I have two Substacks, Constant Commoner and Writer Everlasting, and I like where I am with both of them. That said, I, too, believe writers should get paid for their work. But on each of my Substacks my wish to create inclusive communities supersedes my wish to make money. Paid subscriptions are optional at both and I try not to ram my wish for paid subscriptions too far down my readers throats.
Still, I wish I had more.
At Writer Everlasting I have 1300 subscribers with only 20 of them paid. At Constant Commoner I have 978 subscribers with 34 paid. Not much, but I'm grateful for all of them, and now and then, a few times a month, I get individual donations at Ko-fi or PayPal. I don't beg for any of them.
I'm wondering, Linda, why you don't just offer optional paid subscriptions? With your skills and your knowledge I think you would get more responses than you might imagine. Is there a reason you don't?
I like this thoughtful post! I try to be mindful that the advice I offer is what has worked for me and other writers with other objectives might not find it as useful. This comes up in editing often. Just as it's important for writers to develop a thick skin about changes, editors have to develop a thick skin about having their suggestions overruled (I might have to write an article on that). I'm particularly interested in your long term strategies and your best practices for getting various platforms to work in harmony. I did 20 Medium articles in February and 7 posts for Substack (3 of those were old material from Medium). My long-term goals are to get enough of a following so I can publish the fairy books I wrote for my kids. Mainly, I just want those to be available somewhere so I can grab copies to read to my grandkids (wishful thinking). I'm drawn to writing because I like to sort out the delusional beliefs that sabotage our lives that we maintain without even realizing it. I'm a cave explorer and the cave is my subconscious. I suppose that's why I resist joining a traditional work environment... I keep spending my time contemplating better ways of doing things. Some say I never get anything done.
I write on Medium to improve my craft and learn who my audience is. I prefer writing fiction to everything else and have ZILCH desire to teach classes.
As you may know, I am firmly in the writers should get paid camp. But paid subs on my Substacks (3) are optional and there is no content paid subs get that free don’t. I tried paywalling some content at first but it didn’t seem to make any difference. My challenge is growth. On Medium I steadily add about 125 followers a month, which is fine. But their algo changes did a number on my earnings. On Substack growth stalled around 1000 subs, which probably means I need to get into more social media, which I basically hate. So this is as much a labor of love as an income source.
I am working on a book of poetry and song lyrics. I have posted a number of them on medium, one on my substack and had the Power of Poetry (on medium) showcase one of them. Money does not play into my motives. I feel an overwhelming desire to let the world and circles I am in to know my tide of emotions, and doing so helps me come to terms with it myself. I am currently looking for a developmental editor to assist with the process.
Excellent call for every writer to be "strategic" (results/goal oriented) about their writing Linda. I've been amazed as a work/career advisor how many people don't have a goal or a plan. That makes it hard to know how/where to focus your energies.
The answers to these questions depend on ~which~ writing project I'm working on.
Right now, the project I'm putting the most time into is something I don't want tied to this name (it's going to be published under a pseudonym) so I'm going to be vague.
There's a community I've been getting to know in the past year who is very frustrated, and part of that frustration is that many of them feel alone. That's why many are joining this community, but even though this community helps them, it's not enough. One of their complaints is that they don't see characters like themselves in media (movies, TV, novels, etc.)
So, I'm writing a novel for them. The objective is to help them feel seen in fiction.
How is it going? I've written most of the novel, and I've gotten at least one person in this community to agree to be a beta reader. On the other hand, when I discussed the idea for this novel, one member of this community had negative reaction, so who knows. I feel it's going in the right direction, but I won't know until I share it more widely.
How does money factor in? I'm going to take the low budget self-published route because I certainly don't want to lose money and this is a very uncertain venture, but on the off chance that it gains traction (on the order of maybe 10,000 books sold, which given the size of this community isn't impossible) yes I want to make money off it. Financially, the best case scenario would be that this novel gets a bunch of people so upset that they won't shut up about it, which will serve as word-of-mouth to get more people curious enough to buy it.
The sticking points? First, I need to finish it, but I'm most of the way there so I'm not so worried about that part. The bigger sticking point is that I'm nervous about approaching beta readers, but I know I need them. It's great that I already have one on board, but I need feedback from multiple people. I'm also very nervous about how they'll react, on multiple fronts (there are reasons why I'm doing this under a pseudonym and don't want this connected to the name I'm posting this comment under, and that makes getting beta readers harder). This novel has things which will definitely rile up members of this community (which are necessary to make the story work, because without those parts there would be much less conflict and the plot would be boring). I know it's also a good idea to get at least one beta reader who isn't part of this community, but that's going to be fraught as well.
