It was never your business partner. Substack is evolving fast, new features, shifting algorithms, and rising pressure. Here’s how creators can stay aligned, resilient, and sovereign.
Your views are a warning of what the future looks like on Substack.
I feel it’s a wake-up call before writers and readers fall into the trap of blindly following what the platform is nudging us to do.
You’ve captured something that many of us feel but haven’t been able to name — that quiet shift from writing to performing, from connection to competition.
Thank you for giving us a crystal ball look at what can happen behind the scenes. It’s a reminder that our words should serve meaning, not metrics.
Yeah ultimately it’s up to us to decide the direction of the platform. We vote with our behaviour and so if we engage with video that is what will increase
This is why a social media platform that isn’t user-owned, isn’t truly social.
What people actually need is chosen users by users:
Democrqtic choosen users who consciously decide together how a platform is used, governed, and protected.
Not anonymous algorithms.
Not distant shareholders.
But real people, taking responsibility for the space they inhabit.
Only then can businesses, creators, and influencers operate safely — without being distorted by opaque rules, sudden penalties, or performative visibility games.
What we have now is not neutral.
It’s overly bureaucratic, risk-averse, and detached from the real meaning of human exchange
We have a choice how we wanna build an online social life
This reminds me of The Real World of Technology by Ursula M Franklin, book and lecture. I have only just picked it up, but she deeply explores the idea of de-centralising and democratising technology.
I've found myself basically only using Notes the last couple of months bc it doesn't seem possible for my work to find a larger audience. I appreciate having clarity on what's happening, and not giving up on the writing that matters to me.
Oh, and I'll also say, it feels very powerful to take your statement and reverse it for purpose going forward, especially if you ever find yourself suffering from scope creep: "My goal is to go from performing, to writing; and from competition to connection." :)
Ahhhh.....I love that sentence right there: "Writing to performing, from connection to competition." This is SPOT ON. I started as a blogger in 2012 and built up site with posts about DIY projects I build, refinishing, painted, etc. It was all very authentic to who I am and what I do. But the shift started happening as the algorithms grew; as SEO became more important and we started writing for Google instead of our readers. A friend of mine has a name for the performance part: "shuckin' and jivin'" And that's what I refuse to do.
I went through a period these past 2 years where I wasn't creating as many blog posts or YouTube videos (which is a huge platform of mine; long-form). I looked at numbers too much, including comparing myself to the huge algorithm-pushed videos with millions of views and thought that I wasn't "relevant" anymore because I couldn't pull numbers like that.
But recently, I have found my creative voice again, and I don't care about the numbers. I create what is exciting to me, because that excitement is what connected me to my audience in the first place. I don't perform, and I don't compete. I simply create. :)
Thank you for saying perfectly what I had been trying to express. :)
“Notes” just provides doomsday scrolling for the short attention spans of people who have migrated over from annoying social media platforms. And as a reader, not a writer, i find them continually annoying. Those i want to subscribe to follow their own true north and actually write real essays, reports, newsletters, observations, etc, from the writer’s perspective and creation. THAT is what i want to read, not some quick attention getting note. And as a reader, there are no choices - just be thrown in with the masses who migrate from social media - the un social, adversarial, bullies and stalkers who are not interested in reading creative content as they are bullying others; writers AND readers. It becomes a housekeeping issue for all writers to curate their readership and comments. I have unsubscribed from a couple very interesting writers simply because their readers take exception to anything and everyone else. No longer is there freedom to comment and support good authors and writers, or to actually have an interesting discussion. Then comes the stalkers who arbitrarily “follow” me because they want to bully me anywhere i make a comment to what i read. I don’t know these people and Substack gives readers no option to say NO i don’t need or want “followers”. This last 6 months is sending the quality of content down the tubes and I’m about one foot out the door. (Long, I know. - but i basically support writers who came here to write and create, not more social media influencers). As a reader I’m becoming turned off by Substack. Going back to actual books of MY choice, not some algorithm.
I appreciate the sobering analysis of that is happening as I like to stay in reality rather than illusion. The shifts on the platform are undeniable and for those who want to stay and keep building sustainably, it becomes clearer than ever that creating real relationships is what matters. And this is what I focus on.
Would you be willing to point me to how to save my email list? The info I am finding is confusing.
