I take issue with "I can't afford a subscription" because I see people who say this buying $6 lattes at Starbucks many times a week. What they're really saying is "I don't want to budget for writing" which is fine, but I think this is a pretty shoddy excuse. We all have to decide how to spend our income, but "I can't afford" doesn't appl…
I take issue with "I can't afford a subscription" because I see people who say this buying $6 lattes at Starbucks many times a week. What they're really saying is "I don't want to budget for writing" which is fine, but I think this is a pretty shoddy excuse. We all have to decide how to spend our income, but "I can't afford" doesn't apply to a substack that costs 5-10 a month and provides one with more "time-entertainment" than the pleasure of an empty calorie snack, etc. And I just picked a random example... It's totally fine to not want to purchase reading materials since there's no dearth of free things to read online, but to hide behind "I can't afford it" is masking what's really going on: the decline of perceived value of black squiggles on a white page...
I hear what you’re saying with a lot of people and their attitudes but there are those of us on social security/disability that aren’t buying anything extra but the basics to live. Sorry, but I truly can’t afford subscriptions. So I humbly ask for free ones and see if that’s possible. BTW, I’m a voracious reader of all manner of the written ‘black squiggles on a white page’. Especially physical books…
Hi NilaMae, I respect what you wrote and I even have given away 10 premium subs to people in your place. I really do get that. But, I truly do think you're in the minority. Most people aren't buying only the basics to live, they're in debt from buying a lot more, and then they talk about what they can and can't afford, but you're still right, and it's humbling to be reminded of this. I was once hit by a car and on disability and in a wheel chair, and it was a long, really hard time in my life. I truly understand, and thank you!
Hey Mike, I really appreciate what you did there for Nila. And I appreciate Sam Harris, for example, for offering free subscriptions to his work to anyone who reaches out via email and asks. I think it's a good model to follow and every writer and podcaster should.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to get an accurate picture of whether every person that claims "need" truly has it, but I believe if I was forced to guess, I'd err towards "most people are honest" - so I guess maybe you give a few bad actors a free sub to your work in exchange for potentially opening it up to a whole new audience that might not have otherwise experienced it. It's where I tend to fall down on the piracy issue too, which I think is very analogous.
I have too many thoughts to list here, but ALL of them are positive. I have given out at least 10 free-premium subs, and never once asked the person or vetted their integrity. I'm not even worried about people stealing my content (Afterall, if someone can take what I wrote and get more eyeballs on it, even if I don't profit, and they do, the world profits from my kind messaging, right?)...so yeah, I agree with your take, and anyone who signs up for my stuff and asks in private WILL get a premium sub. I've even said it in numerous emails I've sent (not all of them, but enough). With that said, I'm also tired of feeling cowered into pretending that poverty has nobility. It doesn't. I've been poor and had poor people steal from me. I've had poor people betray me. I've had poor people lie to me. I've also had these experiences with rich people. So really, I'm just tired of the "us/them" American distraction of talking about "rich people" like they're homogenous, but also poor people as a homogenous unit. Integrity seems to be something we all either try very hard at, try a little at, or give up on, and I just want to make sure I'm on the "trying very hard" side.
I appreciate your comment, a lot! (and hit me up if you want that sweet free-premium sub (yuk yuk yuk)!
This is why I give away free .pdfs of my poetry - if somebody (gasp) actually wants poetry but can't buy it right now, I'm happy to share. I figure if they like it enough and their situation changes, they'll buy it later.
Thank you. I think many people who love to read are in economically precarious circumstances, often (as in my case) with no way out. I'm grateful for what's available for free, and if I had some extra cash to spend, there are most definitely things I'd spend it on, including books. But I don't and can't.
You don't understand people like me, who think it's odd that people are spending hundreds of dollars a year to subscribe to anything, including Substacks. I never was around people with that much disposable income.
Of course I don't understand you! We've never met. But I'm consistent in my logic: people pay for what they want, and they abstain from paying for what they don't want. It comes down to choices. If you want more disposable income, that's a choice you have to make, and if you don't want it, it's a choice. Most Americans are in debt, not full of disposable income. So we're (in my eyes) agreeing! I didn't come in here to lament whether or not people will pay ME, but to ask if people think people will in general continue to pay for words, not "visual/auditory" content... My understanding of what's going on, in the larger trend, is that people with and without disposable income are willing to spend 100/mo on Hulu/Netflix/YoutubeTV, but not willing to sign up for 5-10 substacks at $5 a month, which is laughable less....it's apples and oranges to some, but I'm trying to talk about the fruit.
I appreciate your response. I enjoy being challenged to think beyond my myopic desire to ignore the myriad disparate realities we all exist in!