I would like to grow my writing revenue to a place where it would replace most, if not all, of my regular income. At some point, I will retire FROM my career, and writing is something I want to retire TO. I'm not even close yet, but edge closer every week. Right now, a majority of my writing income comes from the Boost program. That's something I'm certainly grateful for, but it's also ~95% of what I earn on medium.
Writing-wise, a good 95% is here on Substack. The earnings are good and the community is amazing, but I'd like to see revenue increase. My goal for 2024 is double my paid subs. We'll see if that happens. Biggest hurdles to address are reach (same as everyone), and refining my message/value proposition. I know "what's in it" for readers, but do they?
I just write. Have done for a long time. I write in a group also, a group of women. It seems like something I can do and like to do and it's not stressful. I come from a family of artists who never created to make money or to be famous or to fit into a scene- they existed as outliers in a field of individualists. So now I am sitting here with piles of writing, my aspiration is always to discover something, create something, not to sell anything. My parents left behind vast quantities of fascinating and beautiful art- visual art- that is appealing to only a few people and they were not famous and never will be. I find this conunnudrumous situation mysterious and bottomless and complex. Do I regret art that has no market? Do I feel it should not have been made? Do I feel that the artists who make it are foolish? No. I cannot find it in myself to think those things for a moment. But for this, as my daughter in law said, one must be independently wealthy. Alas. Or be a genuinely starving artist- a dying breed - no joke. My children are all of this same lineage. They are gifted, they create. They have few gifts of self-promotion. They are really good at what they do and there is nothing in the world that will stop any one of them from doing it. Musicians, writers, film makers, potters, artists, poets- to be paid is barely a dream though of course one must eat. The only ones making money do it through other work- just as my father did. I don't know what to think. In our insane world, it is not always skill or insight that gets attention; often it is only the ability to attract attention that gets the attention, not what is being offered of merit or substance. Anyway, I appreciate your advice, none the less. I'm not sure I will continue to swim in this small pond of my own forever, and what you have said here as guidance may be very useful. I'm going to read it again. I wish you success in clarifying for yourself your own goals and getting what you want out of your writing.
I have two Substacks, Constant Commoner and Writer Everlasting, and I like where I am with both of them. That said, I, too, believe writers should get paid for their work. But on each of my Substacks my wish to create inclusive communities supersedes my wish to make money. Paid subscriptions are optional at both and I try not to ram my wish for paid subscriptions too far down my readers throats.
Still, I wish I had more.
At Writer Everlasting I have 1300 subscribers with only 20 of them paid. At Constant Commoner I have 978 subscribers with 34 paid. Not much, but I'm grateful for all of them, and now and then, a few times a month, I get individual donations at Ko-fi or PayPal. I don't beg for any of them.
I'm wondering, Linda, why you don't just offer optional paid subscriptions? With your skills and your knowledge I think you would get more responses than you might imagine. Is there a reason you don't?
I like this thoughtful post! I try to be mindful that the advice I offer is what has worked for me and other writers with other objectives might not find it as useful. This comes up in editing often. Just as it's important for writers to develop a thick skin about changes, editors have to develop a thick skin about having their suggestions overruled (I might have to write an article on that). I'm particularly interested in your long term strategies and your best practices for getting various platforms to work in harmony. I did 20 Medium articles in February and 7 posts for Substack (3 of those were old material from Medium). My long-term goals are to get enough of a following so I can publish the fairy books I wrote for my kids. Mainly, I just want those to be available somewhere so I can grab copies to read to my grandkids (wishful thinking). I'm drawn to writing because I like to sort out the delusional beliefs that sabotage our lives that we maintain without even realizing it. I'm a cave explorer and the cave is my subconscious. I suppose that's why I resist joining a traditional work environment... I keep spending my time contemplating better ways of doing things. Some say I never get anything done.
I write on Medium to improve my craft and learn who my audience is. I prefer writing fiction to everything else and have ZILCH desire to teach classes.
As you may know, I am firmly in the writers should get paid camp. But paid subs on my Substacks (3) are optional and there is no content paid subs get that free don’t. I tried paywalling some content at first but it didn’t seem to make any difference. My challenge is growth. On Medium I steadily add about 125 followers a month, which is fine. But their algo changes did a number on my earnings. On Substack growth stalled around 1000 subs, which probably means I need to get into more social media, which I basically hate. So this is as much a labor of love as an income source.
