What the heck is Substack?

Groan…another form of social media that is gaining traction, especially now that Sapphic Authors are feeling the pinch. The reality is that sales have drastically dropped off after the call for boycotts against Amazon. Piracy is running rampant. Finally, to add insult to injury, there is an increased use of AI after Meta has stolen all of our hard work on books that we spent many hours writing. So, I’ll admit, I knew very little about this and figured some of you may also not know what this new rage is. I’ve done a bit of research for you! So, what is Substack, and why should authors consider developing their own Substack account? But more importantly, why would readers want to subscribe to any author?

From Substack directly: “We started Substack because we believe that what you read matters and that good writing is valuable – and as the platform has evolved, we’ve come to expand that view to include all forms of cultural work. On Substack, writers and creators can publish their work and make money from paid subscriptions while supporters can directly sustain the work they deeply value.”Again, from the Substack website: “Some of the world’s most celebrated writers and creators are here—Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Elizabeth Gilbert, Mehdi Hasan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to name a few.” Recently, I saw a post by Nancy Ann Healy announcing her intent to move to Substack, so I’ve just subscribed to her Substack. I’m sure there are many others in our community.Substack wants to create a “new economic engine for culture.” Well Halleluiah! Because, right now, Amazon and many other social media giants have swung way too far to the right. While I could not find Substack’s stance on DEI or other important issues, what I do know is that many of the individuals I respect who have experienced Trump’s wrath are now on Substack. It does look to be an avenue for journalists and other prominent people to express their views without censorship.Substack’s guiding principles include: a hands-off approach to content moderation; publishers or authors should have a way to make a living off of work they believe in; publishers or authors own their own content and relationships with readers and have complete editorial control; and Substack helps subscribers take back their own mind.Want to start your own Substack…here’s the link: https://substack.com/aboutIt seems as though Substack is a little like Patreon, but for some reason, I sense there are greater possibilities. Now, the downside is that if an author or publisher chooses to court paid subscribers, they will have to do some work to keep content fresh and worth it for people to pay to subscribe to their content. That probably means frequent freebies, videos, updates, etc.

At this point, I created a Substack account, mostly because I wanted to understand the process. I’ve been super reluctant to court paid subscribers, which is why I have never considered Patreon. However, I do believe it might be something for my Publisher to consider. If readers want to support Sapphic voices, I can think of no better way than to become a paid subscriber to the small publishers who support our Sapphic voices, lest they go away! I’ll be sure to talk with Affinity about this. In the meantime, I might have to find a way to create frequent content that all my loyal readers can benefit from without them having to spend a dime! So I encourage people to click the free option on my Substack. In the meantime, feel free to support me and Affinity by clicking the links below to purchase one or more of my books!

The Love Demand