#How to be a bestseller on Substack

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Section 19: Powerful Tools and Strategies to Elevate Your Substack

Summary of my Udemy Course “From Zero to Substack Hero.” Image source from the video location I will also upload them to my Substack soon. Purpose of this Series for New Readers If you are following this series, you can skip this intro and start from the next section. I have to introduce it to new readers as otherwise it will not make sense to them. This is a new series upon request from my…

[ofmdrecaps]

01/18-20/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Vico Ortiz; Kristian Nairn; Guz Khan; Gypsy Taylor; Minnie Driver; In Person OFMD Events: The New Uni Con; Donation Raffle Reminder; LGBTQ+ Resources; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

Hey crew, been a week. Hope you're well. I've broken the recaps up into three day parts for the next three additions, there is more news in some and less in others. Thanks for your patience. Thinking of you.

= David Jenkins =

Chaos Dad shared some love from the wonderful @illustoryart!

Source: David's Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

More Cryptid Factor filming going on!

Source: Shreiberland Instagram

Rhys was on the Concert For America fundraiser show! He helped raise quite a bit just by being there. Thank you to the crew that donated to support him and the victims of the LA Fires! Edit: Im not sure why the video was taken off youtube..luckily I saved a copy prior to it being taken down. I've added it to a personal drive.

Source: Concert For America

= Taika Waititi =

Taika continuing his theme of sleeping anywhere!

Source: Taika's Instagram Stories

Something a bit silly for you-- NZOnScreen shared this older video of Taika from 2009!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NZ On Screen (@nzonscreen)

Source: NZ on screen's IG

= Con O' Neill =

With Inauguration Day being as rough as a day as it was.. Con was a sweet heart and sent some love to everyone.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Con O'Neill (@oneill.con)

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

New episode of Today in Gay came out and Vico sent lots of love notes to everyone. Remember to lean into the community crew <3 We will get through this together. If you haven't already, check out the Today In Gay Substack for Positive Queer News.

Source: Vico's instagram Stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian was on the Six O Clock show talking about Hodor's Death in Game of Thrones.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Six O'Clock Show (@sixoclockshow)

Source: Kristian's IG

More convention dates for Kristian! He'll be joining Comic Con Scotland on Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd March 2025!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Comic Con Scotland North East (@comicconscotlandaberdeen)

Source: ComicConScotland

= Guz Khan =

Guz was out performing at the Dubai Opera House this past week!

Source: Guz' Instagram

= Gypsy Taylor =

Our dear S2 costume designer, Gypsy Taylor wrapped on the new show "All Her Fault", based on the bestselling novel by @andreamaraauthor! She shared some BTS photos in celebration!

Source: Gypsy's IG / 2

= Minnie Driver =

Some love from our Anne Bonny, but also an announcement that there are more episodes of the podcast Minnie Questions! You can check it out on your favorite podcast platforms. Here's the spotify link.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Min. (@driverminnie)

== In Person OFMD Events ==

= The New Uni Con =

A new Convention has been announced for London in June this year -- The New Uni- Con! Check out more information on their Blusky!

Source: Bsky

= Donations Raffle Reminder! =

As a reminder, our fabulous crewmate Irene Adler has put together this Charity Raffle to help support people affected by the LA Fires! It's almost reached the $1000 point where a signe photo by Con, Rhys, Vico, Kristian, and Nathan will be added as another prize drawing!

More info on how to enter can be found here.

OFMD’S DP fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mike-and-danielle-rebuild-after-fire

GOFUNDME WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/california

Source: Irene Adler's Instagram

= LGBTQ+ Crisis Hotlines =

This is just some extra info in case you need it. These hotlines don't call law enforcement or emergency services without consent.

Source: Them Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. This week has been hell. I know it has. I hope you know though that for every asshole out there who is unkind to you or wants to take away your rights-- you have a hell of a lot more of us who love you dearly and recognize the beauty and the wonder in you. I know it's easy to fall into despair.. and it's good to feel the feelings to help heal them, but don't fall too far down the rabbit hole okay? You are loved. Period. You are worthy of love. Period. You are valid. Period. Shine brighter than their hate. Shine brighter than their ignorance. You are a force to be reckoned with. Be safe, and reach out when you are in trouble or unsure. There is no shame in getting help-- and most of all, there is no shame in being you, okay? None. We will persevere. Love you crew.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kelly Vincent, Psy.D. | Holistic Psychologist (@dr.kellyvincent)

Source: Dr.Kelly Vincent Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

The theme tonight is laughing! Because we could all use a little smiles/laughter from our favorite guys.

[peppershark]

He tilts his chin and locks his mouth to hers, knowledge to innocence, serpent to Eve.