Hi Alex, sorry for the late reply. When in your dashboard view scroll to: settings -> Subscribers -> click the selection box on the top screen and a message will pop up asking if you want to select all of your subscribers. Select all and click export. (You have have to switch browser...it doesn't work on safari for me...opens up a weird text web page but on chrome I can download it as a pdf of excel file)
Couldn't agree more with this comment, Alexandra. The vast majority of the subscriber growth I've seen here since starting a few months ago has come from connecting and sharing ideas in comments and Notes.
I agree with Benjamin that Substack is bound to become a "platform" for all types of media in the near future. Good for some, but disappointing for those who came here looking for a quiet refuge.
As a creator, I'm excited to be able to use more tools, but I certainly don't want the pressure that other platforms put on you.
I think the original plan of Substack was to attract writers, so it populated it with lots of different writers and not enough readers. This meant I left Substack several times after building significant content because it just didn’t pay. On the other hand, other platforms offered more incentive for your writing. Then I saw a period when every antisemite in the world seemed to have come to Substack to complain about Jews, and I saw a lot of 1939-style posters. It seemed that they had no filter. It had turned out to be worse than X.
Now I’m seeing some ideas on how they can monetize the content without expecting people to pay for it. I see that I probably would love to follow 25 different authors, but I don’t have 25 times $10 a month to follow them, so that already becomes an issue. It’s obvious that the platform needs to pay for your content and not the subscribers, and it obviously means that you’re going to have to bring in advertisers, sort of like the YouTube model. I don’t think there’s any other way to do this.
I've only been here a few months but definitely feel the shift. Just yesterday I exchanged observations with another writer about the trends, reality of what it takes to manage our feeds, and latest updates. I write nonfiction, a genre that has never been known to "explode" with interest or followers no matter what tactics one uses. That's okay, it's where I belong and, for the time being, so is Substack. I have my growth plan for next year and while I intend to experiment and hopefully have a bit of fun along the way, I have never been one to go along with the crowd and the platform I happen to publish on won't change that. However, I do like your suggestion to download the list and occasionally email my subscribers and will incorporate that into my plan. Thank you for the observations and advice.
As a fiction writer, I would start craving non-fiction like a pregnant woman before realizing it was time for me to write fiction again. Odd, but true.
Ben, how long have you been on substack? Ive been here 2.5 years and I know I've been subscribed to you for quite some time. Thanks as always for clarifying what the original writers came here for and also removing the fluff of how they are psychologically trying to pull us in for the dopamine. It is sad. But I guess you're right, inevitable. Oof, I dont know how long I will ride this ship if/when the ads start bombarding. Its the reason I really like substack in the beginning, less noise, more writing, more reading, and some really transparent engagement.
You have been a beautiful voice of reason here. I only read one other substack themed publication here and that is unstacksubstack. Like you she doesn't make promises to "grow your audience" and she keeps it very real. I'm skeptical about creators who only create content on how-to grow content. You seem to have a knack at making the process of creating about the deeper parts of human existence. I really hope you aren't a bot.
I just got here too. Came from using visual storytelling on insta and being so burned out by the algorithm and frustrated that it focuses so much on virality and no one actually reads a caption. I was hoping this space can be more authentic, which so far I have found it to be, but I hope the same won't happen as with all the other popular platforms :(
I feel like more and more creators I subscribe to and promoted Notes in my Home feed are of the vein "How to achieve/do <trending topic thing>" and that leads to "Be a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of this post" -blah blah. One of the creators I subscribed to said a few months in a post that he had to turn on the subscription feature because Substack prioritises paid subscription posts in its promotion. I thought it was a waste because this creator has brilliant strategic thinking insights to share & does so via his books (on a Thinkers50 list), BUT I personally find them to be very difficult to apply to my ordinary mundane life situation! The creator is a C-suite advisor and academic, so... I know I am not the only one who has found it difficult to make this jump from theory to application. It would have been beneficial to have a community of people to discuss application/perspective ideas, "Yeah but...", "How about...?". I am wary of signing up for paid subscriptions that only gives me more information. Like everyone else, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information - information is now cheap! What I need is time to practise and master what I choose to learn! That means, slowing down, wrestling with the questions, "wrong" answers/not getting it right, and it helps a gazillion times to have access to a community of like-minded people trying to do the same and interested to engage in regular conversation.
The shift from orginal communication to performance metrics is realistically how platforms evolve. What's ineresting is that creators often have limited choices; they either adapt to how the plaform optimizes engagement or they build elsewhere. This reminds me that infrastructure and tooling often shape behavior as much as intention does. Great analysis on the mechanics at play.
I joined this platform almost 2 years ago and it's felt very different back then. Even though I was starting from 0 and it was more about experiment and fining my voice, which alone could make the flavour of my experience different, it did indeed feel like a quiet corner.
