I write a pretty niche Substack -- a weekly guide to children’s books, raising readers, and how to build a culture of reading in your home -- and my experience over the past 2.5+ years is that some subscribers will read every single thing I write, some read most, some read some, some read very little, a few read none. People subscribe and unsubscribe every day. Readers come, readers go. I assume everyone reads what they want, when they can, and even people who sign up for a newsletter about children's books sometimes don't want to read about children's books (and sometimes I don't even want to write about them!)
I see all of this as part of the process now. There are more words in the world waiting for eyeballs to fall upon them than there have ever been before, at any moment in history. And yet, reading isn't going away, or anywhere else, anytime soon.
I write because I want to, not because I have to (and I certainly don't depend upon Substack to put food on my table or a roof over my head). I enjoy it, and I'll keep doing it as long as I enjoy it, and I'll quit when I no longer do. I find the less I hope to "break through," the less attached I am to that outcome, the more I can keep enjoying it.
I wonder if it has ever been possible for more than a handful of people to make a decent living just by writing (without also having to teach or drive a cab or plow a field)? I just finished Peter Ackroyd's short biography of Edgar Allen Poe and was reminded (again) that in Poe's time American publishers preferred to publish well-known English writers' work for free (no copyright protection in the 1830s) rather than take a chance on unknown American writers. It's never been easy. I really resonate with Sarah's response. I have a very niche Substack and I am grateful for it.
It is rare to make a living writing, but I think the odds are even worse now. I've seen many writers complaining they're no longer able to make the kind of money they once did. The field is entirely saturated, and there are fewer jobs available in the usual places. Every publication is cutting down.
I have a little burnout, but now that I'm focused primarily on the Substack app (away from emails), I've deleted FB from my phone, and Twitter is a hot mess, I'm finding that my reading is more purposeful and I'm loving it.
As for writing? I write because I have to for my own sanity and I want to capture every moment that I can with writing. Do I want a bigger audience? Yes, but that's because I want people to be touched by what I say. Would I like my Substack to make money? Sure, to justify the hours I spend writing for free. Do I want my self-published book to be "successful." Yes, but if it pays a few bills, I'll be happy and I'll have important memories captured in hard copy and not just the web.
You ask a lot of really good questions in this post. It made me think :-)
Sarah, what do you mean when you say you're focused on the app away from the emails? Do you mean you don't subscribe to most but read them in the Substack reader? If so, I wonder how many others do that, too.
yea, same. I deleted the mobile app as I prefer reading from my laptop. I am old school that way. Never been able to finish an e-book / Kindle too! haha.
I agree with the other ladies, I write because I want to and plan to keep on - no matter. My niche, aging well, is broad enough to move in several directions from lessons learned to what currently affects older individuals - from memories to the nitty gritty of living alone. I have been posting on Substack for about two years and am thrilled to have this opportunity.
Choosing a niche and sticking with it can be completely satisfying. It's probably easier to figure out after a while who your readers are and what they're looking for.
I love your last line--that you're 'thrilled to have this opportunity'. I guess I feel that way, too!
God yes!!! Eclecticism is the bees knees! I'm glad you write across a vast range of subjects!
and yes, so much to read these days that one could drown in the tsunami of words out there.
I'm so new to this Substack phenomenon that I just write the way I wrote my blog and because my blog was free, Knots in the String will probably remain free too. Is that a good thing? It is for me because I don;t feel any responsibility to give 'value for money'. People either subscribe or they don't.
Substack has been a marvellous writing discipline just when I need a reboot as I had stalled as a novelist.
I don't care about the numbers. I just want to please any readers who stumble my way. I don't rely on the income and it was only early on in the glory days of indie writing (2010-2104) that I was truly making money from my novels. That changed in 2015-16 when the indie marketplace was swamped with an increasing load of abysmal, unedited and amateurish publications.
The lesson I learned then was not to hang on sales but to put energy into enjoying the writing of a good book and putting out the most professional novel I could.
One really edifying thing is that the pundits all swore reading would die back in the day. To see everyone reading, whether it be digital or paper, is the best thing in the world.
Okay, Prue, you've giving me a lot to think about here. Because while I'm lamenting that there's too much to read now, I'm forgetting to celebrate the fact that there's so much to read!