Hermione can only think that the apple tastes so sweet.

You have no idea how many times I think about these lines everyday. This is my Roman Empire, I can't stop thinking about it. Your writing is so fluid and poetic, I'm in awe!

This came at just the right time, non! Thanks for your kind words!

I've been thinking a lot about creative risks today.

My last wolfer update (the story this line is from) disappointed a few readers who were upset with the way I've chosen to dole out certain scenes. That's their prerogative. Everyone is entitled to like what they like, and for lots of people that's a linear timeline.

But I'm not satisfied, as a writer, with doing things just because it's the way most people do them. I don't think it's wrong for a story to conform to most readers' expectations, but I personally don't want to write in order to conform to them.

This week, bestselling poet and writing instructor Joy Sullivan had this to say in her latest Substack after getting a lot of flak about a spicy essay she wrote last month:

Non, I don't take you for granted for one second, because it's a precious and magical thing that the words I put out into the void resonated with someone---and even more generous of you to tell me so. Thank you.

I can't expect everything I write to land with everyone, but as part of this gift and challenge of creating stories I want to sit down, throw back my imaginary shot glass, and let myself be an artist, a woman. Free.

Forget the peach, swallow the pit.

[literaticat]

According to an agent I follow on Substack, editors are talking more about acquiring MG at 40K words instead of 50K or 60K. 

I totally understand the push for shorter mg. I'm writing an upper grade contemporary portal fantasy. Fantasy needs more words for the world building. If what this agent says is accurate, would fantasy still get a higher word even in the push for shorter MG books?  Obvs not talking about 100K words or something! Like 60K or less? 

Everything I know about word count is in the Famous Word Count post, which I stand by, though it is old.

As you will notice if you click through to the post: the range of what is "normal" is VAST:

FANTASY MIDDLE GRADE: 35,000-90,000 words. Sweet spot: 45,000-75,000

I've added to that post over the years and made the word count ranges EVEN MORE vast, but I have NEVER made the ranges smaller, nor will I.

(Mind you, this does not count outliers -- there are always outliers. If your name is Rick Riordan or JK Rowling or Shannon Messenger, disregard. You aren't any of those people, I presume? OK, carry on.)

Now, fashions do change, and right now at this moment, the fashion is for somewhat shorter MG. So I would just suggest aiming toward the lower end of the vast range rather than the higher end of the vast range. But that would still put you squarely in the sweet spot.

Just look at the current NYT Bestseller List for MG.

MILLICENT QUIBB - 45k - MG comedic fantasy

BELLWOOD'S GAME - 55k - MG horror

IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES - 72k - MG portal fantasy

All of them are in the sweet spot!

So look. Yes, sure, by all means, aim for something closer to 45k than 70k, and I'd avoid going wildly over that. But you truly don't need to fret too much about getting right to some specific arbitrary number on the dot. Relax.

If I pick up a book, open it, and it's so compelling I want to race through it and not set it down? I don't actually care about 5 or 10k words here or there. And I think most people feel the same way. I only care about word count if a) it is wildly outside the norm, or b) the book drags, feels bloated, and I'm looking at how long it is taking me to read and sighing.

So if your book is within the realm of normal, and it is fast-paced, tightly written, everything that is in there needs to be in there, it won't FEEL long. That's what it's all about!

[hopetorun]

20 & 37 for the book meme :)

20. Where and how do you find new books to read?

stalk friends on goodreads

direct recommendation or friend mentions it

like the author's other work

recommended by author or writer/journalist whose work i like (i subscribe to a monthly substack of nonfiction recommendations from a transit/transportation/urban issues journalist i really like, which is one of my favorite newsletters)

picked up off the shelf at random at the library or (used) bookstore (my local library is currently in a tiny temporary space and it's terrible for browsing and very sad)

i feel like i ought to pay more attention to bestseller lists and new stuff just to be with the times but i'm terrible at it

37. The only example of your least favorite trope being written in such a way that you enjoyed it.

the best example of this is probably courtney milan's the heiress effect which i did cringe my way through a bit the first time but ultimately was able to get past my hatred of the deception and humiliation because it was handled well and still made for a compelling story

[ameliasoulturner]

How I’ve Been Successfully Selling Short eBooks for Over a Decade (And How You Can Too)

There’s something magical about short eBooks. They’re quick to write, easy to consume, and—if done right—surprisingly profitable. I’ve been in the game for more than ten years, and I’ve seen the landscape shift dramatically. From the early days of Kindle Direct Publishing to the rise of platforms like Gumroad and Substack, short-form digital content has never been more in demand.

