would rather support writers who have fewer followers and might need the money than those who can boast thousands of followers and are making a living off of it.
I LOVE the intentionality you've outlined for deciding who to support and why- smaller substacks where the support is more meaningful for them, the quality of writing, the insight, and the overall exchange. Such a great filter.
I've been advocating for a different subscirption model here:
I propose the following:
Substack establishes a credit system where a member can buy a dollar value each month, which can roll over. A credit can = $1 and can be used in the following ways:
1. They can pay for subscriptions with credits where there might be a reduced cost option (say 3 credits vs. $5)
2. They can pay for individual essays with credits (1 credit / essay)
3. They can send credits to writers for free essays as a 'tip' for good writing.
So this would break down to allow someone to buy 20 credits - $20 each month.
They could use 9 credits on three subscriptions and have 11 credits to buy / tip for other essays. This would allow a micro-monitization vs. the expectation of a fully committed and yet independent subscriptions. It would help build the broader community aspect of a network of authors as well.
Same. I'd love to have the flexibility to go lower than that. That said, I don't have knowledge/expertise of what happens when you start at, say, $2 per month and want to go higher eventually.
I'm not saying it NEEDS to be this way, but as someone who sees Substack as a great way to publish digital versions of books, I'd love to charge like $20 per year. Because in that way, I feel like it can be communicated to prospective readers as something adjacent to, "you can expect one book per year," and they can do the math that justifies that cost.
And by "one book" I don't necessarily mean one novel per year, I'm just saying that you can expect, like 300-400 pages worth of content per year, whether that IS a novel, or it's a combo of short stories, essays, commentary, etc.
I really, really like this idea. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I should be offering a paid subscription at this time (still early in the newsletter's life), or if I should be making everything free with the idea of offering a paid option later.
(as I'm typing, I'm leaning toward all free)
Having the model that you outline here would help take away some of that reticence, I think, because it of course offers readers superior flexibility. Committing to a month-long subscription isn't some throwaway thing. And, it creates this balance beam of sorts for the writer.
Right now, because my stack will be where I serialize a novel of mine, the feed is fairly empty, so if it were me arriving there, I certainly wouldn't go the paid route. There just isn't enough to justify it. But, fast forward three or four months from now and an entire novel will have been published. And novels on the traditional market of course have price precedent that would suggest to someone, "subscribing for one month, for $5, to read an entire novel is a steal."
Perhaps I'm digressing, I just see your proposal being applied and it maintaining the discoverability that Substack already offers, while also presenting further options for writers to make money and/or receive proof of concept.
Back to my situation for just a moment longer: because I'm of the belief that I personally wouldn't pay to read what's currently there with my newsletter, I feel the need to hedge, and to offer visitors a secondary option. So, I have a link to my feed on Kofi, where they can "buy me a coffee". I've seen a few others doing this, or going the free route and sending readers to Kofi or Patreon, where more flexibility does exist.
But truthfully, I don't want to send anyone off page for payment, and I don't think Substack wants writers to do that either.
Garrett, I allowed people to subscribe for free or paid from almost the beginning. At first, it was free for all, but so many people told me I should at least give the option, that I finally put it on, and I am surprised at how many people want to support the writing.
I like the idea of giving readers a choice. My blogging and posting have been to get helpful, educative material that might benefit the unique reader drawn to my work. When I get enough content, I usually re-edit and publish it as a book. I’ve done one book so far, and it was an exciting and rewarding adventure, different from blogging on WordPress and now Substack. I’ve stayed free but will consider doing what you have done.
Thanks for sharing, Maura! I think for the time being I'm just going to turn my newsletter back to being entirely free. Maybe things'll change in the future, though. We shall see!
The ones I pay for provide something I can't get elsewhere (or can, but at a worse quality): Journalists doing really good work and book agents who give peeks "behind the scenes" into the publishing world.
Do you find there is a theme or a topic you're drawn to that is hard to find elsewhere (or is better when written independently)? I am with you on the BTS (those kinds of insights really do seem to drive paid subscriptions), especially for the publishing world. I follow Something to Say with Abigail Bergstrom. Any others you love and recommend?
Hi Tami! I pay for four Substacks and they are all people whose writing I really like! Like you, I am hoping there are also others like me :).
One thing I've been noodling on is using threads as part of my paid offering to welcome readers into a community around my topics (I actually just posted a question about this on here as well). It seems like kind of a chicken and egg problem - you need a lot of readers to have a successful thread - but I definitely think that joining a community around certain topics is one paid perk other Substacks use.
I completely agree with you! Being able to engage (just like this!) with other people around a particular topic is always an attractive offering to me. And, it is a real trick (or maybe an art form) to inspire real, active and interactive engagement. I've noticed several threads I've joined are mainly a bunch of people leaving stand alone comments ...which isn't quite the thing.
Yea totally. Being someone who generally is uncomfortable with online chatting (like this office hours thing - I have to force myself to come to it every week), it's hard for me to envision the end state of a really healthy, fulfilling thread offering. But I do think it can exist. I do find pockets of it here (like this!). And I know others enjoy the online relationship building more than I do (and hopefully I can come to enjoy it?)
In life and online, I definitely prefer smaller more intimate conversations which is what I am always wishing for in threads. I've noticed Office Hours has felt really loud and chaotic lately, but carving out this little thread today has been SUCH a joy!
It seems like you need a huge following to have success with threads or make it a core aspect of your Substack à la house inhabit, dear e. Jean, etc. Many times I see Substacks with thousands of followers and the chats have less than ten replies. Or a newsletter that is basically a prompt for comments and similarly low responses.
The patreons and substacks I pay for usually offer tutorials and insights into my industry that I can't get any where else. They are also writers who's work outside Substack I love and want to know more about!
And I do really believe that some people support just because they want to, they appreciate the work you do and they want to offer you something for it!
Ah, that's so true. I notice I spend a lot of mental space preparing to convince people, rather than imagining the conversation with the people who are willing and waiting to support.
Thank you for sharing! I've noticed the same thread in the work I pay for, too. And, as a writer who does not provide practical industry insights and tutorials, it's really make me think about the value of Outsourced Optimism and what a meaningful version of what I do do would look like....
Its definitely a big question, but don't sell yourself short! What do your readers come to you for? It could even be as simple as longer/extra/more indepth posts!
You're absolutely right! I actually support several writers whose writing I just love and want more of. Rather than imagining a new offering, you're reminding me to focus instead on a deeper offering. Thank you Meaghan!
I also follow some industry-specific content, however I love a good comfort read or entertaining read to get OUT of work mode! I listen to podcasts and read blogs that fit this role for me, it makes me feel more balanced :)
I plan to invest in Substackers I really enjoy and can see the love they put in their work. Not necessarily because I get something from them I can’t get anywhere else (granted, there are a few that have exclusive content I’d like to get access to, but has nothing to do with the BTS of industries or anything like that).
Money’s been inconsistent and a little funny the past few months but once everything is sorted out again I wanna be in integrity and support the writers I love. Why would I expect the same to come to me if I’m not “willing” to do so myself and support writers I love?
Yes! I think you hit a really important point- the integrity of being a creator and supporting other creators and the spirit of that exchange. I find that I'm still shifting my own mindset around paying for art and writing, which likely informs my insecurity about charging/ offering a paid subscription for my own. Each investment in someone else's art is a vote for the kind of world where all of our art is supported!
Yes yes yes! My coach brought up the integrity point and I was like, "...wow! That's so true! How comfortable am I around what I'm wishing would change? How abundantly do I give money, congrats, shares, etc. out?"
And how am I expecting the same if I'm not even giving out that same energy as much as I want to myself? We all deserve to find our people and supportive communities!
10000% Yes! (Maybe next week I'll start a thread about actively supporting outside of money with engagement and likes and comments and shares which are also incredibly meaningful!)
I always ‘like’ when I read a post. In large part for the ‘karma’ and to cheer them on. I really don’t understand the lack of likes- if you’re going to spend X minutes reading something, I would hope that you literally did like it!
I pay for substacks that offer deeper additional content and subscriber-only threads in addition to their free newsletters. I love their work and want more more more of it, and also to engage with their communities
I'm just starting to experiment with subscriber-only threads for my community. I want my main newsletter to always remain free, but extra features like community threads feels like a nice way to let people plug in just a bit more.
What do you think are some of the keys to a well done subscriber-only thread?
Some of my writing highlights specific areas of distress, emotional crises, or perhaps pivotal points in some people's lives. A thread on one of these particular topics would benefit me and my readers wanting to dialogue the topic further. I’d be interested in how this works out for you.
I'd also love to hear more about your experience in the subscriber only threads and what inspires real active and interactive engagement amongst the community rather than a thread of static comments ... or do you find that meaningful as well?
I will convert to a paying subscriber when I realize I really look forward to a particular newsletter. (I pay for 14 of them -- I'm lucky to have some paying subscribers, so I partially justify my own expense that way.)
I thought about this the other day and it seems to be confirmed here- fellow writers, especially on Substack- are the best supporters. Maybe it's an obvious understanding and appreciation of others' work, but there's also a real spirit of generosity- receiving support and giving some of it back to support other writers. It's so inspiring!
Well done on supporting so many writers! I also support my favourites and especially when I can, and love to see new paid subscribers drop into my inbox too to justify it :) But also, just having the time that goes into writing it acknowledged is such a special feeling.
That's exactly how I'm approaching this - I support writers and projects I love and enjoy reading and my own subscribers seem to be doing the same thing for me...
I pay for one substack subscription, have sent one time donations to two substacks, and have sent one time donations to content creators in the past. Just hard to manage the ol' subscription budget. If money were no object I would be sending a lot, but just have to be financially conscious. If my substack ever starts making money some of that income will go right back into substack but we'll see how to get there.
My one paid subscription is to a newsletter that adds a lot of value in a topic I am passionate about. The one-time donations are to substacks which I deeply enjoy and would pay for if they published a book with all their articles. The other content creators were youtubers whose DIY documentaries were top-tier and which I watch whenever they come out.
I am still trying to figure out what gets paid for in my niche but then again, I might be too early in the substack life cycle to be worrying about that.
I completely hear you on the budget consideration- it all adds up so quickly. I love that you've found one-off ways to support and how you're thinking about the growth of your Substack creating more opportunity to give back. Aaaaalso....the idea of assembling articles into a book for a reader to purchase is interesting! I have been playing around with the idea of creating a quarterly publication that compiles some of my Substack writing along with some other unique pieces- I'm so glad you mentioned this- it gives that idea an intersection point!
Hi Tami. I am new to Substack as a writer and reader--in fact, this is my first ever comment!--but I have been a paid subscriber of a few podcasts that I love for some time. I pay for those because I enjoy the content so much that I want access to bonus material.
When I launched my Substack at the beginning of February, I offered a paid subscription from the beginning. Since most of the people who read it (for now at least) are friends and family, I wanted there to be an option to support me financially. But there is no paywalled content.
Hi Benji! Welcome to the Substack family. I've noticed more and more writers creating a paid option without paywalling any content which feels like a really interesting middle ground.
Good question, Tami, I'll be curious to hear from others on this as well. I only pay for one subscription and it was sort of an accident, honestly. I thought I was just doing a free trial, but it turns out I enjoy what Leslie Stephens writes in Morning Person so I didn't bother trying to cancel. She writes like an "old-timey" blogger which is what I like about it. Plus, she notes explicitly that she doesn't use affiliate links, despite being a recommendation-style newsletter, which I guess I just appreciate.
Thats so fascinating. Even if it was initially accidentally, what a great case for writers offering a free trial so readers can experience (and fall in love with) their work.
I'm a paid subscriber to Metanoia and The Storyletter, but I've been meaning to upgrade some subscriptions for a while. Metanoia because I wanted to read the full story, Storyletter to support indie publishing.
Ooo is Metanoia serialized fiction? That definitely seems like a perfect format and clear value proposition for paid subscriptions. And Storyletter is such a great way to support many writers at once!
I tend to financially support writing that I feel is of outstanding quality or that I simply want to read more of (Lauren Hough, George Saunders, Mary Gaitskill...). I do the same with some smaller Substacks as well. But budget really is a problem. I find myself dipping in and out because I simply can't afford 20 paid subscriptions, as much as I want to. That's part of the reason I simply have a "donation" model for my own subscriptions; I'm very empathetic to a suffering bank account.
The desire to financially support alongside the challenge of budget constraints is definitely a common tension. It really does seem like there's an opportunity for a more flexible model, but in the meantime, a donation option is a great way to bridge that gap!
Tami, what a great question! I think the investment into other’s creativity/businesses and their work is a way that we can have an impact on what we want to see more of in the world or what we believe holds value and is important to us and will be to others. As I’m thinking on how best to support my own writing and goals, especially with turning on paid subscriptions next month, I too am questioning what holds value for myself, for others, and why. The Intrinsic Perspective did a great job addressing this in his “going full time” newsletter a couple of months ago. He talked about liking the idea that individuals could support exactly what they wanted, directly, much like during the Renaissance with the arts. Which I think is wonderful.
I’m currently a paid subscriber to four publications here and am looking forward to continuing to invest in others as I am able to. I love the idea of investing my hard earned dollars into people and their businesses and art and to grow the economy and support others that way versus something more “traditional” like stock investments and direct large corporation subscriptions. While on the face there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I’ve found myself increasingly disillusioned by the way many of these places use people’s investments and how they treat their employees/customers who are the ones responsible for their day to day successes. I think these kinds of investments, much like small business support, farmer’s markets, direct farm purchases, local community supports, etc. these are the investments that continue to pay dividends in ways we don’t see, but benefit from every single day.
I’m currently paying for the following:
-Abbey of Misrule by Paul Kingsnorth
-House inhabit by Jessica Kraus
-Everything is Amazing by Mike Snowden
-Chasing Nature by Bryan Pfeiffer
I love the writing styles and subjects matter that Paul and Jessica do, I wanted full access to their archives and love the fact they are active in the comments and engage with their communities. I read one of Paul’s books around Christmas and talked about it in his comments and he engaged with me about it. As a reader, this is thrilling. Mike writes one of the most original and interesting newsletters I have come across and I was thrilled when he did a subscription sale recently and I jumped on it. His excitement and curiosity are astounding and I love to read what he’s thought about and discovered. Plus, a sense of humor that comes across through writing is just the most wonderful. Chasing Nature is my newest paid subscription and I am unbelievably excited for it because Bryan is doing a series of classes starting March 1st for beginner photographers. His nature photography is outstanding and his writing is wonderful (his recent article on groundhogs is adorable), so I cannot wait to learn more for my own photography from his experiences.
Thank you for such a thoughtful and thorough response Elea! Your insight was really helpful and echo'd so many of my own thoughts and feelings and philosophies. Especially that every dollar we spend is a vote for the world we want and an investment in what we value. I really appreciated hearing what you subscribe to and why. That photography series sounds so fun and what a great way to invite your audience in in a more interactive way!
A feature request: Please allow us to center text. There's a section of my weekly newsletter where I list words & phrases of the week at the top. Being able to center align that text would make that section look so much better. Thanks!
Yes, I'm aware, thanks. But that feature automatically italicizes the type and adds a line above and below it, which is not what I want for this section.
Question: where do you draft your substack posts? On substack? Or is there a software out there that has a seamless conversion to substack? Just curious because I draft my posts on Substack, but have nightmares that they'll accidentally post before the scheduled date. Or, that Substack will be down the night before a post goes live and I won't be able to make some crucial last minute edit. (I'm only kind of joking.)
I write all of my Substack work in Substack. If it's in your drafts folder you can edit until they publish. I haven't had issues with them publishing early :-)
I'm going to start publishing chapters of my work-in-progress for paid subscribers next month. Those pieces will be copy and pasted from Word.
I have been paranoid that Substack would lose my drafts, but I like the UI experience of writing on substack. So most times, I make notes in the Notes App, develop in Google Docs then port over to Substack. But it's not set in stone tbh
I haven't had an issue with Substack and drafts. In fact, I feel reassured that everything is always there, in Draft History, if I want to visit them again.
I write my articles in Word and get them edited/ reviews, before I post to Substack. That's mostly because I'm used to Word and also it's good for sending the articles to the people who review them.
I write 90% of my posts directly into Substack which saves them as drafts automatically. I'm usually working on 3 or 4 posts at a time, and when I'm ready to publish I come back and finish one and hit publish.
That being said, a lot of my draft material isn't "fit for print" but I don't want to lose it, so I work with a google doc open at the same time where I'll drop content I choose not to include and don't want to lose. I title those docs "thoughts on (post title)" and someday I may choose to make a weird coffee table book out of them.
Though since so far https://makingthisup.substack.com/ seems to be focused on having difficult conversations, it could make make for a pretty weird coffee table book...
I keep an "ideas' draft for those bits that aren't fully formed, but I also have a dozen or so drafts with titles that may or may not ever be finished. Sometimes they become a part of something else I've written, but they're always there, waiting, when I want them.
I write drafts in word, on my laptop, and pop them in a folder titled, you guessed it, Substack Drafts” on my desktop. Then cut and paste to substack. I don sometimes add drafts to substack but tend to forget they are there. I should probably pick one or the other and keep them in one place.
I's be interested in the "seamless conversion to Substack" feature, too. I've drafted in Substack, but I'd like to have a copy on my computer. Copying from Substack to LibreOffice (freed Word) seems to leave a lot of cruft. Also, what does copying from Word to Substack do with photographs? Is it kind, or is there a lot of touching up to do?
I draft in Substack because I don't trust copying and pasting between softwares. It's broken in the past but between Microsoft word and substack, it copys just fine.
For my fiction writing I generally write in Word first because I want to count words. That's the only reason. Otherwise I would write in Substack for that, too.
I draft most all my Substack posts in Google Docs! I have folders for each month in a quarter, future ideas, etc. there and it copy/pastes seamlessly well into the Substack desktop editor (pictures, links, dividers, etc.!).
I'll just add a bold "ADD COMMENT BUTTON HERE" or something in my Google Doc draft to I remember what Substack features to add where.
I can work on it on the go with Google Docs, then sit down for a few minutes to copy/paste to Substack and add the final polishings.
And even my narrations. I do them with an app on my phone, then "share" it to a folder in Google Drive, go to my computer, download it from Google Drive, and upload to Substack.
I prefer to write everything on my Substack page. It has all of the editing tools I need, plus I can pull up early drafts if I make a big mistake or want to grab something I'd discarded but decided to use. I love it!
I've been experimenting with drafting them both in Google Docs and Notion before moving over to Substack. I prefer writing in Google Docs, but love the organizational element of being able to very easily keep track of my ideas/drafts/backlogs around in Notion.
Drafting everything on Substack, currently. Also have that feeling.
I actually love the clean look of the post editor. It's really pleasant to write into. I'd just like a few more text functionalities, but it's definitely my main place at the moment.
I've had an issue where a post reverted to a previous draft within the Substack editor - that was a nightmare! And once I forgot to schedule a post and published it immediately - which really annoyed me, because I love to stick to my consistent weekly day/time of posting.
I draft all my stuff in Word, and when I'm at the stage of wanting to add images and formatting, I copy the text into Substack and carry on from there.
I draft everything in Substack and then I schedule them to post. If they're unfinished drafts, I copy and paste them to a Word doc on my computer. I copy and paste all finished Substack posts to a Word doc as well. You never know when anything is going to go down or disappear.
Stick with it! Keep writing, editing, and publishing. It may seem thankless at times but if you're reaching even a single person who enjoys your work, it's meaningful.
BTW, I just noticed that, on your Dashboard, we're now able to alter the subscription page response from "No thanks" to whatever you want! I changed mine to the "Let me look at it first!" pronouncement that was originally there! I noticed somebody a couple weeks ago mentioned having a problem with the kinda harsh and final-sounding, "No thanks".
Does anyone have any good examples of people who weren’t public figures/famous before Substack eventually being able to support themselves full time? I’d love to read about their stories
Hi Diego - Christina from Substack here. Check out our Grow interviews - we feature a lot of writers who are doing well on Substack who weren't necessarily known before, they also share some really valuable advice: https://on.substack.com/s/resources/archive?sort=new
I'd be interested to know how much support they get from Substack in order grow to such levels. Did they bring a strong readership with them? If neither of those things happened, what are they offering that others of us might be missing?
I find the whole idea of growth vs stagnation fascinating, and I wouldn't be opposed to learning some new tricks!
Is Rayne from Internet Princess an example? I'm pretty sure she wasn't known anywhere before making a living from her Substack. Substack did an interview with her not too long ago.
I said to myself this morning, "I'm way too busy to join Office Hours! I need to focus on my business." Two seconds later here I am. Why? Because, community. In the short amount of time I've been on Substack I have found kindred sisters and brothers, new worlds being created by my fellow writers and creators. A new community, new family of like-minded and like-passioned people all over the world.
Has anyone else gone a bit dry with their writing or feeling a bit uninspired lately? What's your go to for motivation?
Also I'm struggling with getting my work out there. I suppose the best way to get your work out there is to self-promote! So hey, I'm Natalie and I write On the Verge, I write rambling personal essays at best that change from week to week and share recipes over on my food based newsletter 'Kitchen Diaries'.
Tell me something about your substack below! (I'd love to change up what I usually would read, so anything is welcome, really!)
I go through patches where writing my newsletter is a struggle, although I'm not going through one of those patches right now. I'm actually feeling quite positive. For me, the most important thing is keeping going when it's hard.
To kill two birds with one stone, try to devote some regular time to reading and commenting on other Substacks, especially those covering similar areas to yours. That can bring ideas and inspiration, but also connecting with other writers can help to promote your newsletter.
On the occasions that the writing is not happening for me, I try and watch or read or see something to get the creative juices flowing again. I agree that reading other people's stuff is a great way of sparking off ideas, and generating a conversation.
Thanks for sharing Terry. I try to change up what I read to give myself new perspectives and topics to think about about that are also peaking my interest. Do you ever just decide not to write that week if you find yourself uninspired or do you force yourself to sit down and put pen to paper?
I find that if I force it, it doesn't go well. I'll only force it if I have an editor breathing down my neck. But to assuage the feeling of guilt I have for not writing, I designate the day as a non-writing day, in which I will gather material to write about. It's all grist to the mill anyway. For example, if I have a tech meltdown, I'll write about THAT. For example: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/95830697/why-this-is-a-day-late
I force myself whether or not I feel like it. Sometimes it's a stressful and unpleasant experience, but the feedback I get is that this doesn't carry through to the reader. A couple of times I've realised that I just couldn't complete the article I was working on, and I've written something else instead - something easier. As an example, here's something I wrote when I just couldn't managed a researched science topic. Basically I told my readers that I couldn't make the article work and invited them to talk to me.
Reading and following relevant Substacks- especially ones that curate links to current events in your area of focus are critical. Reading and writing: two sides of the same coin!
Have you ever heard of the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron? A group of us, lead by
Ali Vingiano are working through it together right now. We're on week 2 -- tackling creative blocks and getting in touch with our inner artists among other things and building community... thought I'd offer it up to you ;) putting the initial callout post below for you.
PS my substack is nectar, story and bone. I'm still exploring what it is, what wants to come to the page, but most of my interests fall at the intersection of nectar (medicine, meaning), story (the practice and art of word) and bone (the body, lived reality).
And, I too enjoy rambling about the personal and offering some cheek ;)
Hi Claire, thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds so cool. I've not heard of this book but it sounds like something I might need to take a deep dive at. I'm going to look into this, I really appreciate it!
PS. Subscribed to your substack!
PPS. This is beautifully written on "Crawl before you walk" ---> "...strengthened with clumsy discomfort, grown through err and softness. Stickier than indulgence and milder than irreverence, self-compassion rides on the wings of acceptance, humanity and grace."
I've been watching Ali's chat posts about this! I wanted to join but am in the middle of editing my book so I didn't have the time/energy to join when she started. I wonder if she'd let people join a little late.
I felt resistant and like timing was off myself but leapt anyways... I've given myself full permission to be gentle, to do the weekly reading, morning pages (not always 3, not always morning, not always in general) and artist's date and leave the tasks for another time, or for when I feel like it.
Mindy Mendelsohn (who's taken and guides the course) shared that that's the real substance of the course and that if you miss a week to just leave it and keep going on with the next.