I think we're reading in smaller bits now, which may or may not be a good thing. My brain is still a bit chaotic, flitting all over the place, so I gravitate to shorter pieces, hoping I can concentrate enough to figure out, when I get to the end, where it took me and how I got there. (I'm hoping this brain tick is temporary, but who knows?)
It's shorter pieces that have taken over, so it stands to reason there would be more of them out there. I should be satisfied that I'm even one in the crowd, but I think I've been conditioned over the years to see it all as competition.
Fascinating. I remember hearing years back that more people wanted to write than wanted to read. This disillusioned me. I've wanted to be a writer for decades and I've written because I had to write. I hate competition. I don't like forming my writing to attract others. I'm not really into workshopping, though I appreciate the improvement. I love Substack. I don't like the push to get paid subscribers. I understand that is how Substack makes money. I hated the technical aspects of having my own website. Although I'm not regular, I love having a place to collect my writing. If it is meaningful or of interest to others, a nice surprise.
I self-published in 2013 but wasn't into promoting it. I wrote it in between two cancer treatments. Before cancer, I thought it would be a funny book. Knowing I'd have to have chemo next, I worried I wouldn't have a brain to write a book after chemo infiltrated that stack of tissues and membranes in my head. I published it exactly five years before my father died. I guess that was the window to have pushed and I didn't, and I'm reconciling with it. I appreciate this piece and all who are commenting.
Interestingly enough, my book made more money as a used book. I charged $18 for it. I took it down two years later because I wanted to edit it, but never edited it. Six years later three copies of it were online for $1499. Right now one used copy is selling for $69.99 with $13 in shipping. I have no idea why. I guess somebody has made some money off my writing!
My birthday was yesterday and one of the things I kept hearing over and over while gathering insights is perhaps I want to let something go, to simplify. There is a magical, synchronistic thing happening with my diary. I like to put my energy where my juice is. I've been told to write fiction, but I don't read fiction. I don't think fiction. I think life is fascinating enough, mystically revealing enough, I don't have to invent anything. Just tracking the miracles, to me, is enough of a challenge and accomplishment.
I was voted most likely to succeed in both junior high and high school. Everyone thought I'd be a big shot in business or politics. I had a baby brother tell me early on that I don't have to do what I'm being pushed to do. I stepped off the beaten path. I got ever more focused on self, political psychology, orgasms, stress reduction, interpersonal communication, soul development, and mystical inquiry. Going through my diaries now, seeing how it all unfolded, is fascinating. What I will do with it all remains to be seen. I've never been a show pony. I did make the effort to succeed early on and lost mySelf in the process. Living with mySelf and what that self gravitates toward and focuses on is most illuminating. My baby brother, after he encouraged me off the beaten path, stepped on it and died from the stress of it. Communicating with him, and my parents (also both passed over), and other ancestors I loved, is fruitful and engaging. It amazes me just how thin the veil is now. My mother always said her grandmother used to say, "If it was so great over there, why didn't they come back to tell us?" I so appreciate the ancestors that devoted their lives to give me a chance to live mine and I love living mine.
you put it so well, most of all, AT THE RIGHT TIME! I believe so that we are going through a "burn-out" world now - everything and everyone is trying to grab our attention, our energy and everything -- that includes Reader Burnout. (Thank you for putting this feeling I been having into words!)
I paused with writing my newsletter, for almost a year, as I felt I may be adding more burnout to readers and the last thing I want to do, is that.
My integrity screams and I feel misaligned whenever I want to write and hit "publish".
And yes, I am, too, all over the place -- lately, I am starting to embrace this "all over the place" of me as my unique trait, as somehow I manage to find my personal harmony by "being all over the place".
I've been there, Yan. I know how you feel. My advice: read the comments here and at some of my other posts on the quandaries we all face as writers. This crew knows their stuff! I'm forever grateful for their insight.
I read physical books. I use highlighters when I do. First thing in morning. Books are still the best portal into stillness and creativity for me. Social media is just a distraction. I write on Substack twice a week. I read other stacks often, usually at night. I think it’s all about letting go of so-called FOMO when it comes to the onslaught of online information.
So with you! I started writing here *because* I want to be all over the place, and by writing my own Substack newsletter I can do that. I still need a day job, of course. And I don't have many readers yet. But I love doing it. I get so excited every time I publish something here, and then I fret that no one will read it, and who am I to write anything, and why would anyone care what I have to say ...