If you’re wondering whether it’s still worth jumping into the eBook world—especially the shorter format—let me reassure you: absolutely. But like anything, it takes strategy, consistency, and a bit of hustle.

In this post, I’ll share how I market and sell short eBooks after over a decade of trial, error, and success. Whether you’re brand new or just need a refresher, you’ll find plenty of actionable advice here.

Why Short eBooks Work So Well (Even in 2025)

Attention spans are shorter than ever. People want bite-sized content they can finish during a commute, over lunch, or in one sitting before bed. That’s where short eBooks shine.

But there’s more to it than just convenience:

They're faster to write and publish

They're often priced lower, which attracts impulse buyers

They allow you to test ideas without committing to a full-length book

You can build a library of content, creating multiple income streams

I’ve written everything from 15-page how-to guides to 50-page productivity books, and I can tell you this—some of my highest earners were the shortest ones.

Step 1: Pick a Topic That Solves a Problem (Fast)

If you're selling a short eBook, you're selling a solution. Period. That means your topic needs to be laser-focused. You’re not writing the definitive guide to photography—you’re writing “How to Take Stunning Instagram Photos Using Just Your iPhone.”

The key is specificity. Think about what your audience Googles when they’re desperate for an answer. That’s your book idea.

Here are a few examples that work great:

"How to Meal Prep for a Week in Under 90 Minutes"

"A Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Copywriting"

"10 Quick Ways to Boost Your Credit Score"

Don’t overthink it. Ask your audience (or browse Reddit, Quora, or TikTok comments) to see what questions pop up again and again.

Step 2: Outline Like a Pro (And Keep It Lean)

Short eBooks don’t need fluff. You’re aiming to deliver value quickly. I usually stick to a structure like this:

A personal or relatable intro

Set the reader’s expectations

Actionable content broken into clear sections

A call to action or bonus tip

For a 25-page eBook, I’ll usually write 4–5 core chapters, each around 700–1,000 words. That’s enough to deliver substance without overwhelming the reader.

Step 3: Design Matters More Than You Think

People do judge a book by its cover—especially a digital one. I’ve seen books with brilliant content flop because the cover looked amateurish. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Invest in a professional-looking cover. Use Canva Pro or hire a designer on Fiverr or 99designs.

Stick to bold fonts, legible titles, and clean imagery.

Design the interior with readability in mind. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points.

When in doubt, mimic the design of bestsellers in your niche. There’s no shame in drawing inspiration from what’s already working.

Step 4: Pricing Strategy—Keep It Simple

I typically price short eBooks between $2.99 and $9.99. It’s the sweet spot—cheap enough for an impulse buy, high enough to earn decent royalties.

On Amazon KDP, $2.99 gets you a 70% royalty. On Gumroad or Payhip, you keep even more. I sometimes bundle several short eBooks and offer them at a discount to boost value.

Here’s a trick: test multiple prices. Start at $4.99. If it doesn’t sell, drop it to $2.99. If it sells like crazy, try bumping it up to $5.99 or add a bonus to justify a higher price.

Step 5: Marketing—This Is Where Most People Get It Wrong

Most writers think their job ends when they hit “publish.” Nope. That’s when the real work begins.

Here’s how I market every short eBook:

1. Build a Launch Team: Even if it’s just 5–10 people, having folks ready to buy and leave reviews makes a huge difference, especially on Amazon.

2. Email List = Game Changer: If you don’t have one, start now. I’ve built a simple list using ConvertKit. Every time I release a book, I email my list with a story, a benefit, and a link to buy. It’s the #1 driver of sales.

3. Tease on Social Media: I post tips, behind-the-scenes snippets, or mini-stories related to the eBook topic. On TikTok and Instagram Reels, even short clips like “3 lessons from my latest eBook” can drive serious traffic.

4. Repurpose Like a Boss: Turn a chapter into a blog post. Share a quote on Pinterest. Record a YouTube Short. These micro-moments build awareness and keep your eBook top of mind.

5. Use Affiliate Boosts: Some platforms like Gumroad allow affiliate selling. That means others can promote your eBook and take a cut. It’s a win-win and has helped me sell books I never even marketed myself.

Step 6: Go Beyond Just One eBook

Here’s where the real magic happens: when people buy one eBook and come back for more.

Think in series. I’ve created mini-series like:

“Side Hustle Starters Vol. 1–3”

“Quick Fix Finance Guides”

“Mindset MicroBooks”

Readers who enjoy one book are 3x more likely to buy your next. You can even bundle older eBooks or sell them as a membership through platforms like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.

And don’t forget upsells—offer a short video course, a checklist, or a workbook for $7–$27. People love a deeper dive when they trust your content.