I am working on a book of poetry and song lyrics. I have posted a number of them on medium, one on my substack and had the Power of Poetry (on medium) showcase one of them. Money does not play into my motives. I feel an overwhelming desire to let the world and circles I am in to know my tide of emotions, and doing so helps me come to terms with it myself. I am currently looking for a developmental editor to assist with the process.
Excellent call for every writer to be "strategic" (results/goal oriented) about their writing Linda. I've been amazed as a work/career advisor how many people don't have a goal or a plan. That makes it hard to know how/where to focus your energies.
The answers to these questions depend on ~which~ writing project I'm working on.
Right now, the project I'm putting the most time into is something I don't want tied to this name (it's going to be published under a pseudonym) so I'm going to be vague.
There's a community I've been getting to know in the past year who is very frustrated, and part of that frustration is that many of them feel alone. That's why many are joining this community, but even though this community helps them, it's not enough. One of their complaints is that they don't see characters like themselves in media (movies, TV, novels, etc.)
So, I'm writing a novel for them. The objective is to help them feel seen in fiction.
How is it going? I've written most of the novel, and I've gotten at least one person in this community to agree to be a beta reader. On the other hand, when I discussed the idea for this novel, one member of this community had negative reaction, so who knows. I feel it's going in the right direction, but I won't know until I share it more widely.
How does money factor in? I'm going to take the low budget self-published route because I certainly don't want to lose money and this is a very uncertain venture, but on the off chance that it gains traction (on the order of maybe 10,000 books sold, which given the size of this community isn't impossible) yes I want to make money off it. Financially, the best case scenario would be that this novel gets a bunch of people so upset that they won't shut up about it, which will serve as word-of-mouth to get more people curious enough to buy it.
The sticking points? First, I need to finish it, but I'm most of the way there so I'm not so worried about that part. The bigger sticking point is that I'm nervous about approaching beta readers, but I know I need them. It's great that I already have one on board, but I need feedback from multiple people. I'm also very nervous about how they'll react, on multiple fronts (there are reasons why I'm doing this under a pseudonym and don't want this connected to the name I'm posting this comment under, and that makes getting beta readers harder). This novel has things which will definitely rile up members of this community (which are necessary to make the story work, because without those parts there would be much less conflict and the plot would be boring). I know it's also a good idea to get at least one beta reader who isn't part of this community, but that's going to be fraught as well.
"Do you have an objective?"
I would like to grow my writing revenue to a place where it would replace most, if not all, of my regular income. At some point, I will retire FROM my career, and writing is something I want to retire TO. I'm not even close yet, but edge closer every week. Right now, a majority of my writing income comes from the Boost program. That's something I'm certainly grateful for, but it's also ~95% of what I earn on medium.
Writing-wise, a good 95% is here on Substack. The earnings are good and the community is amazing, but I'd like to see revenue increase. My goal for 2024 is double my paid subs. We'll see if that happens. Biggest hurdles to address are reach (same as everyone), and refining my message/value proposition. I know "what's in it" for readers, but do they?
As of now, I don't have a long term goal - will write until I find a different hobby I guess :)
I just write. Have done for a long time. I write in a group also, a group of women. It seems like something I can do and like to do and it's not stressful. I come from a family of artists who never created to make money or to be famous or to fit into a scene- they existed as outliers in a field of individualists. So now I am sitting here with piles of writing, my aspiration is always to discover something, create something, not to sell anything. My parents left behind vast quantities of fascinating and beautiful art- visual art- that is appealing to only a few people and they were not famous and never will be. I find this conunnudrumous situation mysterious and bottomless and complex. Do I regret art that has no market? Do I feel it should not have been made? Do I feel that the artists who make it are foolish? No. I cannot find it in myself to think those things for a moment. But for this, as my daughter in law said, one must be independently wealthy. Alas. Or be a genuinely starving artist- a dying breed - no joke. My children are all of this same lineage. They are gifted, they create. They have few gifts of self-promotion. They are really good at what they do and there is nothing in the world that will stop any one of them from doing it. Musicians, writers, film makers, potters, artists, poets- to be paid is barely a dream though of course one must eat. The only ones making money do it through other work- just as my father did. I don't know what to think. In our insane world, it is not always skill or insight that gets attention; often it is only the ability to attract attention that gets the attention, not what is being offered of merit or substance. Anyway, I appreciate your advice, none the less. I'm not sure I will continue to swim in this small pond of my own forever, and what you have said here as guidance may be very useful. I'm going to read it again. I wish you success in clarifying for yourself your own goals and getting what you want out of your writing.