But I'm with you in that I'm focusing on what way of showing up feels right and good to me (and is sustainable) and that is my root.
Right?! It felt like su h a different space here 2.5 years ago when I started. Like writers and readers had found eachother. Browsing notes and asking what people wrote about brought so many amazing topics up like walking down the isle of an interactive bookstore.
Now it feels like walking through a hoarders house, yes there are some good books stacked up, but also a lot of garbage.
Thanks for writing this, Ben! I started Substack in March in the swell of romanticism about this platform. Despite chasing some highs and lows in the slot machine (and, okay, still falling in love with a blog + email list +cross-media home)... Alas, I'm sighing the sigh with you all on the fated doom.
I'll definitely reference this post to convey an incisive analysis! And also consider how writing for me will shift going into 2026.
Yeah it was always inevitable that it would change. That’s part of the reality of going mainstream. It helps to be aware of what is really going on instead of just saying “it’s much better than social media”
100%. Substack has added much more gamification in recent months.
Personally, it’s nice to have something geared towards writers. There aren’t a lot of places that do. However, that has to balance out with reader wants/need and monetization of both.
Reading this felt like someone finally naming the low‑grade unease I’ve been carrying on here for months. The way you lay out the shift from ‘writer’s refuge’ to full attention ecosystem mirrors what I’ve sensed but kept dismissing as my own impatience. What stayed with me most was your distinction between reach and resonance, and the quiet reminder to build systems that honour our rhythm instead of feeding every new dopamine lever the platform rolls out. It makes me want to double down on relationships, emails, and a sane cadence, rather than chasing every new feature in the hope it will save my work.
"Create because it aligns with your rhythm, not because it feeds the machine. The work that lasts has no shortcuts. Only roots." - a round of applause for this right here!!
This was a helpful post and everything you said was correct.
I've been so overwhelmed by my own... I don't know... procrastination? By the feeling of moving from years of shitposting in the comment section and forums to writing more professionally, with an audience, expecting payment for it.
I'm still writing my first big political post to kickstart this movement I'm using Substack for. I've posted one short story with a promise to post more and it's been like a year since I have... I've also been going through a lot medically...
But posts like yours are keeping me here. I decided if I can't force the words out of me, I'll keep reading and making comments.... making those connections....
HOWEVER.. I haven't been commenting on people's work because I want them to come and read mine -- that I haven't posted yet. So it's been a 3 year drag of "haven't finished my own writing, keep getting distracted by day job and medical issues, don't want to engage other writers until I establish my own writing first..."
And years went by. Just like that. I'm telling you this to tell you that you're keeping me in the game at least. I'm going to start my political movement. I'm going to keep writing my short stories and eventually publish my novels.
Thank you for encouraging me, albeit indirectly. Let me promise you I'll be here for you until the end.
Thank you for sharing this. I just wrote a brief novel of a reply and accidentally deleted it so…this is all I can give as I process where all of my thoughts just went. 🫱🏾🫲🏼
When you say “send emails” what service do you use? Just cut and paste into BCC? I think Gmail would not like that. Or can you do it through substack itself?
Yes through substack. You click on the subscribers tab in your dashboard then select all then send email and you land in the editing page for a long form post
Your views are a warning of what the future looks like on Substack.
I feel it’s a wake-up call before writers and readers fall into the trap of blindly following what the platform is nudging us to do.
You’ve captured something that many of us feel but haven’t been able to name — that quiet shift from writing to performing, from connection to competition.
Thank you for giving us a crystal ball look at what can happen behind the scenes. It’s a reminder that our words should serve meaning, not metrics.
Yeah ultimately it’s up to us to decide the direction of the platform. We vote with our behaviour and so if we engage with video that is what will increase
Exactly. Everytime my feed gives me a video I click … and “hide this post” then “👎 see fewer posts like this.”
“that quiet shift from writing to performing, from connection to competition.” Robin, thank you for this. Spot on!
It's AI
This is why a social media platform that isn’t user-owned, isn’t truly social.
What people actually need is chosen users by users:
Democrqtic choosen users who consciously decide together how a platform is used, governed, and protected.
Not anonymous algorithms.
Not distant shareholders.
But real people, taking responsibility for the space they inhabit.
Only then can businesses, creators, and influencers operate safely — without being distorted by opaque rules, sudden penalties, or performative visibility games.
What we have now is not neutral.
