Writing from Strength to Strength

Plus: My Substack Identity Crisis

Part One: My Substack Identity Crisis (Free)

Part Two, Writing from Strength to Strength, is for “Paid” subscribers only, but I upgrade every subscriber to paid for free for six months.

The night of the shooting, I couldn’t sleep. Well into the morning hours, I was on Substack, and I knew that at 2am on a Sunday, I wasn’t going to get much interaction. Still, I had the feeling I could be doing better.

I said as much. “Someone needs to teach me how to use Notes better.”

Domeone replied, “Aren’t you supposed to be the growth expert?”

My reply? “Absolutely not.”

How do you grow on Substack?

Write about how you grow on Substack.

I’ve blocked a few growth stacks. I follow others, but I rarely read much, because there’s only so much that can be said. Growth is not an endless well of knowledge to discuss.

Many times, I’ve denied this is a growth stack, and I’ve done so for several reasons. One is that I’m not claiming to be a growth expert. Another, is that I fear this becoming a stack that stretches thin a very finite resource.

That’s part of what led me to publish a series of articles on building a substack for fiction writers. None of you need that, so I quietly published most of the articles without sending them to the mailing list.

I rewrote the first four Right-Reader articles for a Gumroad booklet.

And now I’m reconsidering how I want to set up the website for new subscribers when they come from Twitter and Gumroad. What existing information is important? What do I want to focus on now?

This Wednesday, I’ll have been on Substack for three months. Not long, huh? See, I told you I’m not an expert.

As for other points of celebration, this weekend I hit 200 total subscribers (excluding Literary Salon) and then the next day I hit 300 total subscribers (including Literary Salon.) I make the distinction because I know this is seen as a growth stack, and as such, I don’t think it’s appropriate to share its numbers with the general public.

It’s an appropriate time for an identity crises, and I assume they’re fairly common on Substack, part of the process of assessing our goals and our ability to deliver on those goals. My main concern here is giving my core Literary Salon community value for your continued subscription. That’s an issue, because not everything we do here will be of interest for you.

There’s more to say about the Right-Reader method, as long as I don’t feel like I’m stretching it thin.

There are new side projects that should include all of you. First, postop.substack.com is building communities for non-fiction categories. As one of my publications focuses on philosophy, it’s important that I get to know others in the category. You need to meet people in your categories, too.

If you’re using Bookfunnel (or any other similar tool), freebookstore.substack.com will promote your group promotions using your link so you get the credit for the visitors we bring in. That one is really new. Please, subscribe. Free books in every post.

If you have any expertise with Bookfunnel or Gumroad or anything else, I’d love if you’d share it in the comments.

Oh.

Oh my.

I just had a breakthrough. Just now. I’ve been worried about the wrong thing.

In previous articles, I’ve talked about securing my insights behind paywalls (even though I give away the paid membership) and only sharing publicly ideas I think should be common knowledge. That was my worry: common knowledge.

Yes, something I share may be information you’ve come across before, but I can’t help that. That’s not my concern. The worry should be on not stretching it thin. Eureka moments like the right-reader method are rare, but not everything has to be a eureka moment. Our “awesomeness contract” should be that I’ll make the articles here as informative, meaty, and entertaining as I can.

Never too little butter spread over too much bread.

Here’s my promise to you. Not every piece of information will be new or earth shattering, but I will make it as informative and as useful as I can. I’m going to worry less about sparing you emails that are too basic. My readers can choose well enough for themselves what to read and what not to.

In that vein, the second part of the article will be a writing tip, something that combines an old concept of mine with a new inspiration that came while assisting a writer earlier today.