Thanks so much, Claudia. One year does feel like something of a milestone! I've just got home from dinner with friends to find that The Cooperatives: The Last Forest has landed and I'm truly excited about it. It's too late to give it my full attention now, but I'm really looking forward to reading in the morning. It truly does feel like a holiday gift - thank you
One year is a long time. It doesn’t seem long but I always feel the tiredness at the end of December. Looking forward to year two and all you’ve prepared for us.
So glad I read this today, thanks for sharing. I was going to ask if you plan to post any fiction on here, but then you went and answered it in your post lol. I’d still love to read about that part of your Substack journey/decision-making process, as it’s something I’m struggling with. Do you have any posts about how your book marketing has gone? I’d also love to read more about that :)
Thank you, Sheridan. I really appreciate you suggesting topics - ideally, I'd like this newsletter to evolve in conversation with others - i.e. according to what people would like to read. I'll make a note to write a full post about marketing. I've had some interesting conversations with my publisher about it and they've been doing some things I'd like to talk about, so yes, I'll get to that in the near future! As for the fiction part, I think it's something like this: I look at some of those publishing serial fiction and it looks immediate and dynamic and fun, so I'd really like to give it a try. At the same time, most of the fiction I've written in the past has been the result of many many rounds of rewrites, so the idea of creating something more spontaneous is frankly terrifying! Does any of that sound familiar? I hope at some point next year I take the plunge, at least with a short story or two, or extracts of a work-in-progress. I think the two models - publishing in book form and putting some fiction out online - could be the way of the future! Sorry for the long answer - I'm trying to figure it out as I go! In any case, thanks for reading and for your great prompts
Oh wonderful, I’ll look forward to your future posts! Happy to provide ideas 😀 And YES your thoughts on posting fiction on Substack sound very familiar to me. I just wonder if it’ll be possible to build an audience for both (fiction posts and writing about the journey). My snag is I didn’t set up my Substack as an “author’s newsletter”—because I don’t have any published books and I didn’t think posting fiction was a smart strategy for “platform-building” (which was silly). That’s why I’m enjoying following you, other authors, and other fiction writers to see what’s working for different people.
I agree: that's something I didn't say in the article above: Substack is also a great place for learning from others; there's such a diversity of approaches on here, it's really inspiring. Simon K Jones and Claudia Befu are two great examples for me of how serial stories can work brilliantly alongside non-fiction pieces. That's something to aspire to for me! And for the record, I think the way you've positioned your newsletter is great - it is distinct and different. When you're ready, I'm sure it will accommodate your fiction very well!
Thanks for your kinds and encouraging words, and for your suggestions of other Substackers to check out--that's exactly what I've been looking for (examples of different types of mixed-genre publications and writers). Here's to a 2025 where we learn and grow together :)
Terribly honored to be mentioned in this way. Thanks for being one of the people who proved it was worth the writing.
It was beyond worth writing. It's part of a vital conversation - which I hope you'll help to continue.
Congratulations on your one year anniversary! And thank you for the shoutout, the first episode is finally out!
Thanks so much, Claudia. One year does feel like something of a milestone! I've just got home from dinner with friends to find that The Cooperatives: The Last Forest has landed and I'm truly excited about it. It's too late to give it my full attention now, but I'm really looking forward to reading in the morning. It truly does feel like a holiday gift - thank you
One year is a long time. It doesn’t seem long but I always feel the tiredness at the end of December. Looking forward to year two and all you’ve prepared for us.
So glad I read this today, thanks for sharing. I was going to ask if you plan to post any fiction on here, but then you went and answered it in your post lol. I’d still love to read about that part of your Substack journey/decision-making process, as it’s something I’m struggling with. Do you have any posts about how your book marketing has gone? I’d also love to read more about that :)
Thank you, Sheridan. I really appreciate you suggesting topics - ideally, I'd like this newsletter to evolve in conversation with others - i.e. according to what people would like to read. I'll make a note to write a full post about marketing. I've had some interesting conversations with my publisher about it and they've been doing some things I'd like to talk about, so yes, I'll get to that in the near future! As for the fiction part, I think it's something like this: I look at some of those publishing serial fiction and it looks immediate and dynamic and fun, so I'd really like to give it a try. At the same time, most of the fiction I've written in the past has been the result of many many rounds of rewrites, so the idea of creating something more spontaneous is frankly terrifying! Does any of that sound familiar? I hope at some point next year I take the plunge, at least with a short story or two, or extracts of a work-in-progress. I think the two models - publishing in book form and putting some fiction out online - could be the way of the future! Sorry for the long answer - I'm trying to figure it out as I go! In any case, thanks for reading and for your great prompts
Oh wonderful, I’ll look forward to your future posts! Happy to provide ideas 😀 And YES your thoughts on posting fiction on Substack sound very familiar to me. I just wonder if it’ll be possible to build an audience for both (fiction posts and writing about the journey). My snag is I didn’t set up my Substack as an “author’s newsletter”—because I don’t have any published books and I didn’t think posting fiction was a smart strategy for “platform-building” (which was silly). That’s why I’m enjoying following you, other authors, and other fiction writers to see what’s working for different people.
I agree: that's something I didn't say in the article above: Substack is also a great place for learning from others; there's such a diversity of approaches on here, it's really inspiring. Simon K Jones and Claudia Befu are two great examples for me of how serial stories can work brilliantly alongside non-fiction pieces. That's something to aspire to for me! And for the record, I think the way you've positioned your newsletter is great - it is distinct and different. When you're ready, I'm sure it will accommodate your fiction very well!
Thanks for your kinds and encouraging words, and for your suggestions of other Substackers to check out--that's exactly what I've been looking for (examples of different types of mixed-genre publications and writers). Here's to a 2025 where we learn and grow together :)