How much time are you spending organizing all the business part of your stack? How much writing time do you lose? And how much reading time which we all continually need to improve our writing? what if some of us dont want to teach on line writing gigs because we spent ten or fifteen or t wenty or twenty plus year working for various "De…
How much time are you spending organizing all the business part of your stack? How much writing time do you lose? And how much reading time which we all continually need to improve our writing? what if some of us dont want to teach on line writing gigs because we spent ten or fifteen or t wenty or twenty plus year working for various "Departments of Corrections',, like when i first taught middle school in New York City and early in the semester, asked " What is a sentence?" and this kid seriously rumored to be in a gang, vigorously and surprisingly raised his hand, and I said, "Go for it, Mike" and he proudly said, "That' what my brudder got last month- two years probation."
It depends. There is definitely a large part of it that goes to the business of putting out a newsletter that isn't just the creative side, but that happens with the business of writing no matter what you're doing, whether it's pitching articles, writing a book proposal, or what have you. Being a newspaper reporter was mostly just reporting and writing, but also answering a lot of calls from locals who want you to investigate UFOs and "chem trails". I definitely need more reading time, that's for sure! By your question regarding "what if we don't want to teach online writing gigs"—do you mean, how can one make a living as a writer that does not involve teaching? Or, does not involve that specific kind of teaching? Let me know what your question was, and I can hopefully provide a better answer.
I think Im somewhat confused about substack's essence/function. I'm a longtime writer, starting at twelve years old when I had a vision on a chocked-full BMT subway in NYC while returning home from an afternoon matinee of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus with a tiny orangepink souvenir box that contained a restless chameleon aching for freedom and yes I was one of those overstimulated kids who of course opened the box for a peek enabling said chameleon to successfully seek its freedom and help add to the growing urban legend that giant crocodiles lived in the underground subways and sewers of New York City and occasionally wreaked havoc in various neighborhoods.
But seriously, is substack useful for a writer who is trying to get work published,like two novels and one poetry collection? I dont need to put my work up although maybe I could to help younger and new writers with some examples of what I consider worthwhile story.
Also, it seems like hundred more people are now 'writing' and taking courses on line, sometimes with people who really do not now what they are talking about, writing courses that never push anyone or just nod and smile ( my ex-wife took such a course from a group called Amherst Writers - and to be fair such totally non critiquing workshops/course may be beneficial and supportive for supremely unconfident people or severly harmed, marred, and wounded people.
but, cut to the chase, what would you say are the basic functions and advantages of being on substack? Im not evn clear if it is free or has a subscription price or with that discounts for the elderly ( Im being selfish here since I am 77, living on, at least in this state, meagre means.
PS if you like/love to read these are some books that made me buy five rolls of duct tape so i could put the top of my head back on.
My Name is Red - Oran Pamuk.e
Stormiing Heaven- Denise Giardnia
The Tent of Miracles- Jorge Amado.
Waiting For Nothing- Tom Kromer.
Black - Gwendoldyn Brooks
Elbow Room- James Alan MPherson
Yokahama California- Toshio Mori
The Case of Comrade Tulayev- Victor Serge
The Seabirds Are Still Alive- Toni CadeBambara
The Corpse Exhibition- Hassan Blasim
Of Noble Origin- Sahar Khalifaeh
The Past and The Punishments- Yu Hua
The Cemetary at Chua Village- Doan Le
No No Boy- John Okada
Babi Yar Laid An Egg- Dubravka Ugresic
Belladonna- Dasa Drsik
My Life In The Bush of Ghosts- Amos Tutuola
Poetry
The Butterly's Burden- Mahmoud Darwish (the Pablo Neruda of Palestine) also - The Journal of Ordinary Grief, Psalm, Almond Tree, I Don't Want This Poem To End **********
Birthplace- George Abrahams
Cantos- Pablo Neruda
The Work of Common Woman- Judy Grahn
Blacks-- Gwendolyn Brooks **********
The Complete Poems of Muriel Rukeyser
Sobbing Superpowers- Tadeusz Rozewicz
Sorrowtoothpaste,mirrorcream- Hyesoon Kim ( also IM OK IM PIG; Poor love Machine, My Mommy Is A Mountain Of Feathers, All The Garbage of The World Unite, The Autobography of Death **********
Fish Carcass- Vi Khi Nao (also Umbilical Hospital, A Brief History of Torture, Oh God, Your Babies Are So Delicious *******
So, a couple of things. In terms of what the worth is for Substack—Substack is a place to publish writing, and anyone can do it. Like blogs of the 2000s, some are good, some are bad, some are meh. Some are popular, and some have very few readers at all. All blogs and newsletter start out with no readers, unless you're importing an existing mailing list, and even that list had to start from nothing at some point. Newsletters are fun for the same reason that blogs and social media was fun at first—you could speak, and strangers might hear you. All of the people I know who make a living on Substack, or even a part of a living, were professional writers already before they started their newsletter, and I am no exception. These people were journalists or beat reporters or features writers or freelancers or bestselling novelists or acclaimed poets. They were editors for popular blogs run by other, more famous people. Or, if they were not professional writers, they were business people or musicians or fine artists or activists with a lot of social media followers. Some people however are finding more of an audience on Substack than they had otherwise. It has been particularly kind to culture writers, op-ed columnists, and essayists.