Common Pitfalls I’ve Learned to Avoid

After 10+ years, here are some lessons the hard way taught me:

Don’t wait for “perfect.” Publish when it’s good enough and fix things later.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Specificity sells.

Don’t ignore customer feedback. Reviews can guide your next edition or future topics.

Don’t forget your bio and call-to-action. Every book should tell readers where to find more of you—website, email list, social media.

Final Thoughts: This Isn’t a Get-Rich-Quick Game (But It’s Worth It)

Selling short eBooks isn’t about chasing trends or gaming the system. It’s about building trust, delivering real value, and showing up consistently. Some of my books sell a few copies a week. Others sell hundreds a month. It’s the collection of efforts that makes this a sustainable business.

If you’ve got knowledge, a story, or a solution to share, there’s someone out there willing to pay for it—especially if it’s wrapped up in a neat little eBook.

So whether you’re writing your first book or your fiftieth, keep it simple, solve a problem, and share it with the world.

Because short eBooks might be small in size—but they can make a big impact, both for your readers and your bank account.

[respective]

Ted Gioia wrote in his Substack today:

How music therapy helped Joni Mitchell recover from a stroke

Let’s close with a happy update.

I’ve repeatedly praised music therapy here—insisting that people underestimate the healing power of songs. My online book Music to Raise the Dead, published here on Substack, is filled with extreme claims, starting with its bold title.

These transformative powers are sadly ignored by the people running the music economy. At best, the ‘experts’ will acknowledge music as a lifestyle symbol or a mood intensifier.

So I’m happy to share this account of how Joni Mitchell recovered from a stroke—regaining her ability to walk and talk—with a big boost from the healing power of music.

The instigator was neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, author of the bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music. (I recently connected with Levitin, and we both learned to our surprise that we were college classmates. In fact, I now think I met him even earlier when we were both still in high school in the South Bay of LA. But that’s a story for another. day.)

“Doctors were so pessimistic about her recovery, they hadn’t scheduled any follow-ups,” he reports. But Levitin had worked with Mitchell previously, and knew enough about her musical sensibility to create a customized music therapy playlist—it not only drew on her favorite songs but also reminded her of people and connections from various stages of her career.

Mitchell mounted a surprising recovery in the aftermath, and there’s good reason to believe that this musical intervention played a key role.

Levitin explains:

“Having that music as a reminder of who she is, who she was, and what she cares about, helped her to do the very difficult job of recovery, and to follow through with the protocols of the therapists.”

Levitin has applied this approach to his own recovery. After undergoing hand surgery to repair an injury, he was sent home with painkillers. But he put them aside, and listened to Bill Evans instead.

I’m fairly certain Evans would be happy to know he convinced somebody to stay away from drugs.

[jiggyjaguar1]

The White Privilege Album is the #1 Political Humor Book in America

A.J. Rice is America’s publicist, and the undisputed GOAT of conservative public relations—a columnist, humorist, and impresario. Officially Rice serves as president and CEO of Publius PR, editor-in-chief of The Publius National Post on Substack, and author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, The Woking Dead: How Society’s Vogue Virus Destroys Our Culture. Rice is a brand manager, star-whisperer, media…

[goddessgardener]

Stories Sell, Freedom Flowers, Voting Scams

Tune in LIVE weekly to the upbeat, positive lifestyle broadcast where producer and host Cynthia Brian showcases strategies for success on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®. Available wherever you listen to your favorite programs!

What do flowers and freedom have in common? Join the Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian as she shares ways to celebrate our national pride during July while reflecting our loyalty to “Old Glory”. Cue the fireworks!

Matthew Dicks, author of Stories Sell offers a guide to using the power of storytelling for success in business of all types and sizes, whether you’re an online marketer, advertising professional, salesperson in any field, small business owner, independent contractor, or Fortune 500 executive.

Elections are happening this year and the scammers and spammers are out in force. Law enforcement warns about voter registration scams, AI candidate impersonations, fake campaign contribution sites, and more. Don’t let your passion for politics drain your bank account or steal your identity.

