"If writers paywall that stuff, Medium will remove it. There’s no such rule on Substack." If enough of us object to the idea of writing about the platform on the platform, they'll put a similar rule in.
I only started writing on Substack because Medium doesn't particularly like the "how to succeed on Medium" articles. I figured it made sense though, I could teach on another platform and draw new writers to Medium. :) Today I put my "how to succeed on Substack" articles on Medium. Thanks for a great article Linda!
People are frustrated and angry. When that happens, they have a tendency to generalize. Everything’s a rip-off. Everybody sucks. There’s plenty of evidence to support that attitude but there are exceptions. We can look for them and move forward or throw in the towel. I’m close to the latter, especially after hearing how much AI writing is in play. I’m leaning toward old school. I’ll submit to print magazines and journals and see how that goes. Maybe finally write that play. I have to think more about it.
You're absolutely on to something here. And even staying within the bounds of the digital world, I'm seeing more and more people reverting back to the smaller, less social media-y world of Web 1.0. Blogs, longer form writing, and tight knit communities are making a huge comeback.
I like the idea of old school submissions. That is what I'm doing lately too. I write on Substack and Medium, but have been submitting to print magazines. I like the challenge, yet simplicity of it all.
I love writing about writing. I am endlessly curious about how other writers write, up to and including what time of day they write, whether they have time limits or word quotas, whether they work on paper or at a keyboard, how they draft, when they edit, how they push through confusion and procrastination and being stuck, and, most of all, how they feed and care for their creativity when they are not writing.
Dickens walked for hours every day, working out his narratives in his mind. While, writing, he could be heard through the door of his study acting out all the parts, becoming the characters, and so developing his dialogue. Anthony Trollope wrote for four hours every morning, at a rate of one page every fifteen minutes. Toni Morrison woke up early enough to watch the sun rise, and then worked on paper -- that's after she could afford to not have to write on the subway.
I am also very interested in how writers make money -- and in how they found the gumption to keep writing during the often long, initial periods when there was none.
"I am also very interested in how writers make money -- and in how they found the gumption to keep writing during the often long, initial periods when there was none." <-- because the character in their head wouldn't leave them alone until they were released to the world! And the words wouldn't stop cycling until they arranged themselves into the perfect order and made even the author themselves re-read them proudly, multiple times, because they held so much meaning.
I'm guessing. I don't make any money from writing (except well-crafted corporate emails). But that's why I keep writing.
I think you're pointing to the critical thing: that writing is an end in itself. It is a journey of excavation, of discovery, and maybe even a kind of detective work. The words want to be arranged. The characters want to be revealed. Getting that done is its own reward.
I love books on writing and articles about writing too! I enjoy reading how other writers craft their poetry and prose.
Personally, I love writing on fresh, blank white paper with no lines or anything. I want to see what my verses are doing without all the fanfare, and it makes for easier editing. it uses up paper---quite a bit, so I do use my phone notes too, but it helps. As fa as the time of day, I find early morning to be great for poetry or doing poetic exercises. But in the evening, when all is more quiet, a story begins to form in my mind...
Thank you for this! I toggle back-and-forth between paper and screen. And I also like to take long walks where I let the ideas roll around in my head. When something bubbles up I dictate into my phone and on we go.
Dang, girl! You called it! I could not agree more. As I see it, what’s annoying is not when people are writing about writing. After all, I am a prolific poet, nonfiction author and course creator, professional book editor, and ghostwriter. So I love to share tips and encouragement about the writing process and self-publishing, why? Because I have generated thousands of poems in the last few years and I know a thing or two about helping others get their work out to the world. I know a thing or two about poetry, and I’m not about to turn into one of those snobbish ivory-tower, “It’s not a poem unless it rhymes or is in iambic pentameter” creativity squelchers and dream destroyers. Hell no!
I also have enough humility to know that I don’t know everything, and I don’t know what it is that I don’t know. 🤷♀️ Therefore, I have an open beginner’s mind, most days anyway, and I love to read great writers on writing because it inspires and educates me.
What I find annoying is the proliferation of so many people just promoting paid levels to tell people how to grow their Substack. I don’t want this sweet and sacred space to turn into Facebook, loaded with ads and screaming offers.
THANK YOU for making several important distinctions in your awesome article! 👏👏👏👏👏
This is a really important distinction. Talking shop isn't an issue in other disciplines as you've pointed out. The craft of writing is almost orthogonal to marketing, but the concepts are becoming more conflated as we see more people move from platform to platform selling growth strategies.
It's a humbling read. For me, this has been a concept that I've been torn about for a while now. Cultivating the skill of writing well and using it to share your experiences coupled with sharing how you do things here is a frightening prospect (imposter syndrome galore).
