My First Year on Substack
Slow and steady
The secret to my success on Substack is to work at my own pace. Keep my focus on what I value and want to achieve. Get curious about what others are doing, and find similar folks that are here also. I’m looking forward to 2025.
Time and Attention
Get clear on your goals; prioritize your time and attention. The first year on Substack had me wondering what was I doing here. I panicked about how to keep up with everything. A friend wisely pointed out that what I am aiming for is like a busker playing music on the street, performing in public. Substack is a way for me to practice in front of others.
My posts create a portfolio, so that I, and others, can read what I have written, as snapshots over time. I keep in touch with my subscribers at a leisurely pace with posts once or twice per month. This cadence allows me to post short articles as I write a novel which is my primary writing goal.
From the Substack promos, I found Martin Prior who has calculated what it would take to grow to a certain size. It was just the information I needed, and practical reality check for what it takes to grow an audience from zero. Check it out!
Finding Others
I resonate with Laura Kennedy’s style and topics. She was promoted by Substack when I was orienting myself here. I’ve stayed with her ever since. She’s a role model for how to earn a living by writing on Substack.
Someone restacked, and I noticed Robin and Robin were starting Small Stack - a library of substacks that were dedicated to staying small. Great writing, but less likely to be found among all the top followings to the Big Stacks. Celebrate Small!
Bring your friends along with you. I arrived to Substack with my cohort on Brainstorm Road, they have been amazing supporters who are also finding their way around here.
A Year on Brainstorm Road
A year ago, I decided to get serious about finishing my historical novel. I wanted to approach my research and writing differently since my attempts to get unstuck had not been working. When I saw an email from Margo about Brainstorm Road , I knew in an instant this was the right thing for me.
Functions and Features
Learning Substack tools is easy if you already know a similar tool. Eventually, I found everything that I was familiar with and used frequently on Wordpress. Be diligent to keep tinkering and searching. If you are wondering ‘I know it should be here somewhere’ - it is, just labeled differently or in an obscure setting. Others had suggested it takes about three months to orient yourself, I think this phase took me almost ten months. So give yourself time to gain confidence and find what you need.
From my archives