In terms of Substack's essence/function, it's just like a blog or newspaper column that comes to your inbox. And like those things, sometimes you have to pay if you want to read it. So that is the function: a place to publish writing, and a platform where people can read it and pay for it if they want. Putting work up on Substack is helpful for me, because it encourages me to do a certain kind of work that interests me, but it may not be helpful for everyone. It all depends. Will it help you get a book published? I don't know. It's possible that a literary agent might see your Substack and get in touch with you. It used to happen with blogs, which could turn into book deals. It happens on social media all the time, where a literary agent will approach a writer they meet there. So from that angle, it might be helpful for a writer who is looking to be published. It's another way that their writing might reach the eyes of someone who wants to publish them or help get them published. Or, it can serve as the publication. You can publish your novel in installments, just like Jules Verne did back in the day.
As for writing workshops, I think there are different approaches and pedagogies that work best for different people. Some people learn best when they're simply given a space to work and the encouragement to keep working. Aggressive critique will not always improve someone's writing.
How much time are you spending organizing all the business part of your stack? How much writing time do you lose? And how much reading time which we all continually need to improve our writing? what if some of us dont want to teach on line writing gigs because we spent ten or fifteen or t wenty or twenty plus year working for various "Departments of Corrections',, like when i first taught middle school in New York City and early in the semester, asked " What is a sentence?" and this kid seriously rumored to be in a gang, vigorously and surprisingly raised his hand, and I said, "Go for it, Mike" and he proudly said, "That' what my brudder got last month- two years probation."
It depends. There is definitely a large part of it that goes to the business of putting out a newsletter that isn't just the creative side, but that happens with the business of writing no matter what you're doing, whether it's pitching articles, writing a book proposal, or what have you. Being a newspaper reporter was mostly just reporting and writing, but also answering a lot of calls from locals who want you to investigate UFOs and "chem trails". I definitely need more reading time, that's for sure! By your question regarding "what if we don't want to teach online writing gigs"—do you mean, how can one make a living as a writer that does not involve teaching? Or, does not involve that specific kind of teaching? Let me know what your question was, and I can hopefully provide a better answer.
I think Im somewhat confused about substack's essence/function. I'm a longtime writer, starting at twelve years old when I had a vision on a chocked-full BMT subway in NYC while returning home from an afternoon matinee of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus with a tiny orangepink souvenir box that contained a restless chameleon aching for freedom and yes I was one of those overstimulated kids who of course opened the box for a peek enabling said chameleon to successfully seek its freedom and help add to the growing urban legend that giant crocodiles lived in the underground subways and sewers of New York City and occasionally wreaked havoc in various neighborhoods.
But seriously, is substack useful for a writer who is trying to get work published,like two novels and one poetry collection? I dont need to put my work up although maybe I could to help younger and new writers with some examples of what I consider worthwhile story.