The fact is that it's "caveat emptor" when it comes to this...don't blindly follow and consume somebody's content just because they claim to have made money from writing.
Thanks for highlighting this and clarifying on it!
I love reading writing about writing--as in the craft, and how others work to hone it. Same for what Walter mentions upthread- I think the two are closely intertwined, actually.
I have no taste for the cheap "how to make money writing" fodder Medium used to be flooded with. It's slowly gotten better, and hopefully, removing this last incentive will be it's death knell.
You're right! Writers are always the sacrificial lambs. People just need a new reason to make writers feel bad. Personally, I don't mind posts about Substack. Why? Because I'm new to the platform. Where else will I find the information I need? People probably complain about "writing about writing" because it gets the most engagement. If it's actually valuable, it makes sense. But don't demonise it just because it does well.
I always learn something about writing by reading, and as a former professional photographer I learned from those who came before me. Your writing I’ve always found inspiring and I thank you for that!❤️
Well, that's interesting. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to write about writing. Although to be accurate, I suppose I should say about my writing journey itself. Anyway, I love a good rant.
I got so sick of those endless “How I made $10K in a month on Medium” stories. Because they were - usually - clickbait. Get enough people to click, the algorithm picks it up, more people click etc. etc.
Actual useful informative practical stories on writing were harder to come by. You had to go looking for them because they usually didn’t come sliding along saying Click Me!
And by the way, writing about writing is still writing! Regardless of the subject, a piece of writing still needs to capture the audience, have great style and be easily digested for it to qualify as great writing. I would imagine that writing about writing might be even harder to keep fresh and interesting, so if you can do it well, as you obviously can, it's a skill and talent to be celebrated. Hats off to you!
I see everything humans put out on the internet as a way to learn something. I love to read writers talking about writing -- the ups, the downs, their techniques, etc. Same as I watch a lot of decluttering YouTube videos, even though they say mostly the same things. As an editor, I wish more writers would listen to other writers talk about writing and grammar and sentence structure. It would make my job a lot easier. ;)
"If writers paywall that stuff, Medium will remove it. There’s no such rule on Substack." If enough of us object to the idea of writing about the platform on the platform, they'll put a similar rule in.
As an author and hobbyist photographer and mother of a professional photographer, I enjoyed this post.
I only started writing on Substack because Medium doesn't particularly like the "how to succeed on Medium" articles. I figured it made sense though, I could teach on another platform and draw new writers to Medium. :) Today I put my "how to succeed on Substack" articles on Medium. Thanks for a great article Linda!
People are frustrated and angry. When that happens, they have a tendency to generalize. Everything’s a rip-off. Everybody sucks. There’s plenty of evidence to support that attitude but there are exceptions. We can look for them and move forward or throw in the towel. I’m close to the latter, especially after hearing how much AI writing is in play. I’m leaning toward old school. I’ll submit to print magazines and journals and see how that goes. Maybe finally write that play. I have to think more about it.
You're absolutely on to something here. And even staying within the bounds of the digital world, I'm seeing more and more people reverting back to the smaller, less social media-y world of Web 1.0. Blogs, longer form writing, and tight knit communities are making a huge comeback.
I’m also seeing this with people talking about long form book blogs versus Tik Tok Recs. I’ll be writing about this trend over on my other blog.
I like the idea of old school submissions. That is what I'm doing lately too. I write on Substack and Medium, but have been submitting to print magazines. I like the challenge, yet simplicity of it all.
I actually think the odds may be better.
True! So far it’s competive when submitting for print, but it’s competitive online too.
I love writing about writing. I am endlessly curious about how other writers write, up to and including what time of day they write, whether they have time limits or word quotas, whether they work on paper or at a keyboard, how they draft, when they edit, how they push through confusion and procrastination and being stuck, and, most of all, how they feed and care for their creativity when they are not writing.
Dickens walked for hours every day, working out his narratives in his mind. While, writing, he could be heard through the door of his study acting out all the parts, becoming the characters, and so developing his dialogue. Anthony Trollope wrote for four hours every morning, at a rate of one page every fifteen minutes. Toni Morrison woke up early enough to watch the sun rise, and then worked on paper -- that's after she could afford to not have to write on the subway.
I am also very interested in how writers make money -- and in how they found the gumption to keep writing during the often long, initial periods when there was none.
"I am also very interested in how writers make money -- and in how they found the gumption to keep writing during the often long, initial periods when there was none." <-- because the character in their head wouldn't leave them alone until they were released to the world! And the words wouldn't stop cycling until they arranged themselves into the perfect order and made even the author themselves re-read them proudly, multiple times, because they held so much meaning.