Natalie, would love to have you look at my publication, https://maurac.cubstack.com. I was a journalist for 35 years, and in my first job as an opinion writer, I had to write an opinion every DAY. Whether I wanted to or not. So I trained myself to notice when something someone said struck me as interesting. Whenever I found myself thinking, "I never thought of that," nine times out of 10 I could take the idea and find 500 words to write about it. It was often offbeat - like a commercial that made parents look like idiots. Readers loved it, and it taught me to be very relaxed about finding ideas.
Thank you for sharing - I can't fathom having to share my opinion on something everyday. I can't imagine I'd be very popular with my dark humour! Did you keep a journal with you jot down thoughts? You've peaked my interest on what and how an opinion writer writes!
Natalie, I've kept journals for 50 years and at this point I wonder if I should not just have a giant bonfire with all the things I have scribbled! Really, it's just a matter of picking up on something that strikes you as interesting, or different, or even funny. Then seeing if you can't make something more out of it. I can give you some examples - such as the time, when my hair was rapidly graying, I heard my husband mutter, "Its gone beyond salt and pepper," which i found hilarious, and I wrote a column with all the reasons I refused to dye my hair. That sort of thing.
Something that has moved my writing on in leaps and bounds has been a letter-writing collaboration with a fellow Substacker. The thing I mostly write about in my own newsletter is the fact that I get lost all the time, wherever I go - but my 'Letters to Terry' series of correspondence with Terry Freedman (whom I've noticed has commented here already - hi, Terry!) is a really good way of talking about other stuff, too. It's still very much 'me', but more everyday, more light-hearted, and really, really fun - because I can bounce off the things that Terry mentions in HIS letters to me in alternate weeks, and that really keeps me on my toes.
I can thoroughly recommend getting together with another writer for just this kind of thing!
Thank you for sharing and I love a letter correspodence, excuse me while I go and read through them! How lovely, like a pen pal. I would love to find someone to write with like that! If anybody is reading this and interested, care to join me?
It's just like having a penpal! Really good fun! Have a look at who you subscribe to and whose work you really enjoy - they might just be up for it! Do let us know how you get on! 😊
I sometimes have these periods of intense pressures, mostly to do with obligations outside of writing, making me lose some of the energy and motivation to do it. However, I always turn it around be re-prioritising and have been managing to shorten these periods the past years. I just published an article on this process and how stress and happiness affect my writing as well as our society. Could not be prouder of myself right now. Onwards and upwards.
How do you turn it around when you have these periods?
I completely agree - when my work life gets busy and I become stressed, I neglect my writing, simply due to sheer brain power and energy. I think the best thing I try to do is lean into the periods of busy and allow myself a break from writing; but I'm not doing nothing, I go back to the drawing board and I brainstorm ideas, maybe pad out a few with bullet points and I read a lot to give myself some perspective. The more pressure I put on myself, the more I feel that I'm producing low-quality work, which in-turn just upsets me!
All. The. Time. Generally the adrenaline of the deadline makes something happen haha I write about writing and illustrating - so I can usually rely on whatever I am working on to inspire a newsletter post. Working on a book proposal? I'll write a newsletter about book proposals! Drawing with ink this week? I'll write about it!
I sometimes do that! When a thought pops into my head that makes me think about, I jot it down with a few bullet points to help pad out the substack later on. But this week...it's a struggle! It's like I've left my brain somewhere!
I definitely go through times when I feel a bit uninspired. If it's just because I'm feeling kind of tired and blah, I usually put on a song whose lyrics I really love. But if it's deeper than that, I'll go read a book I really love but don't find intimidating. (For instance, one of my favorite books is The Name of the Wind, but I don't read that when I'm feeling uninspired because I go down a "I'll never write this well 😭" despair cycle.)
On The Verge sounds so cool! As for me--I write Unruly Figures! It's a podcast and publication celebrating history's greatest rule-breakers. I also write Collected Rejections, which is all about the writing life. I used to do personal essays, but now I focus mostly on craft and making rejection less scary to folks.
Hi! My newsletter is called the Thursday Three and could also be described as rambling personal essays, about everything from motherhood to cooking to food (and hopefully they’re funny) https://thethursdaythree.substack.com/archive
Thank you for sharing your newsletter Emilie - I love your piece on jeans! This sentiment is so true: "Now, we need a specific pair for each shoe, a whole wardrobe of denim for different days."
A skinny pair, your "boyfriend jeans," your "boot cut" that doesn't actually pair well with jeans. I'll admit that I am that person that is owning far too many different types of jeans but I love them all and they fit so well!
Hi Natalie. I'm just starting out, but my Substack is called "White Elephant"--the conceit being that much of what I write won't be of particular value to anyone--but I'm trying to write about the experience of becoming a father from a slightly philosophical/literary perspective. But I also have published some other personal essays that have little or less to do with fatherhood--in fact, I just published a piece on Tuesday about my $400 yearly subscription option.
One thing I've been doing that's working alright for me (still very early on obviously) is, when I do get in a writing groove, to try and draft several essays. I try to get the whole thing down. Then, if the next week I'm not feeling as creative, I have a few drafts that need editing and proofreading. A lot of the time, just editing and rewriting gets me back into the creative mode, but if it doesn't, I have a publishable essay ready or close to ready. The other thing I'll do is write stuff that I don't intend on publishing--like a book review. It takes some of the pressure off, but can get me in the mood.
Hi Benji, thank you for sharing your tip for working! That's actually a great idea to do. I usually just devote so much energy to writing one piece that when I think of the following week I'm sometimes in the frame of mind of "Oh god, another week another topic to stress about, how am I going to give something presentable!"
But I do sometimes hit a creative flow and oh my, it's so good when you just have this endless amount of words going; ideas just ripe and ready at the fingertips. One of the things I sometimes do when I can't write is that I just come up with ideas. I read other work and I think of possible topics to dabble in and opinions/perspectives that I might have on it. Now, I'll admit these aren't brilliant, revolutionary topics, but it's a starting point that can sometimes generate conversation.
Oh I've been struggling quite a bit to rebuild my "writing bank" after my mom died in December. A lot of the writings feel "off" now energetically, so I struggle to return to those drafts and outlines.
Now I'm slightly going through an existential crisis so I'm giving myself grace at the moment! But, I love turning to my favorite places to read for ideas, and sometimes an idea *from* what I read POURS out of me and I'll write it in my Google Docs folder.
And hey there! I'm Cierra and I just rebranded my newsletter into Losing Orbit. A lot's changed about my life and how I write about my thoughts since mom passed and I couldn't continue my newsletter until its brand itself reflected that.
So the theme is "what do we do when we lose our center of gravity, and how do we find ourselves again?" Just sharing reflections, my journey of learning how I am now and how to navigate the world (I was caregiving for her full-time for 8 years), etc.
This week another family member was receiving scary news so I couldn't get in the headspace to write, really. So a few days before, I wrote about how to tell the future (and how unfortunate it is)... and it's... sorta based on a video game that inspired it? Haha, you can find that here: losingorbit.substack.com/p/how-to-tell-the-future
Thank you for sharing your personal story, I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what that is like to go through after taking care of her for so long. It is completely rational in your case for your writing to take a hit, your mental space must be so packed it's hard to sit down and put pen to paper.
Thank you for sharing your newsletter as well! Reflection pieces are one of my favourite to read because every writer has a slightly different perspective to everyone else and offers insights that I might not have thought of before!
Yes I'm a sucker for reflective writing as well! I've always loved old school 2012 blogs, and vlogs and just hearing people live life and share what they're learning or journeying through. :)
And thank you for the condolences! I'm trying HARD to just rest and let things come day by day, and I'm sorta doing it! I live at home with the rest of my immediate family, so it went from tending to her every 20 minutes or so, to having the whole day to myself. It's been a bit overwhelming and hard to focus, but I'm trying not to judge myself for how "far behind" I am in life. It's really hard. I'm 31 feeling like I've been allowed to come into adulthood for the first time and it's... weird! But I guess that's what the rebrand's for! To explore all of that as it unfolds! :)
I simply cannot imagine! I think giving yourself permission to rest is very difficult but don't let that creative energy die it! Even jotting small thoughts down can be helpful to return to later on when you do feel like writing something. I often do that when I'm just mentally exhausted and don't have the capacity to write a proper piece. I write down small things that I might ponder and hope that I might return to. I hope you're not too hard on yourself, you're 31 and in a unique situation, everybody is different. And I really mean that. As someone who is a very harsh self-critique, I know how you feel to some degree. Taking it day by day and practicing some form of self-compassion has been key for me!
I write about circadian optimized pregnancy, postpartum, and family life. This is my second year, I publish biweekly and so-far I have never ran out of ideas! Before I started, I came up with a list of over 100 ideas that I thought would be interesting to write about. Now, if I feel uninspired (honestly, rarely happens!), I always have that initial list to go back to.
Natalie my work is a balance of insight and humor co 🌟 staring a cute character occasionally, so maybe a read you would enjoy. Recent rec. describe my writing rather well
Also, one of my more popular columns just came from a conversation I had with a small-town business owner. It was downright inspiring and made me think of how small businesses really are the building blocks of community.
Thank you for sharing Maura! I love that you've taken a conversation and turned it into a whole piece. Perhaps that's something I need to start doing more often.
I cannot count - literally - the number of times I have done this. It's easier than one thinks - just be very loose and flexible, and follow the river of your thoughts and insights. You'll have 500 words before you know it!
Are there plans to add more categories eventually?
I would really love there to be a Mental Health category. Right now for my newsletter on ADHD, I have Culture and Health & Wellness selected, but neither of those are quite right.
Hi Jesse - Christina from Substack here. We're always taking suggestions for new categories but we also want to be sure we don't create too many and that the ones we do have are full of many Substacks for people to explore. I do think that for Mental Health such as topics such as ADHD Health & Wellness is the right category to be in right now.
I have written articles on many topics related to ADHD, Dyslexia, Autism Spectrum, neurodiversity, neurotypical, discrimination, and the genetic uniqueness we all have. As a bit of a neuroscientist, I have always been interested in these areas, especially if it has applied to myself or my family. I haven’t found a perfect category for my writing, which may reflect the need for a more appropriate label. Perhaps the correct category in Substack might be neurodiversity.
Firstly, let me reiterate that I am a fan of this platform and appreciative of the work you do to support writers. However, I have a concern:
The new “PAID” tags that appear on comments are obtrusive and grotesque. I choose not to display my subscriptions in my profile because I value my privacy. I also turn off the setting allowing my profile pic to appear when I “Like” a post. It is a far MORE egregious violation of my privacy to broadcast which newsletters I PAY FOR without my consent. I would like this feature removed immediately or an option to disable it. I similarly dislike the badge that appears beside my name when I post comments as a “Founding Member” and would also like the option to remove this. How and where I spend my $ is no one’s business. These, like the near-universally reviled checkmark badges Substack has implemented, reek of a $$$-based social credit system. These “credits” make engaging in comments distasteful and I want no part in them. Please reconsider them. I would hate having to withdraw paid support from my subscriptions.
Do you mean that asterisk that has suddenly appeared? I don't like that either. What I (used to!) love about Substack is that all of this stuff used not to be there...
Yes, there is an asterisk (I think that means "subscribed"?) and there is also a full-on label that says [PAID] spelled right out next to your name. It is really obnoxious and I cannot imagine who asked for it other than someone within Substack thinking it would incentivize subscribers to pay, like some kind of badge of honor (I've paid for this content, I'm special!) Gross!
It has a country club mentality to it that's really icky and unnecessary. Even if I had a paid option, I wouldn't want to know who among my commenters was paid or unpaid. It shouldn't make a difference to me, them, or other posters. WHY, Substack, why?!? They're really taking things in an unpleasant direction lately :-(
I've just recently seen that. It is personal information and I'm not sure what the advantage is for anyone but Substack. It smacks too much of marketing, since Substack profits off of paid subscriptions. It should at least be optional.
I think the option should be there for people more private like J.M. Elliott, and I can see one side of letting people see who you pay to subscribe to is that (at least for me personally) I’m like “wow! This person loves this work enough to selectively pay! Lemme check them out.” So it piques my interest to see what made you chose to pay. But I agree! Something as sensitive as money choices should be, well... a choice!
Yes, there's that, but I tend to think of the other Substack writers who follow me as our community. I wouldn't want any of them to feel slighted because I pay for some and not for others. And I can't pay for all of them!
Hi there J.M.! We did have this paid status on reader profiles before, it's not new, the design is just new. That said, I shared your feedback about wanting control over the display of this status with the team working on this so that they know. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hi Bailey - I never noticed paid status next to my comments before, so the new design must have really brought it into focus. I appreciate your willingness to look into alternatives. Thank you.
Hi All, I think i achieved a small milestone 75 readers on my substack blog... I am happy and greatful for this. it is exciting to see so many people interested in quite a niche field of bioinformatics.
Small steps, imo.. older version of me would have been hard on myself and doubted if it is even worth it. after reading few books over the last few months; such as gifts of imperfection, I feel i will give this a try every week even when times are rough so i can keep this as a place of joy. Even if its imperfect, it is something i am enjoying - creating.
Hey, guys! Happy to finally get here on time. When plotting new issues for my newsletter, it sometimes seems to me like I'm writing about things that have nothing to do with each other, except for my interest in that particular subject at that particular point in time. My question is: how can I connect my essays, so that I create an identity for my newsletter/blog, instead of it being all over the place? Or should I just lean into that all the way, and let my voice be the driving force for new subscribers, instead of my choice of subject?
Just my two cents--if you're going to have your 'stack cover a lot of different subjects, then you need to do both: Create a strong brand that has your voice as the driving force. Your voice is the brand and why people subscribe.
As a developmental editor, it sounds to me like you’re in a season of learning to say what you need to say. A sort of editorial detox, even. It can feel like wandering the desert a lot of the time. I would say embrace the variety and don’t try to organize too much. The themes that belong to just you will show up eventually.
I had similar concerns to yours and just stopped caring at some point. It's probably more difficult for new readers to decide "yeah, this is a blog I want to follow", but I don't have any plans of nichning down. And the blogs/newsletters I personally enjoy more I've chosen for the "voice" and not for the "subject" (although a combination of two works best!).
I think it's not about the topics you write about it's about the opinions, thoughts and experiences that you share on those topics. That's your voice and only something that you have. It will automatically set you apart from others because it's you (if that makes sense).
I'm in a similar boat to you where I don't have a specific niche I write about - I don't discuss politics or finances or have 45 years of experience for me to discuss but I think the topics that I do write about come from my own perspective and are different in that respect. Hope that helps and Happy Writing!
I write bout several different kinds of things on my newsletter, so the only niche aspect is that all the articles (so far at least) are written by myself, and I have a certain style I suppose. So I think the people who subscribe have done so because of either (a) they like the style of the writing or (b) there's a particular area they enjoy reading. So my overall take on this is, like Valorie Clark, to regard yourself as the reason that people will subscribe.
Thank you, Sir. May I also say that I find your how-to posts in particular very helpful. I've bookmarked your SEO one to read properly and implement soon.
There is a definite thread that connects all your topics. YOU! There's an inherent risk in writing about topics of interest to you. You have to trust that they will be of similar interest to readers. It's a pretty good bet that if one topic you write about has broad appeal, so will others. If I've learned anything from talking to other writers its to be true to your voice and let the writing earn its keep.
The pieces I write at one of my newsletters, Constant Commoner, are all over the place. I've set up sections for the obvious connections, but my home page is in magazine style, and I think of it as a magazine. That is, articles all over the place but with a connecting theme--which, in my case, is ME.
As you continue to write, reflect on the big themes that are emerging. Your voice and ethos are a big part of *the ties that bind* as well. Think about how you can show theme through your visuals/welcome & about pages as well.
Hello! Can you share more information about how or how frequently "Most Popular" on a publication's homepage is updated? I have a story that's been my most read by hundreds of views for over a week with an equal number of likes to my listed #1, and it's not cracked the list.
Hi Kristen, "Most Popular" doesn't just populate posts based on how many views a post gets. It also considers likes, comments, and how many free/paid subscribers that post generated. Let me see if I can get some more details from our engineers.
When I turned on paid subscriptions my "most popular" all went to paywalled posts too, even though some of my free posts have more views/likes/comments/etc.
Would be curious to learn more about why and if this is tweakable. Thanks!
I noticed this too! My paywalled posts seem to be automatically on the "popular" list, even though there are free posts with more views/comments/subscriptions generated. I thought maybe it was saying those were my most popular podcast posts (they're my only podcast posts)
I know that one of the best ways to grow your Substack is to cross post on other Substacks - is there a list of all the Substacks who are accepting submissions for guest posts so that we know where we can submit / make new connections with other writers?
Hi Kelley! I'd love to collaborate if you're interested! I'm also looking for guest writers for my foodie page: https://ontheverge.substack.com/s/kitchen-diaries. Let me know if you're interested to collaborate?
Hi Kelley, Just subscribed to your newsletter. We have a small and very supportive group of Food and Drink writers that has been meeting via Zoom for over a year now. If you would like to be a part of it, we'd love to have you. You may make some connections there.
You'll find my email address in your recent subscribes. If you can reach out that way, I'll get you on the list. Our next meeting is 2nd Tuesday in March.
I write a lot of serialised fiction and read some. I mostly read serialised comics, rather than prose, though have been looking at dipping into some short fiction authors as well.
I write long-form serials, and have done since 2015, but increasingly am thinking that shorter work sits more comfortably on Substack.
As a reader, when I see ‘17 minute read’ (I’m mostly in the parenting/education space) I am highly skeptical that they didn’t miss some MAJOR editing opportunities. Substack is still social, so you are competing for people’s finite time before they want to read the next thing in their inbox.
A story isn't purely about social and competing for eyeballs, though. Certain stories will suit certain lengths. I aim for about 8-10 minutes per chapter, which is around 1,200 words (ish).
You do raise an interesting point about the app, though - I include additional author notes on my chapters, which are entirely optional, but those will be inflating the supposed reading time of the chapters as displayed in app. Anyone glancing at the stub won't realise that the reading time includes the bonus notes. Interesting!
It's a tough one. I'd love to experiment putting up some long form posts (I've tried one at ~30 min read; don't have enough subs to offer any insights though), but I understand that feels like a big commitment. The Substack app is at least useful in that it shows you your progress and saves it so you can return to where you left off. Is it possible for the browser or email version to also do that somehow?
I think 5-10min post lengths are probably the sweet spot until you hook any readers in to something serialised.
Oh wow, a 30 minute read is a lot. I aim for about 1,200 words per chapter, so the individual commitment each work is pretty low. In terms of 'long-form serials', I meant the overall project rather than the instalments. Go over 1,200 regularly and you need a pretty loyal audience to start with, because you're then starting to impinge on other entertainment and activity time.
The built-in voice reading in the app is quite nice, as it turns every serial into a potential audiobook. That seems like an underused feature - it makes substacks possible to 'read' while doing stuff like commuting and housework.
Haven't explored this yet, but that's a good point. In fact, I didn't even know that app had that feature!
I like the idea of a custom recording each post too though, if possible. Presumably you could override the computer-voice if you'd recorded your own. (My wife is a VO artist, so I'd just have to convince her this was worthwhile...)
I love that feature as a reader, especially the green color it displays, it’s a big visual in my feed. It would be interesting to see the numbers on completion rate compared to article length.
It really is how the text is presented I think Simon. When I sit to view other stacks, long interrupted text and no visual perks is a quick close for me
Yeah, totally. And I think this is also a feeling with hitting subscribe. I want to subscribe to lots of interesting looking Subs, but then I know my inbox is going to start filling and I'll get that "Arggh, I'm falling behind" feeling.
I am planning to do this where each story will be stand-alone and be understood without needing to read others. I plan to sprinkle info about the main characters into each story in hopes of convincing people to read more. What do you folks think if this idea?
If you think you'll enjoy writing it, then go for it. :)
It's what I've been doing with my Tales from the Triverse serial, which is an anthology series of detective stories but with recurring characters and a background developing plot. I'm not sure whether it's working for readers as yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying writing it. :)
Any tips on converting comp subscriptions to full paid subscribers? I decided to give away some 3 month paid subscriptions as part of my 2 year anniversary and now trying to figure out what I should do. I have a bunch of content planned for paid subscribers only now that I have some but would love suggestions.
For the first few weeks after starting my newsletter, I comped 10% of all subscribers. I wish there was an easier way to do it, but I just clicked on every 10th subscriber in the "Subscribers" tab and then comped them. I sent a followup email saying thank you for being an early subscriber, and letting them know what they'd see different as a comped subscriber.
I haven't seen much conversion yet, but I did notice that a few comped readers went through and favorited every private post. A couple comped readers started commenting as well. So it hasn't driven paid subscriptions yet, but it has increased interactions, which is a good thing.
So they don’t get notified about the new comped status? I was thinking about sending out an email about the new status but wasn’t sure if they already received one.
I'm not sure if they do. I had a specific enough message that I was comfortable sending an email to that group. I don't think they get an automatic email, but I'd love to get confirmation on that.
As far as I know, they don’t but yes, I would like confirmation of that. I’m probably going to send out an email with details on what I will be offering. Maybe even a few things for them to specifically know about.
One more thing I realized that's *really* helpful. If you comp people one day, and then later comp a separate group, how do you select those different groups of subscribers?
I noticed that all the people comped on a given day have the same expiration date. So if you want to send a followup email to that group, for example to say I hope you enjoyed the paid access... You can click Subscribers>Expires at, and you should see your group of comped subscribers. You can then use that date in a filter. (Filter> where expires at is on date)
I love the idea of giving away subscriptions as an anniversary celebration! Are there any writers who successfully converted you? I wonder if there are any clues in there for what inspires an audience to opt in more deeply...
Well I haven’t been able to afford to support anyone personally. But I offered the people with the highest engagement on my Substack a comp subscription. Might give away some more.
It's nice that you can customize the Welcome page to include 'Over 1000 subscribers' but why limit it that way? Those of us with hundreds of subscribers are pretty proud of those numbers, too.
Why not add the option of 'Hundreds of Subscribers'?
Hi Ramona - Christina from Substack here. You can include the number of subscribers you have in the description on our welcome page for now! Will share your feedback with the team though!
I have published a free weekly newsletter for about a year in Denmark (small country, small language). I plan to go to pay-mode shortly. Subscribers have gone up at a regular pace, but after I published yesterday's newsletter (nothing special compared to other weeks) I have had an enormous increase - 4-500 new subscribers in 24 hours. Any explanation?
when I've seen this kind of thing (admittedly not quite in the numbers you describe) it's been because a writer of a much larger newsletter linked to one of my articles.
Ugh! Same. I SO wish I had made the switch over here two years ago when I was personally floundering and trying to figure out how to grow my blog audience (and fell into the FB blogging groups trap.)
In Taiwan, you would be in the right timezone to join the Pacific Substack Community. I organise monthly-ish Zoom chats for anywhere from east Asia to west of Americas, but we are mostly New Zealand/ Australia/ Pacific Islands. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you an invitation to the next Zoom
Always learning from these amazing threads at office hour. It's insanely beautiful and helpful to see a writers community coming so strong, so supportive, so together! Just amazing and I'm so grateful 💕😊
Great question! For me, finding writers doing similar work builds community! Community I really appreciate. I interview authors for my Substack. And was delighted to discover Jillian Hess' gorgeous Noted where she so thoughtfully and tenderly explores the notebooks of some of our greatest dead authors and other artists, as well as the note taking methods of living writers! I particularly loved this week's with Lady Caroline! https://jillianhess.substack.com/p/caroline-lambs-heart-break-notebook
What advice do you have for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to promote their newsletter on social media or have time to participate in social hours like this? I have a full-time job and write my newsletter on the side as a fun project, but finding it difficult to devote more time to promote it.
You could try listing your newsletter on different directories (like The Sample - https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d) that reshare your posts to potential readers for free?
I am committed to slow-n-steady growth. I have no social media presence, and I write anonymously to protect my personal privacy so that means I won't connect it to anything I *do* have.
So that means the number one way to grow is community. Coming to these office hours is good. I always see an uptick in traffic when I am active on office hours.
