Substack Is Not For Sunrises!
A little self-talk after one year of writing on Substack
Today marks one year that I’ve been writing on Substack, and I thought I’d share a little conversation I had with myself around what I’m doing, with some stats and stuff at the end. Thanks to Meg Oolders for help with the visuals.
“Wow, that was a great sunrise. I think I’ll share a pic with my Substack friends.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake Tom, don’t be an idiot! It’s Substack, not Facebook. They’re readers, not friends.”
“Oh god, you’re right! It gets confusing! Sometimes it feels like the people I interact with on Substack are friends, but I DO NOT want to turn this into social media.”
“Then let’s agree: nobody subscribes to your Substack for sunrise pictures. Substack is for deeper stuff.”
“Oh c’mon, how deep was that little anecdote about that Mrs. Grundy at the library? That was one of our most popular posts.”
“I don’t mean deep like profound. Just thoughtful, considered, deliberate. That’s what we’re after.”
“Oh it is, is it? And who made that rule?”
“You did, fool, and you put the rules up on sticky notes in our office!”
DO
Write worthwhile stuff
Be real
Be positive
“Fine, fine, you’re right—sunrise photos don’t qualify. Unless, you know, it’s a sunrise picture in service of an experiment on using dialogue to express ideas?”
“Absolutely! Even better, it came out of a suggestion from one of your Substack buddies. Honestly, what if we add “Experiment freely” and “Be social” to our rules?”
“Ah, that’s just too many rules. I mean, look at our Don’t list: it’s getting a little out of hand!”
“We need more don’ts to keep Tommy Sunrise from posting pretty pictures!”
“I’m happy with our don’ts, it’s just the footnotes that get a little much.”
DON’T
Don’t write about how hard it is to write
Don’t write for writing’s sake1
Don’t write about users and payment (much)2
Don’t write things that everybody else is writing3
Don’t pat yourself on the back (much)4
Don’t complain5
“Well, we clearly need to be very specific to keep you in check!”
“Ha ha, very funny. I’m glad we nixed the ‘Don’t Swear’ rule.”
“No shit! As if we really need to worry about offending Mom’s friends!”
“Right! We aren’t writing to please other people. The whole point this year has been to figure out our ‘unique voice’ … whatever that means.”
“How do we define it?”
“Oh man, I don’t know! Every time I try to put a label on it I start to chafe and you know how I feel about chafing. All I know is, we’ve been reading SO MANY different Substacks, and I really dig the people who seem most comfortable in their own skin, who share their view of their world in a way that helps me make sense of my own. Adam Mastroianni wrote that he wanted to be a 'helpful visitor in other people's heads.' That about describes it for me.”
“Yeah, I like that. Hey, let’s play the desert island game with our subscriptions—we’ve got to cut some anyway. You can only get 5 newsletters on your desert island. Who would they be?”
“5? That’s impossible. I need at least 20. It’s a desert island, there’s plenty of time for reading.”
“Nope, you only get 5, otherwise you’ll spend all your time reading and we need to make fire and find food.”
“What if we put a list of our top 20 at the end?”
“Fine, but for now, 5.”
“The first few are easy: Erik Hoel (he’s cerebral and penetrating); Adam Mastroianni (iconoclastic and rebellious); and Meg Oolders (endlessly inventive and just, well, surprising).”
“What about Kris Mole?”
“Oh geez, when Kris lands one, it’s amazing—so brutally honest and refreshing! I wish he wrote more. I’ll take Kris Mole, but I want him weekly.”
“What about Olivier Burkeman?”
“It’s Oliver Burkeman and he’s not on Substack.”
“Who gives a shit if he’s on Substack or not? And I like calling him Olivier. It’s more fun.”
“Fine and I agree on Burkeman. Burkeman sees through the bullshit of modern life like few others.”
“We left George Saunders off.”
“George Saunders doesn’t need us pumping his stuff. He’s a legend here on Substack.”
“No shit, that piece the other day, about what we’re trying to do as writers ... that blew me away. I wish I had written that.”
“No doubt, that one quote ...”
“This one?:
We [writers] view ourselves as practitioners of a difficult art form that no one ever has, or ever will, fully understand. So, we approach things with a feeling of reverence and humility and self-effacement and even bafflement like, “Jeez, this very important thing is also really difficult. It will always confound me and anyone who tries it.”
“Man, that pretty much nails it, doesn’t it? So we’re humble visitors in other people’s heads, trying to share how we apprehend the world, hoping it will resonate with others and somehow help them understand their own world.”
“Oh, that’s deep. You’re really profound.”
“Very funny. But you agree, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
“So let’s keep writing.”
“Yeah, I’m in.”
“Do you want to hug it out?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.”
The Year In Numbers
In my first year of writing on Substack, I wrote 75 pieces (including two that I wrote for other newsletters but linked to). Of these, 26 were fiction and 49 were nonfiction. I suspect next year there will be more nonfiction than fiction (since I’m not going to serialize again right away).
As of January 17, I have 190 subscribers, and the growth went like this:
Because I haven’t really focused on growth, I haven’t written much about these numbers and I don’t intend to (see my rules above). But if any of my fellow Substack writers are interested, I have combined Substack’s stats with some of my own “analytics” to be able to assess the data behind my work this year and I’m happy to share that with you. Here’s a link to a view of my Google Sheet. Holler if you have any questions or ideas about this.
Goals for 2023
When I started this Substack a year ago, my goal was to write regularly and develop a “voice” that I felt like I could inhabit fully and happily. Mission accomplished.
I knew I didn’t want to “chase” subscriber growth or attempt to get paid. I still don’t; not yet. I just want to lean in on the quality of my writing and let the chips fall where they may.6
Basically that’s what I want to continue to focus on this year: I want to write more and write better. I don’t expect to serialize another novel this year—that one took me by surprise! But until I finish my revision on it, I will likely slow by pace to bi-weekly.
But those rules that Tom and I talked about above? They’re what I learned this past year, and I’ll try to apply it to my writing next year. Wish me luck!
Favorite Newsletter Writers/Substack Newsletters of 2022 (unranked)
Write when you have something interesting to write. Not to a schedule.
We all want more readers and we all wish we got paid for doing this. ‘Nuff said.
Unless you have a really cool new way of doing it. See J.E. Peterson’s “welcome to 2023” post: https://thedispatches.substack.com/p/the-new-ten-commandments.
Good content is its own best advertisement.
If you’re reading these footnotes, you’re going to call bullshit on me because these are all complaints ... but hold on! I’m not saying don’t find fault with the world. I do it all the time. What I’m saying is don’t waste people’s time complaining, fill it with observations and insights they can use to make the world better or understand why they may find themselves at odds with the world.
I’m so bloody lucky to be in this position and I don’t mean to denigrate the efforts of those who need to figure out a way to get paid for their writing. I’m just late enough in my life and spent enough years in the bullshit machine that I don’t need scrap for money. Believe me, I know how fortunate I am.
Hey Tom -- thanks for the shout out! To be mentioned on any list, anywhere in the vicinity of the writers above, is humbling. It's gratifying to know my work resonates with you!
Re: finding your voice. This is such an interesting concept to me that so many writers discuss and debate. IMHO, finding your voice ultimately means being yourself. My voice certainly isn't for everyone, but it's mine. I say what I think, in my own words, in my own style, without fear.
You do as well, which is why I read what you've got to say each week.
Here's to year two!
Congratulations on one year, Tom! I look forward to reading more in 2023. I think you're the only writer I subscribe to who is "officially" retired, and I've enjoyed hearing about the adventures you get to take in that retirement. It's a much different life perspective and one I enjoy thoroughly. Keep up the great work!