Follow StarStyle®:

 

https://www.instagram.com/starstyleproductions/

Bio: Matthew Dicks

Matthew Dicks is the author of Stories Sell and eight other books. A bestselling novelist, nationally recognized storyteller, and award-winning elementary schoolteacher, he teaches storytelling and communications at universities, corporate workplaces, and community organizations. Dicks has won multiple Moth GrandSLAM story competitions and, together with his wife, created the organization Speak Up to help others share their stories. They also cohost the Speak Up Storytelling podcast. He lives in Connecticut with his family. Website: matthewdicks.com

Twitter/X: @matthewdicks

FB: https://www.facebook.com/matthewjdicks

Instagram: matthewdicks

Pinterest: Matthewdicks 

YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/matthewjohndicks

Listen at Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/150614/freedom-flowers-stories-sell-voting-scams

 Buy books by Cynthia Brian at http://www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store

Places to Listen to StarStyle Radio:

Apple Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2

Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Motivational/StarStyle---Be-the-Star-You-Are-p46014/

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/be-the-star-you-are

IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-starstyle-be-the-star-you-31083110/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zDdwzlsHH44caWiMQdD25

SubStack: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/228120.rss

 

Pocketcasts: https://pca.st/mjw2ng5n

Be the Star You Are! 501 c3 charity offers help, hope, and healing for women, families and youth in need.

BTSYA Operation Disaster Relief. Please donate. http://ow.ly/ks8A30lekGe

Read how BTSYA is Making a Difference: https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/460747/IBPA-Member-Spotlight-Cynthia-Brian.htm

Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

[bethestaryouareradio]

Stories Sell, Freedom Flowers, Voting Scams

Tune in LIVE weekly to the upbeat, positive lifestyle broadcast where producer and host Cynthia Brian showcases strategies for success on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®. Available wherever you listen to your favorite programs!

What do flowers and freedom have in common? Join the Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian as she shares ways to celebrate our national pride during July while reflecting our loyalty to “Old Glory”. Cue the fireworks!

Matthew Dicks, author of Stories Sell offers a guide to using the power of storytelling for success in business of all types and sizes, whether you’re an online marketer, advertising professional, salesperson in any field, small business owner, independent contractor, or Fortune 500 executive.

Elections are happening this year and the scammers and spammers are out in force. Law enforcement warns about voter registration scams, AI candidate impersonations, fake campaign contribution sites, and more. Don’t let your passion for politics drain your bank account or steal your identity.

 

Follow StarStyle®:

 

https://www.instagram.com/starstyleproductions/

Bio: Matthew Dicks

Matthew Dicks is the author of Stories Sell and eight other books. A bestselling novelist, nationally recognized storyteller, and award-winning elementary schoolteacher, he teaches storytelling and communications at universities, corporate workplaces, and community organizations. Dicks has won multiple Moth GrandSLAM story competitions and, together with his wife, created the organization Speak Up to help others share their stories. They also cohost the Speak Up Storytelling podcast. He lives in Connecticut with his family. Website: matthewdicks.com

Twitter/X: @matthewdicks

FB: https://www.facebook.com/matthewjdicks

Instagram: matthewdicks

Pinterest: Matthewdicks 

YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/matthewjohndicks

Listen at Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/150614/freedom-flowers-stories-sell-voting-scams

 Buy books by Cynthia Brian at http://www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store

Places to Listen to StarStyle Radio:

Apple Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2

Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Motivational/StarStyle---Be-the-Star-You-Are-p46014/

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/be-the-star-you-are

IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-starstyle-be-the-star-you-31083110/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zDdwzlsHH44caWiMQdD25

SubStack: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/228120.rss

 

Pocketcasts: https://pca.st/mjw2ng5n

Be the Star You Are! 501 c3 charity offers help, hope, and healing for women, families and youth in need.

BTSYA Operation Disaster Relief. Please donate. http://ow.ly/ks8A30lekGe

Read how BTSYA is Making a Difference: https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/460747/IBPA-Member-Spotlight-Cynthia-Brian.htm

Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Introduction to Substack Mastery V2 with the P.I.L.L.A.R. Framework

It now includes strategies that earned a bestselling badge for my two publications within eight months, as well as mistakes I corrected using a new, methodical approach within a framework. When I first released Substack Mastery in 2024, my goal was to address known pain points of freelance writers, book authors, and content startups so that they could use this growing platform and gain a…

[the-writers-bookshelf]

Happy Fab Friday weekend! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Aubrey 🥰 As for me, I spent it editing a short story that I just published on my substack. “Raven Wings” is about a woman accused of witchcraft and how she saves herself from execution. It’s here for anyone who wants to read it:

https://theheartofstorytelling.substack.com/p/raven-wings

I’m going to publish a new one every month as part of a collection of folklore and fairy tale inspired stories featuring animals. I’m excited but also a little nervous too 😅 Do you have any advice on how to get more comfortable with sharing your work publicly?

Hey! So happy you jumped into the festivities! :)

CONGRATULATIONS on publishing your story!!!! I subscribed to your substack and I can't WAIT to read Raven Wings! It sounds like something I would grab off the shelf right away! I LOVE all things witchcraft!