Second, find a substack in a similar field, that's a similar size or a little bigger, and be active in THEIR substack. Consider yourself the center of a community, you want to find all the substacks in your area and connect yourself to all of them. Then both writers and commenters will see you and learn about you by your active participation there. Don't be afraid to ask people about collaborations, recommendations, other such. Examine your current subscribers and see if any of them have their own newsletters they write. Reach out to them, consider joining their community, build those relationships.
Third--be mindful of the product life cycle. I have an article coming soon about this, but here's a sneak peek: The four phases of the product life cycle are Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. If you are new, you are likely in the "introduction" phase. Don't be disheartened--just put everything you have into producing high quality content. Slow growth will snowball, and eventually you'll reach a critical mass where your substack will grow a lot over a short time--people will be talking about your newsletter organically. That's Growth phase. Everyone wants to be at the Maturity phase, and if you read everyone here at office hours you might think that's where everyone is--it's not. Maturity phase is hard to get to and hard to keep. You're going to spend most of your time writing feeling like youre behind the curve, and that's OK. Just keep writing. Your best sales pitch is your content.
I think recommendations are the most powerful source of growth, and once you have them set up they are passive - they require no effort from you. I would try to create some relationships with other writers where you are recommending one another if you only did one thing. https://on.substack.com/p/recommendations-update
Oleg's suggestion is good. There are some good directories out there. I also bulk schedule my social media posts in advance, then check in throughout the week to respond to comments or shares.
Hallo! I wonder whether you might fiddle with the ALT-text and image caption portal? It is difficult to enter information, and even more difficult to check and edit it, especially the ALT-text, because the entry box is tiny, and the moment you start typing it deletes what you typed before... Thanks!
Yes! I have a doc on Scrivener called Image captions - all captions and ALT-text goes there, which means it's there for next time (including the five times I'l need to use some of the ALT-text to advertise each post on different platforms!).
Scrivener's terrific! There's a built in tutorial - a document you read through -and it's adorable: nicely written, with a few jokes. You can use as many or as few of the features as you like, and add elements as you grow in confidence.
I had a tech mystery once, and emailed the support folks, and an awesome person went back and forth sorting out a complex little weirdness in how Scrivener interacted with one of my settings on Word. All of which to say is it's marvellous! And you can export a Scrivener file to Word whenever you want, whether to send it to someone else, or to fine-tune and finish it in Word.
Thanks. It sounds like it's improved. I tried it in 2014 (I think) and fumbled my way through to writing book outlines and then exporting to Word, and I loved the idea that you can store all your pics and research notes there too, plus the different views. But going much further than scratching the surface seemed like an uphill struggle -- and I'm fairly tech savvy!
Ha! This is so weird - I tried it in 2014, and thought 'bleugh, I don't need this, writing words is about butt-in-seat and Chrome windows closed.' But there's a new version - I got mine in Jan 2020 and it's beautiful, and the tutorial made it the softest of landings. I still use Word (for non-creative stuff and once the creative stuff is nearly finished) - I like to divide and rule my tech.
I don't know. I think of it as friendly competition. I continually encounter writing here that is better than mine. I see it as a challenge to help me improve my own writing.
Hi. I followed the SEO instructions to get my account verified on Google by putting the verification code in the systems thing. Would an admin be willing to check and confirm I'm completely verified now and have optimized my SEO?
Hello! Perhaps this is a straightforward question but I’m just beginning. Does anyone have tips for converting free subscribes into paid? Do I just start create paid content and hope that folks come along?
Yes Katy, I trying to decide whether to add a private substack and what theme. Yeah will continue to mine the interests of subs. But ya know, my first post was just pure fun and easy pleasant thought flow, and I wasn't thinking about #'s and that post is still among the highest
Hi Ema! Wonderful to hear that you're just getting started. Here are some resources you can dig into for converting free subscribers into paid: https://substack.com/going-paid-guide. Happy writing!!
Hi Ema - Christina from Substack here. Definitely check out our On Substack pub - there are a ton of amazing resources on things there. Here's a post on tips for going paid: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-6. There's more to explore there!
Has anyone else gone back to work on a draft of a newsletter and found an image replaced by a gray box reading "Image Not Available." We then have to reupload the missing image.
Yes, it happens if you're using an image without adding it to your own pictures folder. If a website where it appeared is disabled, or they've removed the photo, it might disappear.
I solve that using 'Save as' to add it to my pictures folder (or Substack folder). Then I can grab it from there without any problem.
Hmm, I don't think that's the case with us because I add everything the same way but it only happens once in a while. I also either only add photos I take -- so they aren't disappearing, I promise -- or from Unsplash.
I had an issue like this and brought it up with support and shared screenshots and they said it was an engineering issue and repaired it. It did seem to happen when I added or removed a paywall.
I had this once, Michael. I'd used someone's image - with permission! - and had at their suggestion saved it directly from their website. It appeared just fine to start with, and then the next time I went in I had exactly the grey box you describe. I checked the file name and in fact it didn't have any kind of extension. I went back into where I'd saved the image, added '.jpg' and it behaved itself after that. Might be a different issue to yours, but it worked for me!
When I'd saved the image locally to my computer I'd somehow pulled it through without the file extension, and when I uploaded it to my Substack post (by using the 'browse' function in the Editor screen) I hadn't noticed. The picture had appeared fine initially, but on revisiting the draft it had been replaced with a grey box.
I had a look at the file name where I'd saved it on my computer, and lo: no .jpg extension. As soon as I'd fixed it the picture was fine.
I just wanted to share a little "behind-the-scenes" perspective on how much a word of encouragement or thoughtful comment can make to a writer.
I've been working with an editor on a draft of my manuscript, The Pattern Shop. It's a book I've been writing for almost a decade- one that's very personal for me. I was nervous to ask for feedback but knew it was the next step I needed to take on the journey toward publication.
Working with this editor has truly been an amazing experience! His generous feedback, constructive criticism and overall kindness has been such a boost to my confidence when I needed it most! Had I received a colder response or had I worked with someone who didn't seem invested in this story- it might have stopped me in my tracks.
Instead, I'm taking the next (terrifying!) step to begin pitching the story to agents with his encouragement.
As writers, we can feel like our work is just going into a black hole, that our story isn't resonating, doesn't matter, or isn't worth the effort to tell. Just one positive comment or word of encouragement can make someone else decide to keep going, keep writing, keep sharing their unique and important voice.
I hope you continue believing in yourself and remember to lift each other up! <3
Writing is a labor of love and determination to get through all the distractions or life necessities. Getting a book published when it is not your full-time job or focus can be a great challenge, but doable with persistence. The experience and adventure of it and my final accomplishments made it all worthwhile. I’ve only published one book so far, but I am going on another one now. I went the self-publishing route the first time, but this time I would go for a publisher if I can find one and have the patience required to go through all the hoops to find one. Keep at it, and let your talent shine and your voice be heard.
What is the future of office hours? Only a few months ago, there were only a hundred comments and you answered every one. Last week there were 2000. It seems we're quickly headed to a point where it's unsustainable for your team to read every comment.
Hey there! I've been at every Office Hours since day one, 68 Office Hours ago. I don't think there has ever been a week our team has answered all the questions because, as Aden mentioned, writers jump in to support each other. That's what it's all about! Collectively writers have way more knowledge about the Substack product than any one person on our team.
Though you are right, some weeks there are still questions that go unanswered and we're always open to ideas on how we might iterate. Let us know if you have ideas!
Katie! You and the substack team do such an extraordinary job answering questions every week, so I hope it didn't come across as a critique. I LOVE this concept, and it's stupendous that Substack is taking user feedback so seriously - very much emblematic of the design-thinking that drives this wonderful company. I'm just thinking it's growing so quickly it's going to get pretty unwieldy here and difficult to keep track of suggestions. I wonder if there might be some way that your engineers could build a system to record, categorize and rank suggestions?
For questions, maybe even AI could be used in some way ... perhaps even a chatbot that sources from answers from previous questions.
I do have a few questions that seem to keep getting missed each week
-One is about image dimensions, because there are three different sizes on the substack main newsletter page, and I want to be sure I have the best border so it doesn't get cut off any display.
-the other is curiosity about why you're not integrating with mailchimp, because embedding the code on my site doesn't look that great.
Thanks so much for all your hard work. This platform has changed my life!
It really does seem untenable for the Substack team to answer all of our questions, BUT it also seems pretty cool that we all hop in here and help each other out. There's a ton of value in the community aspect of office hours.
Hey Substack, love working on your platform!!! I have an analytics request that would save us a lot of time: Can you add a tab on the analytics page for each post that shows a simple chronological list of opens/reads, with the most recent open/read at the top? That way we can quickly see who the most recent reader was since the last time we looked, without having to look at each reader. It would be extremely helpful and I'm sure it would be easy to add. Please consider it -- thank you!!!
I’m not sure if this is what you are referring to, but I created a new page for downloads and made that page paid subscribers only. Everyone can click on the link in the menu but the content is only available for paid subscribers
Not exactly, but thank you! I started a new section on my 'stack to house posts for a year-long challenge I'm hosting. I only want the people who signed up to get those posts.
Hi Valorie - Christina from Substack here. Unfortunately there's no way to add people to specific Substacks they opted into - when you create a section everyone is automatically added but people can opt out!
Lots of Office Hours writers let us know that they didn't like the "No thanks" language on your Welcome Page.
So we shipped a change that allows people to customize this language. If you want to change the "no thanks" language there back to "Let me read it first" text, you can now do that via your Settings page.
Just as a little reminder: we originally made this text change because "No thanks" performed better in terms of creating sign ups for writers. So if that matters to you it may make sense to keep "no thanks" or at the very least be careful about what customizable language you add - checking to see how it impacts your sign ups. That page is very important for your publication's growth!
Hope that helps. Thanks for the feedback, all!
You guys are doing great. Your platform is getting better each day! 🧛🏼
Well said Ted!
I’m taking my shot and asking fellow Substackers like you support a goal to be featured on the platform after 2 years of posting, please support, I love you all!
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/its-my-second-birthday-on-substack
Thanks for the ability to customize and also for the logic behind the "no thanks." Good to know!
I changed mine to "Read without subscribing". I think that works better than either of the two.
I need to look into this Holly as I don’t really know if I’ve even got a welcome page?!
You can see your live welcome page if you go to yournewsletter.substack.com/welcome
You can also get to it via the design edits in settings.
Perfect! The direct link worked like a charm.
The welcome page is what people who are not subscribers see when they visit your page. Try clicking someone's substack that you don't subscribe to and you'll see. You have an option to subscribe or click "No thanks" and continue to the 'stack.
Ha! I didn't know that if you click 'no thanks' it continued to the stack! I guess I always subscribed. But that has led to an overwhelming amount of subscriptions, which I am now trying to cull. This little chat has made me realise that I want people subscribing to my stack because they actively want to subscribe, rather than because they thought they had to in order to see the content. Will be customising mine to reflect that. Thanks for the insight.
I found it by googling myself haha 😆 I get it ok!
This isn't on the welcome page. It is on the very first page that people see when they go to your substack.
Yes Matthew, I find substack team seem to be interchanging those pages. Welcome page not Home page they have different functions and content. Team should be mindful of this slip up esp for newbies here
I think I agree with your statement? I'm such a newby, that I am just wandering mindlessly, through from 1 thing to another trying to get a handle on what and how I should do?
I’m taking my shot and asking fellow Substackers like you support a goal to be featured on the platform after 2 years of posting, please support, I love you all!
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/its-my-second-birthday-on-substack
One thing for people to consider is that readers need to have a consistent experience across different Substacks. When people follow a link to a post on Substack, they quickly learn that clicking "No thanks" lets them read free posts.
When they see different messages on every newsletter, they have to reevaluate each message. That might sound good to us as authors, "Yay they're thinking individually about me", but it's the kind of friction that can turn people off to an entire platform.
What was wrong with a consistent 'Let me read it first'? I remember how charming I thought that was when I first came to Substack.
I'd be in favour of combining both:
"No thanks. (Let me have a read of it first.)"
There's a letter limit so I'm not sure it would fit. But it would be good, too.
So there is. Hmm. Well, I'll leave it untouched for now.
I have my 'Coming gSoon' open. I'm still trying to figure out if it'sbeen 'posted'. That you can edit something you wrote las year...
I do agree with the idea of readers having a consistent experience on the platform and that experience should be prioritized. And Ramona, I also agree: I thought and still do that "Let me read it first" was perfect as it was.
+ 1
I will, thanks!
I also find it charming, but my Substack is primary a podcast and "Let me read it first" is confusing. It should be "Let me listen first" or something neutral like "no thanks".
Let me try it first?
I did "Let me see it first."
Yes, I hadn't thought about podcasts. That makes sense.
You can change it to that now. There's a 25 character limit currently. 💜
Or change it to whatever you want. I did.
Hey Vin, please stop spamming.
I get this. It’s like users just KNOWING the menu to a website is usually in the top upper left hand corner and the shopping cart on the top right. Hamburger style for the menu, etc.
Hopefully that change is small enough where it won’t deter readers from the platform altogether!
I was one of those people that thought it was weird to get taken deeper into the substack you said “no thanks” to signing up for, but am seeing the idea of people saying “no thanks, I wanna see it first” so that next step happens automatically after they click “no thanks.” My eyes are opening to why that would optimize.
Thanks, Bailey. "No Thanks" seems abrupt and dismissive, as well as final. Once they've said 'no thanks' they're in that mindset, but 'Let me read it first' is open to all kinds of possibilities!
(I'm frankly surprised it did better.)
After Bailey's explaining why they were using it, I realized that it's probably because people think "no thanks" is too dismissive and would rather subscribe than say "no thanks." Reverse psychology?!
It smells like a trick to me. "No thanks" carries a finality that may cause people to think that there's only two options: enter your email or exit the stack. My ATM uses similar trick language when it asks if you want to donate to X? The button marked "Exit" actually means continue without donating.
That's what I thought the options were (until I read this thread). I ended up subscribing to a bunch just to be able to see them. (I now know better, but will still change the setting on my stack.
Yes, the first time I saw 'No thanks' on a Substack newsletter I was kind of shocked. All it needed was a 'Hmpff!' 😄
That's what occurred to me, too!
And this is why the world needs all perspectives!
Oooh, great insight.
It could be! I hope so.
thank you!
I'll stay with with "No, thanks"!! But thanks for the update!
Let's "keep things special", so that everyone can have their own!
https://livmkk.substack.com/p/keep-things-special
That's no welcome page!
Thanks Substack! I just changed mine to “Read it first. It’s free!” (It just fits the 25 character limit.)
I like it! I think I might do the same.
Oh that's a clever thing to say! I'm assuming it's not copyrighted? ; )
Licensing terms available upon request. ;-)
Thank you for the new option and for letting us know why the wording was changed in the first place. :)
May I also suggest an option to change the “Subscribe” button text. For instance, I suspect “Subscribe free!” may encourage more people to sign up. There may be people who think subscribing involves payment, as has been traditional in publishing.
Good call!
A great point.
Thanks for making this text we can customize. "No thanks" may perform better, but it's misleading, maybe even a trick. It sounds too final, like by clicking it you won't be able to enter the stack, as if you're dismissing the whole thing.
I noticed a lack of click-throughs where people stopped at the landing page instead of reading the article.
Micheal, where can I find that information? I feel like I should know this.
Thanks Bailey! I just changed mine and will see if it results in an uptick in subscribes.
I'm late to this but I've been mulling this over and I've finally changed to wording on both of my newsletters to 'Click here to enter'. There are plenty of invitations to subscribe on the inside.
Yes, thanks for the explanation and ability to change!
Oh thanks, I will try going back to Let me read it first, because that feels more Me...but I will pay attention to the effect it may have. Thanks for listening!
Thank you!
Thanks for joining us today at Office Hours. The Substack team is signing off but we encourage you to continue the conversation with one another here.
If you still have questions, visit our:
Resource Center for strategic guidance and expert tips - https://substack.com/resources
Support Center for technical walkthroughs of how the product works - https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us
See you next week,
Katie, Bailey, Zoe, Elijah, Jared, Christina, and Sachin
Good morning! Me being new at this substack, experience. I am wondering is what I am replying to right now, is this your substack account or is it something different?
Writer Office HOurs...
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here's a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you:
Do you get caught up in the comparison game? Do you see other writers doing the things you do, or the things you want to do, and think, "Ugh, there's no room for me and my work." Here's some amazing news: the people we compare ourselves to aren't our competition. They are our *community*. They are people we can learn from, collaborate with, and look to for motivation. Knowing that others are doing similar things doesn't mean that there's less pie to go around. It means that the pie is bigger than you thought!
Whatever you do, don't let the comparison game rob you of your joy and purpose. Instead, let it light a fire under you to keep pursuing your passion, because the audience is out there, waiting for you to share what you've got!
Keep going, keep writing, and DON'T GIVE UP! 🌿
Well said S.E. Reid!
I support your point of view and am curious if you could answer the following:
Suppose you’re working on a specific project for a long time, yet not seeing any results, no matter how hard you try and no matter what you do or change, when is it worth stopping and trying something new?
Sometimes people try to open a door that is closed to them, not because they are doing something wrong, but because we are all different and someone can succeed in a specific aspect and someone just can’t. I believe that it’s important to acknowledge the situation in time and assess when it’s best to let it go in order to start something new and prosper in it, instead of burning even more of your time on nothing
This is such a good question, Ted! And not to cop out, but I think the answer would be different for everyone and every project.
My personal litmus test? I can tell when the "spirit" has gone out of something I'm working on. Sometimes a project slows to a crawl and finishing it feels like a drag, but I still know deep within myself that it's the right thing to do, and to keep working on. It's a commitment I still feel connected to in some way. Hard work, but good work. But as soon as that goes away, I know that I need to step away from it. And not always forever; sometimes a project needs to be shelved for a time so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes and a renewed perspective.
If you still have an inner fire, you're enjoying yourself, and your work still has "spirit"--even if it's not giving you "measurable" results--I say it's still worth working on. But if it's all pain and zero pleasure, time to take a break. 🌿
I’d recommend you read:
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
I myself try to fight till the last breath in all my projects, because after some time, even if I understand that everything is over and this project needs to be closed, for me this decision is given with particular difficulty - the realization that so much time and effort have been spent for nothing is mortifying. Of course, I gained experience, but sometimes the realization of having to close a certain path is given very hard.
After reading this book, my perspective in life has changed completely.
Ted, there must be some confusion as to the reason I'm here. I have no one to talk to and at times I just need to voice my opinion. That and Robert's caption contest. I'm at the end of this life experience and I have no design on producing a work of any kind. But thanks for the recommendation.
Vin--I just had a stroke and I might sound a little off at times, please forgive.
I haven't read this (yet), but the author Oliver Burkeman gives an amazing discussion around his philosophy of time management on Sam Harris' Waking Up app (possibly also on his Making Sense; not sure).
Somewhat related, I recently watched the Netflix documentary Stutz; I find the notion of "Pearls on a string" (always with a turd within!) a very comforting way to approach everything now. It's progress, regardless. There's peace in that alone.
Er.. What's a turd?
This is excellent thought! Every week your prompts and sharing have been so insightful and inspiring. Thank you!
I am the same way. Not all that I do generate “measurable” results that’s set by general standard of success. I used to (and on some bad days still do) beat myself over this and question if anything I do even worth it. But what’s good with doing that? So I have to shift my perspective and expand my awareness in noticing the tiniest progress that aren’t quantitative, like the satisfaction of completing a piece of writing and hit publish, the new connections I got as a result of publishing my works on Substack, gaining new knowledge as a result of exploring this new medium, and many others. And when I still am not feeling I have done enough… not worth it, etc - I do something else until I get the wind and flow to come back.
What was it that Norman Lear said there's OVER and NEXT the present is the hammock stretched between the two
Is that the guy that makes jets? Just kidding, great quote. Thanks.
And sometimes taking a break is just what you need to look at a project with a different view, and keep going.
I agree! There can be an ebb and flow to projects, I found this to be the case when working on my first novel, something that's taken me almost a decade to complete! It has undergone lots of versions and evolved along the way to become something very different than I originally imagined- but the "spirit" of the stories has always been there!
Inspiration is like a singularity. It starts out as a single idea and it blossoms into a finished product that only needs to please one person, yourself.
Wise words and thoughts. I have a small goal for my nascent Substack, but so long as I'm finding creativity and enjoyment and a sense of wellbeing from it, then I'm absolutely going to keep going.
Drive and determination are the grease that keep the wheels turning.
If the canary dies, get out of the mineshaft.
I'm going to pin that to my monitor ;)
Haha
You're legit cool. This is the best that I've heard in the last 6 months
I hear you, Ted. In 2016 I shut down my business because the market was saturated, and the things I would need to do to stay competitive were not things I enjoyed doing. It was a hard decision, but in the end I found work more suited to my skills and passions on a team that was doing great things.
I also think it's important to clearly define what your goals are and what success looks like so you know what results are being measured when determining if something is or isn't working. At least for me, it's too easy to experience FOMO around other people's successes and lose site of what my own goals are. For instance, it would be easy feel like my substack is "not working" because my new subscriber count has slowed down. But my goal currently is to establish a weekly publishing cadence, build community, and explore what topics resonate with my audience. And since I have an idea of how I'm measuring these goals, I can confidently say it IS working!
Like S.E. says, it depends. :)
Great art doesn’t come from a vacuum.
My favorites pieces are the result of working with, and being inspired by, others.
It's true, isn't it? Makes me appreciate Substack's emphasis on community that much more. I've also enjoyed discovering some online writer collectives -- most recently Foster.co -- where I can share work and get feedback before hitting "publish."
Just checked out foster.co. What a great suggestion.
It's a great tool & community! So helpful for those days you're not *quite* ready to hit publish but could use some feedback/engagement on a draft.
I've not shred my pre-published work with anyone since 2015 because of a horrible experience I had -- unless it's in the context of a writing workshop. I will, however, check out Foster, so thanks for that.
Sorry to hear that Terry. Personally I don't share it either except with maybe close friends or colleagues whose opinion I seek specifically. And yes, unless it's a writers workshop as well, of course.
We all have had "that" horrible experience. Hang in there!
If I may add my two cents here... from both personal experience and watching my artist sister respond to criticism or at least commentary (one of her pieces was recently featured in the Philly Museum of Art, by the way): you really should share your pre-published work, and take any and all feedback as a way to grow and learn about your craft. And whether you make changes based on the comments or not, keep writing and putting your stuff out there.
I'm the same, Terry, although it's because my brain has a bad habit of reading anything other than 100% enthusiasm as disapproval. So I would much rather show someone a finished product and ask for feedback for the next draft than tell people what I'm working on and lay awake at night thinking about their "oh, that's nice" response. 😆
Thanks Alicia, can you send a link?
Yes! That's it, actually: www.foster.co :) They have a Discord community as well.
You're welcome! So glad you found it valuable.
When I'm not reading what others write or interacting with others, my own writing suffers!
This is true, Holly!
Some of my best ideas come from conversations with the Substack community. Also, conjuring thoughtful comments to write, usually sets my creative mind in motion and makes a great warm-up to writing.
Agreed, some of my best articles came from requests/prompts that I wouldn't have thought of writing about.
Same. Many of my best ideas are generated through conversation/reading other work. And those ideas are often not directly related to the topic at hand, but something that just sparks in my mind.
Exactly, I just received a commission to write an article about the importance of finding small joys in the every-day mundane. At first I thought; hasn't that been done to death? But once I got writing and put a different spin on it, it's been really enjoyable and turned out quite well!
Bingo, Tamzin. If you can put a different angle on a topic that has been done to death, you surprise and delight editors!
Pay attention to the thoughts that cross your mind. They are often the best topics to write about!
The key is to capture ideas when they come (the writer's notebook).
I greatly value connection. If I could do anything in life, I think I would be an assignment editor because the story ideas just flow when I connect with others. Sometimes I have too many ideas to sort through, too many stories to tell, and I wish I could farm them out to others who could do them just as well or better than I could.
Haven't tried it or seen it tried, but you could add a list of topics you'd like to see others write, like assignments. Sometimes I'd like to do the same!
Great point and well said. I also touched on this with an essay about how creative AI is. What's interesting is what creativity really is in humans, how interconnected we all are, and how non-creative many humans are!