It’s overly bureaucratic, risk-averse, and detached from the real meaning of human exchange
We have a choice how we wanna build an online social life
This reminds me of The Real World of Technology by Ursula M Franklin, book and lecture. I have only just picked it up, but she deeply explores the idea of de-centralising and democratising technology.
Franklin was doing embodied tech anthropology before it had a name. Thank you for this association! It resonates deeply with my way of thinking here.
I've found myself basically only using Notes the last couple of months bc it doesn't seem possible for my work to find a larger audience. I appreciate having clarity on what's happening, and not giving up on the writing that matters to me.
What do mean shifting to notes ? To grow your readership?
Oh, and I'll also say, it feels very powerful to take your statement and reverse it for purpose going forward, especially if you ever find yourself suffering from scope creep: "My goal is to go from performing, to writing; and from competition to connection." :)
YESS!! Love this reframe, Serena! I’ll be borrowing this one for myself 🥰
Perfectly, err ... written! Thank you
This is honestly perfect.
Ahhhh.....I love that sentence right there: "Writing to performing, from connection to competition." This is SPOT ON. I started as a blogger in 2012 and built up site with posts about DIY projects I build, refinishing, painted, etc. It was all very authentic to who I am and what I do. But the shift started happening as the algorithms grew; as SEO became more important and we started writing for Google instead of our readers. A friend of mine has a name for the performance part: "shuckin' and jivin'" And that's what I refuse to do.
I went through a period these past 2 years where I wasn't creating as many blog posts or YouTube videos (which is a huge platform of mine; long-form). I looked at numbers too much, including comparing myself to the huge algorithm-pushed videos with millions of views and thought that I wasn't "relevant" anymore because I couldn't pull numbers like that.
But recently, I have found my creative voice again, and I don't care about the numbers. I create what is exciting to me, because that excitement is what connected me to my audience in the first place. I don't perform, and I don't compete. I simply create. :)
Thank you for saying perfectly what I had been trying to express. :)
“Notes” just provides doomsday scrolling for the short attention spans of people who have migrated over from annoying social media platforms. And as a reader, not a writer, i find them continually annoying. Those i want to subscribe to follow their own true north and actually write real essays, reports, newsletters, observations, etc, from the writer’s perspective and creation. THAT is what i want to read, not some quick attention getting note. And as a reader, there are no choices - just be thrown in with the masses who migrate from social media - the un social, adversarial, bullies and stalkers who are not interested in reading creative content as they are bullying others; writers AND readers. It becomes a housekeeping issue for all writers to curate their readership and comments. I have unsubscribed from a couple very interesting writers simply because their readers take exception to anything and everyone else. No longer is there freedom to comment and support good authors and writers, or to actually have an interesting discussion. Then comes the stalkers who arbitrarily “follow” me because they want to bully me anywhere i make a comment to what i read. I don’t know these people and Substack gives readers no option to say NO i don’t need or want “followers”. This last 6 months is sending the quality of content down the tubes and I’m about one foot out the door. (Long, I know. - but i basically support writers who came here to write and create, not more social media influencers). As a reader I’m becoming turned off by Substack. Going back to actual books of MY choice, not some algorithm.
The Internet is full of these kinds of people though. People who disagree with you and have to let you know.
"... blindly following what the platform is nudging us to do."
Exactly. Just nudge things along. Seems to be working with the destruction of America.
Using AI to write a reply on a platform that's meant to celebrate writing...smh
I appreciate the sobering analysis of that is happening as I like to stay in reality rather than illusion. The shifts on the platform are undeniable and for those who want to stay and keep building sustainably, it becomes clearer than ever that creating real relationships is what matters. And this is what I focus on.
Would you be willing to point me to how to save my email list? The info I am finding is confusing.
Thanks for your work!
Hi Alex, sorry for the late reply. When in your dashboard view scroll to: settings -> Subscribers -> click the selection box on the top screen and a message will pop up asking if you want to select all of your subscribers. Select all and click export. (You have have to switch browser...it doesn't work on safari for me...opens up a weird text web page but on chrome I can download it as a pdf of excel file)
Hey Ben, thanks for coming back to me, I will give this a try!
Will do. It’s only possible ok the desktop version (as far as I know) I’ll show you once I get a ch ace to log on
Couldn't agree more with this comment, Alexandra. The vast majority of the subscriber growth I've seen here since starting a few months ago has come from connecting and sharing ideas in comments and Notes.
I agree with Benjamin that Substack is bound to become a "platform" for all types of media in the near future. Good for some, but disappointing for those who came here looking for a quiet refuge.