While blogging has made things difficult on one level, it has also given people like me a place to post our writing. When I started doing it over a decade ago, it helped position me to make a career change into clean energy — even though I wasn't making money from the blog posts themselves.
Been meaning to comment on this, but daily task overload got the best of me. Reader burnout is right there in the middle of it. In truth, I think we could take out the word "reader." While it might take us off the point of your post, I think it's worth reflecting on how heavy *everything* has felt for the last little while. Friends who, based on appearances, have managed it well are those who have taken themselves off social media, off mainstream news, and out into nature. They're the ones who, from my view, are staying connected to the bigger picture of what really matters.
That said, I admit to falling into the trap - with too much frequency - of wishing for the breakthrough. Sure, we write because it helps us process the world around us, but I think most of us also hope to be of value to others. If we didn't, we'd keep all our thoughts in a private journal. Where's the sweet spot between creative expression for the sake of expression alone versus for the chance to bring light, or wisdom, or to find community with others?
Maybe it's as simple as believing that if even one person has a moment of uplift or clarity borne out of our words, we've done what we came here to do.
I will end with this: I appreciate the way you think, Ramona, and what you put out there for us to read and consider. It makes a difference for me!
I love that you write about this; this dilution of the 'Art'. (Certainly, the haystack has grown exponentially.) But, what I do like is that there's an option to putting the rejected manuscript in the bottom drawer. There's at least a wonderful alternative available now. And sometimes, that's all a writer needs.
Yes, there's always that chance that resurrecting a rejected manuscript might expose it to new eyes with self-publication, and sometimes it just feels right to put it out into the world, but that seems to be a trend now. The competition is fierce, but you're right. Why not try? What can it hurt?
So say the millions and millions of others who are thinking the same thing.
I'm not trying to be a downer here; I'm only looking at the reality of competing with millions of online writers who want the same things we do. As long as we're prepared and aware we can move forward with eyes wide open.
I write a pretty niche Substack -- a weekly guide to children’s books, raising readers, and how to build a culture of reading in your home -- and my experience over the past 2.5+ years is that some subscribers will read every single thing I write, some read most, some read some, some read very little, a few read none. People subscribe and unsubscribe every day. Readers come, readers go. I assume everyone reads what they want, when they can, and even people who sign up for a newsletter about children's books sometimes don't want to read about children's books (and sometimes I don't even want to write about them!)
I see all of this as part of the process now. There are more words in the world waiting for eyeballs to fall upon them than there have ever been before, at any moment in history. And yet, reading isn't going away, or anywhere else, anytime soon.
I write because I want to, not because I have to (and I certainly don't depend upon Substack to put food on my table or a roof over my head). I enjoy it, and I'll keep doing it as long as I enjoy it, and I'll quit when I no longer do. I find the less I hope to "break through," the less attached I am to that outcome, the more I can keep enjoying it.
That, dear Sarah, is as healthy as it gets! ❤️️
That is so healthy and I appreciate this attitude so much.
Exactly ❤️❤️❤️
I wonder if it has ever been possible for more than a handful of people to make a decent living just by writing (without also having to teach or drive a cab or plow a field)? I just finished Peter Ackroyd's short biography of Edgar Allen Poe and was reminded (again) that in Poe's time American publishers preferred to publish well-known English writers' work for free (no copyright protection in the 1830s) rather than take a chance on unknown American writers. It's never been easy. I really resonate with Sarah's response. I have a very niche Substack and I am grateful for it.
It is rare to make a living writing, but I think the odds are even worse now. I've seen many writers complaining they're no longer able to make the kind of money they once did. The field is entirely saturated, and there are fewer jobs available in the usual places. Every publication is cutting down.
❤️❤️🙏
I have a little burnout, but now that I'm focused primarily on the Substack app (away from emails), I've deleted FB from my phone, and Twitter is a hot mess, I'm finding that my reading is more purposeful and I'm loving it.
As for writing? I write because I have to for my own sanity and I want to capture every moment that I can with writing. Do I want a bigger audience? Yes, but that's because I want people to be touched by what I say. Would I like my Substack to make money? Sure, to justify the hours I spend writing for free. Do I want my self-published book to be "successful." Yes, but if it pays a few bills, I'll be happy and I'll have important memories captured in hard copy and not just the web.
You ask a lot of really good questions in this post. It made me think :-)
Sarah, what do you mean when you say you're focused on the app away from the emails? Do you mean you don't subscribe to most but read them in the Substack reader? If so, I wonder how many others do that, too.
