Substack: rejection letters be gone!

YOU: becoming the writer you want to be.

I was forty years old when I stopped accepting rejection letters. 

Desktop publishing had just become part of the technology world when the thought occurred to me that if I published my own newsletter, I could write about whatever I wanted and avoid rejection letters altogether.

Today, Substack offers that same option to writers everywhere. I believe in the power of people telling their stories, sharing their wisdom, connecting through words and images in a way reminiscent of the gatherings around campfires on the long nights of the ancient world. It’s not “just writing,” It’s wisdom transmission through the ages.

For eight years I wrote a monthly, print newsletter: MindPlay, Creativity and Innovation in Today’s Business Environment. It changed my life … opened doors, brought me my first book contract, introduced me to a book agent when the publisher who offered me that first book contract went into bankruptcy, and connected me to new friends who would become part of the InnovationNetwork, the conference/consultancy business I loved until 2008 made innovation the last thing on corporate minds.

Substack is the free, simple, hugely better version of the process I went through to create MindPlay in 1987. I don’t know the Substack stories … yet … but I am certain that lives are being changed, books being launched, friends being made, confidence being built. (If anyone has a story you’d like to share, mention it in the comments section and we’ll connect.)

As much as I love Substack, it sometimes feels like dealing with a hyper-active teenager.

Substack is a young company in the midst of phenomenal growth as it revolutionizes the publishing industry. Their business model is unique: thrive and make money by helping writers build their own writing world (and make money). New features gush out of their river of innovation faster than most of us can keep up, while technical support is relatively non-existent.

Death knell … or secret weapon?

While that sounds like it could be a death knell for a technology company, it may just turn into their secret weapon: the creation of a generous community of writers. Once a week, writers flock to Office Hours, the online discussion thread where we ask questions, exchange encouragement, find collaboration opportunities, and generally wish each other well. During the week, we have Notes, our version of social media where we again connect, encourage, ask advice, solicit collaboration, and ooh and ahh over each other’s writings. I have been around for awhile and I’ve never experienced an online community like this.

To be fair, Office Hours also drives people crazy. It is chaotic and sometimes feels like a feeding frenzy; however, last week I got answers to two questions that were confusing me, answered a few questions, received six new subscribers (free) and about 30 replies to my comments, identified half a dozen letters that sounded interesting enough to free subscribe to, and found three features I want to check out. Office Hours are not only a weekly information fest, it’s a shot of pure inspiration and support.

And what emerged from all this thinking about Substack

and today’s publishing world?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was in the fourth grade (when, by the way, I got my first rejection). It took me a long time to get here. Now, I see Substack as a slightly gentler path for other writers, a way for more people to share their ideas and wisdom in an environment where they can be valued financially for their work.

Plus, I love a learning curve and Substack is like a bustling freeway with a thousand signs pointing this way and that but lacking that one sign that tells you how to get where you want to go. It reminds me of this kid from Kansas (me) who moved to Washington, D.C. (in pre-GPS days) and encountered the Beltway with all of its signs for dozens of cities I didn’t recognize. How was I supposed to know if the exit to Bethesda would take me closer to or further away from Silver Spring?

All of this led to my decision to jump in and provide a helpful guide to the flock of emerging writers entering the Substack waters … thus a new addition: Portal to Substack. In addition to weekly Substack information posts on Wednesdays, there will be an ongoing series of Best Practice Reports to show how some writers are effectively using the many features and elements of Substack. The portal image below also provides a graphic reminder of the simple marketing process we will focus on.

Study Group Invitation

Eventually, we will launch a study group process. To help develop a process that can help people over the threshold into Substack, we are recruiting an initial design group limited to 10 established Substackers. If being part of this initial study group interests you, please email me at jwycoff@gratitudemojo.com. Requirements are simple … an existing Substack, a desire to better understand the elements and features of Substack, and a curiosity about how a study group process could be helpful for Substack writers. As a token payment for your generous participation, you will receive Founding Member status for a year.

Becoming an Entrepreneurial Writer

I believe writing is a valuable art/craft/skill, however, many of us would do our writing for free (or even pay to do it) because it’s a critical part of our being. Most of us, though, have bills to pay and mouths to feed. We need to be entrepreneurs, as creative about the marketing of our writing as we are about the writing itself. As the brilliant

Writers at Work with Sarah Fay

(you might as well subscribe now because she offers posts you need to read and workshops you’ll want to attend) says marketing doesn’t have to feel icky. We can learn to see marketing as how we build relationships with our readers … and every writer needs readers.

Substack offers us a simple way to be paid for our writing; however, valuing our writing is a tricky thing. We want people to read our stuff … not put it behind a paywall. Creating a strategy that feels right for your particular situation frees you to do your best writing, knowing that it is being valued by your readers.

After a lot of experimentation and noticing how I react to the paywall plans of others, here’s the strategy I have created for Portal to Substack:

• All posts will be free … I want to encourage every writer who wants to write to join Substack and become proficient at using its elements and features; therefore, all posts will be informative, inspiring, and free.

• Paywall: Best Practice Reports and Study Group participation will be reserved for paid subscribers. The first report will be available next Wednesday, July 26, 2023. And, Study Groups will start as soon as the initial group figures out how the process should work. You are encouraged to find and form your own study groups in the meantime. Please let us know what you think would be helpful if you were in a study group.

• 14-Day Free Trial … this is a powerful Substack feature you can offer potential subscribers who aren’t quite sure they want to commit to a paid subscription. If you would like to see the first Best Practice Report before deciding if this is right place for you, click the button below.

Sweet Spot Exercise: TWO LISTS

What you want /need to write.

What readers want/need to read.

This is an example of the simple exercises that will be part of learning how to build your Substack in a way that feels most authentic to you and creates the income stream that values your work.

Give yourself time to make these two lists … keep going back to them until you feel they are complete. Let them sit for a few days and then go back and see where they overlap. That overlap is the sweet spot for your newsletter and offers you clues about what you want to offer your readers and what you might want to (eventually) put behind your paywall.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, comments, and frustrations.

Portal to Substack Stickers