As a creator, I'm excited to be able to use more tools, but I certainly don't want the pressure that other platforms put on you.
This is why a social media platform that isn’t user-owned isn’t truly social.
What people actually need is users chosen by users:
democratically chosen stewards who consciously decide together how a platform is used, governed, and protected.
Not anonymous algorithms.
Not distant shareholders.
But real people, taking responsibility for the space they inhabit.
Only then can businesses, creators, and influencers operate safely —
without being distorted by opaque rules, sudden penalties, or performative visibility games.
What we have now is not neutral.
It is overly bureaucratic, risk-averse, and detached from the real meaning of human exchange.
We have a choice in how we build our online social life.
Interesting take. I think that’s how they start but ultimately never stay that way
Thank you for this sobering analysis- I’m new here also, thank you about the tip regarding our email list!
I think the original plan of Substack was to attract writers, so it populated it with lots of different writers and not enough readers. This meant I left Substack several times after building significant content because it just didn’t pay. On the other hand, other platforms offered more incentive for your writing. Then I saw a period when every antisemite in the world seemed to have come to Substack to complain about Jews, and I saw a lot of 1939-style posters. It seemed that they had no filter. It had turned out to be worse than X.
Now I’m seeing some ideas on how they can monetize the content without expecting people to pay for it. I see that I probably would love to follow 25 different authors, but I don’t have 25 times $10 a month to follow them, so that already becomes an issue. It’s obvious that the platform needs to pay for your content and not the subscribers, and it obviously means that you’re going to have to bring in advertisers, sort of like the YouTube model. I don’t think there’s any other way to do this.
I'd love to learn this, too. Thank you!
I've only been here a few months but definitely feel the shift. Just yesterday I exchanged observations with another writer about the trends, reality of what it takes to manage our feeds, and latest updates. I write nonfiction, a genre that has never been known to "explode" with interest or followers no matter what tactics one uses. That's okay, it's where I belong and, for the time being, so is Substack. I have my growth plan for next year and while I intend to experiment and hopefully have a bit of fun along the way, I have never been one to go along with the crowd and the platform I happen to publish on won't change that. However, I do like your suggestion to download the list and occasionally email my subscribers and will incorporate that into my plan. Thank you for the observations and advice.
Would definitely reccomend. It’s also another reason for people to subscribe because if they just follow you, they won’t receive those emails
As a fiction writer, I would start craving non-fiction like a pregnant woman before realizing it was time for me to write fiction again. Odd, but true.
What you do is nourishing and essential.
Ben, how long have you been on substack? Ive been here 2.5 years and I know I've been subscribed to you for quite some time. Thanks as always for clarifying what the original writers came here for and also removing the fluff of how they are psychologically trying to pull us in for the dopamine. It is sad. But I guess you're right, inevitable. Oof, I dont know how long I will ride this ship if/when the ads start bombarding. Its the reason I really like substack in the beginning, less noise, more writing, more reading, and some really transparent engagement.
I’ve been here about a year and half now. It has changed so much in that time
You have been a beautiful voice of reason here. I only read one other substack themed publication here and that is unstacksubstack. Like you she doesn't make promises to "grow your audience" and she keeps it very real. I'm skeptical about creators who only create content on how-to grow content. You seem to have a knack at making the process of creating about the deeper parts of human existence. I really hope you aren't a bot.
Thanks Jess and thanks for the reccomendation. I will check her out. And no I’m not a bot…but is t that what a bot would say? 😉
I only just got here but I'm disappointed in the changes already. The old substack sounds like it would be a more writer-friendly atmosphere.
it’s stil there it just takes more effort and time to find your quiet corner
I just got here too. Came from using visual storytelling on insta and being so burned out by the algorithm and frustrated that it focuses so much on virality and no one actually reads a caption. I was hoping this space can be more authentic, which so far I have found it to be, but I hope the same won't happen as with all the other popular platforms :(
I feel like more and more creators I subscribe to and promoted Notes in my Home feed are of the vein "How to achieve/do <trending topic thing>" and that leads to "Be a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of this post" -blah blah. One of the creators I subscribed to said a few months in a post that he had to turn on the subscription feature because Substack prioritises paid subscription posts in its promotion. I thought it was a waste because this creator has brilliant strategic thinking insights to share & does so via his books (on a Thinkers50 list), BUT I personally find them to be very difficult to apply to my ordinary mundane life situation! The creator is a C-suite advisor and academic, so... I know I am not the only one who has found it difficult to make this jump from theory to application. It would have been beneficial to have a community of people to discuss application/perspective ideas, "Yeah but...", "How about...?". I am wary of signing up for paid subscriptions that only gives me more information. Like everyone else, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information - information is now cheap! What I need is time to practise and master what I choose to learn! That means, slowing down, wrestling with the questions, "wrong" answers/not getting it right, and it helps a gazillion times to have access to a community of like-minded people trying to do the same and interested to engage in regular conversation.