And I think it's AWESOME that you're going to publish a new story every month! It's a fantastic goal and phenomenal for sharpening your skills! 😍

As for tips on sharing your work publicly, they're below the cut!

Practice

There will always be a little hiccup of anxiety because this is your art, your craft, your vision, and you're sharing it with the world! It's an incredibly brave and vulnerable act and it takes a lot of guts, every single time!

But after you've done it again and again, you become more comfortable with the anxiety. You will learn to recognize what's coming and you will learn how to get yourself through it so it doesn't seem quite so nerve-wracking.

It really does get a little easier each time you do it because eventually, you realize that no matter what the public says about your work, you're still gonna write and no one will stop you!

Manage expectations

Try to manage your expectations to a realistic level regarding the feedback you may (or may not) receive when you share your work publicly.

If you receive no feedback at all, will it make you doubt yourself?

If you receive negative feedback, how will that make you feel about future projects?

By managing your expectations, you can keep yourself focusing on your writing, rather than devastated by the public's responses. And no matter what the public says, remember that even bestselling authors with LOADS of books under their belt get a mix of good and bad reviews!

Take whatever measures you need in order to cope

This will take time as you learn what you can, and cannot, juggle. Some people can read every comment they receive. Some people keep tabs on all the reviews for their books.

You might be tempted to do the same. But take note of how you respond to it.

If it leaves you exhausted, drained, and feeling defeated, step away from it.

Your priority is writing. If something slows you down and prevents you from writing - i.e. reading reviews/comments of your work - then do NOT feel pressured to do it.

For me, I like to post it and then go for a LONG walk so I'm not tempted to hit the "refresh" button for comments/reviews/messages over and over! 🤣

Depersonalize if you can

This is the hardest part because your project is your BABY and you really want to do well, of course!

But once it's released into the wild, you've done everything you possibly could. Some people will love it. Some people will hate it. Even if you think it's the BEST writing you've ever created, it might still bomb for whatever reason that has literally nothing do with your quality of writing.

For the sake of your sanity, try to give yourself a little distance to protect yourself and your future projects.

For me, it really helped to adopt a "release and forget it" mentality. So I rarely - if ever - check reviews or comments. I don't look at how my writing is received because otherwise I get tripped up. When I finish one project, I move onto the next so I don't get stuck on what I could have done differently.

You still absolutely should be proud of your work, no matter what! But once it's in the hands of the public, just guard your heart a little bit.

You will more than likely experience self-doubt worse than ever before

Even if your work is well-received by the public, there will be ONE negative comment that knocks your knees out from under you and makes you question everything.

It's gonna happen. Can't avoid it.

So you MUST fight to remember those positive comments. Save all of them. Remember them. Give your attention to them.

It's okay to wrestle with those self doubts. Just don't let them stop you!

Treat yourself

Give yourself a pat on the back when you share your work with the world because it's HARD and it's TOUGH and YOU DID IT!! Seriously, talk yourself up, tell yourself good things, tell yourself how proud you are that you took this step.

Putting your creative work in the public eye can be a roller-coaster of an experience. It can be utterly brutal one minute and euphoric the next. It's super, super important to manage the way you talk to yourself and cultivate a positive headspace.

Above all, it's okay to feel anxious, but no matter what, always stay focused on your writing and it will get you through!

I really hope all that rambling helped a little, lovely! 💜 Sending you big hugs for putting yourself out there and diving headfirst into your new goal!!

[grandhotelabyss]

—Jason Farago, "With Hannah Gadsby’s ‘It’s Pablo-matic,’ the Joke’s on the Brooklyn Museum"

Gadsby's desire to rape Picasso, like the anti-fascist's desire to purify the polis of human pathogens, is another one for the "anti-[X] is [X]" file we've been developing this week. (My fullest reflection on this topic comes in my essay on Thomas Mann's "anti-fascist" classic Mario and the Magician—an ironical novella about how fascists should be slaughtered because, basically, when you think about it, they're Jewish, African, and queer! It made for great reading in the Trump years.) Also compelling is this from Farago:

Most bizarrely, the routine rested on a condemnation of art as an elite swindle, and modernism got it particularly hard. “CUUU-bism,” went Gadsby’s mocking refrain, to reliable audience laughter. (As it is, Picasso’s own Cubist art appears at the Brooklyn Museum through a single 6-by-4.5-inch engraving.) The sarcasm, from a comedian with moderate art historical bona fides, had a purpose: It gave Gadsby’s audience permission to believe that avant-garde painting was actually a big scam. “They’re all cut from the same cloth,” Gadsby told the audience in “Nanette”: “Donald Trump, Pablo Picasso, Harvey Weinstein” — and the art you never liked in the first place could be dismissed as the flimflam of a cabal of evil men.