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/p/can-ai-be-creative
Here's the thing. AI cannot give people personal stories. That's where we humans come in. Use the human component that AI cannot. For now anyway;) PS I think everyone is creative to some degree. The key is having the discipline to express it as often as possible. Write, write, write!
Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.
Yes! Get inspired, not mired in the muck of comparison. Thank you Matt.
😆
Comparison is the thief of joy... .
attributed to many including Theodore Roosevelt
It's that Cormac McCarthy quote, "books are made out of books." I guess around here, we could change it to "Substacks are made out of Substacks."
❤️🫰🫰🫰🤘
I read an article about the “Eureaka” moment in science being a lot rarer than we think. Even in the days before the WWW presented us with all the connections and interactions, in the snail Mail Era scientists and artists built on each others work. Including Einstein when he was developing Relativity.
A foundational belief of mine is that humans are social creatures in every area, from basic survival to singing around the campfire. A lone human on the savannah was Leopard lunch and “*Daddy sang Bass* and mama sang tenor. Me and little brother and I would join right in.” Tucker is a fool on a lot of levels and diversity is one of humankind’s biggest strengths. Perspectives from other that can change our own, in a heartbeat, like an optical illusion that shifts right in front our eyes.
I came up believing that writing is a solitary business. I still believe it, but being part of a growing community of writers who encourage and amuse each other brings me great joy and makes me a better writer, one post at a time!
I have to say I am loving the interaction, feedback, conversation and community that has already grown out of my new Substack. That was a surprise benefit for sure :)
🔥🔥
Interesting, I've never thought of any business as a solitary enterprise. But that may be a more common view than I’m aware of.
We all think of ourselves as unique, but I’ve struggled to find newsletters or writers on Substack that are similar to me or the content of osmanliseyfo.substack.com.
As a result, I’ve looked toward writing style and higher-level concepts to find similarities to make comparisons. I’m okay with not being unique, but maybe there is more to why I’m more relaxed with the idea than others.
Perhaps one day we’ll pull back the onion 🧅
Yes ❤️❤️❤️
I truly believe that everyone has a unique voice. Give two writers the same topic and you'll get two very different articles. There's always space. If you have something to say, say it, write it, post it.
I agree that each writer has their own voice, but its dangerous to underestimate the challenge inherent in finding it. So many external things influence our writing that its often difficult to determine if we're writing in our own unique voide or just reflecting those influences.
After 14 years as a successful commercial copywriter I've recently been encouraged by my mentor to embark on an earnest search for my voice. His position is that I've mastered commercial writing to compel interest in potential customers for my clients, but that bears no resemblence to my own true voice.
He also suggests that my best writing is yet to come when I do find it, and I'll deeply regret not finding it if I never try. Would love to hear others' thoughts about finding your voice!!!
I think finding your voice relies on a lot of experimentation. Always challenging yourself to write on different subjects or to alter the tone. I write a lot of life reflections, how to let go dead weight to feel a little better, these pieces (I'm told) are usually moving and make people stop and think. Then I have other pieces in which I bring out the humour and have quite a different tone. Through writing every day and not judging myself too harshly, I see the voice evolve, sometimes the emotional one combines with the humorous one. It's an ongoing process and can be very joyful to watch unfold. I certainly like to think that my best writing is ahead of me too, that it always will be and that I will always be improving!
I love what you've said here, Tamzin! I joined Substack to get writing, to keep writing, to practise and develop my writing. I can't believe how much more confident I feel in my writing life simply BY writing. Yes to the ongoing process! 😊
It sounds as if you write the way you feel, which is beautiful. 💜
One phrase I keep hearing as I struggle to write in my own voice is "Just be yourself." How many times have we heard this advice in all kinds of contexts. As a writer, I think its a matter of trusting yourself to be authentic, and not trying to manipulate it too much, if at all.
I have to stop and say that these conversations I'm having with you and others on these threads is EXACTLY what I've been seeking from EXACTLY the right people to have them with. I'm truly grateful.
Great question, Howard! This might be a controversial take, but I think as writers we are the worst people to understand what "our voice" is, because it's hard to recognize your own uniqueness. We can't read our work objectively. And just like theme--which I could talk about all day--I believe that voice is not something you necessarily work on. It happens, whether you like it or not, and it grows out of your unique experiences, work patterns, and worldview. But it can be honed, certainly, by reading the work of others you admire and writing, writing, writing all the time, as much as you can. Even if you don't recognize your voice, others will.
The closest I've ever come to "hearing" my own voice in my writing was setting a draft of a novel I had written aside for almost a year, then coming back to it. And certain word choices, sentence structures, and concepts really leaped out at me, more than usual.
Last tip? Read your work aloud. Always always read work aloud. The places where you trip and stumble are often places where you're writing away from your voice. Writing like you speak can be very useful, if done well. 🌿
Love your suggestion to 'read out loud'. After I'd been writing Kindness Magnet for a while, I decided to try podcasting. It was a huge Aha moment for me and it really helped me lean into my voice, tone, inflection and then bring that out in my writing. I would sometimes find myself changing up the words a bit to fit how I was feeling when speaking.
And for anyone wanting to try this, if you are nervous about podcasting....you don't even need to publish the podcast. You can use Substack's podcast feature, record your written work, listen to it (and use that to improve your writing), and then nuke it if you like. After a while you may decide you like it and are having fun and you may just hit 'send' on your recording!
I think David Sedaris is an example of a writer who uses his readings to gauge his timing and laughs. Not all for laughs, but also if you're repeating yourself or rambling on, reading aloud will help! Good point on the nuke option!
Thanks, S.E.! As a frequent webinar presenter I almost had to develop the habit of reading myself back to myself, and you're absolutely right. If I can't say it comfortably, it's written poorly. To encourage myself, I sometimes go back and look at work I did when I first went freelance and compare it to now. It's a good thing today's me wasn't around to critique yesteryear's me. Oy!
Like most everyone else in these threads, I'm addicted to writing. It may be that my problem isn't "finding" my voice or developing it, as much as it is stripping away the craft of ghostwriting I've honed so well for so long. I'm either writing for a sponsor, or for some executive. Now, I get to be me writing for me. A scary proposition to be sure, but something I have to do now.
I really appreciate the time you and others take to respond to me and everyone else. It's a real pleasure to be becoming part of this community.
Very good reminder. I must to that more. Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Howard. I started writing Kindness Magnet in 2021. I set a goal to write for 1 year and then evaluate. I had a voice when I started, but it was timid and uncertain. It got better, not because I had really changed, but because I started to write the way I would speak to people. I became more 'me'. I'm in the planning stages of another Substack based on showing people how to use kindness skills in professional and personal relationships. It follows a different path than KM, but I'm hoping that my voice will still be there.
You have written successfully for 14 years helping position other people's voices. My advice to you would be to just start writing. You will find your voice without needing to force it. Don't give up before you have become successful!
Looking forward to your new newsletter, Heather. You've always been a role model for me to keep in mind "Be kind". How can that not be the way?
And thanks Heather for the info on Deplatformable. It can't of course just be the power of our beautiful words that brings people round, right? There has to be some hustle too! I'm not one to toot my own horn, but there comes a time when you're interested in reaching an audience.
😀
Hi Jodie. I just got lost in your cluttered life and photos in your most recent post! So fun and engaging. Thanks for being a writer on Substack!
Awwww, thank you Paul. You just made my day! You know I am a fan of Deplatformable. You provide so much useful information in an engaging way. If I were on Substack (Oh, I am haha!), I would make Deplatformable a must read, especially for those of us who are somewhat technically challenged! (Not that I am, of course....)
That's lovely advice Heather!
So much of getting your message across is doing it in your voice. I know it is cliche to speak about the 'writers voice,' but it is vital. Explaining it is personal, and about as successful as explaining to a non-runner what it is like to 'hit a wall.' But when it comes out — a beautiful form of communion is established and the peace that goes with it.
Heather, I want to thank you for this excellent advice & support. In essence, you've given me exactly what I've been looking around for, the perspective of other writers on how they went about finding their voice. Some disagree with you, but many definitely agree.
Part of my reason for starting my two Substacks was to have a channel through which I could share my thoughts in my own way without concern for advertisers, sponsors, or anything else but the relationship between the reader and me. Like you, I am a very conversational writer. I write it the same way I would say it.
It has been a long time since I've experienced the kind of writing catharsis I get into when writing for my Substacks. It's that pure "in-the-zone" experience that inspired my total, passionate devotion to writing from the outset. It is beyond great to be back.
I look forward to continuing our conversation going forward. Thanks again!!
HMC
I think a huge part of finding one's voice as a writer has to do with just writing honestly about your own experiences and how you view the world. Whether I'm writing fiction or nonfiction, I have this tendency to try to manipulate where the story wants to go. The story itself is the same but I want a certain lense or theme on it. When I fall into this trap, the story itself might be ok, but overall the writing seems a little too "copy" or "journalistic", something I'm sure you're familiar with! When I stop resisting what wants to be written, my own unique voice comes out.
Like Tamzin said, we already have our own unique and inherent voices. It's just letting it be free.. and not trying to cage it in based on what everyone else is doing.
I think there should ideally be the balance- we need other writing for support, inspiration, knowledge, etc. But we also need to learn to turn that part off sometimes and just write and not worry about how we fit into the bigger scheme of things.
Ironically, there's a perfect space in the market for your voice. Because no one else is doing it!
That is such an awesome point, and nothing ironic about it! A writer simply has to trust and believe that their voice brings value to readers. Otherwise, why write?
I think trying lots of styles might be helpful! I am an experienced blog writer, so used to writing in that style but a few years back I realized what I was writing was starting to resemble poetry instead of blogs! I've been practicing that writing form for awhile now and it's fun to see the throughlines. I've also dabbled in fiction which presents new challenges!
Experimenting with different forms I bet you'll see your "voice" come through and be able to identify it more easily.
Good luck, you're on an exciting journey!
I've always written for myself. Congrats on making a living and having that person who sees your talent in that field encourage you into the private sphere.
This is where the real fun begins. There are no limits. Only the limits you place on yourself.
Substack is the perfect place for you to hang out. See where your spirit and your soul lead you.
I bet you find yourself and your true distinct voice much faster and steadier than you can imagine at this moment possible. Do it for yourself. Experiment. Ask your deepest self for his/her secrets.
Great advice! People kept telling me to develop an avatar of my audience and write to that person. For me, that took the fun out of it. Fortunately, I began writing what I wanted to read and it made all the difference... The whole 'my voice' thing came out of being myself.
True
I love this! I have deleted so many posts because someone else has wrote about similar things and better haha!
Absolutely 💯
My newsletter is all about my real-life trials and tribulations as a man who went from an upstanding family man and law-abiding citizen of thirty-nine years to criminal. After enduring 10 years of incarceration unsuccessfully objecting to being certified as Paranoid Schizophrenic, four years of which spent in the notorious Broadmoor Hospital, I am free again. I spend my days diarising my experiences in the Mental Health System and Adult Care Services in England, UK as therapy to myself and interested readers. I am trying to figure out if my story has legs? Or am I wasting my time? https://billybumbo.substack.com/
As a memoir coach, I think your story absolutely has legs. Congratulations to you for working your way to freedom. Based on what you wrote, there's definitely an audience for a story like yours!
I think your assessment if your story "has legs" or if "you're wasting your time" depends on how you want to move forward. Will writing about these personal experiences be therapeutic or painful? Do you see adding a "running commentary" of your therapy on your 'Stack anything that can be helpful (to your readers) or adding to your forward track at all?👍
Clichéd I know but I guess I look at it like 'sharing is caring'. Plus as you can see I work under a pseudonym so I have my anonymity for insulation. Thanks for your perspective as it compels me to think it through. 😊
Sounds like your newsletter can be a memoir book in the making. Congrats on coming out on the other side and being able to write about it.
I agree with CK!
I'm working on it! I appreciate you recognising my struggle.
Your "sharing is caring" outlook, then, seems to answer the questions you were asking originally! Holy enlightenment, Batman! Now, go change some lives, BB, and do yourself some heart-healing in the meantime!💝💪😉
My problem isn't motivation it's generating interest! I see you have an interest in 80's music. My latest newsletter is inspired by 'Life's What You Make It' by Talk Talk. https://billybumbo.substack.com/p/the-black-sheep
Fantastic track (and band)!
Oh. Guess I misunderstood the "I am trying to figure out if my story has legs" and the "Or am I wasting my time?" as being a far less interest-generating dilemma than simply wondering if there's a rationale for you to be writing about your story.
Swing-and-a-miss to open the game, Brad! Good thing the bases weren't loaded! Thanks for subscribing, Billy, and good luck in generating interest!
As a marketing guy, I gotta say that your elevator pitch is fantastic. I'm sure you will get a lot of people wanting to hear more of your story, Billy. I just subscribed!
Hey Billy. I believe your story has strong legs. You are not wasting your time. The beauty of substack is that everyone has a story to tell that appeal to the interests of probably millions of people. Reaching those people takes time. Just keep spreading the word any way you can. In particular, get to know others writers, subscribe to their newsletters, and recommend them/cross post with them. Our first audience is ourselves. Get your story out there. Recognition is not overnight, but comes gradually as we continue to publish. Vary your genres and alway include some sort of encouragement for whoever reads your newsletter. I will subscribe to your newsletter today and I'm sure others who read it will also.. Hang in there, mate. One article at a time. Remember the phrase, "Rome was not built in a day".
Hey Cork, thanks for the encouragement. Been feeling quite isolated since I started publishing. Good to know there's no reason to be given the community that's here on Substack.
I have been publishing UnCorked about the same length of time as you have been been publishing Billy Bumbo. After approximately 1.5 months, I have exactly 39 subscribers. My goal right now is to keep publishing 3-4 times a week and get 20 subscribers/month. Going as planned so far. Once I reach 100 subscribers I will offer a paid subscription in addition to the free one.
Endear yourself to writers you like reading who have large subscriber base and interact with them. Visibility through them will increase. and write multiple time per week. Tell stories, give advice.
I believe that even as a result of this office hours discussion, you will see an uptick. It will be exciting to see how your newsletter grows to the point where you won't ever need to look for a "job" of any other sort. Keep the faith . . .
This is excellent insight into what it takes, I feel energised, thanks!
IMO this is your hook "the pressure of being the sole breadwinner led to my descent into sadness," because it is relatable. One of the problems of writing about madness and the madness industrial complex is that disability (in general, but specifically the type of disability you were assigned) is still acceptably "othered" by polite society, which runs the publishing industry.
Hi Laysha,
You provide a killer perspective on my words. Thanks for reading. I'll be sure to return the favour when you start publishing.
Legs? Hell, yes! I'm going to check out your writing, and I'm on the US side of the pond!
Much appreciated Maura! I would be interested to read some of your work should you start publishing on this platform.
Oh, honey, THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY!
https://maurac.substack.com
I, too, cast a wide a net. Interested in your story!
Thank you, Jodie!
As a recovering person and retired Addiction Counselor, I think your idea has more legs than a millipede. With the caveat being, “It will depend on how you handle it.” You appear to be able to write with clarity and share with honesty, so the rest will be up to letting your passion inform your “voice” and go for it. You may have a style that doesn’t meet today’s market or you may create a new market for your style. Like HST’s *Fear and Loathing*. Although, his was not *brand* new. I later read Charles Dicken’s *The Pickwick Papers* and thought I saw similarities.
As a counselor, I often struggled with the MH system myself, but by the time I retired in 2013 a fresh wind was blowing and the non-existent “wall” between Addiction and MH no longer tried to separate the two. “Cooccurring Disorders are not the exception. They are the expectation.”
When I was the Director for the Sioux Falls Detox/Arch Halfway House, it would take me six-weeks to get a resident into MH services across town. By then, the equally arbitrary six-week discharge required by our contract with the state would have made the referral a moot point. The rules I inherited from my agency when I took the position also interfered. “A resident will be out of the house from 8 to 5, except for lunch.” I found one guy sleeping under his bed after eating. I thought that is not laziness. That is depression!” When I tried to get the rules changed, I was told, “I’d like to nap after lunch myself.” My response, “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t realize that you were in Early Recovery!” did not endear me to my boss.
I wanted to get this posted before our guardians check out, but I see I ran off at the fingers again. It was a bit I wanted to include in my own memoir, *Drunkard’s Walk*, but hadn’t gotten around to. In fact, I wanted to stop writing and take a nap myself, because I was feeling quite sleepy. I am a short-cycle Bipolar, a non-existent diagnosis, but one that describes me.
I am a devotee of Winston Churchill who said, “When you nap, you get two days in one.” I loved doing Outpatient groups, held in the evenings, so I needed that second day.
I will check you out.
From your writing style I feel like your Memoir will be a humdinger! I currently live in a Halfway House and live with people with addictions so can relate even from the other side of the pond!
Keep going.
That's how I close all my newsletters
My newsletter is for writers and one sign off I use is ‘Did you write today?’. I’m working to learn more about building engagement as I get ready to enter year two next month. My sub count grows everyday but I’d love to have more interaction. So, that’s my year two resolution!
Just signed up--looks worthy!
I'm curious if the use of prompts or the call to share in a specific way helps with engagement? I've been starting new chat threads every Tuesday with prompts but so far no bites! I only have 48 subscribers so I'm wondering if it's just needing to build a bigger community before I see more engagement?
I'd love to learn from the experience of others!
Hi Mariah! Chats and discussions can be tough at first, but stick with it through the initial "crickets" phase. I do weekly discussions, and early on I would be lucky to get any response at all. Now, some topics really click with folks and some don't, but I don't worry about it as much, because my followers know that I'll be posting a discussion every week whether they choose to engage or not. Also, I make sure to set the tone and expectations for discussion so everyone knows that it's a safe place to chat.
Here's a link to my most recent discussion so you can see the form message I include at the top: https://open.substack.com/pub/sereid/p/lets-discuss-seasons-of-setbacks?r=1bv6fk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Hope that helps in some way! The crickets are tough, but they don't last forever, I promise. :)
That's a good sign-off! I'll have to think of one 😀
I'm busy at work today and only have a hot second to drop into office hours, and THIS is what I'm here for: the community. Connecting with other writers and building genuine community is what keeps me motivated to continue writing. It's easier to avoid the comparison game when you can genuinely be excited for your friends and community. Thanks for always bringing the encouragement, S.E.!
Same, Jen! The day job isn't allowing me to be in office hours for long, but it's always a boost. Great community here!
I'm lucky being on GMT that this is exactly the right time of day for me for Office Hours. Very grateful. And yay to community, Holly! Maybe see you tomorrow?
Unfortunately, I can't attend Write Together Friday this week--boo! Missed you last week!
Awww, I had so wanted to be on Write Together Friday last week - https://juliebhughes.substack.com - we were away Thursday for just one night originally, but ended up extending our stay until Saturday! I'm going to try to make it tomorrow. I love having the opportunity for half an hour of uninterrupted writing! Maybe see you next time!
I've been part of these discussions just long enough to know that we can always count on you, S.E. Reid, for some thoughtful words of encouragement. Thanks for that!
And, not to be maudlin, but I think seeing others as possible points of connection rather than as competition is key to a happy, abundant life. It's a choice we get to make daily. So, if we're just not feeling like being part of the world sometimes, so be it. But, the next day, and the one after that, and so on, we get more chances to practice the fine art of optimism.
My post this week is about broadening our understanding of what love means. I think cultivating a collaborative mindset fits within the context of that idea.
https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/p/making-love
Well said!
The comparison game can be hard, but I have found here an actual community that inspires me and challenges me and helps me grow as a writer.
Maybe I’m just a starry-eyed storyteller…but I view this kind of work as a journey, not a tournament. I’d rather be a little flicker of light on the trail that gives fellow travelers a glimmer of hope than a looming shadow for them to race against.
I love that approach.
The abundance mindset is the right mindset. Thank you as always, S.E.!
I just wanted to give a shout out to Paul Macko from the Deplatformable Newsletter (https://pau1.substack.com/) for the help finally getting Google Analytics set up. Big help and seems like it will be a gamechanger for the overall SEO game.
Wondering who else has implemented Google Analytics and how it's gone?
Also, I've noticed an overall improvement in my recent traffic - wondering if anyone else has seen the same.
Drop in and subscribe for weekly playlists if you're interested as well.
Happy Thursday everyone!
Happy Thursday back! Do you mean you set up your GA specifically for your Substack? As in a separate instance of GA?
Hi Birgitte: I have written out the instructions on how to install Google Search Console for your (anyone's) Substack newsletter. https://pau1.substack.com/p/install-google-search-console-for
I noticed that my publication doesn't have Google Site Verification option in the analytics section in settings. Do you know if this is because my publication is new and Substack will add it after a certain number of posts/subscribers are present on the publication? I have two others where I was able to set up my google search console day 1...
I've heard from a few writers now, and they don't have the Site Verification fields either.
I recommend installing Google Analytics then the Tag Manager.
Set up Google Analytics: Install Google Analytics first. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9304153?hl=en
Watch this Video: https://youtu.be/UuE37-MM1ws) You can put your Google Analytics ID number in Substack.
Then the Tag Manager will verify your site as well. And you have that option in your Substack settings. Watch this video: https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6103696?hl=en
Hope this helps. If not, check this thread: https://pau1.substack.com/p/install-google-search-console-for/comments#comment-12846676
Then I would contact Substack support and see if they will add the Search Console option in your settings so you can follow the original article.
Good luck!
Oh fantastic, thank you Paul! Love the pearl-necklace treatment of your name :)
It stands out...:)
Thank you!
I keep encouraging people to come and join Substack, on the same subject as me, there's room for all. I follow a lot of bloggers on other sites and they all give me something different on the same overall subject, it's a big field but space for all.
When a vendor I worked with long ago introduced a service that competed with my own, I asked why he was competing with his own sales channel. He suggested that his company's entry into that offering had the positive effect of validating mine. The vendor was IBM. Ensuing experience proved him right!
Very good point!
The comparison game is not a good one.
The only person we should be comparing ourselves with is ourself. If we keep improving, that's all that matters.
We're a community, not a competition, I just love that!
Yeah, comparisons negate that each person is an individual with unique contributions to make and a unique God-given purpose. I mean, it's true.
Hello everyone! Quick tip for everyone who posts during office hours, and then can't find their post or replies:
As soon as you make a comment, your comment shows up with a timestamp. If you click on the timestamp, it brings you to a page that shows just your comment and any replies. You can bookmark this page, or just leave it open in a separate tab. That way you won't have to scroll through 1,000+ comments to find your comments and replies.
For example, here's a link to an individual comment from last week's office hours: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-67/comment/12652654
Sustack feature request: please make comment notifications link to individual comments, rather than to the overall thread.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I love this thread but it's getting...intense to navigate.
Invaluable information - thank you so much, Eric! 🙌
Thank you so much for this information! A whole new world has just been opened up to me. :)
That's great feedback and on our radar!
Thanks, Sachin. Dave Ginsberg also suggested an "expand all" that would allow us to search a name--so please take note of that too!
Awesome tip! And +1 to that feature request!
Ditto … and I would add to that request the ability to “expand all” replies/comments. Doing so would allow us to do simple searches for anyone’s name, including our own.
+1 to this, too!
I didn't know that, thank you.
I"ll try that. Thanks. Looking for my comments and replies is so irritating!
Life-changing.
Thank you so much for this. This is exactly what I was wondering last time.
Yes! Please! And thank you Eric
Omg - THANK YOU!
Yes please! I have no idea where to look. Ok I'll try the timestamp if I can find it!
When you comment, you'll see your photo (or in your case, your orange circle), your name, your substack's title, then the timestamp to the right of that. For example, I'm looking at your comment here and it says you posted it "11 min ago"
Thanks Eric, this has been an issue for a lot of us here
Helpful
Pro tip :D
edit: is this thread a combined thread of all Writer Office Hours, or just this one today?
This is just today's. They've gotten really popular.
I'm looking forward to having the "over 1,000 subscribers" on my welcome page. At 881, it's a slow climb. I love this platform. H
On this thread there are many people talking about approaching a 1000 subscribers... congrats to all of you!! Stories like yours, Hal, help me see what's possible. But at the same time I have to grapple with how far I am from the summit you're preparing to crest. (Cue pep talk.)