The shift from orginal communication to performance metrics is realistically how platforms evolve. What's ineresting is that creators often have limited choices; they either adapt to how the plaform optimizes engagement or they build elsewhere. This reminds me that infrastructure and tooling often shape behavior as much as intention does. Great analysis on the mechanics at play.
"No shortcuts. Only roots." 👌
I joined this platform almost 2 years ago and it's felt very different back then. Even though I was starting from 0 and it was more about experiment and fining my voice, which alone could make the flavour of my experience different, it did indeed feel like a quiet corner.
But I'm with you in that I'm focusing on what way of showing up feels right and good to me (and is sustainable) and that is my root.
Right?! It felt like su h a different space here 2.5 years ago when I started. Like writers and readers had found eachother. Browsing notes and asking what people wrote about brought so many amazing topics up like walking down the isle of an interactive bookstore.
Now it feels like walking through a hoarders house, yes there are some good books stacked up, but also a lot of garbage.
You named it. I used to feel like we have interactive multimedia magazine boots here!
Thanks for writing this, Ben! I started Substack in March in the swell of romanticism about this platform. Despite chasing some highs and lows in the slot machine (and, okay, still falling in love with a blog + email list +cross-media home)... Alas, I'm sighing the sigh with you all on the fated doom.
I'll definitely reference this post to convey an incisive analysis! And also consider how writing for me will shift going into 2026.
Yeah it was always inevitable that it would change. That’s part of the reality of going mainstream. It helps to be aware of what is really going on instead of just saying “it’s much better than social media”
Definitely! I've amended my first post to include this post in an update 💜😋
https://open.substack.com/pub/shaynagrajo/p/9-reasons-why-substack-will-set-us
I’ve been inactive for a while and was trying to figure out what was different. This helped. Thanks!
100%. Substack has added much more gamification in recent months.
Personally, it’s nice to have something geared towards writers. There aren’t a lot of places that do. However, that has to balance out with reader wants/need and monetization of both.
Reading this felt like someone finally naming the low‑grade unease I’ve been carrying on here for months. The way you lay out the shift from ‘writer’s refuge’ to full attention ecosystem mirrors what I’ve sensed but kept dismissing as my own impatience. What stayed with me most was your distinction between reach and resonance, and the quiet reminder to build systems that honour our rhythm instead of feeding every new dopamine lever the platform rolls out. It makes me want to double down on relationships, emails, and a sane cadence, rather than chasing every new feature in the hope it will save my work.
"Create because it aligns with your rhythm, not because it feeds the machine. The work that lasts has no shortcuts. Only roots." - a round of applause for this right here!!
This was a helpful post and everything you said was correct.
I've been so overwhelmed by my own... I don't know... procrastination? By the feeling of moving from years of shitposting in the comment section and forums to writing more professionally, with an audience, expecting payment for it.
I'm still writing my first big political post to kickstart this movement I'm using Substack for. I've posted one short story with a promise to post more and it's been like a year since I have... I've also been going through a lot medically...
But posts like yours are keeping me here. I decided if I can't force the words out of me, I'll keep reading and making comments.... making those connections....
HOWEVER.. I haven't been commenting on people's work because I want them to come and read mine -- that I haven't posted yet. So it's been a 3 year drag of "haven't finished my own writing, keep getting distracted by day job and medical issues, don't want to engage other writers until I establish my own writing first..."
And years went by. Just like that. I'm telling you this to tell you that you're keeping me in the game at least. I'm going to start my political movement. I'm going to keep writing my short stories and eventually publish my novels.
Thank you for encouraging me, albeit indirectly. Let me promise you I'll be here for you until the end.
Thank you for sharing this. I just wrote a brief novel of a reply and accidentally deleted it so…this is all I can give as I process where all of my thoughts just went. 🫱🏾🫲🏼
When you say “send emails” what service do you use? Just cut and paste into BCC? I think Gmail would not like that. Or can you do it through substack itself?
Yes through substack. You click on the subscribers tab in your dashboard then select all then send email and you land in the editing page for a long form post