Not long ago, it would have been embarrassing for adults to admit that they found avant-garde painting too difficult and preferred the comforts of story time. What Gadsby did was give the audience permission — moral permission — to turn their backs on what challenged them, and to ennoble a preference for comfort and kitsch.

Here is a distinctly 21st-century problem crossing the whole political spectrum; here is a problem that has afflicted the entirety of American artistic culture pretty much since the publication of The Corrections the week before 9/11. (Franzen wrote the bestselling novel out of a Gadsby-like hostility to modernist experiment and preference for "story," though he was a good deal more ambivalent about the implications, as his later contretemps with Oprah would prove.)

I've written before about how I wish "the CIA funded modern art" hadn't become such a meme, since it gives philistines of all ideological persuasions a political excuse to dismiss what they don't understand—as if Pollock or Rothko were not discovering actual latent potentials in the form of painting. On the other hand, I live in the 21st century, too, and I judge some extremes of 20th-century avant-gardism to have been dead ends, to have led to machinic wastelands with no human presence.

There are syntheses available here, to us, but none of them involve taking some spuriously politicized pride in our own ignorance. I am somehow better about resolving these crises in my fiction than in my criticism, so I will give you, for free, an excerpt from a late chapter of my novel-in-progress for paid Substack subscribers, Major Arcana:

“I’ve learned a lot, you know. ‘That Diane, what a dumb slut’—I’m sure that’s what you all used to think. Christ, even Ashley thinks that half the time. People are going to think whatever they want. Fuck ’em, that’s what I say. I’ve been painting every single day since Ashley went to college, and I’m starting to learn what the whole thing is about. When Ashley saw that last one”—here Diane del Greco pointed her paintbrush at the canvas to the right of the door, the hot colors in their sea of black—“do you know what she said? She said, ‘Mother, you’ve seen to the end of painting.' It was the first time in her whole life she ever sounded impressed with anything I’ve done. It scared me, to be honest. I’ve seen to the end of painting? Does that mean I should stop? I thought about it, though, and I realized that I could keep painting if I carried the lessons from the end back to the middle. At the end of painting—whatever she meant by that, she really is the strangest girl, Ellen—I stopped wanting to paint a picture of anything. I just wanted to push the paint around, see how the colors looked next to each other. That’s the end, but it’s also the beginning—a little kid smearing food or dirt around with her fingers to see how it feels, see what develops. In the middle, you want to turn it into a picture of something real. I said to myself, what if you try to keep the two feelings together: the feeling where you want to smear the colors around and the feeling where you want to make a picture of what something looks like. You know I didn’t go to college, Ellen, I’m just ‘that dumb slut Diane,’ but I believe this is called romantic realism. Now hold still.”

[allthingslinguistic]

Part I - What is a Weird Internet Career?

Lately, as I’ve been doing fancy things like publishing a NYT bestselling book about internet linguistics and writing a column about internet linguistics for Wired, I’ve also been hearing things from people like “how did those come about?” or “I want to be you when I grow up.” 

The bad news is, there’s no magical shortcut. The good news is also, there’s no magical shortcut. What there is, is a series of smaller and less glamorous things that I did as I was starting out, which eventually built into something larger and more glamorous. So this is a series about the early days of building all these things that came to fruition in the past year or so, in the hopes that it may be useful for other people.

I call myself an internet linguist for two reasons: one is that I analyze the language of the internet and two is that I do so in a very internettish sort of way. In other words, I have a Weird Internet Career for linguistics. You may never have encountered an internet linguist before (hello, welcome!), but you've definitely encountered other people with Weird Internet Careers. 

Weird Internet Careers are the kinds of jobs that are impossible to explain to your parents, people who somehow make a living from the internet, generally involving a changing mix of revenue streams. Weird Internet Career is a term I made up (it had no google results in quotes before I started using it), but once you start noticing them, you’ll see them everywhere. 

Weird Internet Careers are weird because there is no one else who does exactly what they do. They're internet because they rely on the internet as a cornerstone, such as bloggers, webcomics, youtubers, artists, podcasters, writers, developers, subject-matter experts, and other people in very specific niches. And they're careers because they somehow manage to support themselves, often making money from some combination of ad revenue, t-shirt sales, other merch, ongoing membership/subscription (Patreon, Substack), crowdfunding (Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Ko-Fi), sponsorship deals, conventional book deals, self-published ebooks, selling online courses, selling products or apps or services, public speaking, and consulting. 

