After giving Substack the old college try, I've decided to abandon my efforts there. As I said on Substack:
After experimenting with Substack for the past couple of months, I’ve decided to abandon my efforts here.
Substack offers a great deal of promise for writers of every stripe, fiction, nonfiction, journalistic, poet, hobbyist; yet, it’s also exactly like other social media platforms in that it feels like stepping into a crowded, noisy room and trying to be heard above discordant chatter.
Don’t get me wrong. Substack houses some great writers. Sam Robb, OldNFO, Angry Jumpmaster, Jesse A Barrett, Jesse Slater, Monalisa Foster, TC Ross, John Ringo, the folks affiliated with Raconteur Press, John Carter, Lorenzo Warby, Tom Knighton, Cedar Sanderson, and many, many others. I know I’m missing several most excellent writers, but please know that they’re here sharing some truly outstanding writing and art.
But, it’s time for me to focus on things that work for me. Substack and other social media platforms just…don’t. Eliminating as much of that noise as I can will, I hope, allow me to better focus on giving readers the fiction they deserve. Plus, there’s so much more to life than the internet. Minimizing my time here will afford more room for exploring different spaces.
So. Over the next week or so, I’m moving some of what I’ve written here on Substack over to my website. For those who would like to continue receiving news about my writing in their inbox, please consider subscribing to my announcements-only mailing list here.
Thank you for your patience and continued support. You are a true blessing.
Peace.
While some will inevitably interpret this as flouncing out of the room or rage-quitting, it is neither. I knew going in that social media does not work for me, but thought the straight-to-inbox style of blogging might be something I could work with. Unfortunately, it was not.
I also found that I was (inadvertently) contributing to the toxicity that makes social media such a trial. That was never my intention. My goal as a writer is to make the world a better place, or to try anyway; even darker fiction contains the potential for goodness and joy. I would rather focus on the positivity than participate in the vile.
At any rate, social media is only one way by which authors serve their readers. I can as easily do that through blogging, newsletters, and in person as I can on Substack. I hope you'll join me in one of those happier spheres.
Peace, my friends.