I'm guessing. I don't make any money from writing (except well-crafted corporate emails). But that's why I keep writing.
I think you're pointing to the critical thing: that writing is an end in itself. It is a journey of excavation, of discovery, and maybe even a kind of detective work. The words want to be arranged. The characters want to be revealed. Getting that done is its own reward.
Hi Erin,
I love books on writing and articles about writing too! I enjoy reading how other writers craft their poetry and prose.
Personally, I love writing on fresh, blank white paper with no lines or anything. I want to see what my verses are doing without all the fanfare, and it makes for easier editing. it uses up paper---quite a bit, so I do use my phone notes too, but it helps. As fa as the time of day, I find early morning to be great for poetry or doing poetic exercises. But in the evening, when all is more quiet, a story begins to form in my mind...
Thank you for this! I toggle back-and-forth between paper and screen. And I also like to take long walks where I let the ideas roll around in my head. When something bubbles up I dictate into my phone and on we go.
Exactly! That’s wonderful. Walking is great for healthy bodies and mind.
Dang, girl! You called it! I could not agree more. As I see it, what’s annoying is not when people are writing about writing. After all, I am a prolific poet, nonfiction author and course creator, professional book editor, and ghostwriter. So I love to share tips and encouragement about the writing process and self-publishing, why? Because I have generated thousands of poems in the last few years and I know a thing or two about helping others get their work out to the world. I know a thing or two about poetry, and I’m not about to turn into one of those snobbish ivory-tower, “It’s not a poem unless it rhymes or is in iambic pentameter” creativity squelchers and dream destroyers. Hell no!
I also have enough humility to know that I don’t know everything, and I don’t know what it is that I don’t know. 🤷♀️ Therefore, I have an open beginner’s mind, most days anyway, and I love to read great writers on writing because it inspires and educates me.
What I find annoying is the proliferation of so many people just promoting paid levels to tell people how to grow their Substack. I don’t want this sweet and sacred space to turn into Facebook, loaded with ads and screaming offers.
THANK YOU for making several important distinctions in your awesome article! 👏👏👏👏👏
(restacking you happily)
This is a really important distinction. Talking shop isn't an issue in other disciplines as you've pointed out. The craft of writing is almost orthogonal to marketing, but the concepts are becoming more conflated as we see more people move from platform to platform selling growth strategies.
It's a humbling read. For me, this has been a concept that I've been torn about for a while now. Cultivating the skill of writing well and using it to share your experiences coupled with sharing how you do things here is a frightening prospect (imposter syndrome galore).
The fact is that it's "caveat emptor" when it comes to this...don't blindly follow and consume somebody's content just because they claim to have made money from writing.
Thanks for highlighting this and clarifying on it!
I love reading writing about writing--as in the craft, and how others work to hone it. Same for what Walter mentions upthread- I think the two are closely intertwined, actually.
I have no taste for the cheap "how to make money writing" fodder Medium used to be flooded with. It's slowly gotten better, and hopefully, removing this last incentive will be it's death knell.
You're right! Writers are always the sacrificial lambs. People just need a new reason to make writers feel bad. Personally, I don't mind posts about Substack. Why? Because I'm new to the platform. Where else will I find the information I need? People probably complain about "writing about writing" because it gets the most engagement. If it's actually valuable, it makes sense. But don't demonise it just because it does well.
I always learn something about writing by reading, and as a former professional photographer I learned from those who came before me. Your writing I’ve always found inspiring and I thank you for that!❤️
Well, that's interesting. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to write about writing. Although to be accurate, I suppose I should say about my writing journey itself. Anyway, I love a good rant.
I got so sick of those endless “How I made $10K in a month on Medium” stories. Because they were - usually - clickbait. Get enough people to click, the algorithm picks it up, more people click etc. etc.
Actual useful informative practical stories on writing were harder to come by. You had to go looking for them because they usually didn’t come sliding along saying Click Me!
I'm deeply envious of writers who can write well about writing. Especially the ones who do so without demystifying it. Such as yourself.
Some people are more write-eous than others.
Brava!
And by the way, writing about writing is still writing! Regardless of the subject, a piece of writing still needs to capture the audience, have great style and be easily digested for it to qualify as great writing. I would imagine that writing about writing might be even harder to keep fresh and interesting, so if you can do it well, as you obviously can, it's a skill and talent to be celebrated. Hats off to you!
I see everything humans put out on the internet as a way to learn something. I love to read writers talking about writing -- the ups, the downs, their techniques, etc. Same as I watch a lot of decluttering YouTube videos, even though they say mostly the same things. As an editor, I wish more writers would listen to other writers talk about writing and grammar and sentence structure. It would make my job a lot easier. ;)