I've been writing every week for three months (about to post #15 this weekend.) I have 75 subscribers, most of whom are my friends and family. And for anyone else in a similar boat, I just wanted to share a perspective shift.
75 people is a lot of people! 35 people is a lot of people! If that many people showed up every week to our yoga class/craft workshop/speaking event, we'd be pumped!! So let's give ourselves permission to be happy that even a dozen people care what we have to say in this world so full of strangers shouting their thoughts and opinions from social media rooftops that many of us can't hear ourselves think.
Amidst that dim, they still CHOOSE to listen to you. To have YOU arrive in their inboxes every week, alongside essential emails about work deadlines and doctor appointment reminders. That's huge. (Giving this pep talk to myself too.)
Love to all of you!! And congrats on reaching your current subscriber count! Whatever it may be.
P.S. Thank you for your work, Hal. Your comment led me to take a gander through your Substack, which is galvanizing and humanizing all at the same time. Very grateful to have stumbled across you here!
Yes, and I tend to write for the 3 or 4 people who have encouraged me and who I KNOW truly want to hear what I have to say. I silence all other voices when I'm down.
So true!
❤️🔥
Just subscribed, Sue! Wow what a beautiful newsletter.
Wow, thank you!!! It's still taking shape but loving the process! It'll be so good to have you there with us!
Go, Sue! Keep connecting! Thanks for this. H
Thanks Hal! Means so much.
I love this, Sue! Thank you for this perspective. xoxo
Yay to your 75 subscribers! I agree--it's an accomplishment worth celebrating!
881 is doing really well! Congrats.
Thank you!
Hal! I love his newsletter a ton. I’d highly recommend it (both listening to him narrate and seeing his pictures). Just throwing some love out there in case anyone else sees this thread. His newsletter is called, “Living in a Body” and he talks about his life and trials living with a chronic illness.
Thank you, Cierra.
Same!
Just checked your stack out and subscribed; looks intriguing
Thank you.
I’m impressed. I’m getting into it now and determined to put out one post a week on Middle East politics, history and media issues
Amazing!! Good luck hitting your milestone 🎉 I’m looking forward to seeing numbers like that!
I'm going to be happy if and when I hit 100 :)
(and congrats, by the way, that's awesome work getting so close to 1000!)
Way to go, Hal!!! I'm sitting at 298 and trying to resist begging my friends and family to make it an even 300.
Go, Holly! I notice that you've got such good engagement on your posts. Lots of likes and comments. Nice work.
Thanks, Hal! I LOVE the community discussion--helps me stay motivated to write consistently.
Just subscribed to try to get you there!
Thanks, Maura! You just put me at 301. :)
Congrats, Hal! I'm at 220. How long did it take you?
Thanks, Maura. I just reached my one year anniversary of starting Substack.
Congratulations to you!
Me too. Getting there slowly!
the climb is real! *turns on Miley*
Hello Everyone! If you have specific questions about writing fiction on Substack, or are looking for a like-minded community of fiction writers, then I suggest you check out Fictionistas.
https://fictionistas.substack.com
We're now over 1200 subscribers strong, have our own office hours, zoom calls, prompt parties, guest posts, writing challenges... it's getting wild! We're a laid back, open group, ready to help you succeed on Substack.
Thanks, this looks really interesting! I've challenged myself to write a story a day for 100 days (17 stories in so far!) and I've been looking for more fiction writing communities on Substack today.
This is a really great challenge. You are inspiring me to do something similar.
When I started I didn't realise quite how long it would be... I won't finish until May 10th, if I hit my goal. It's been great so far - it's really helped combat my perfectionism, and I've also felt much more free to try different genres and different styles. Some of the stories are awful trash, but there are a few I genuinely like, and if I had stuck to my usual "agonise over a story for a week and then give up halfway" I wouldn't have any of them. Even the mediocre stories usually have some element in them that I could repurpose later.
Then after May you can focus on editing and submitting for publication. Well done, you!
Join Serialize! If you’re interested in writing and publishing memoir or fiction, let this be your guide. I’d love to have you. https://serialize.substack.com/
Thanks Sarah, will check it out. Quick heads up: when you include the "www" in the url, it throws a security error, at least in my browser. Might stop some people from getting to the stack.
Just plain: https://serialize.substack.com/ does the job.
Thank you! I really appreciate it. I see that with the URL. Will do in the future.
Join Serialize! We’ll be talking about short stories. And there’s so much more! https://serialize.substack.com/
How long have long does it take you to write each one? Length? I'm only curious. It's a great idea.
I haven't been aiming for any specific word count, so it varies wildly. So far the stories range from 276 words to just over 5200, so maybe 30 minutes (I'm slower on the shorter ones) to over six hours? I haven't been keeping track of my words per hour, but in the past I know I've written 800-1000 words per hour. My editing afterwards is minimal. I just read the story through once and amend a few words here and there. It's too hard to switch my brain to a proper structural edit on the same day that I'm writing, and when I've written longer pieces (yesterday's was over 4000...) I feel too worn out to do any proper editing! Obviously it means the pieces aren't as high quality as I know I could make them, but its more about getting into a habit and not thinking "Wow, I have this great idea... I shouldn't write it yet, I couldn't possibly do it justice," which I know is silly as ideas are actually ten a penny.
Subscribed :)
Awesome, welcome, Garrett!
Subscribed!
Welcome!
Thanks! I just subscribed.
Great to have you Despina!
Thx! Just subscribed!
Just subscribed! Thank you!
Thanks Brian, will check it out
I know just enough about SEO to know I don't want to think about it so I appreciate that someone else is.... thank you, Substack! Would love to reach 1,000 subscribers in 2023. Here's to #NewsletterGoals. :)
I'd love the same, but also I'm so proud to have the number of subscribers I have, even if it is lower than 1000! Every last one who opens the email and reads it is just so encouraging. Also hard relate re SEO !
Absolutely! Nothing can beat actual engagement: opens, likes, the occasional text message to say "I enjoyed that piece." Far more gratifying than statistics.
Exactly! I got a message a couple of weeks ago from someone saying that my post had been shared with them and that it was what they had needed to read/hear for a really long time, and that it made a difference in their lives immediately. That feeling is so amazing, even if nobody else had read it!
Had one like that too Tamzin 😊 Group gathering and waiting just to read my thoughts and perspective. Nothing has topped that comment yet. Well tobe true comments and esp shares are rare
It's that personal connection that makes writing so fulfilling. I recently had a pro that I really respect thank me for writing content "that really matters." I'm still flying from that one comment.
Oh wow! I had that happen recently too, and it is SO special. Yay to us!
Exactly! I've been meaning to get back to having a file where I keep those meaningful comments and replies, to build me up on the days when self-doubt show up!
Also consider using them for promotion. Always best to ask the sender first.
👏👏
That's beautiful!!
On the point of emails Tamzin, what do you do about non opens. Do you send a separate email to that subscriber and inquire or.. ?
1000 is my goal this year, too. We've got this!
We’re gonna get you there! One closer, bb!
oh thank you! very much appreciated
We just got you one closer! We are trying to build our substack community because the grind of self promotion is rough. We got you, Alicia! LYLAS, Sam and Marilyn (Misguidance Counselors)
Oh thanks so much y'all! Love the name "Misguidance Counselors." Just subbed to yours as well. :)
Hell yeah! The start of a beautiful friendship! Let us know how we can help you get to 1,000!
I, too, am thrilled with Substack over SEO duties. I was at a loss.
I hate hopping into the office hours and just talking about my own Substack, but... I DO want to share something exciting!! Little Things was featured in Fortune today, specifically a post I wrote this fall about embracing your "down cycles" -- https://fortune.com/2023/02/16/how-to-feel-ambitious-wintering/?winter The article discusses the ebbs and flows in a creative life and how we can learn to embrace and accept the inevitable shifts.
The article also discusses the concept Wintering, and of course Katherine May, the author of the book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, has her own amazing Substack, too! -- https://katherinemay.substack.com. (Hooray, I made it not entirely about myself!)
Brava, congrats! Did you pitch the article to Fortune? If so I'm sure some other writers here would love to know more about that process if you feel like sharing !
I actually didn't pitch them! The author reached out to me saying she'd recently found my newsletter and was currently working on a series about ambition in 2023, and wanted to interview me about my "down cycle." I did not think I'd be featured so heavily (and had a momentary wave of anxiety when I saw the article began by talking about me having a hard time... I was nervous about being so vulnerable on a bigger platform) -- but ultimately happy to have talked to them and to share my perspective on the subject.
I wish I had pitching advice, but I suppose the reason my newsletter was featured was because this particular author was working on a series on a topic I've been writing about a lot -- reframing success and ambition, and the ebbs and flows of a creative life. So if you see a journalist investigating something you have a personal connection to, reach out!
That's brilliant! Congrats.
Congrats Ali! That's great.
thanks Elizabeth!!
Just subscribed to your newsletter! I'm looking to read more fiction and I'm excited for your recommendations. :)
A reiki master teacher! That's so cool!!
Thanks Ali! I subscribed to your newsletter this morning and spent an hour being inspired. I'm doing a course called Creating the Impossible, and my 'impossible project' for the course is getting cast in a Broadway musical. I was having a down day with regards to my project and Little Things helped lift my spirits! Thank you! xoxo
That's the best feedback ever! Thank you so much, I'm so happy it inspired you and that sounds like an incredible goal and course.
It's been lots of fun (and pushing way outside the comfort zone) so far!! :)
They all sound interesting!
👏👏👏👏👏
Congratulations Ali! That is a great achievement
I know the feeling, a few weeks ago my Substack was mentioned on Slate (by another author who cross-posted there and kept the mention), and I got to know from a friend. It was nice!
Aw that's awesome, congratulations!!
Oh! And they discuss Austin Kleon who of course also has a fantastic newsletter! https://austinkleon.substack.com
Congratulations, Ali! So awesome! :)
Hi Substack:
Do you think you could add a few more categories? Such as “Personal Essay”. None of the present categories really work for me.
I've been asking for categories for writers forever. "Personal Essay" would be good. So would "Writing Community" or "Writing Tips". Also, "Creative Writing".
YES YES YES YES!
I agree that adding some ‘writers community’ type categories would be beneficial..the ‘education’ category has so many wildly different newsletters, it’s barely a category.
Yes!! Looking forward to a Personal Development category hopefully sometime soon!
If they see this, we also really need an "Entertainment" category.
I use “philosophy” with a sub of “culture”. Neither are quite correct.
Thank you very much for this feedback! We are taking this into consideration, but want to ensure we are making the categories as useable as possible for discoverability purposes.
Yes I agree!! More categories! Definitely "entertainment" or "on writing" too :)
I advocate more categories as well. "Personal Essay," certainly. Friends would like to see "Poetry" added. "Serial Fiction" or "Serial Novel" also.
Ditto … add SPACE, please. (Who doesn’t need more space?) And, allow us to pick more categories. My writing covers several areas of interest.
I'm gratified to have just passed 400 subscribers and I'd like the option to display that on my Welcome Page as well. Showing no figure leaves it to the potential subscriber's imagination, which means they could assume you've got 10 subscribers or a thousand.
Empowering all publications of all sizes to make the determination of what to display for themselves would be more equitable for everyone.
I would love to show off my 42 subscribers as well! I hope they allow that option also. I’m proud of all my community!
Very true. I'm really proud of my smaller subscriber number but high open rate and good response rate. That counts for a lot!
100%! Engagement is the key. I've got good open rates, but I'd love more comments and shares.
Certainly does. High subscribers but only one or two opening you posts would be terrible
I would like to see a 'Hundreds of Subscribers' badge as well as 'Thousands of Subscribers'. I think getting hundreds to subscribe is a pretty big achievement!
Absolutely! 400+ people read my nonsense each week. That's pretty amazing! Especially since I used to be a corporate stiff with no official background in writing or media or entertainment.
‘Tens of subscribers!’ ;-)
Awesome, Ramona!
+ 1
Hi Amran! Christina from Substack here. I shared your feedback with with team! In the mean time you are welcome to put the number of subscribers you have in your one line description on your Welcome page - some writers do that too!
Thanks, Christina! I hope to see the change because I'm betting many writers would like to at least have the option.
And thanks always to the Substack team for responding to writer feedback.
What I loved about Substack when I started was that it didn't show subscriber numbers, which meant that writers' words spoke for themselves. That's what I hated about Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the other platforms I'm allergic to.
I didn't - and don't - want to be influenced in my subscribing choices, whether that be conscious or unconscious, by a number that is trying to make me evaluate a writer's content by anything other than that content. I'm proud to have subscribers - I don't have 1,000 of them, but if and when I do I'll be very surprised if I feel I want to show that. 😊
I agree, Rebecca! And I honestly try not to be swayed too. If anything, I view the "big guys" with extra skepticism because I love underdogs, plus that's just how I am. :-)
In a perfect world we'd all make fairer, more judicious assessments of each other. In the world we've got I just think it's really important for everyone to have the same tools at their disposal.
I don't think there's anything that keeps you from manually putting that information on your welcome page. In Settings>Basics>Short Description, you can mention the number of subscribers you have.
When you pass 1,000 subscribers I think you'd want to remove that though, because that's Substack's threshold for starting to show a subscriber count.
That's true, but my issue is more about Substack limiting the functionality to larger publications. I get they're the money makers for the company, but I don't see why they should curtail functionality to us nobodies.
I'm slightly embarrassed by my low subscriber count, so I'm glad it doesn't show up automatically. But I would certainly want the option to broadcast it when it reaches a level I'm actually proud of. It's easy to get discouraged when we're watching the already most popular publications become more popular because they're being showcased for being popular. I wanna be popular.
Yes, the important thing is to have the option.
A low subscriber count might be desirable in certain circumstances, as with writing classes, so you can offer individual attention.
We should have the option to broadcast it or not at every level.
Cool idea - I do writer's workshops. Can you do writer's classes through substack?
I have seen a few writing teachers promote their classes on their substack, but they run the actual classes on zoom in case that's helpful.
Yes, it is sure possible, but I'm not best person to ask about it. You can charge to enter the website or part of the website.
Happy to find this! Subscribed.
No subscription went through. Was that for The Attic Writers Workshop?
It was for something different. But just subscribed to yours!
They're trying to balance giving people the ability to customize things, while also maintaining a consistent look and feel across publications.
Thank you for this, Amran.
I think there are a number of formatting and other basic options that should be included to help us razzle-dazzle potential subscribers. Some mainstream media article or other described Substack as a cross between WordPress, Mail Chimp, Facebook and Patreon, or some combination of references. It's basic Steve Jobs Marketing 101: Make it beautiful and easy to use, and they'll buy it.
Right now the formatting strikes me as way too limited. If Substack is aiming for uniformity, we're not promoting Substack, we're promoting our own writing and brands. If there were no other newsletters that had more customized options, that would be one thing. But newsletters like Free Press look as good, and are as easy to navigate and understand as the New York Times. Limiting our ability to sell properly, but giving those who are already established with thousands of readers a Pro version of Substack doesn't seem like a sensible model, from a marketing standpoint.
If I were Substack execs, I'd set a meeting with WordPress and form a creative partnership to integrate their basic four or five basic themes into Substack. Anything more complicated than what Wordpress.COM offers — meaning not Wordpress.ORG's limitless options — would require a frontend developer to customize it. I told the SS help desk that I'd gladly pay a small premium every month to have a Pro theme.
However, having the option to bring in your own frontend person, too, is something publications with more than a certain amount subscribers — say 10,000 — should be able to do. I'm a toddler with this, just learning the ropes, banging my head on the coffee table, so maybe that's already an option.
Tangentially: I've been trying to get a response from the help desk for a while now as to how we can organize posts under the customizable tabs on the menu at the top of the page, under the title. Does this involve creating different newsletters? I'd rather just organize it by theme, not create another publication; that also strikes me as a strange way to strengthen any brand.
Being brand-conscious isn't just Trump's preoccupation; a brand is what any product being sold in a marketplace is. You never distract from the name, and change the key art (design) only after it's taken root, at which point the redesign itself becomes a marketing tool, an event that makes loyal customers/readers feel like they're getting something fresh. But even that is 5 to 10 years out.
Thanks!
Regarding your tangential issue- those are sections. You can create them in your settings. Once you do so, you can move existing posts there and write new ones. I have several sections in mine if you want to see how it looks.
HUZZAH! That did it. I looked everywhere for instructions. I explored that setting a number of times, but was deterred: Calling it 'newsletters' and 'sections' is using terminology that's misleading if you're accustomed to WordPress; normally it's 'categories'/'pages' that are added to 'menus.' But they use those terms for other items; for instance, usually the admin of a site creates categories as anything he/she wants, and then assigns them to pages and posts. Substack gives us a choice of categories and subcategories from a dropdown, none of which apply to what I scribble about. And there are no tags, from what I can tell — are there?
Thanks SO much!
You're welcome! I agree that using newsletters and sections interchangeably is confusing, especially if you're used to WP categories (you can put a post in only one section, though). I've seen the WP-style of categories and tags be requested as a feature here. There is no tagging ability in Substack. I've seen people "index" their posts in the context of recipes, like this one: https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/from-the-kitchen-recipe-index. It's super manual, though.
And something I just thought of that is also manual, but maybe easier, could be to add emojis or very specific combos of words, so you can link the search results. For example, I use the magnifying glass for a type of post (they're all in one section, so this would be repetitive for me), but if I wanted, I could say click here for all interviews, and the link is to the emoji search results.
https://digest.jennchen.com/archive?sort=search&search=🔎
Thanks for this. The recipe index is a hack; Substack can do better. I'm such a know-it-all busybody that I've already offered my services to help them, making the case that the prettier we are, the more people will want to pay for our services. Did that sound like prostitution? Yeah, well, writers...
WordPress is open source, so I'm not sure what the excuse is. Maybe they need to do another round of financing, first; the last round they did was a series B in March '21, so it might be in the works. In my view, focusing on design is exactly what a Series C should pay for, sort of like putting the finishing touches on a house you've built — people do judge books by their covers. Every major and minor author should have a presence on Substack, but none that I know do.
As for the $50 for a simple 3XX redirect to our own URL... Again, I'm an ignorant newbie. I see that you have a customized URL. I hope I'm not being presumptuous, but did you pay the $50, or that's how you chose your URL here in the beginning? If you don't feel comfortable answering that, I totally understand. At this stage it's probably better for me to keep my own name in the URL, get some of that SEO cross-pollination going with my other sites.
I paid the $50, you have to do it to get Substack linked to the domain. But I moved from Revue, where I already had digest.jennchen.com as my newsletter subdomain, and I didn't want to change that. The biggest difference was that Substack supports https while Revue did not and my readers would sometimes come up against a security warning when they went to the site. But I already pay for my domain and the host and subdomains are free. The $50 was a one-time business expense to me and not a huge deal for me.
In Substack's defense, I imagine they're having growing pains. The appeal of it is that you don't need to do much to get started writing, so having tons of features would probably bog people down. On the other hand, in the last 8 months I've been on here, I've seen them listen to people's feature requests and roll out plenty of new features practically every week.
Interesting points, James. Especially with respect to TFP. Good for them for getting so big, and Substack clearly wants to put some muscle behind them for financial purposes. But at this point TFP doesn't even resemble a Substack webpage. So the branding/uniformity argument is moot.
To me it's a no-brainer that the simplest tools always be made available to every Substack publication.
totally agree. When can you get the "hundreds of free and paid subscribers" tagline? I keep asking that - this is my third mention during office hours - and never get an answer.
Seconding this. Even for smaller pubs the message that you've got "hundreds" of people willingly receiving emails from you is a strong signal of quality.
Thank you for giving us the ability to change that "No thanks" text on the welcome page!
Thank you for letting us know. I just changed mine to "Just visiting today."
Oooh, that's a cute one!
On that point, blocking potential subs with a no comment or further reading unless paid uturn is puzzling
♥️
Nice one, Kate!
That’s very nice. I like that.
That's great. I think I'll keep "No, thanks", since I assume people at Substack have tested this like crazy and figure out that it is better than "Let me read first" that was there before.
Right, Substack team? ;)
I've found that people assume the "No thanks" means you can't read unless you subscribe. Which could be a good or bad thing... but the people I've talked to don't love it. They feel duped. Like they thought they were going to a post but ended up being forced to hand over their email first!
Really good point. I (still) find it off-putting to head to someone's Stack with a view to subscribing, and being greeted by a 'no'!
That was my feeling as well. I wanted readers to at least have the opportunity to look at the site before subscribing.
This is my fear as well..
Yeah, I think for me it was just too counterintuitive, because I always feel like "yes, let me read it" but for that I'll click "no thanks."
I changed mine to 'Let me read it first'. That's what it said before they changed it to "No, thanks", which sounds too dismissive to me. And final.
Oh, ha, I hadn't even considered that it might be a statistically better term.
It's partly about what's statistically better, and partly about letting readers have a consistent experience across different Substacks. People know if they click "No thanks" they get to read free posts.
When they see different messages on every newsletter, they have to reevaluate each message. That might sound good to us as authors "Yay they're thinking individually about me", but it's the kind of friction that can turn people off to an entire platform.
UX FTW 🙌
Oh, that's an interesting point!
Hmmm, good point. Might have to think about this some more!
I actually didn't know that clicking 'no thanks' still takes you to the post. I know better now, but I suspect there's lots of people who are not familiar with SS that might think like I did.
😂 the snarky things one could think of....I definitely don’t love ‘no thanks’
The Substack team has the interested we get more subscribers. So I am assuming they have worked on the welcome page a lot (as might be proven by this week's feature). But it might also be that they haven't, given their product team is small.
P.s.: thoughts from a product management mind ;)
My thoughts are from a picture book author's mind, so my first ideas were to try to write something funny and random (and therefore probably the opposite of a proven way to get more subscribers).
😇🤗
Let’s consider a paradox. I have a good idea. Such as “do not read further,” as it may damage your sense of self or intellect. Or as the consent forms I use to use and as recommended by my profession. I would often think if someone reads this consent form or all the potential side effects of this treatment, why would they ever want to do this? But anyway, paradox might be worth a try and little humor might lead people to take you seriously or be more curious about your content.
YES, Julie!!!!! I changed mine immediately to 'Have a look first! 😊'
I hated the 'No thanks'!
Another good one!
I'm going to experiment with "I'll have a read first :)" and see how it goes.
Oh God bless, thank you for bringing that up!! That’s bothered me since I saw it appear! Haha I’m gonna go change it ASAP haha!
Yes, I just spotted that! I'm so glad that's an option!
Where can you do that? I didn't find it.
Found it! I've gone back to 'Let me read it first'. I like the sound of that, and it gives the reader an option.
How...? I'd love to e able to do this... it doesn't even make sense.
Settings -> Publication Details -> Opt Out message on welcome page
Ah!! Thank you. I just changed it to "Just looking!"
Much appreciated, Kate!
Anytime!
Whoa, where is that?
Found it! Settings -> Publication Details -> Opt Out message on welcome page!
I just changed mine back to "Let me read it first!"
Thanks Scoot, will change mine as well 😊
how do I do that! so excited!
It's in Settings-->Publication Details-->Opt out message on the welcome page.
How? What would you change it with?
Someone else in the thread said how we can do it, but it used to say “let me read it first” and I personally loved that WAY more. Because when you click a “no thanks” I wouldn’t expect it to continue to take me to the site I didn’t even wanna sign up for (aka- said “no thanks” to).
That's how I feel too! It never made sense to me to click "no" in order to dive deeper into a newsletter.
Exactly!
Good observation, Cierra. I just changed mine back.
Thank you!
That woulda been ME (unless 18 others might have done it, too)!
It's under "Settings" and then "Publication Details." (And then "Opt out message on the welcome page.") It used to be "Let me read it first" so that's what I changed it back to, but you could make it "I'll take a look" or "Maybe later" or "I like to browse before I buy" or "I wanna see what Livio wrote" or, like, anything!
Brilliant! I just changed mine to "Let me look around a bit"
I just subscribed to your newsletter too, Carolyn. Although I'm not a prepper, I come from that generation of "back to the land" fol, many of whom still grow and make much of what we eat.
Thank you so much, Kate! We're less about prepping really, and more about how to grow what you eat, why we should eat better, how to increase our self-sufficiency and back to the land ideas and practices, as well as ideas on how to save at the grocery store. I hope you'll find lots to entertain and inform!