I turned off duplicate notifications. Now I just get my subscriptions in the app.
Hmmm. Is this the app on your phone? I don't know anything about duplicate notifications.
Yep. The reader app.
Oh, okay. I never use my phone to read Substack pieces. One of those things...
yea, same. I deleted the mobile app as I prefer reading from my laptop. I am old school that way. Never been able to finish an e-book / Kindle too! haha.
I agree with the other ladies, I write because I want to and plan to keep on - no matter. My niche, aging well, is broad enough to move in several directions from lessons learned to what currently affects older individuals - from memories to the nitty gritty of living alone. I have been posting on Substack for about two years and am thrilled to have this opportunity.
Choosing a niche and sticking with it can be completely satisfying. It's probably easier to figure out after a while who your readers are and what they're looking for.
I love your last line--that you're 'thrilled to have this opportunity'. I guess I feel that way, too!
✍️❤️❤️❤️
God yes!!! Eclecticism is the bees knees! I'm glad you write across a vast range of subjects!
and yes, so much to read these days that one could drown in the tsunami of words out there.
I'm so new to this Substack phenomenon that I just write the way I wrote my blog and because my blog was free, Knots in the String will probably remain free too. Is that a good thing? It is for me because I don;t feel any responsibility to give 'value for money'. People either subscribe or they don't.
Substack has been a marvellous writing discipline just when I need a reboot as I had stalled as a novelist.
I don't care about the numbers. I just want to please any readers who stumble my way. I don't rely on the income and it was only early on in the glory days of indie writing (2010-2104) that I was truly making money from my novels. That changed in 2015-16 when the indie marketplace was swamped with an increasing load of abysmal, unedited and amateurish publications.
The lesson I learned then was not to hang on sales but to put energy into enjoying the writing of a good book and putting out the most professional novel I could.
One really edifying thing is that the pundits all swore reading would die back in the day. To see everyone reading, whether it be digital or paper, is the best thing in the world.
Words never die...
✍️✍️✍️❤️
Okay, Prue, you've giving me a lot to think about here. Because while I'm lamenting that there's too much to read now, I'm forgetting to celebrate the fact that there's so much to read!
I think we're reading in smaller bits now, which may or may not be a good thing. My brain is still a bit chaotic, flitting all over the place, so I gravitate to shorter pieces, hoping I can concentrate enough to figure out, when I get to the end, where it took me and how I got there. (I'm hoping this brain tick is temporary, but who knows?)
It's shorter pieces that have taken over, so it stands to reason there would be more of them out there. I should be satisfied that I'm even one in the crowd, but I think I've been conditioned over the years to see it all as competition.
I need to stop that.
Fascinating. I remember hearing years back that more people wanted to write than wanted to read. This disillusioned me. I've wanted to be a writer for decades and I've written because I had to write. I hate competition. I don't like forming my writing to attract others. I'm not really into workshopping, though I appreciate the improvement. I love Substack. I don't like the push to get paid subscribers. I understand that is how Substack makes money. I hated the technical aspects of having my own website. Although I'm not regular, I love having a place to collect my writing. If it is meaningful or of interest to others, a nice surprise.
I self-published in 2013 but wasn't into promoting it. I wrote it in between two cancer treatments. Before cancer, I thought it would be a funny book. Knowing I'd have to have chemo next, I worried I wouldn't have a brain to write a book after chemo infiltrated that stack of tissues and membranes in my head. I published it exactly five years before my father died. I guess that was the window to have pushed and I didn't, and I'm reconciling with it. I appreciate this piece and all who are commenting.
Interestingly enough, my book made more money as a used book. I charged $18 for it. I took it down two years later because I wanted to edit it, but never edited it. Six years later three copies of it were online for $1499. Right now one used copy is selling for $69.99 with $13 in shipping. I have no idea why. I guess somebody has made some money off my writing!
My birthday was yesterday and one of the things I kept hearing over and over while gathering insights is perhaps I want to let something go, to simplify. There is a magical, synchronistic thing happening with my diary. I like to put my energy where my juice is. I've been told to write fiction, but I don't read fiction. I don't think fiction. I think life is fascinating enough, mystically revealing enough, I don't have to invent anything. Just tracking the miracles, to me, is enough of a challenge and accomplishment.