Also, it seems like hundred more people are now 'writing' and taking courses on line, sometimes with people who really do not now what they are talking about, writing courses that never push anyone or just nod and smile ( my ex-wife took such a course from a group called Amherst Writers - and to be fair such totally non critiquing workshops/course may be beneficial and supportive for supremely unconfident people or severly harmed, marred, and wounded people.
but, cut to the chase, what would you say are the basic functions and advantages of being on substack? Im not evn clear if it is free or has a subscription price or with that discounts for the elderly ( Im being selfish here since I am 77, living on, at least in this state, meagre means.
best,
Ernie Brill, erbrill69@gmail.com
PS if you like/love to read these are some books that made me buy five rolls of duct tape so i could put the top of my head back on.
My Name is Red - Oran Pamuk.e
Stormiing Heaven- Denise Giardnia
The Tent of Miracles- Jorge Amado.
Waiting For Nothing- Tom Kromer.
Black - Gwendoldyn Brooks
Elbow Room- James Alan MPherson
Yokahama California- Toshio Mori
The Case of Comrade Tulayev- Victor Serge
The Seabirds Are Still Alive- Toni CadeBambara
The Corpse Exhibition- Hassan Blasim
Of Noble Origin- Sahar Khalifaeh
The Past and The Punishments- Yu Hua
The Cemetary at Chua Village- Doan Le
No No Boy- John Okada
Babi Yar Laid An Egg- Dubravka Ugresic
Belladonna- Dasa Drsik
My Life In The Bush of Ghosts- Amos Tutuola
Poetry
The Butterly's Burden- Mahmoud Darwish (the Pablo Neruda of Palestine) also - The Journal of Ordinary Grief, Psalm, Almond Tree, I Don't Want This Poem To End **********
Birthplace- George Abrahams
Cantos- Pablo Neruda
The Work of Common Woman- Judy Grahn
Blacks-- Gwendolyn Brooks **********
The Complete Poems of Muriel Rukeyser
Sobbing Superpowers- Tadeusz Rozewicz
Sorrowtoothpaste,mirrorcream- Hyesoon Kim ( also IM OK IM PIG; Poor love Machine, My Mommy Is A Mountain Of Feathers, All The Garbage of The World Unite, The Autobography of Death **********
Fish Carcass- Vi Khi Nao (also Umbilical Hospital, A Brief History of Torture, Oh God, Your Babies Are So Delicious *******
Hi Ernie,
So, a couple of things. In terms of what the worth is for Substack—Substack is a place to publish writing, and anyone can do it. Like blogs of the 2000s, some are good, some are bad, some are meh. Some are popular, and some have very few readers at all. All blogs and newsletter start out with no readers, unless you're importing an existing mailing list, and even that list had to start from nothing at some point. Newsletters are fun for the same reason that blogs and social media was fun at first—you could speak, and strangers might hear you. All of the people I know who make a living on Substack, or even a part of a living, were professional writers already before they started their newsletter, and I am no exception. These people were journalists or beat reporters or features writers or freelancers or bestselling novelists or acclaimed poets. They were editors for popular blogs run by other, more famous people. Or, if they were not professional writers, they were business people or musicians or fine artists or activists with a lot of social media followers. Some people however are finding more of an audience on Substack than they had otherwise. It has been particularly kind to culture writers, op-ed columnists, and essayists.
In terms of Substack's essence/function, it's just like a blog or newspaper column that comes to your inbox. And like those things, sometimes you have to pay if you want to read it. So that is the function: a place to publish writing, and a platform where people can read it and pay for it if they want. Putting work up on Substack is helpful for me, because it encourages me to do a certain kind of work that interests me, but it may not be helpful for everyone. It all depends. Will it help you get a book published? I don't know. It's possible that a literary agent might see your Substack and get in touch with you. It used to happen with blogs, which could turn into book deals. It happens on social media all the time, where a literary agent will approach a writer they meet there. So from that angle, it might be helpful for a writer who is looking to be published. It's another way that their writing might reach the eyes of someone who wants to publish them or help get them published. Or, it can serve as the publication. You can publish your novel in installments, just like Jules Verne did back in the day.
As for writing workshops, I think there are different approaches and pedagogies that work best for different people. Some people learn best when they're simply given a space to work and the encouragement to keep working. Aggressive critique will not always improve someone's writing.
Thanks for reading!
Summer