Hope you'll subscribed to mine as well, Carolyn.
Oh I love that!
nice!
love these ideas!
Hi everyone! I'd like to share a tip for promoting your work and ask for a small feature change.
The tip. Your subheadings are sharable. If you hover over the subheads (anything that isn't normal text in the text editor's "style" drop-down menu), you'll see a link icon. Copy that link and you can share it on social media. When someone clicks on the link, it takes them directly to the subheading, as opposed to the start of the post. This is a great way to share a single element of your newsletter, or point readers to something specific you wrote in a previous post.
The feature request. Is it possible for the Substack team to make it so that the subhead link pulls the first image in that subhead? For example, if I write a post about going on an Alaskan cruise, and there's a subhead that's about the whales we saw, I'd like the subhead link to feature the picture of the whale, as opposed to the article's main image, which is of a cruise ship. Hoping that's an easy fix.
As always, thank you & keep up the great work, Substack team!
Such a good tip and such a good request!! Thanks Michael!
Thanks, I will check this out. Sometimes, my subtitle is more specific about what I want to share or relates to a key part of the content of my article.
Question of the day: Whose work do you financially support? What Substack writers or Patreon creators or other creative communities do you currently invest in? And why?
Like most of us on here, I am navigating out how to make a living doing what I love. A lot of times, I (we) start by asking how we can get people to pay for our work. But I wonder if the answer begins with a different question.
I wrote a post about this just a couple of weeks ago, how and why artists/writers etc need the investment. I don't have a huge readership yet but I was surprised by how many paid subscriptions it brought in (I just started Substack a few months ago) https://tamzin.substack.com/p/ensuring-the-survival-of-a-very-strange
That's very well done. I have no problem asking clients for money, but I find it hard to ask individuals to pay to read what's going on in my mind. Not sure why that's the case, but it's always been true. I will re-read this and give it more thought.
This makes me so happy. I think what's especially beautiful (and compelling) about what you wrote is how simply honest it is. It holds space for the genuine joy of creating and the truth about the time and energy that goes into making it, which, for a lot of people, is a revelation and a true mindset shift. I'm so glad you received a supportive response.
Thank you! I didn't want it to be a 'begging for money post', but also to make a stand. I know so many artists and writers who do so much amazing hard work, for free, and I fell into the same trap for a long time. All creatives have to reject that system that takes advantage of us and call it out!
So true! I've been thinking about this a lot lately. As and artist I feel like I have done so much for other for free. And often feel undervalued. I've been really starting to stand up for myself and put a monetary value on what I do. I'm heading to read you substack now.
That tug of resentment or feeling undervalued is definitely a clue that we've given beyond what we feel comfortable giving or a misalignment in expectations (even of ourselves). I'm so glad you're feeling more clear and confident in your work and your worth.
Thank you Tamzin, I will check the link
I have paid subscriptions to several here on Substack, and I would love to be able to support others that way, but there's only so much to go around. I choose who I'll pay to read based on many things--exceptional writing, important information, general support.
I would rather support writers who have fewer followers and might need the money than those who can boast thousands of followers and are making a living off of it.
I LOVE the intentionality you've outlined for deciding who to support and why- smaller substacks where the support is more meaningful for them, the quality of writing, the insight, and the overall exchange. Such a great filter.
Note: This is me above! I signed in with the wrong email address!
YES to your thought to support those with smaller followings!
I've been advocating for a different subscirption model here:
I propose the following:
Substack establishes a credit system where a member can buy a dollar value each month, which can roll over. A credit can = $1 and can be used in the following ways:
1. They can pay for subscriptions with credits where there might be a reduced cost option (say 3 credits vs. $5)
2. They can pay for individual essays with credits (1 credit / essay)
3. They can send credits to writers for free essays as a 'tip' for good writing.
So this would break down to allow someone to buy 20 credits - $20 each month.
They could use 9 credits on three subscriptions and have 11 credits to buy / tip for other essays. This would allow a micro-monitization vs. the expectation of a fully committed and yet independent subscriptions. It would help build the broader community aspect of a network of authors as well.
$5 a month ($60/year) sounds high to me unless it's short-term.
Same. I'd love to have the flexibility to go lower than that. That said, I don't have knowledge/expertise of what happens when you start at, say, $2 per month and want to go higher eventually.
I'm not saying it NEEDS to be this way, but as someone who sees Substack as a great way to publish digital versions of books, I'd love to charge like $20 per year. Because in that way, I feel like it can be communicated to prospective readers as something adjacent to, "you can expect one book per year," and they can do the math that justifies that cost.
And by "one book" I don't necessarily mean one novel per year, I'm just saying that you can expect, like 300-400 pages worth of content per year, whether that IS a novel, or it's a combo of short stories, essays, commentary, etc.
Absolutely, considering a subscription to the New Yorker is that much or less with specials.
I really, really like this idea. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I should be offering a paid subscription at this time (still early in the newsletter's life), or if I should be making everything free with the idea of offering a paid option later.
(as I'm typing, I'm leaning toward all free)
Having the model that you outline here would help take away some of that reticence, I think, because it of course offers readers superior flexibility. Committing to a month-long subscription isn't some throwaway thing. And, it creates this balance beam of sorts for the writer.
Right now, because my stack will be where I serialize a novel of mine, the feed is fairly empty, so if it were me arriving there, I certainly wouldn't go the paid route. There just isn't enough to justify it. But, fast forward three or four months from now and an entire novel will have been published. And novels on the traditional market of course have price precedent that would suggest to someone, "subscribing for one month, for $5, to read an entire novel is a steal."
Perhaps I'm digressing, I just see your proposal being applied and it maintaining the discoverability that Substack already offers, while also presenting further options for writers to make money and/or receive proof of concept.
Back to my situation for just a moment longer: because I'm of the belief that I personally wouldn't pay to read what's currently there with my newsletter, I feel the need to hedge, and to offer visitors a secondary option. So, I have a link to my feed on Kofi, where they can "buy me a coffee". I've seen a few others doing this, or going the free route and sending readers to Kofi or Patreon, where more flexibility does exist.
But truthfully, I don't want to send anyone off page for payment, and I don't think Substack wants writers to do that either.
Garrett, I allowed people to subscribe for free or paid from almost the beginning. At first, it was free for all, but so many people told me I should at least give the option, that I finally put it on, and I am surprised at how many people want to support the writing.
I like the idea of giving readers a choice. My blogging and posting have been to get helpful, educative material that might benefit the unique reader drawn to my work. When I get enough content, I usually re-edit and publish it as a book. I’ve done one book so far, and it was an exciting and rewarding adventure, different from blogging on WordPress and now Substack. I’ve stayed free but will consider doing what you have done.
Thanks for sharing, Maura! I think for the time being I'm just going to turn my newsletter back to being entirely free. Maybe things'll change in the future, though. We shall see!
this seems a little complicated to me, but I do like the idea of being able to give tips and things or just buy one article and such.
Quite a few writers have link to 'buy me a coffee', so that is another option.
Oh that's interesting! I love the creativity and flexibility of support that that allows.
The ones I pay for provide something I can't get elsewhere (or can, but at a worse quality): Journalists doing really good work and book agents who give peeks "behind the scenes" into the publishing world.
What's helpful to me is a concise summary to help save me time.
That's interesting - summaries of what? Books, or something else?
Whatever I'm reading lately, like news, I prefer the proverbial Reader's Digest version of it.
Do you find there is a theme or a topic you're drawn to that is hard to find elsewhere (or is better when written independently)? I am with you on the BTS (those kinds of insights really do seem to drive paid subscriptions), especially for the publishing world. I follow Something to Say with Abigail Bergstrom. Any others you love and recommend?
Hi Tami! I pay for four Substacks and they are all people whose writing I really like! Like you, I am hoping there are also others like me :).
One thing I've been noodling on is using threads as part of my paid offering to welcome readers into a community around my topics (I actually just posted a question about this on here as well). It seems like kind of a chicken and egg problem - you need a lot of readers to have a successful thread - but I definitely think that joining a community around certain topics is one paid perk other Substacks use.
I completely agree with you! Being able to engage (just like this!) with other people around a particular topic is always an attractive offering to me. And, it is a real trick (or maybe an art form) to inspire real, active and interactive engagement. I've noticed several threads I've joined are mainly a bunch of people leaving stand alone comments ...which isn't quite the thing.
Yea totally. Being someone who generally is uncomfortable with online chatting (like this office hours thing - I have to force myself to come to it every week), it's hard for me to envision the end state of a really healthy, fulfilling thread offering. But I do think it can exist. I do find pockets of it here (like this!). And I know others enjoy the online relationship building more than I do (and hopefully I can come to enjoy it?)
In life and online, I definitely prefer smaller more intimate conversations which is what I am always wishing for in threads. I've noticed Office Hours has felt really loud and chaotic lately, but carving out this little thread today has been SUCH a joy!
Yes Tami likes alone and no comment is nowhere
It seems like you need a huge following to have success with threads or make it a core aspect of your Substack à la house inhabit, dear e. Jean, etc. Many times I see Substacks with thousands of followers and the chats have less than ten replies. Or a newsletter that is basically a prompt for comments and similarly low responses.
Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe that's the answer...do it later :)
Love your approach here
Love the sound of your Substack! Will check it out.
<3
The patreons and substacks I pay for usually offer tutorials and insights into my industry that I can't get any where else. They are also writers who's work outside Substack I love and want to know more about!
And I do really believe that some people support just because they want to, they appreciate the work you do and they want to offer you something for it!
Ah, that's so true. I notice I spend a lot of mental space preparing to convince people, rather than imagining the conversation with the people who are willing and waiting to support.
Thank you for sharing! I've noticed the same thread in the work I pay for, too. And, as a writer who does not provide practical industry insights and tutorials, it's really make me think about the value of Outsourced Optimism and what a meaningful version of what I do do would look like....
Its definitely a big question, but don't sell yourself short! What do your readers come to you for? It could even be as simple as longer/extra/more indepth posts!
You're absolutely right! I actually support several writers whose writing I just love and want more of. Rather than imagining a new offering, you're reminding me to focus instead on a deeper offering. Thank you Meaghan!
I also follow some industry-specific content, however I love a good comfort read or entertaining read to get OUT of work mode! I listen to podcasts and read blogs that fit this role for me, it makes me feel more balanced :)
I plan to invest in Substackers I really enjoy and can see the love they put in their work. Not necessarily because I get something from them I can’t get anywhere else (granted, there are a few that have exclusive content I’d like to get access to, but has nothing to do with the BTS of industries or anything like that).
Money’s been inconsistent and a little funny the past few months but once everything is sorted out again I wanna be in integrity and support the writers I love. Why would I expect the same to come to me if I’m not “willing” to do so myself and support writers I love?
Yes! I think you hit a really important point- the integrity of being a creator and supporting other creators and the spirit of that exchange. I find that I'm still shifting my own mindset around paying for art and writing, which likely informs my insecurity about charging/ offering a paid subscription for my own. Each investment in someone else's art is a vote for the kind of world where all of our art is supported!
Yes! This.
Yes yes yes! My coach brought up the integrity point and I was like, "...wow! That's so true! How comfortable am I around what I'm wishing would change? How abundantly do I give money, congrats, shares, etc. out?"
And how am I expecting the same if I'm not even giving out that same energy as much as I want to myself? We all deserve to find our people and supportive communities!
10000% Yes! (Maybe next week I'll start a thread about actively supporting outside of money with engagement and likes and comments and shares which are also incredibly meaningful!)
I always ‘like’ when I read a post. In large part for the ‘karma’ and to cheer them on. I really don’t understand the lack of likes- if you’re going to spend X minutes reading something, I would hope that you literally did like it!
I pay for substacks that offer deeper additional content and subscriber-only threads in addition to their free newsletters. I love their work and want more more more of it, and also to engage with their communities
I'm just starting to experiment with subscriber-only threads for my community. I want my main newsletter to always remain free, but extra features like community threads feels like a nice way to let people plug in just a bit more.
What do you think are some of the keys to a well done subscriber-only thread?
Some of my writing highlights specific areas of distress, emotional crises, or perhaps pivotal points in some people's lives. A thread on one of these particular topics would benefit me and my readers wanting to dialogue the topic further. I’d be interested in how this works out for you.
Question: what types of Subscriber-only threads do you love? Are you drawn to them because of the topic? The moderation? Something else?
I'd also love to hear more about your experience in the subscriber only threads and what inspires real active and interactive engagement amongst the community rather than a thread of static comments ... or do you find that meaningful as well?
I will convert to a paying subscriber when I realize I really look forward to a particular newsletter. (I pay for 14 of them -- I'm lucky to have some paying subscribers, so I partially justify my own expense that way.)
Yes! That's a determining factor: who do I keep coming back to of who I'm subscribed to? The ones I'm noticing "oh! They posted!" Haha
I thought about this the other day and it seems to be confirmed here- fellow writers, especially on Substack- are the best supporters. Maybe it's an obvious understanding and appreciation of others' work, but there's also a real spirit of generosity- receiving support and giving some of it back to support other writers. It's so inspiring!
Well done on supporting so many writers! I also support my favourites and especially when I can, and love to see new paid subscribers drop into my inbox too to justify it :) But also, just having the time that goes into writing it acknowledged is such a special feeling.
That's exactly how I'm approaching this - I support writers and projects I love and enjoy reading and my own subscribers seem to be doing the same thing for me...
I pay for one substack subscription, have sent one time donations to two substacks, and have sent one time donations to content creators in the past. Just hard to manage the ol' subscription budget. If money were no object I would be sending a lot, but just have to be financially conscious. If my substack ever starts making money some of that income will go right back into substack but we'll see how to get there.
My one paid subscription is to a newsletter that adds a lot of value in a topic I am passionate about. The one-time donations are to substacks which I deeply enjoy and would pay for if they published a book with all their articles. The other content creators were youtubers whose DIY documentaries were top-tier and which I watch whenever they come out.
I am still trying to figure out what gets paid for in my niche but then again, I might be too early in the substack life cycle to be worrying about that.
I completely hear you on the budget consideration- it all adds up so quickly. I love that you've found one-off ways to support and how you're thinking about the growth of your Substack creating more opportunity to give back. Aaaaalso....the idea of assembling articles into a book for a reader to purchase is interesting! I have been playing around with the idea of creating a quarterly publication that compiles some of my Substack writing along with some other unique pieces- I'm so glad you mentioned this- it gives that idea an intersection point!
Hi Tami. I am new to Substack as a writer and reader--in fact, this is my first ever comment!--but I have been a paid subscriber of a few podcasts that I love for some time. I pay for those because I enjoy the content so much that I want access to bonus material.
When I launched my Substack at the beginning of February, I offered a paid subscription from the beginning. Since most of the people who read it (for now at least) are friends and family, I wanted there to be an option to support me financially. But there is no paywalled content.
Good luck!
Hi Benji! Welcome to the Substack family. I've noticed more and more writers creating a paid option without paywalling any content which feels like a really interesting middle ground.
Good question, Tami, I'll be curious to hear from others on this as well. I only pay for one subscription and it was sort of an accident, honestly. I thought I was just doing a free trial, but it turns out I enjoy what Leslie Stephens writes in Morning Person so I didn't bother trying to cancel. She writes like an "old-timey" blogger which is what I like about it. Plus, she notes explicitly that she doesn't use affiliate links, despite being a recommendation-style newsletter, which I guess I just appreciate.
Thats so fascinating. Even if it was initially accidentally, what a great case for writers offering a free trial so readers can experience (and fall in love with) their work.
Yeah, I'm offering a 14 day trial if learning interesting things every day from Wikipedia is your thing: https://wikidaily.substack.com/wikidaily14dayfreetrial
Very excited to hear your experience with this experiment!
In true voyeur fashion, this is the issue that hooked me! In case it's helpful for anyone here. https://www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/p/honest-answers-to-your-10-most-asked
1 fills a huge void (on-the-ground reporting in my state) that I haven't found elsewhere.
I also try and reinvest in the people that have helped me along the way in one form or another.
I'm a paid subscriber to Metanoia and The Storyletter, but I've been meaning to upgrade some subscriptions for a while. Metanoia because I wanted to read the full story, Storyletter to support indie publishing.
Ooo is Metanoia serialized fiction? That definitely seems like a perfect format and clear value proposition for paid subscriptions. And Storyletter is such a great way to support many writers at once!
Yes, Metanoia is a serialized novel. You can read it here (https://kerryjane.substack.com/).
I tend to financially support writing that I feel is of outstanding quality or that I simply want to read more of (Lauren Hough, George Saunders, Mary Gaitskill...). I do the same with some smaller Substacks as well. But budget really is a problem. I find myself dipping in and out because I simply can't afford 20 paid subscriptions, as much as I want to. That's part of the reason I simply have a "donation" model for my own subscriptions; I'm very empathetic to a suffering bank account.
The desire to financially support alongside the challenge of budget constraints is definitely a common tension. It really does seem like there's an opportunity for a more flexible model, but in the meantime, a donation option is a great way to bridge that gap!
Tami, what a great question! I think the investment into other’s creativity/businesses and their work is a way that we can have an impact on what we want to see more of in the world or what we believe holds value and is important to us and will be to others. As I’m thinking on how best to support my own writing and goals, especially with turning on paid subscriptions next month, I too am questioning what holds value for myself, for others, and why. The Intrinsic Perspective did a great job addressing this in his “going full time” newsletter a couple of months ago. He talked about liking the idea that individuals could support exactly what they wanted, directly, much like during the Renaissance with the arts. Which I think is wonderful.
I’m currently a paid subscriber to four publications here and am looking forward to continuing to invest in others as I am able to. I love the idea of investing my hard earned dollars into people and their businesses and art and to grow the economy and support others that way versus something more “traditional” like stock investments and direct large corporation subscriptions. While on the face there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I’ve found myself increasingly disillusioned by the way many of these places use people’s investments and how they treat their employees/customers who are the ones responsible for their day to day successes. I think these kinds of investments, much like small business support, farmer’s markets, direct farm purchases, local community supports, etc. these are the investments that continue to pay dividends in ways we don’t see, but benefit from every single day.
I’m currently paying for the following:
-Abbey of Misrule by Paul Kingsnorth
-House inhabit by Jessica Kraus
-Everything is Amazing by Mike Snowden
-Chasing Nature by Bryan Pfeiffer
I love the writing styles and subjects matter that Paul and Jessica do, I wanted full access to their archives and love the fact they are active in the comments and engage with their communities. I read one of Paul’s books around Christmas and talked about it in his comments and he engaged with me about it. As a reader, this is thrilling. Mike writes one of the most original and interesting newsletters I have come across and I was thrilled when he did a subscription sale recently and I jumped on it. His excitement and curiosity are astounding and I love to read what he’s thought about and discovered. Plus, a sense of humor that comes across through writing is just the most wonderful. Chasing Nature is my newest paid subscription and I am unbelievably excited for it because Bryan is doing a series of classes starting March 1st for beginner photographers. His nature photography is outstanding and his writing is wonderful (his recent article on groundhogs is adorable), so I cannot wait to learn more for my own photography from his experiences.
Hope this helps. ☺️
Thank you for such a thoughtful and thorough response Elea! Your insight was really helpful and echo'd so many of my own thoughts and feelings and philosophies. Especially that every dollar we spend is a vote for the world we want and an investment in what we value. I really appreciated hearing what you subscribe to and why. That photography series sounds so fun and what a great way to invite your audience in in a more interactive way!
A feature request: Please allow us to center text. There's a section of my weekly newsletter where I list words & phrases of the week at the top. Being able to center align that text would make that section look so much better. Thanks!
Christina from Substack here - I will share this feature request with the team!
Yes, please. Centering would be so useful.
+1 to this!
Thanks, Christina!
Yes! Though it will be centered if you do a pull quote. (The one with the lines on either side...I think that’s called pull quote 🙃)
Yes, I'm aware, thanks. But that feature automatically italicizes the type and adds a line above and below it, which is not what I want for this section.
Agreed! That would be a good feature!
Question: where do you draft your substack posts? On substack? Or is there a software out there that has a seamless conversion to substack? Just curious because I draft my posts on Substack, but have nightmares that they'll accidentally post before the scheduled date. Or, that Substack will be down the night before a post goes live and I won't be able to make some crucial last minute edit. (I'm only kind of joking.)
I write all of my Substack work in Substack. If it's in your drafts folder you can edit until they publish. I haven't had issues with them publishing early :-)
I'm going to start publishing chapters of my work-in-progress for paid subscribers next month. Those pieces will be copy and pasted from Word.
Thanks for this! To be clear, I don't actually think they'll publish early. But, my neurotic writer-brain needs to find something to worry about :)
Oh, I get it!
I have been paranoid that Substack would lose my drafts, but I like the UI experience of writing on substack. So most times, I make notes in the Notes App, develop in Google Docs then port over to Substack. But it's not set in stone tbh
This is my process too!
I haven't had an issue with Substack and drafts. In fact, I feel reassured that everything is always there, in Draft History, if I want to visit them again.
Microsoft Word, then copy and paste. It's not seamless (bulleted lists, for example, have to be reformatted in Substack), but it's close enough.
I do this too because then I copy-edit while I'm formatting.
I write my articles in Word and get them edited/ reviews, before I post to Substack. That's mostly because I'm used to Word and also it's good for sending the articles to the people who review them.
I write 90% of my posts directly into Substack which saves them as drafts automatically. I'm usually working on 3 or 4 posts at a time, and when I'm ready to publish I come back and finish one and hit publish.
That being said, a lot of my draft material isn't "fit for print" but I don't want to lose it, so I work with a google doc open at the same time where I'll drop content I choose not to include and don't want to lose. I title those docs "thoughts on (post title)" and someday I may choose to make a weird coffee table book out of them.
Though since so far https://makingthisup.substack.com/ seems to be focused on having difficult conversations, it could make make for a pretty weird coffee table book...
I keep an "ideas' draft for those bits that aren't fully formed, but I also have a dozen or so drafts with titles that may or may not ever be finished. Sometimes they become a part of something else I've written, but they're always there, waiting, when I want them.
I write drafts in word, on my laptop, and pop them in a folder titled, you guessed it, Substack Drafts” on my desktop. Then cut and paste to substack. I don sometimes add drafts to substack but tend to forget they are there. I should probably pick one or the other and keep them in one place.
I's be interested in the "seamless conversion to Substack" feature, too. I've drafted in Substack, but I'd like to have a copy on my computer. Copying from Substack to LibreOffice (freed Word) seems to leave a lot of cruft. Also, what does copying from Word to Substack do with photographs? Is it kind, or is there a lot of touching up to do?
I draft in Substack because I don't trust copying and pasting between softwares. It's broken in the past but between Microsoft word and substack, it copys just fine.
For my fiction writing I generally write in Word first because I want to count words. That's the only reason. Otherwise I would write in Substack for that, too.
I draft most all my Substack posts in Google Docs! I have folders for each month in a quarter, future ideas, etc. there and it copy/pastes seamlessly well into the Substack desktop editor (pictures, links, dividers, etc.!).
I'll just add a bold "ADD COMMENT BUTTON HERE" or something in my Google Doc draft to I remember what Substack features to add where.
I can work on it on the go with Google Docs, then sit down for a few minutes to copy/paste to Substack and add the final polishings.
And even my narrations. I do them with an app on my phone, then "share" it to a folder in Google Drive, go to my computer, download it from Google Drive, and upload to Substack.
I draft in Ulysses, then copy paste into Substack and tweak the formatting there.
I prefer to write everything on my Substack page. It has all of the editing tools I need, plus I can pull up early drafts if I make a big mistake or want to grab something I'd discarded but decided to use. I love it!
I tend to use notes on my phone/ laptop or just directly in Substack
I've been experimenting with drafting them both in Google Docs and Notion before moving over to Substack. I prefer writing in Google Docs, but love the organizational element of being able to very easily keep track of my ideas/drafts/backlogs around in Notion.
Drafting everything on Substack, currently. Also have that feeling.
I actually love the clean look of the post editor. It's really pleasant to write into. I'd just like a few more text functionalities, but it's definitely my main place at the moment.
I've had an issue where a post reverted to a previous draft within the Substack editor - that was a nightmare! And once I forgot to schedule a post and published it immediately - which really annoyed me, because I love to stick to my consistent weekly day/time of posting.