I was voted most likely to succeed in both junior high and high school. Everyone thought I'd be a big shot in business or politics. I had a baby brother tell me early on that I don't have to do what I'm being pushed to do. I stepped off the beaten path. I got ever more focused on self, political psychology, orgasms, stress reduction, interpersonal communication, soul development, and mystical inquiry. Going through my diaries now, seeing how it all unfolded, is fascinating. What I will do with it all remains to be seen. I've never been a show pony. I did make the effort to succeed early on and lost mySelf in the process. Living with mySelf and what that self gravitates toward and focuses on is most illuminating. My baby brother, after he encouraged me off the beaten path, stepped on it and died from the stress of it. Communicating with him, and my parents (also both passed over), and other ancestors I loved, is fruitful and engaging. It amazes me just how thin the veil is now. My mother always said her grandmother used to say, "If it was so great over there, why didn't they come back to tell us?" I so appreciate the ancestors that devoted their lives to give me a chance to live mine and I love living mine.
Hi Ramona,
you put it so well, most of all, AT THE RIGHT TIME! I believe so that we are going through a "burn-out" world now - everything and everyone is trying to grab our attention, our energy and everything -- that includes Reader Burnout. (Thank you for putting this feeling I been having into words!)
I paused with writing my newsletter, for almost a year, as I felt I may be adding more burnout to readers and the last thing I want to do, is that.
My integrity screams and I feel misaligned whenever I want to write and hit "publish".
And yes, I am, too, all over the place -- lately, I am starting to embrace this "all over the place" of me as my unique trait, as somehow I manage to find my personal harmony by "being all over the place".
🙏🙏🔥❤️
I've been there, Yan. I know how you feel. My advice: read the comments here and at some of my other posts on the quandaries we all face as writers. This crew knows their stuff! I'm forever grateful for their insight.
I read physical books. I use highlighters when I do. First thing in morning. Books are still the best portal into stillness and creativity for me. Social media is just a distraction. I write on Substack twice a week. I read other stacks often, usually at night. I think it’s all about letting go of so-called FOMO when it comes to the onslaught of online information.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
So with you! I started writing here *because* I want to be all over the place, and by writing my own Substack newsletter I can do that. I still need a day job, of course. And I don't have many readers yet. But I love doing it. I get so excited every time I publish something here, and then I fret that no one will read it, and who am I to write anything, and why would anyone care what I have to say ...
While blogging has made things difficult on one level, it has also given people like me a place to post our writing. When I started doing it over a decade ago, it helped position me to make a career change into clean energy — even though I wasn't making money from the blog posts themselves.
Tricky question, and I wish I had the answer!
Been meaning to comment on this, but daily task overload got the best of me. Reader burnout is right there in the middle of it. In truth, I think we could take out the word "reader." While it might take us off the point of your post, I think it's worth reflecting on how heavy *everything* has felt for the last little while. Friends who, based on appearances, have managed it well are those who have taken themselves off social media, off mainstream news, and out into nature. They're the ones who, from my view, are staying connected to the bigger picture of what really matters.
That said, I admit to falling into the trap - with too much frequency - of wishing for the breakthrough. Sure, we write because it helps us process the world around us, but I think most of us also hope to be of value to others. If we didn't, we'd keep all our thoughts in a private journal. Where's the sweet spot between creative expression for the sake of expression alone versus for the chance to bring light, or wisdom, or to find community with others?
Maybe it's as simple as believing that if even one person has a moment of uplift or clarity borne out of our words, we've done what we came here to do.
I will end with this: I appreciate the way you think, Ramona, and what you put out there for us to read and consider. It makes a difference for me!
I love that you write about this; this dilution of the 'Art'. (Certainly, the haystack has grown exponentially.) But, what I do like is that there's an option to putting the rejected manuscript in the bottom drawer. There's at least a wonderful alternative available now. And sometimes, that's all a writer needs.
Yes, there's always that chance that resurrecting a rejected manuscript might expose it to new eyes with self-publication, and sometimes it just feels right to put it out into the world, but that seems to be a trend now. The competition is fierce, but you're right. Why not try? What can it hurt?
So say the millions and millions of others who are thinking the same thing.
I'm not trying to be a downer here; I'm only looking at the reality of competing with millions of online writers who want the same things we do. As long as we're prepared and aware we can move forward with eyes wide open.