I don't understand people who have multiple subscriptions to streaming services either. . . . Even though I have a Substack, I believe it's a fad that makes some famous writers like Ted Gioia a lot of money, and others, not so much. I agree with the comment that it's a bit unseemly to keep seeing writers sort of beg their free subscribers to sign up for paid. I suspect that after a while, people are going to be maxed out on subscriptions, and get bored reading people's posts and stop paying and go follow some other fad. So I don't agree with those who claim Substack is going to replace traditional publication. BTW, Substack is keeping $1.01 from every $5 I get from a paid subscriber, so they're the big winners, when you multiply that high percentage of money they keep by the millions of subscribers. They just increased their cut by 6 cents. I just got $3.99 net from one subscriber, and before that I used to net $4.05. And the interface doesn't give you many choices for formatting that other online apps do. Just my two cents.
Agreed on Substack and similar blogging platforms being a fad. They will inevitably be replaced by other, newer forms... of blogging, whether free or for pay. It's kind of dismaying to see how trendy Substack is. (Not meant as a criticism of anyone who publishes via Substack; merely an observation on the medium.)
The thing is, Wordpress still has the nicest templates, layouts, etc. In design terms, it's far superior to Substack, and is literally easier to read.
Yet most bloggers deserted it for this platform. I'm still not sure why.
Substack offers the best of two worlds. It’s a blog that is also an automated emailer. Wordpress didn’t St struck me easy to use. Does Wordpress offer the option of having your latest post sent out to everybody on your mailing list as Substack does ? That combination is the advantage I think. I used blogger for a long time, but it too has limitations on site design.
Yes, or at least, it used to have that option. I understand what you're saying about the degree of difficulty there, too, but that's largely dependent on what someone wants to do with a Wordpress blog.
I left WordPress for Substack because the latter is more professional and full of higher quality writing plus good recommendation engine, is easier to post on, is free versus ever increasing HostGator fees, and didn't require the little design choices my WordPress website did (so I didn't have to enlist help). And I wanted to send posts by email automatically.
Ted’s method is a half way. Some posts are free and others are paid only. I subscribe to another substack that is 75% free post with the remaining 25% video demos and extras to the paid folk.
Yeah, I've paid Ted for his stuff since I discovered him, but my policy for paying for substacks is based on "rewarding" and "motivating" someone to keep writing, so I didn't sign up to get his paid stuff, but one time I did pay for a year of someone's substack and then they never posted again, and I still have "bitter" feelings about that...so I want to do "what's ethical" and I'm SO GLAD I posted this, and got feedback like yours. It's really helping me! Thank you!
His music posts are for paid subscribers. I wish at least a few of them were free. Agree or disagree, I do trust Ted to have interesting recs and observations on what he's listening to.
Mike Oppenheim - I'm sorry, but you are just being dismissive of many peoples' realities. Especially older folks (and I'm one) on fixed incomes.
It seems like you've never been down in the "low income" bracket, though I may well be wrong. Fwiw, I've been on SSDI for close to 30 years. It's enough to exist on, but to actually *live,* people truly need more than that.
Give us a break, please. Ask us about our circumstances and please listen to us when we tell you and others what we're facing.
Hoping that something positive comes out of these exchanges.
Hi, I'm sure you didn't have time to read my other responses, but I took time to explain what I said in further detail, and comped two people in the process. If you'd like a comp, just sign up for free and I'll comp you. I was disabled, in a wheelchair, poor, and I've always volunteered to help others at least 6 hours a week. I'm not a greedy taker, I'm not a selfish finger pointer, but I'm also not a people pleaser, and I *know* many, many people who speak out of two sides of their mouth when it comes to being poor and put out, and it's dishonest, and disrespectful to people like you.
Thanks, and yes, it can be hard to know. Very sorry to hear that you've had struggles - and I apologize for making assumptions about you. I was wrong.
Some people do what you're saying, of course, while others don't. Our society has very little tolerance for people who are poor, disabled, elderly, etc. And we don't have a safety net. There's often a moral judgment being made: that people have only themselves to blame for their poverty (etc.) and that is wrong. We can see it easily right now, given the passage of a certain bill. In some ways, it's like being stuck in a sand pit, where the walls keep collapsing when we are trying to dig ourselves out.
Umm... you jumped to the wrong conclusions. I don't especially like to talk about being on a fixed income (SSDI). For what it's worth, I can't afford fancy drinks from Starbuck's, either. Subscription costs on this + other platforms add up fast.
I would love to be able to to read the NYRB, The Atlantic, etc., but as I live in a rural area, with a struggling, underfunded and understaffed county library, it's just not possible.
Sometimes it's better to ask questions than to make assumptions about people, you know?