I draft all my stuff in Word, and when I'm at the stage of wanting to add images and formatting, I copy the text into Substack and carry on from there.
I draft everything in Substack and then I schedule them to post. If they're unfinished drafts, I copy and paste them to a Word doc on my computer. I copy and paste all finished Substack posts to a Word doc as well. You never know when anything is going to go down or disappear.
Shout out to anyone serializing fiction!
Stick with it! Keep writing, editing, and publishing. It may seem thankless at times but if you're reaching even a single person who enjoys your work, it's meaningful.
See it through!
Just subscribed to your stack! I'll be serializing my novel starting late next month. Excited, and hopeful it can find an audience :)
Thank you! Good luck with yours! Subscribed :-)
Thank you - your timing is perfect. This is just what I needed to hear today.
You're welcome!
Thank you! Serial novel starts tomorrow, so this is just what I needed to read today!
awesome! Congrats and good luck!
Thank you Substack for the Welcome Page update!
It is wonderful that you not only listen to feedback from your users, but act swiftly to make improvements.
BTW, I just noticed that, on your Dashboard, we're now able to alter the subscription page response from "No thanks" to whatever you want! I changed mine to the "Let me look at it first!" pronouncement that was originally there! I noticed somebody a couple weeks ago mentioned having a problem with the kinda harsh and final-sounding, "No thanks".
Does anyone have any good examples of people who weren’t public figures/famous before Substack eventually being able to support themselves full time? I’d love to read about their stories
Hi Diego - Christina from Substack here. Check out our Grow interviews - we feature a lot of writers who are doing well on Substack who weren't necessarily known before, they also share some really valuable advice: https://on.substack.com/s/resources/archive?sort=new
I'd be interested to know how much support they get from Substack in order grow to such levels. Did they bring a strong readership with them? If neither of those things happened, what are they offering that others of us might be missing?
I find the whole idea of growth vs stagnation fascinating, and I wouldn't be opposed to learning some new tricks!
Is Rayne from Internet Princess an example? I'm pretty sure she wasn't known anywhere before making a living from her Substack. Substack did an interview with her not too long ago.
This is a great question! Yes -- does anyone out there know of anyone? Many thanks...
Yes Diego, how did they make their writing full time paid gig?
I said to myself this morning, "I'm way too busy to join Office Hours! I need to focus on my business." Two seconds later here I am. Why? Because, community. In the short amount of time I've been on Substack I have found kindred sisters and brothers, new worlds being created by my fellow writers and creators. A new community, new family of like-minded and like-passioned people all over the world.
We should do an offsite. :)
Agreed! Without that feeling of community, I'm just hanging out with my nasty inner critic. Office Hours makes a huge difference.
Also, I know that Substack did in-person meetups last September (I was out of town). I'm hoping they're going to do that again.
We are social creatures, to be sure! We should have networks of cafes where we can hang out and write (oh to write, perchance to dream....)
That's awesome they did that!
Has anyone else gone a bit dry with their writing or feeling a bit uninspired lately? What's your go to for motivation?
Also I'm struggling with getting my work out there. I suppose the best way to get your work out there is to self-promote! So hey, I'm Natalie and I write On the Verge, I write rambling personal essays at best that change from week to week and share recipes over on my food based newsletter 'Kitchen Diaries'.
Tell me something about your substack below! (I'd love to change up what I usually would read, so anything is welcome, really!)
I go through patches where writing my newsletter is a struggle, although I'm not going through one of those patches right now. I'm actually feeling quite positive. For me, the most important thing is keeping going when it's hard.
To kill two birds with one stone, try to devote some regular time to reading and commenting on other Substacks, especially those covering similar areas to yours. That can bring ideas and inspiration, but also connecting with other writers can help to promote your newsletter.
On the occasions that the writing is not happening for me, I try and watch or read or see something to get the creative juices flowing again. I agree that reading other people's stuff is a great way of sparking off ideas, and generating a conversation.
Thanks for sharing Terry. I try to change up what I read to give myself new perspectives and topics to think about about that are also peaking my interest. Do you ever just decide not to write that week if you find yourself uninspired or do you force yourself to sit down and put pen to paper?
I find that if I force it, it doesn't go well. I'll only force it if I have an editor breathing down my neck. But to assuage the feeling of guilt I have for not writing, I designate the day as a non-writing day, in which I will gather material to write about. It's all grist to the mill anyway. For example, if I have a tech meltdown, I'll write about THAT. For example: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/95830697/why-this-is-a-day-late
I force myself whether or not I feel like it. Sometimes it's a stressful and unpleasant experience, but the feedback I get is that this doesn't carry through to the reader. A couple of times I've realised that I just couldn't complete the article I was working on, and I've written something else instead - something easier. As an example, here's something I wrote when I just couldn't managed a researched science topic. Basically I told my readers that I couldn't make the article work and invited them to talk to me.
https://theturnstone.substack.com/p/id-love-to-hear-from-you
Reading and following relevant Substacks- especially ones that curate links to current events in your area of focus are critical. Reading and writing: two sides of the same coin!
Defo! Writers read, or should do, even if readers don't write.
Thank you for the input Melanie! Much appreciated!
Yes so true Melanie, have set aside time to read my fellow writers material. Spreading the 'writer love' as we say 😊 Wil be adding more subs today
Hey Natalie!
Have you ever heard of the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron? A group of us, lead by
Ali Vingiano are working through it together right now. We're on week 2 -- tackling creative blocks and getting in touch with our inner artists among other things and building community... thought I'd offer it up to you ;) putting the initial callout post below for you.
https://aliv.substack.com/p/do-you-want-to-do-the-artists-way/comments
PS my substack is nectar, story and bone. I'm still exploring what it is, what wants to come to the page, but most of my interests fall at the intersection of nectar (medicine, meaning), story (the practice and art of word) and bone (the body, lived reality).
And, I too enjoy rambling about the personal and offering some cheek ;)
Hi Claire, thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds so cool. I've not heard of this book but it sounds like something I might need to take a deep dive at. I'm going to look into this, I really appreciate it!
PS. Subscribed to your substack!
PPS. This is beautifully written on "Crawl before you walk" ---> "...strengthened with clumsy discomfort, grown through err and softness. Stickier than indulgence and milder than irreverence, self-compassion rides on the wings of acceptance, humanity and grace."
You are so welcome!
PS YAY. Thank you! Subscribing to yours too!
PPS what a treat to receive this, thank you!
I've been watching Ali's chat posts about this! I wanted to join but am in the middle of editing my book so I didn't have the time/energy to join when she started. I wonder if she'd let people join a little late.
I'm not sure, worth trying/asking!
I felt resistant and like timing was off myself but leapt anyways... I've given myself full permission to be gentle, to do the weekly reading, morning pages (not always 3, not always morning, not always in general) and artist's date and leave the tasks for another time, or for when I feel like it.
Mindy Mendelsohn (who's taken and guides the course) shared that that's the real substance of the course and that if you miss a week to just leave it and keep going on with the next.
Wanted to share in case that lands with you 🙏 ✨
Oooh okay, that's good to know. Thank you for sharing!
Cool that you're doing that! Great use of Substack!
Natalie, would love to have you look at my publication, https://maurac.cubstack.com. I was a journalist for 35 years, and in my first job as an opinion writer, I had to write an opinion every DAY. Whether I wanted to or not. So I trained myself to notice when something someone said struck me as interesting. Whenever I found myself thinking, "I never thought of that," nine times out of 10 I could take the idea and find 500 words to write about it. It was often offbeat - like a commercial that made parents look like idiots. Readers loved it, and it taught me to be very relaxed about finding ideas.
Hi Maura,
Thank you for sharing - I can't fathom having to share my opinion on something everyday. I can't imagine I'd be very popular with my dark humour! Did you keep a journal with you jot down thoughts? You've peaked my interest on what and how an opinion writer writes!
Natalie, I've kept journals for 50 years and at this point I wonder if I should not just have a giant bonfire with all the things I have scribbled! Really, it's just a matter of picking up on something that strikes you as interesting, or different, or even funny. Then seeing if you can't make something more out of it. I can give you some examples - such as the time, when my hair was rapidly graying, I heard my husband mutter, "Its gone beyond salt and pepper," which i found hilarious, and I wrote a column with all the reasons I refused to dye my hair. That sort of thing.
I hear you, Natalie!
Something that has moved my writing on in leaps and bounds has been a letter-writing collaboration with a fellow Substacker. The thing I mostly write about in my own newsletter is the fact that I get lost all the time, wherever I go - but my 'Letters to Terry' series of correspondence with Terry Freedman (whom I've noticed has commented here already - hi, Terry!) is a really good way of talking about other stuff, too. It's still very much 'me', but more everyday, more light-hearted, and really, really fun - because I can bounce off the things that Terry mentions in HIS letters to me in alternate weeks, and that really keeps me on my toes.
I can thoroughly recommend getting together with another writer for just this kind of thing!
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you for sharing and I love a letter correspodence, excuse me while I go and read through them! How lovely, like a pen pal. I would love to find someone to write with like that! If anybody is reading this and interested, care to join me?
I'd love to give it a go with you Natalie!
It's just like having a penpal! Really good fun! Have a look at who you subscribe to and whose work you really enjoy - they might just be up for it! Do let us know how you get on! 😊
I sometimes have these periods of intense pressures, mostly to do with obligations outside of writing, making me lose some of the energy and motivation to do it. However, I always turn it around be re-prioritising and have been managing to shorten these periods the past years. I just published an article on this process and how stress and happiness affect my writing as well as our society. Could not be prouder of myself right now. Onwards and upwards.
How do you turn it around when you have these periods?
I completely agree - when my work life gets busy and I become stressed, I neglect my writing, simply due to sheer brain power and energy. I think the best thing I try to do is lean into the periods of busy and allow myself a break from writing; but I'm not doing nothing, I go back to the drawing board and I brainstorm ideas, maybe pad out a few with bullet points and I read a lot to give myself some perspective. The more pressure I put on myself, the more I feel that I'm producing low-quality work, which in-turn just upsets me!
All. The. Time. Generally the adrenaline of the deadline makes something happen haha I write about writing and illustrating - so I can usually rely on whatever I am working on to inspire a newsletter post. Working on a book proposal? I'll write a newsletter about book proposals! Drawing with ink this week? I'll write about it!
I love this.
So true, so meta. I'm playing with this myself right now... writing about procrastinating writing. ha!
Actually, today's post on my 'stack touches on this, too: https://technocomplex.substack.com/p/two-rivers
This is what REAL writers do all the time!
I sometimes do that! When a thought pops into my head that makes me think about, I jot it down with a few bullet points to help pad out the substack later on. But this week...it's a struggle! It's like I've left my brain somewhere!
I've found that using an Oulipo technique helps kickstart some creative writing. I've put some ideas here: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/imposing-limits-in-order-to-enhance?s=r
I definitely go through times when I feel a bit uninspired. If it's just because I'm feeling kind of tired and blah, I usually put on a song whose lyrics I really love. But if it's deeper than that, I'll go read a book I really love but don't find intimidating. (For instance, one of my favorite books is The Name of the Wind, but I don't read that when I'm feeling uninspired because I go down a "I'll never write this well 😭" despair cycle.)
On The Verge sounds so cool! As for me--I write Unruly Figures! It's a podcast and publication celebrating history's greatest rule-breakers. I also write Collected Rejections, which is all about the writing life. I used to do personal essays, but now I focus mostly on craft and making rejection less scary to folks.
Hi! My newsletter is called the Thursday Three and could also be described as rambling personal essays, about everything from motherhood to cooking to food (and hopefully they’re funny) https://thethursdaythree.substack.com/archive
Thank you for sharing your newsletter Emilie - I love your piece on jeans! This sentiment is so true: "Now, we need a specific pair for each shoe, a whole wardrobe of denim for different days."
A skinny pair, your "boyfriend jeans," your "boot cut" that doesn't actually pair well with jeans. I'll admit that I am that person that is owning far too many different types of jeans but I love them all and they fit so well!
Hi Natalie. I'm just starting out, but my Substack is called "White Elephant"--the conceit being that much of what I write won't be of particular value to anyone--but I'm trying to write about the experience of becoming a father from a slightly philosophical/literary perspective. But I also have published some other personal essays that have little or less to do with fatherhood--in fact, I just published a piece on Tuesday about my $400 yearly subscription option.
One thing I've been doing that's working alright for me (still very early on obviously) is, when I do get in a writing groove, to try and draft several essays. I try to get the whole thing down. Then, if the next week I'm not feeling as creative, I have a few drafts that need editing and proofreading. A lot of the time, just editing and rewriting gets me back into the creative mode, but if it doesn't, I have a publishable essay ready or close to ready. The other thing I'll do is write stuff that I don't intend on publishing--like a book review. It takes some of the pressure off, but can get me in the mood.
Hi Benji, thank you for sharing your tip for working! That's actually a great idea to do. I usually just devote so much energy to writing one piece that when I think of the following week I'm sometimes in the frame of mind of "Oh god, another week another topic to stress about, how am I going to give something presentable!"
But I do sometimes hit a creative flow and oh my, it's so good when you just have this endless amount of words going; ideas just ripe and ready at the fingertips. One of the things I sometimes do when I can't write is that I just come up with ideas. I read other work and I think of possible topics to dabble in and opinions/perspectives that I might have on it. Now, I'll admit these aren't brilliant, revolutionary topics, but it's a starting point that can sometimes generate conversation.
Oh I've been struggling quite a bit to rebuild my "writing bank" after my mom died in December. A lot of the writings feel "off" now energetically, so I struggle to return to those drafts and outlines.
Now I'm slightly going through an existential crisis so I'm giving myself grace at the moment! But, I love turning to my favorite places to read for ideas, and sometimes an idea *from* what I read POURS out of me and I'll write it in my Google Docs folder.
And hey there! I'm Cierra and I just rebranded my newsletter into Losing Orbit. A lot's changed about my life and how I write about my thoughts since mom passed and I couldn't continue my newsletter until its brand itself reflected that.
So the theme is "what do we do when we lose our center of gravity, and how do we find ourselves again?" Just sharing reflections, my journey of learning how I am now and how to navigate the world (I was caregiving for her full-time for 8 years), etc.
This week another family member was receiving scary news so I couldn't get in the headspace to write, really. So a few days before, I wrote about how to tell the future (and how unfortunate it is)... and it's... sorta based on a video game that inspired it? Haha, you can find that here: losingorbit.substack.com/p/how-to-tell-the-future
Here's the about page: losingorbit.substack.com/about
Hi Cierra,
Thank you for sharing your personal story, I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what that is like to go through after taking care of her for so long. It is completely rational in your case for your writing to take a hit, your mental space must be so packed it's hard to sit down and put pen to paper.
Thank you for sharing your newsletter as well! Reflection pieces are one of my favourite to read because every writer has a slightly different perspective to everyone else and offers insights that I might not have thought of before!
Yes I'm a sucker for reflective writing as well! I've always loved old school 2012 blogs, and vlogs and just hearing people live life and share what they're learning or journeying through. :)
And thank you for the condolences! I'm trying HARD to just rest and let things come day by day, and I'm sorta doing it! I live at home with the rest of my immediate family, so it went from tending to her every 20 minutes or so, to having the whole day to myself. It's been a bit overwhelming and hard to focus, but I'm trying not to judge myself for how "far behind" I am in life. It's really hard. I'm 31 feeling like I've been allowed to come into adulthood for the first time and it's... weird! But I guess that's what the rebrand's for! To explore all of that as it unfolds! :)
I simply cannot imagine! I think giving yourself permission to rest is very difficult but don't let that creative energy die it! Even jotting small thoughts down can be helpful to return to later on when you do feel like writing something. I often do that when I'm just mentally exhausted and don't have the capacity to write a proper piece. I write down small things that I might ponder and hope that I might return to. I hope you're not too hard on yourself, you're 31 and in a unique situation, everybody is different. And I really mean that. As someone who is a very harsh self-critique, I know how you feel to some degree. Taking it day by day and practicing some form of self-compassion has been key for me!
Sorry for your loss. We are all too young to be motherless children. It's very, very hard to write when grieving.
Very sorry to hear. Thank you for sharing how this has affected your writing process.
I write about circadian optimized pregnancy, postpartum, and family life. This is my second year, I publish biweekly and so-far I have never ran out of ideas! Before I started, I came up with a list of over 100 ideas that I thought would be interesting to write about. Now, if I feel uninspired (honestly, rarely happens!), I always have that initial list to go back to.
Over an 100 ideas that's incredible! I think I had three when I first started out, the idea being that I just needed to get started!
Natalie my work is a balance of insight and humor co 🌟 staring a cute character occasionally, so maybe a read you would enjoy. Recent rec. describe my writing rather well
Also, one of my more popular columns just came from a conversation I had with a small-town business owner. It was downright inspiring and made me think of how small businesses really are the building blocks of community.
https://maurac.substack.com/p/the-price-we-pay-to-save-a-buck
Thank you for sharing Maura! I love that you've taken a conversation and turned it into a whole piece. Perhaps that's something I need to start doing more often.
I cannot count - literally - the number of times I have done this. It's easier than one thinks - just be very loose and flexible, and follow the river of your thoughts and insights. You'll have 500 words before you know it!
Are there plans to add more categories eventually?
I would really love there to be a Mental Health category. Right now for my newsletter on ADHD, I have Culture and Health & Wellness selected, but neither of those are quite right.
Just going to say, I will subscribe. I have a son with ADHD so I look forward to reading
Hi Jesse - Christina from Substack here. We're always taking suggestions for new categories but we also want to be sure we don't create too many and that the ones we do have are full of many Substacks for people to explore. I do think that for Mental Health such as topics such as ADHD Health & Wellness is the right category to be in right now.
I have written articles on many topics related to ADHD, Dyslexia, Autism Spectrum, neurodiversity, neurotypical, discrimination, and the genetic uniqueness we all have. As a bit of a neuroscientist, I have always been interested in these areas, especially if it has applied to myself or my family. I haven’t found a perfect category for my writing, which may reflect the need for a more appropriate label. Perhaps the correct category in Substack might be neurodiversity.
Who were your favorite new substacks that you've found?
My new finds are:
Techno Sapiens
Never Stop Learning
One Useful Thing
Not On Your Team, But Always Fair
I also find that The Sample is a pretty solid way to both promote, and find new content
https://thesample.ai/?ref=9034
**Also, feature request to allow tagging in these comments!
Not having much luck with sample so far Michael
I do find it's a really slow add. It's really a quid-pro-quo. I've found some good content there myself though.
Firstly, let me reiterate that I am a fan of this platform and appreciative of the work you do to support writers. However, I have a concern:
The new “PAID” tags that appear on comments are obtrusive and grotesque. I choose not to display my subscriptions in my profile because I value my privacy. I also turn off the setting allowing my profile pic to appear when I “Like” a post. It is a far MORE egregious violation of my privacy to broadcast which newsletters I PAY FOR without my consent. I would like this feature removed immediately or an option to disable it. I similarly dislike the badge that appears beside my name when I post comments as a “Founding Member” and would also like the option to remove this. How and where I spend my $ is no one’s business. These, like the near-universally reviled checkmark badges Substack has implemented, reek of a $$$-based social credit system. These “credits” make engaging in comments distasteful and I want no part in them. Please reconsider them. I would hate having to withdraw paid support from my subscriptions.
Do you mean that asterisk that has suddenly appeared? I don't like that either. What I (used to!) love about Substack is that all of this stuff used not to be there...
Yes, there is an asterisk (I think that means "subscribed"?) and there is also a full-on label that says [PAID] spelled right out next to your name. It is really obnoxious and I cannot imagine who asked for it other than someone within Substack thinking it would incentivize subscribers to pay, like some kind of badge of honor (I've paid for this content, I'm special!) Gross!
It has a country club mentality to it that's really icky and unnecessary. Even if I had a paid option, I wouldn't want to know who among my commenters was paid or unpaid. It shouldn't make a difference to me, them, or other posters. WHY, Substack, why?!? They're really taking things in an unpleasant direction lately :-(
I've just recently seen that. It is personal information and I'm not sure what the advantage is for anyone but Substack. It smacks too much of marketing, since Substack profits off of paid subscriptions. It should at least be optional.
Agreed, my feeling exactly!
I think the option should be there for people more private like J.M. Elliott, and I can see one side of letting people see who you pay to subscribe to is that (at least for me personally) I’m like “wow! This person loves this work enough to selectively pay! Lemme check them out.” So it piques my interest to see what made you chose to pay. But I agree! Something as sensitive as money choices should be, well... a choice!
Yes, there's that, but I tend to think of the other Substack writers who follow me as our community. I wouldn't want any of them to feel slighted because I pay for some and not for others. And I can't pay for all of them!
Oooh, very good point!!
Hi there J.M.! We did have this paid status on reader profiles before, it's not new, the design is just new. That said, I shared your feedback about wanting control over the display of this status with the team working on this so that they know. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hi Bailey - I never noticed paid status next to my comments before, so the new design must have really brought it into focus. I appreciate your willingness to look into alternatives. Thank you.
Hi All, I think i achieved a small milestone 75 readers on my substack blog... I am happy and greatful for this. it is exciting to see so many people interested in quite a niche field of bioinformatics.
https://weeklybioinformatics.substack.com/
Nicely done, Sri!
I'd love to get to 100.
I'd love to get to 50, even...
Small steps, imo.. older version of me would have been hard on myself and doubted if it is even worth it. after reading few books over the last few months; such as gifts of imperfection, I feel i will give this a try every week even when times are rough so i can keep this as a place of joy. Even if its imperfect, it is something i am enjoying - creating.
Congrats on that, Sri! So happy for you. :)
Just subscribed, your stack look great!
Thank you so much finlay!!!
Hey, guys! Happy to finally get here on time. When plotting new issues for my newsletter, it sometimes seems to me like I'm writing about things that have nothing to do with each other, except for my interest in that particular subject at that particular point in time. My question is: how can I connect my essays, so that I create an identity for my newsletter/blog, instead of it being all over the place? Or should I just lean into that all the way, and let my voice be the driving force for new subscribers, instead of my choice of subject?
Just my two cents--if you're going to have your 'stack cover a lot of different subjects, then you need to do both: Create a strong brand that has your voice as the driving force. Your voice is the brand and why people subscribe.
This is interesting and it makes sense. Thanks for the reply!
As a developmental editor, it sounds to me like you’re in a season of learning to say what you need to say. A sort of editorial detox, even. It can feel like wandering the desert a lot of the time. I would say embrace the variety and don’t try to organize too much. The themes that belong to just you will show up eventually.
this speaks to me haha, I just renamed my newsletter to Wandering the Grey and described my rational here: https://www.tobiwrites.com/p/wandering-the-grey
So true Varorie, he might also consider a private stack
I had similar concerns to yours and just stopped caring at some point. It's probably more difficult for new readers to decide "yeah, this is a blog I want to follow", but I don't have any plans of nichning down. And the blogs/newsletters I personally enjoy more I've chosen for the "voice" and not for the "subject" (although a combination of two works best!).
I think it's not about the topics you write about it's about the opinions, thoughts and experiences that you share on those topics. That's your voice and only something that you have. It will automatically set you apart from others because it's you (if that makes sense).
I'm in a similar boat to you where I don't have a specific niche I write about - I don't discuss politics or finances or have 45 years of experience for me to discuss but I think the topics that I do write about come from my own perspective and are different in that respect. Hope that helps and Happy Writing!
I write bout several different kinds of things on my newsletter, so the only niche aspect is that all the articles (so far at least) are written by myself, and I have a certain style I suppose. So I think the people who subscribe have done so because of either (a) they like the style of the writing or (b) there's a particular area they enjoy reading. So my overall take on this is, like Valorie Clark, to regard yourself as the reason that people will subscribe.
You definitely have your own style too. I enjoy it, Terry!
Thank you, Sir. May I also say that I find your how-to posts in particular very helpful. I've bookmarked your SEO one to read properly and implement soon.
Nice!
There is a definite thread that connects all your topics. YOU! There's an inherent risk in writing about topics of interest to you. You have to trust that they will be of similar interest to readers. It's a pretty good bet that if one topic you write about has broad appeal, so will others. If I've learned anything from talking to other writers its to be true to your voice and let the writing earn its keep.
