Substack! The Social Media App for Writers and Creatives

While there are many social media platforms available to us, today, I would like to sing praises of Substack, a company that believes “the internet’s powers for good could be realized if they were tied to a business model that produces better incentives…” than other platforms. For me, those incentives include conversations from bestselling authors as well as gardeners, new writers and artists sharing their work, and gleeful hobbyists sharing quilts and chicken coops.

Substack allows you to bypass traditional print and media gatekeepers. Write directly to your readers and develop a relationship. In addition to a traditional newsletter you can work in audio, video or chat formats. You are also given a web presence for people who prefer reading on an app or browser window. Branding and other customization options allow you to present a consistent newsletter and web page. Subscriptions are free to your readers, with an option for you to charge a small fee for select material.

“How to Build a World Class Substack” by Russell Nohelty and Claire Venus is a great resource. Using personal experiences, Nohelty shares a step-by-step process of creating your presence on Substack. Learn about newsletter management, book launching, scheduling, interacting and more. In all fairness, this book and I didn’t click. The information is good, though, and it’s on Hoopla so you won’t have to wait to check it out.

If you decide to join Substack, give everything a good look-see. If you do decide you have to follow a BIG NAME, such as James Patterson, you can sign up for only his free posts or can sign up for only one month. It’s easy to unsubscribe to any publication.

This was the only book in our collection specifically on Substack so I’m moving into books on similar topics: online publishing and newsletter management.

“Self-Publishing and Email Marketing: How to Create and Optimize a Reader Newsletter to Find New Fans, Gather More Reviews and Sell More Books” by Bryan Cohen. Learn how to develop the newsletter side of your Substack publication. Cohen writes: “If you rarely connect with your fans over email, then you run the risk of putting yourself in an echo chamber with your disheartening internal pessimism. But when you collect the contact info and permission from readers who really like your work… they’ll actually tell you their motivational thoughts.” You will learn how to write emails that connect, conversational strategies that help people feel like you are writing directly to them, how and when to tease readers about upcoming books and covers, and more.

One of the frequent uses of Substack is to convince other people that you are an expert and you save your best advice for people who pay to subscribe. Subscription fees on Substack have helped writers and other creative people build livelihoods, while best selling authors Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gleese and James Patterson post here to interact with each other as well as readers. Some, such as folklorist Terri Windling, do not post her own material but do interact.

“Indie Author Magazine: Email Marketing, Building Your Mailing List, Author Strategies, and Connecting with Readers” by Chelle Honiker and Alice Briggs. The Indie Author Magazine is for authors who are looking for writing advice, networking advice and help with newsletters. There are 33 issues available on Hoopla; if they are all like the one I previewed, you will find plenty of tips to use immediately!

I tend to float all over the place, looking for mystery writers, walkers in dank forests and people who would love to meet a hobbit or cat. It is more a place of connection for me but I’m still getting my writing brain, my hands and heart to work together. I’m enjoying the process so much that I’ve created a second Substack account that will be library-centric and appropriate for the Intro to Substack class here at the library later this month. It’s full, but get on the waiting list! That will help us understand if we need to hold it a second time.