I take issue with "I can't afford a subscription" because I see people who say this buying $6 lattes at Starbucks many times a week. What they're really saying is "I don't want to budget for writing" which is fine, but I think this is a pretty shoddy excuse. We all have to decide how to spend our income, but "I can't afford" doesn't apply to a substack that costs 5-10 a month and provides one with more "time-entertainment" than the pleasure of an empty calorie snack, etc. And I just picked a random example... It's totally fine to not want to purchase reading materials since there's no dearth of free things to read online, but to hide behind "I can't afford it" is masking what's really going on: the decline of perceived value of black squiggles on a white page...
I hear what you’re saying with a lot of people and their attitudes but there are those of us on social security/disability that aren’t buying anything extra but the basics to live. Sorry, but I truly can’t afford subscriptions. So I humbly ask for free ones and see if that’s possible. BTW, I’m a voracious reader of all manner of the written ‘black squiggles on a white page’. Especially physical books…
Hi NilaMae, I respect what you wrote and I even have given away 10 premium subs to people in your place. I really do get that. But, I truly do think you're in the minority. Most people aren't buying only the basics to live, they're in debt from buying a lot more, and then they talk about what they can and can't afford, but you're still right, and it's humbling to be reminded of this. I was once hit by a car and on disability and in a wheel chair, and it was a long, really hard time in my life. I truly understand, and thank you!
(If you want a free sub, let me know!)
Hey Mike, I really appreciate what you did there for Nila. And I appreciate Sam Harris, for example, for offering free subscriptions to his work to anyone who reaches out via email and asks. I think it's a good model to follow and every writer and podcaster should.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to get an accurate picture of whether every person that claims "need" truly has it, but I believe if I was forced to guess, I'd err towards "most people are honest" - so I guess maybe you give a few bad actors a free sub to your work in exchange for potentially opening it up to a whole new audience that might not have otherwise experienced it. It's where I tend to fall down on the piracy issue too, which I think is very analogous.
Thoughts?
I have too many thoughts to list here, but ALL of them are positive. I have given out at least 10 free-premium subs, and never once asked the person or vetted their integrity. I'm not even worried about people stealing my content (Afterall, if someone can take what I wrote and get more eyeballs on it, even if I don't profit, and they do, the world profits from my kind messaging, right?)...so yeah, I agree with your take, and anyone who signs up for my stuff and asks in private WILL get a premium sub. I've even said it in numerous emails I've sent (not all of them, but enough). With that said, I'm also tired of feeling cowered into pretending that poverty has nobility. It doesn't. I've been poor and had poor people steal from me. I've had poor people betray me. I've had poor people lie to me. I've also had these experiences with rich people. So really, I'm just tired of the "us/them" American distraction of talking about "rich people" like they're homogenous, but also poor people as a homogenous unit. Integrity seems to be something we all either try very hard at, try a little at, or give up on, and I just want to make sure I'm on the "trying very hard" side.
I appreciate your comment, a lot! (and hit me up if you want that sweet free-premium sub (yuk yuk yuk)!
Integrity is where it's at. :)
Sure, I’ll love to read your black squiggles! Thank you for your kindness and understanding. It’s deeply appreciated!
Happy to help! You just have to subscribe (for free!) and then I can give you the comp. It won't let me sign you up... (no pressure!!!) :)
Just did! And thanks again!
got it and comped! :)
This is why I give away free .pdfs of my poetry - if somebody (gasp) actually wants poetry but can't buy it right now, I'm happy to share. I figure if they like it enough and their situation changes, they'll buy it later.
Thank you. I think many people who love to read are in economically precarious circumstances, often (as in my case) with no way out. I'm grateful for what's available for free, and if I had some extra cash to spend, there are most definitely things I'd spend it on, including books. But I don't and can't.
you can write me at debnation dot com and I'll send you a .pdf if you want.
great point.
Same, NilaMae, same.
You don't understand people like me, who think it's odd that people are spending hundreds of dollars a year to subscribe to anything, including Substacks. I never was around people with that much disposable income.
Of course I don't understand you! We've never met. But I'm consistent in my logic: people pay for what they want, and they abstain from paying for what they don't want. It comes down to choices. If you want more disposable income, that's a choice you have to make, and if you don't want it, it's a choice. Most Americans are in debt, not full of disposable income. So we're (in my eyes) agreeing! I didn't come in here to lament whether or not people will pay ME, but to ask if people think people will in general continue to pay for words, not "visual/auditory" content... My understanding of what's going on, in the larger trend, is that people with and without disposable income are willing to spend 100/mo on Hulu/Netflix/YoutubeTV, but not willing to sign up for 5-10 substacks at $5 a month, which is laughable less....it's apples and oranges to some, but I'm trying to talk about the fruit.
I appreciate your response. I enjoy being challenged to think beyond my myopic desire to ignore the myriad disparate realities we all exist in!