The pieces I write at one of my newsletters, Constant Commoner, are all over the place. I've set up sections for the obvious connections, but my home page is in magazine style, and I think of it as a magazine. That is, articles all over the place but with a connecting theme--which, in my case, is ME.
And I love it because it makes me feel better about being the same way 😂❤️
Yes!!
As you continue to write, reflect on the big themes that are emerging. Your voice and ethos are a big part of *the ties that bind* as well. Think about how you can show theme through your visuals/welcome & about pages as well.
Thank you Laura, I'll give that a go. I sense there probably is a theme buried in some of these topics.
Hello! Can you share more information about how or how frequently "Most Popular" on a publication's homepage is updated? I have a story that's been my most read by hundreds of views for over a week with an equal number of likes to my listed #1, and it's not cracked the list.
Hi Kristen, "Most Popular" doesn't just populate posts based on how many views a post gets. It also considers likes, comments, and how many free/paid subscribers that post generated. Let me see if I can get some more details from our engineers.
When I turned on paid subscriptions my "most popular" all went to paywalled posts too, even though some of my free posts have more views/likes/comments/etc.
Would be curious to learn more about why and if this is tweakable. Thanks!
I noticed this too! My paywalled posts seem to be automatically on the "popular" list, even though there are free posts with more views/comments/subscriptions generated. I thought maybe it was saying those were my most popular podcast posts (they're my only podcast posts)
I wish there was a way to remove the 'Most Popular' if we wanted to. Mine is about grief and it stings every time I see it.
Mine too.
Thanks, Katie! Any clarity they can offer would be greatly appreciated.
I would love to know this too!
Thanks for the updates on SEO capabilities. Appreciate it.
the existential crisis I have during every single office hours: https://writingbelike.substack.com/p/quick-question-i-write-about-bicycle
Killing two birds with one stone is where it's at :D
Poor birds
u said it
LOL. I'm busted! You're on to me!
HAH I love you.
Hi there! Here’s my Substack: https://cheerskelley.substack.com
I know that one of the best ways to grow your Substack is to cross post on other Substacks - is there a list of all the Substacks who are accepting submissions for guest posts so that we know where we can submit / make new connections with other writers?
Cheers!
Kelley
I guess a suitable approach is looking for popular 'stacks in your genre/niche here - https://substack.com/browse
Thanks for the link Oleg
Hi Kelley! I'd love to collaborate if you're interested! I'm also looking for guest writers for my foodie page: https://ontheverge.substack.com/s/kitchen-diaries. Let me know if you're interested to collaborate?
Hey, Natalie, I have been a bread baker for 30-plus years - went through 125 pounds of flour during Covid. I can contribute, if you like.
Hi Maura, oh my that would amazing! Shall I drop you an email and we can discuss?
Hi Kelley, Just subscribed to your newsletter. We have a small and very supportive group of Food and Drink writers that has been meeting via Zoom for over a year now. If you would like to be a part of it, we'd love to have you. You may make some connections there.
Hi Kate yes that would be fantastic thank you!!
You'll find my email address in your recent subscribes. If you can reach out that way, I'll get you on the list. Our next meeting is 2nd Tuesday in March.
And would love to have you subscribe to my newsletter, too.
Done :) Look forward to reading your work -- I'll email you!
Yes Kelley, I am going start using the cross posts
How many people subscribe for serialized publications and enjoy reading them as they come out?
Just selfishly collecting data over here.
I write a lot of serialised fiction and read some. I mostly read serialised comics, rather than prose, though have been looking at dipping into some short fiction authors as well.
I write long-form serials, and have done since 2015, but increasingly am thinking that shorter work sits more comfortably on Substack.
As a reader, when I see ‘17 minute read’ (I’m mostly in the parenting/education space) I am highly skeptical that they didn’t miss some MAJOR editing opportunities. Substack is still social, so you are competing for people’s finite time before they want to read the next thing in their inbox.
A story isn't purely about social and competing for eyeballs, though. Certain stories will suit certain lengths. I aim for about 8-10 minutes per chapter, which is around 1,200 words (ish).
You do raise an interesting point about the app, though - I include additional author notes on my chapters, which are entirely optional, but those will be inflating the supposed reading time of the chapters as displayed in app. Anyone glancing at the stub won't realise that the reading time includes the bonus notes. Interesting!
It's a tough one. I'd love to experiment putting up some long form posts (I've tried one at ~30 min read; don't have enough subs to offer any insights though), but I understand that feels like a big commitment. The Substack app is at least useful in that it shows you your progress and saves it so you can return to where you left off. Is it possible for the browser or email version to also do that somehow?
I think 5-10min post lengths are probably the sweet spot until you hook any readers in to something serialised.
Oh wow, a 30 minute read is a lot. I aim for about 1,200 words per chapter, so the individual commitment each work is pretty low. In terms of 'long-form serials', I meant the overall project rather than the instalments. Go over 1,200 regularly and you need a pretty loyal audience to start with, because you're then starting to impinge on other entertainment and activity time.
Oh sorry, haha, I should have clarified. That was just an isolated short story, more intended as testing out a post length.
But yes, agree that for serialisation that many words is a good amount to aim for. I see that ~2000 words is listed as an estimated 10min read.
The built-in voice reading in the app is quite nice, as it turns every serial into a potential audiobook. That seems like an underused feature - it makes substacks possible to 'read' while doing stuff like commuting and housework.
Haven't explored this yet, but that's a good point. In fact, I didn't even know that app had that feature!
I like the idea of a custom recording each post too though, if possible. Presumably you could override the computer-voice if you'd recorded your own. (My wife is a VO artist, so I'd just have to convince her this was worthwhile...)
I love that feature as a reader, especially the green color it displays, it’s a big visual in my feed. It would be interesting to see the numbers on completion rate compared to article length.
It really is how the text is presented I think Simon. When I sit to view other stacks, long interrupted text and no visual perks is a quick close for me
I feel like they aren’t thinking about the reader.
I never have. I used to always say that I'd read them, but in reality I'd let them pile up until it was done, and then read it all in one go.
I write and read serial fiction novels on other platforms and share sneak peeks and process in my newsletter
Personally, I have a hard tie with serialized publications. Some weeks I have more time to read than others and I hate to feel that I"m behind!
Yeah, totally. And I think this is also a feeling with hitting subscribe. I want to subscribe to lots of interesting looking Subs, but then I know my inbox is going to start filling and I'll get that "Arggh, I'm falling behind" feeling.
I am planning to do this where each story will be stand-alone and be understood without needing to read others. I plan to sprinkle info about the main characters into each story in hopes of convincing people to read more. What do you folks think if this idea?
If you think you'll enjoy writing it, then go for it. :)
It's what I've been doing with my Tales from the Triverse serial, which is an anthology series of detective stories but with recurring characters and a background developing plot. I'm not sure whether it's working for readers as yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying writing it. :)
Thanks, I have been reading your stuff, it is a big help.
I both read and write serialized fiction.
I’d like to know this too! Im publishing serialized fiction.
Tell me more about serialised publications Matt
Any tips on converting comp subscriptions to full paid subscribers? I decided to give away some 3 month paid subscriptions as part of my 2 year anniversary and now trying to figure out what I should do. I have a bunch of content planned for paid subscribers only now that I have some but would love suggestions.
For the first few weeks after starting my newsletter, I comped 10% of all subscribers. I wish there was an easier way to do it, but I just clicked on every 10th subscriber in the "Subscribers" tab and then comped them. I sent a followup email saying thank you for being an early subscriber, and letting them know what they'd see different as a comped subscriber.
I haven't seen much conversion yet, but I did notice that a few comped readers went through and favorited every private post. A couple comped readers started commenting as well. So it hasn't driven paid subscriptions yet, but it has increased interactions, which is a good thing.
What?? Comped short for Eric?
It's for Complimentary. Basically giving people access to the paid subscription option.
So they don’t get notified about the new comped status? I was thinking about sending out an email about the new status but wasn’t sure if they already received one.
I'm not sure if they do. I had a specific enough message that I was comfortable sending an email to that group. I don't think they get an automatic email, but I'd love to get confirmation on that.
As far as I know, they don’t but yes, I would like confirmation of that. I’m probably going to send out an email with details on what I will be offering. Maybe even a few things for them to specifically know about.
One more thing I realized that's *really* helpful. If you comp people one day, and then later comp a separate group, how do you select those different groups of subscribers?
I noticed that all the people comped on a given day have the same expiration date. So if you want to send a followup email to that group, for example to say I hope you enjoyed the paid access... You can click Subscribers>Expires at, and you should see your group of comped subscribers. You can then use that date in a filter. (Filter> where expires at is on date)
I love the idea of giving away subscriptions as an anniversary celebration! Are there any writers who successfully converted you? I wonder if there are any clues in there for what inspires an audience to opt in more deeply...
Well I haven’t been able to afford to support anyone personally. But I offered the people with the highest engagement on my Substack a comp subscription. Might give away some more.
I like that idea! My 1 year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks time, what a great way to mark it!
It's nice that you can customize the Welcome page to include 'Over 1000 subscribers' but why limit it that way? Those of us with hundreds of subscribers are pretty proud of those numbers, too.
Why not add the option of 'Hundreds of Subscribers'?
Good point. I'd LOVE 100 subscribers! *laughs*
"There are dozens of us! Dozens!"
Hi Ramona - Christina from Substack here. You can include the number of subscribers you have in the description on our welcome page for now! Will share your feedback with the team though!
Wait, am I missing something? What do you mean by 'our welcome page'? Do you mean MY welcome page?
Yes, your Welcome Page.
Oh, okay. Thanks.
Yes, I know that's a possibility, but coming from Substack, it gives it more oomph!
I have published a free weekly newsletter for about a year in Denmark (small country, small language). I plan to go to pay-mode shortly. Subscribers have gone up at a regular pace, but after I published yesterday's newsletter (nothing special compared to other weeks) I have had an enormous increase - 4-500 new subscribers in 24 hours. Any explanation?
when I've seen this kind of thing (admittedly not quite in the numbers you describe) it's been because a writer of a much larger newsletter linked to one of my articles.
maybe it was shared on some forum or went viral on Twitter (without you beig aware of it)?
You can check out your traffic sources (which also show how many new free / paid subscriptions came from that source) here if you haven't seen it already https://peternygaardf1.substack.com/publish/stats/traffic
Sachin, I had one column with 1300 views and I was similarly puzzled. Any way I can find out where they were looking at my pearls of wisdom? :)
Yes Peter, Wow! I would like some tips too
Not a day goes by that I don't lament I didn't land here sooner. (I lament a little less with every passing day, though.)
Cheers, everybody. Write on ...
Ugh! Same. I SO wish I had made the switch over here two years ago when I was personally floundering and trying to figure out how to grow my blog audience (and fell into the FB blogging groups trap.)
What matters is that we're here now. Focus on the future and don't pine for the past.
I'm old. I pine for the past, but reckon there'll be plenty of leaves to rake in my future ...
Yep. I was a GoDaddy's sugar daddy for a bit. #ThatIsOver
Hello everyone! 🙌
I don’t have any questions, just want to leave a comment.
I live in Japan and it’s 3AM here.
Usually I go to bed before midnight and wake up in the mornings checking these threads which are already closed.
YES this is my first time joining the thread! Super excited!
I started my Substack this year, writing about tech & business in Japan. I come from Taiwan and I write in Chinese(Traditional).
Just want to let you know that there are more and more writers start using Substack in Taiwan :D
I hope someday we can build a Substack community in Taiwan.
Btw, would be great if the estimated reading time of my 3,000 word post are not shown as “Less than a minutes.” 😆
In Taiwan, you would be in the right timezone to join the Pacific Substack Community. I organise monthly-ish Zoom chats for anywhere from east Asia to west of Americas, but we are mostly New Zealand/ Australia/ Pacific Islands. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you an invitation to the next Zoom
Hello Melanie, thank you for the comment. The community sounds great! I would like to join you!
Always learning from these amazing threads at office hour. It's insanely beautiful and helpful to see a writers community coming so strong, so supportive, so together! Just amazing and I'm so grateful 💕😊
Also a request .. can we embed or upload videos .. when I write my newsletter especially on travel , I would like to add photos and videos too
I upload videos in YouTube and then embed them into my posts on Substack. That way they are in two places.
Yes but sometimes I just want to upload a small clip and I wish I could do that
Great question! For me, finding writers doing similar work builds community! Community I really appreciate. I interview authors for my Substack. And was delighted to discover Jillian Hess' gorgeous Noted where she so thoughtfully and tenderly explores the notebooks of some of our greatest dead authors and other artists, as well as the note taking methods of living writers! I particularly loved this week's with Lady Caroline! https://jillianhess.substack.com/p/caroline-lambs-heart-break-notebook
I will check it out, I also do author interviews on my book marketing substack: Get Your Book Seen and Sold like the post with a children’s author: https://claudinewolk.substack.com/p/childrens-author-answers-publishing#details
Do you do self-published writers? I just released mine: https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahstyf/p/my-book-is-available-today?r=jbxzo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
What advice do you have for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to promote their newsletter on social media or have time to participate in social hours like this? I have a full-time job and write my newsletter on the side as a fun project, but finding it difficult to devote more time to promote it.
You could try listing your newsletter on different directories (like The Sample - https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d) that reshare your posts to potential readers for free?
That is a cool idea, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Oleg! I will give it a shot!
I am committed to slow-n-steady growth. I have no social media presence, and I write anonymously to protect my personal privacy so that means I won't connect it to anything I *do* have.
So that means the number one way to grow is community. Coming to these office hours is good. I always see an uptick in traffic when I am active on office hours.
Second, find a substack in a similar field, that's a similar size or a little bigger, and be active in THEIR substack. Consider yourself the center of a community, you want to find all the substacks in your area and connect yourself to all of them. Then both writers and commenters will see you and learn about you by your active participation there. Don't be afraid to ask people about collaborations, recommendations, other such. Examine your current subscribers and see if any of them have their own newsletters they write. Reach out to them, consider joining their community, build those relationships.
Third--be mindful of the product life cycle. I have an article coming soon about this, but here's a sneak peek: The four phases of the product life cycle are Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. If you are new, you are likely in the "introduction" phase. Don't be disheartened--just put everything you have into producing high quality content. Slow growth will snowball, and eventually you'll reach a critical mass where your substack will grow a lot over a short time--people will be talking about your newsletter organically. That's Growth phase. Everyone wants to be at the Maturity phase, and if you read everyone here at office hours you might think that's where everyone is--it's not. Maturity phase is hard to get to and hard to keep. You're going to spend most of your time writing feeling like youre behind the curve, and that's OK. Just keep writing. Your best sales pitch is your content.
I hope that helps!
Super helpful, thank you!
I think recommendations are the most powerful source of growth, and once you have them set up they are passive - they require no effort from you. I would try to create some relationships with other writers where you are recommending one another if you only did one thing. https://on.substack.com/p/recommendations-update
This ia a great piece of advice, thank you.
Hi Yuezhong, thank you for writing on Substack!! Here are some helpful resources that may help you grow your list and promote your newsletter: https://substack.com/resources?utm_source=menu-dropdown#growing-your-list
Thank you!
Oleg's suggestion is good. There are some good directories out there. I also bulk schedule my social media posts in advance, then check in throughout the week to respond to comments or shares.
What app do you use to bulk post them, Valorie?
I use Later. I love it. https://later.com/r/thevalorieclark
Thanks, Valorie, I'll check it out.
I use Later. I love it. https://later.com/r/thevalorieclark
Hallo! I wonder whether you might fiddle with the ALT-text and image caption portal? It is difficult to enter information, and even more difficult to check and edit it, especially the ALT-text, because the entry box is tiny, and the moment you start typing it deletes what you typed before... Thanks!
Definitely! I end up composing anything more than a sentence in a separate text editor, and then pasting it into that tiny box.
Yes! I have a doc on Scrivener called Image captions - all captions and ALT-text goes there, which means it's there for next time (including the five times I'l need to use some of the ALT-text to advertise each post on different platforms!).
good idea, Surekha. You've reminded me that I was going to try to get into Scrivener again.
Scrivener's terrific! There's a built in tutorial - a document you read through -and it's adorable: nicely written, with a few jokes. You can use as many or as few of the features as you like, and add elements as you grow in confidence.
I had a tech mystery once, and emailed the support folks, and an awesome person went back and forth sorting out a complex little weirdness in how Scrivener interacted with one of my settings on Word. All of which to say is it's marvellous! And you can export a Scrivener file to Word whenever you want, whether to send it to someone else, or to fine-tune and finish it in Word.
Thanks. It sounds like it's improved. I tried it in 2014 (I think) and fumbled my way through to writing book outlines and then exporting to Word, and I loved the idea that you can store all your pics and research notes there too, plus the different views. But going much further than scratching the surface seemed like an uphill struggle -- and I'm fairly tech savvy!
Ha! This is so weird - I tried it in 2014, and thought 'bleugh, I don't need this, writing words is about butt-in-seat and Chrome windows closed.' But there's a new version - I got mine in Jan 2020 and it's beautiful, and the tutorial made it the softest of landings. I still use Word (for non-creative stuff and once the creative stuff is nearly finished) - I like to divide and rule my tech.
I don't know. I think of it as friendly competition. I continually encounter writing here that is better than mine. I see it as a challenge to help me improve my own writing.
Hi. I followed the SEO instructions to get my account verified on Google by putting the verification code in the systems thing. Would an admin be willing to check and confirm I'm completely verified now and have optimized my SEO?
Hi Susanna! Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the SEO instructions? I seemed to have missed them... Thanks in advance!
This was one they posted yesterday: https://on.substack.com/p/the-state-of-seo-on-substack-feb-23
Hello! Perhaps this is a straightforward question but I’m just beginning. Does anyone have tips for converting free subscribes into paid? Do I just start create paid content and hope that folks come along?
Figuring out what extra content your subscribers want is key, and then yes, create it, send previews to free subscribers and hopefully some convert!
Yes Katy, I trying to decide whether to add a private substack and what theme. Yeah will continue to mine the interests of subs. But ya know, my first post was just pure fun and easy pleasant thought flow, and I wasn't thinking about #'s and that post is still among the highest
Hi Ema! Wonderful to hear that you're just getting started. Here are some resources you can dig into for converting free subscribers into paid: https://substack.com/going-paid-guide. Happy writing!!
Oh wonderful! Thank you!
Hi Ema - Christina from Substack here. Definitely check out our On Substack pub - there are a ton of amazing resources on things there. Here's a post on tips for going paid: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-6. There's more to explore there!
Truly appreciate it! Thank you!
Has anyone else gone back to work on a draft of a newsletter and found an image replaced by a gray box reading "Image Not Available." We then have to reupload the missing image.
Yes, it happens if you're using an image without adding it to your own pictures folder. If a website where it appeared is disabled, or they've removed the photo, it might disappear.
I solve that using 'Save as' to add it to my pictures folder (or Substack folder). Then I can grab it from there without any problem.
Hmm, I don't think that's the case with us because I add everything the same way but it only happens once in a while. I also either only add photos I take -- so they aren't disappearing, I promise -- or from Unsplash.
I had an issue like this and brought it up with support and shared screenshots and they said it was an engineering issue and repaired it. It did seem to happen when I added or removed a paywall.
I had this once, Michael. I'd used someone's image - with permission! - and had at their suggestion saved it directly from their website. It appeared just fine to start with, and then the next time I went in I had exactly the grey box you describe. I checked the file name and in fact it didn't have any kind of extension. I went back into where I'd saved the image, added '.jpg' and it behaved itself after that. Might be a different issue to yours, but it worked for me!
Thanks for your reply, Jared.
When I'd saved the image locally to my computer I'd somehow pulled it through without the file extension, and when I uploaded it to my Substack post (by using the 'browse' function in the Editor screen) I hadn't noticed. The picture had appeared fine initially, but on revisiting the draft it had been replaced with a grey box.
I had a look at the file name where I'd saved it on my computer, and lo: no .jpg extension. As soon as I'd fixed it the picture was fine.
Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to share a little "behind-the-scenes" perspective on how much a word of encouragement or thoughtful comment can make to a writer.
I've been working with an editor on a draft of my manuscript, The Pattern Shop. It's a book I've been writing for almost a decade- one that's very personal for me. I was nervous to ask for feedback but knew it was the next step I needed to take on the journey toward publication.
Working with this editor has truly been an amazing experience! His generous feedback, constructive criticism and overall kindness has been such a boost to my confidence when I needed it most! Had I received a colder response or had I worked with someone who didn't seem invested in this story- it might have stopped me in my tracks.
Instead, I'm taking the next (terrifying!) step to begin pitching the story to agents with his encouragement.
As writers, we can feel like our work is just going into a black hole, that our story isn't resonating, doesn't matter, or isn't worth the effort to tell. Just one positive comment or word of encouragement can make someone else decide to keep going, keep writing, keep sharing their unique and important voice.
I hope you continue believing in yourself and remember to lift each other up! <3
Writing is a labor of love and determination to get through all the distractions or life necessities. Getting a book published when it is not your full-time job or focus can be a great challenge, but doable with persistence. The experience and adventure of it and my final accomplishments made it all worthwhile. I’ve only published one book so far, but I am going on another one now. I went the self-publishing route the first time, but this time I would go for a publisher if I can find one and have the patience required to go through all the hoops to find one. Keep at it, and let your talent shine and your voice be heard.
What is the future of office hours? Only a few months ago, there were only a hundred comments and you answered every one. Last week there were 2000. It seems we're quickly headed to a point where it's unsustainable for your team to read every comment.
Hey there! I've been at every Office Hours since day one, 68 Office Hours ago. I don't think there has ever been a week our team has answered all the questions because, as Aden mentioned, writers jump in to support each other. That's what it's all about! Collectively writers have way more knowledge about the Substack product than any one person on our team.
Though you are right, some weeks there are still questions that go unanswered and we're always open to ideas on how we might iterate. Let us know if you have ideas!
Katie! You and the substack team do such an extraordinary job answering questions every week, so I hope it didn't come across as a critique. I LOVE this concept, and it's stupendous that Substack is taking user feedback so seriously - very much emblematic of the design-thinking that drives this wonderful company. I'm just thinking it's growing so quickly it's going to get pretty unwieldy here and difficult to keep track of suggestions. I wonder if there might be some way that your engineers could build a system to record, categorize and rank suggestions?
For questions, maybe even AI could be used in some way ... perhaps even a chatbot that sources from answers from previous questions.
I do have a few questions that seem to keep getting missed each week
-One is about image dimensions, because there are three different sizes on the substack main newsletter page, and I want to be sure I have the best border so it doesn't get cut off any display.
-the other is curiosity about why you're not integrating with mailchimp, because embedding the code on my site doesn't look that great.
Thanks so much for all your hard work. This platform has changed my life!
It really does seem untenable for the Substack team to answer all of our questions, BUT it also seems pretty cool that we all hop in here and help each other out. There's a ton of value in the community aspect of office hours.
I agree
Loving the new features Substack, keep it up.
Hey Substack, love working on your platform!!! I have an analytics request that would save us a lot of time: Can you add a tab on the analytics page for each post that shows a simple chronological list of opens/reads, with the most recent open/read at the top? That way we can quickly see who the most recent reader was since the last time we looked, without having to look at each reader. It would be extremely helpful and I'm sure it would be easy to add. Please consider it -- thank you!!!
Sharing with our data team for consideration!
+1 to this
Katie thank you!
Thanks for supporting my comment Vin
Is there a way to add specific subscribers to a section (that they opted into)?
I’m not sure if this is what you are referring to, but I created a new page for downloads and made that page paid subscribers only. Everyone can click on the link in the menu but the content is only available for paid subscribers
Not exactly, but thank you! I started a new section on my 'stack to house posts for a year-long challenge I'm hosting. I only want the people who signed up to get those posts.
Hi Valorie - Christina from Substack here. Unfortunately there's no way to add people to specific Substacks they opted into - when you create a section everyone is automatically added but people can opt out!
Hmm. I unchecked the 'automatically subscribe everyone' box, so technically no one is subscribed to this section right now.
Request to be able to send video and audio messages in my Substack Chat.
Heard! We hope to get there one day
Thanks!