Thank You Notes
Subscriber Update - September 2024 Edition
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! I’m so glad you’re here. Below you’ll find my every-so-often deep dive into my subscriber base as well as some of my current thoughts on the platform.
Just looking for the fiction? I’ve got you covered:
When I wrote my last subscriber update in June, there were ten of you. Well, nine if I exclude myself.
Actually when I started writing that post, I had eleven subscribers, but then someone left so I had to adjust the title. Sad times.
But now? SO MANY MORE PEOPLE!
We have 5x’d since June. Just a few more x’s and we’ll be in danger of being acquired by a Venture Capital firm that will then replace me with an AI to save money.
Anyway, I liked the outline I used for my previous appreciation post, so we’ll borrow that to save time.
There are 4 things I’d like to say.
1. Thank you (again) for being here
No, seriously, thank you for sticking with me. The overwhelming majority of my new subscribers came from the post where I complained about how hard it is to write fiction on here. That one obviously touched a nerve, and there were so many great comments that I’m still wrestling with.
But a number of you stayed on afterwards for my strange story about cereal mascots going to war or my silly breakdown of different types of laughter.
I’m so grateful you’re onboard and I’ll continue to try and earn my place in your inbox.
2. Who are you?
The stats page only shows the top 5 but there are folks in 12 different countries that will receive this message. That is wild to me. That is 10 more countries than I’ve visited in my life (America is large and hard to escape).
There’s a stereotype that American’s only think about America. This is true, we totally only think about ourselves unless your country does something dumb/amazing (or when the Olympics are on). Every American also drives a giant truck and we all have flags hanging out the back designed entirely to piss people off.
Still, it’s humbling to think that I can hit publish and reach someone clear across the world in New Zealand (I see you!) I know that in our modern connected world this is maybe less of an achievement but I’ve never been a big social media contributor so I’m still in awe of the reach of this platform.
Africa and South America are seriously lagging it but I’m hopeful for the future.
3. What’s Next?
This is not the easiest question to answer. I posted a note a few weeks ago that captured my thoughts pretty well:
The one thing I didn’t address in this list is “a way to stand out”. It’s possible that longevity/consistency will be my secret weapon but I’m also looking for ways to make my fiction rise above the noise AND ways to make my non-fiction connect with people. I don’t think becoming a slave to the algorithm is the right move but ignoring it entirely seems foolish.
If (more likely when) I turn on paid subscriptions, it will be for this reason as well. My assumption is that Substack (understandably) gives a boost to publications that can actually make them money. There are two main reasons why I haven’t turned on paid yet:
I haven’t figured out a correct set of exclusives to offer. I don’t want to put any of my stories behind a paywall for now.
I don’t want to feel beholden to “produce more content” if it means said content is just there to check a box
Anyway, when it comes to sticking out, I have a few ideas kicking around in my head but nothing concrete. I’m experimenting with a high-ish quality audio recording of my short story Three Dots to see if that gets people excited.
But can I let you in on a little secret?
Making a high quality audio version of a short story is hard, and I have no experience at all, just a free version of GarageBand and a dream.
Here’s what it currently looks like on my computer:
I’ve been working on this project for a few weeks because I can only do it when I’m home alone or when everyone else is asleep. I’m not ready for my family to know that I’m a psychopath.
There’s going to be a song that I’ll use to introduce/end the story (I’ll add some narration over the top soon). I made it using some of the preexisting loops in GarageBand, and in my opinion it is straight fire:
My goal is to upload it to the original story post in the near future and I’ll see about notifying everyone so they can give it a listen if desired. It’s been fun to work on and opens up some neat possibilities (and so much work) for other stories. It could also lead to posts where I detail the process of creating something like this.
Lastly, I’ve published the first few chapters of my newest short story entitled Rough Draft. Like everything else I’ve posted so far, the story is finished, so if you’re worried about jumping in until it’s complete, consider this your invitation. Most chapters get a few tweaks but I go live, but I have a Google Doc with the whole thing written already.
4. Parting Thoughts
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been doing this for more than 6 months already. I almost have enough posts (32) to consider sharing this with people I know in real life.
Almost.
Thanks again for joining me on this journey.
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Thanks, Daniel! I agree, the ability to connect like-minded individuals in a virtual literary salon is such satisfying fun! I’m working on a post just on that topic… life just a bit upside-down at the moment.
Cheers from the UK!