I don't understand people who have multiple subscriptions to streaming services either. . . . Even though I have a Substack, I believe it's a fad that makes some famous writers like Ted Gioia a lot of money, and others, not so much. I agree with the comment that it's a bit unseemly to keep seeing writers sort of beg their free subscribers to sign up for paid. I suspect that after a while, people are going to be maxed out on subscriptions, and get bored reading people's posts and stop paying and go follow some other fad. So I don't agree with those who claim Substack is going to replace traditional publication. BTW, Substack is keeping $1.01 from every $5 I get from a paid subscriber, so they're the big winners, when you multiply that high percentage of money they keep by the millions of subscribers. They just increased their cut by 6 cents. I just got $3.99 net from one subscriber, and before that I used to net $4.05. And the interface doesn't give you many choices for formatting that other online apps do. Just my two cents.
Agreed on Substack and similar blogging platforms being a fad. They will inevitably be replaced by other, newer forms... of blogging, whether free or for pay. It's kind of dismaying to see how trendy Substack is. (Not meant as a criticism of anyone who publishes via Substack; merely an observation on the medium.)
The thing is, Wordpress still has the nicest templates, layouts, etc. In design terms, it's far superior to Substack, and is literally easier to read.
Yet most bloggers deserted it for this platform. I'm still not sure why.
Substack offers the best of two worlds. It’s a blog that is also an automated emailer. Wordpress didn’t St struck me easy to use. Does Wordpress offer the option of having your latest post sent out to everybody on your mailing list as Substack does ? That combination is the advantage I think. I used blogger for a long time, but it too has limitations on site design.
Every blogging platform has its limitations, I think.
Yes, or at least, it used to have that option. I understand what you're saying about the degree of difficulty there, too, but that's largely dependent on what someone wants to do with a Wordpress blog.
I left WordPress for Substack because the latter is more professional and full of higher quality writing plus good recommendation engine, is easier to post on, is free versus ever increasing HostGator fees, and didn't require the little design choices my WordPress website did (so I didn't have to enlist help). And I wanted to send posts by email automatically.
GREAT response AND don't forget about Stripe, who is getting a huge cut while giving...um, "not so much!"
Ted’s method is a half way. Some posts are free and others are paid only. I subscribe to another substack that is 75% free post with the remaining 25% video demos and extras to the paid folk.
Yeah, I've paid Ted for his stuff since I discovered him, but my policy for paying for substacks is based on "rewarding" and "motivating" someone to keep writing, so I didn't sign up to get his paid stuff, but one time I did pay for a year of someone's substack and then they never posted again, and I still have "bitter" feelings about that...so I want to do "what's ethical" and I'm SO GLAD I posted this, and got feedback like yours. It's really helping me! Thank you!
His music posts are for paid subscribers. I wish at least a few of them were free. Agree or disagree, I do trust Ted to have interesting recs and observations on what he's listening to.
Mike Oppenheim - I'm sorry, but you are just being dismissive of many peoples' realities. Especially older folks (and I'm one) on fixed incomes.
It seems like you've never been down in the "low income" bracket, though I may well be wrong. Fwiw, I've been on SSDI for close to 30 years. It's enough to exist on, but to actually *live,* people truly need more than that.
Give us a break, please. Ask us about our circumstances and please listen to us when we tell you and others what we're facing.
Hoping that something positive comes out of these exchanges.
Hi, I'm sure you didn't have time to read my other responses, but I took time to explain what I said in further detail, and comped two people in the process. If you'd like a comp, just sign up for free and I'll comp you. I was disabled, in a wheelchair, poor, and I've always volunteered to help others at least 6 hours a week. I'm not a greedy taker, I'm not a selfish finger pointer, but I'm also not a people pleaser, and I *know* many, many people who speak out of two sides of their mouth when it comes to being poor and put out, and it's dishonest, and disrespectful to people like you.
My apologies that my first reply upset you.
Thanks, and yes, it can be hard to know. Very sorry to hear that you've had struggles - and I apologize for making assumptions about you. I was wrong.
Some people do what you're saying, of course, while others don't. Our society has very little tolerance for people who are poor, disabled, elderly, etc. And we don't have a safety net. There's often a moral judgment being made: that people have only themselves to blame for their poverty (etc.) and that is wrong. We can see it easily right now, given the passage of a certain bill. In some ways, it's like being stuck in a sand pit, where the walls keep collapsing when we are trying to dig ourselves out.
I feel that metaphor, daily! I live in Phoenix, AZ...
Umm... you jumped to the wrong conclusions. I don't especially like to talk about being on a fixed income (SSDI). For what it's worth, I can't afford fancy drinks from Starbuck's, either. Subscription costs on this + other platforms add up fast.
I would love to be able to to read the NYRB, The Atlantic, etc., but as I live in a rural area, with a struggling, underfunded and understaffed county library, it's just not possible.
Sometimes it's better to ask questions than to make assumptions about people, you know?