But there isn’t necessarily much relationship between the type of weird internet thing someone makes and how they make money from it — one webcomic artist and one youtuber may both support themselves from t-shirt sales and ad revenue, while another webcomic artist and another youtuber may both support themselves from Patreon and conventional book deals. Some Weird Internet Careers have entirely transparent incomes through crowdfunding or posting their finances online; some have mysterious revenue that's entirely surmise (or may not be enough to actually be a career). 

People who have Weird Internet Careers sometimes start out unintentionally, by making things for personal expression or because they like being helpful, but they eventually realize that they're providing a thing that people need or want, and that there's a version of it that someone will buy, and that they've build up the kind of reputation which means that people will buy from them. (You can also definitely make things that stay being just about your personal expression, as long as you're aiming for a hobby rather than a career. Hobbies are great, you don't have to monetize your hobbies, they're just not what this series is about.) But I think a person could also start a Weird Internet Career more intentionally, or at least be more intentional about building an existing "making things for free on the internet" habit into a career, which is why I'm writing this series. Also, I want more people doing public-facing linguistics, at a purely personal level. 

The cornerstone of a Weird Internet Career is that you a) make a thing on the internet that people value and b) provide a way to convert that value into money. (If you have the first but not the second, it’s not a career, at least not yet. If you have the second but not the first, well, you probably don't have much in the way of career yet either.) The thing you make might be a recipe blog, and that money might be from ads and an associated cookbook, or it might be email advice on developing a new skill and the money from an e-course on the skill, or it might be a podcast and the money from bonus episodes and merch. And so on. I know one person whose Weird Internet Career is basically "making zines about Linux (some free, some paid)." There are so many niches.

You don’t need to be famous to have a Weird Internet Career, though it often involves building a certain amount of reputation for you or your thing in some corner of the internet, but most of that reputation is built by doing the thing, not by starting off as notable from something else. Some people start off with Weird Internet Careers as a springboard into more conventional jobs, some people have conventional jobs that they find unsatisfying and develop a Weird Internet Career in their spare time (that they may eventually quit their jobs for), some people keep going with both at the same time and enjoy how they feed off each other. 

So, I said I have a Weird Internet Career as a pop linguist. How did I get it? Well, I built it. The next part is about how that happened. 

I’m posting this series about Weird Internet Careers and how to build them to my blog over the next few weeks. However, if you want to get the whole series now as a single doc, with bonus Weird Internet Career-building questions to think about, you can sign up for my newsletter on Substack here, which will also get you monthly updates about my future Weird Internet Career activities as an Internet Linguist. 

Part I - What is a Weird Internet Career? Part II - How I Built a Weird Internet Career as an Internet Linguist Part III - How to start a Weird Internet Career Part IV - How to make money doing a Weird Internet Career Part V - What can a Weird Internet Career look like? Part VI - Is it too late for me to start my Weird Internet Career? Part VII - How to level up your Weird Internet Career

[theliterateape]

The Double-Edge of Propagandistic Journalism

by Don Hall

When I worked at Chicago Public Radio (2007-2017) one of the ongoing challenges the station faced was the rush to broadcast in the face of an increasingly Twitter-lead race. 

With the rapid ascension of digital quasi-journalism came the dilemma of either getting the news out first or getting the news out right. For the most part within my decade there, the goal was to get it right so, often, the station was broadcasting news that had already hit for a day or so but provided that essential NPR context and nuance required for listeners not lead by the nose by the Twitterverse.

Given that the business model behind NPR relies heavily on public donations (at the time comprising a full 60% of the funding for WBEZ) the fact that many of their audience were also getting their news from Twitter became more of an issue to confront.

The media world has been shifting ever since. The result?

The United States ranks last in media trust — at 29% — among 92,000 news consumers surveyed in 46 countries, a report released Wednesday found. That’s worse than Poland, worse than the Philippines, worse than Peru. (Finland leads at 65%.)

In a recent conversation with a strident Trump-hater and hater of anyone who may have voted for him ("70 million racist idiots who can't comprehend the difference between fact and fiction...") it occurred that with so many distrusting our media outlets (including NPR) and the resulting rise in independent news substacks and mailers as well as the constant flow of mis- and disinformation readily available in social media platforms, we may very well be fucked.

There's a kind of moralistic paternalism at play here. One side of the partisan divide looks at the other and determines that they are either too morally bankrupt or too stupid to parse out what is truth versus what is propaganda. Like the antiracist phrasing around poor, young blacks who are too burdened with systemic racism to comprehend the criminality of taking a gun and shooting it at a rival, this bizarre infantilism of whole sections of society smacks more of the Church than anything else.

"Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." becomes "Condemn them, Father, for they know not what is true."

This brings us to the rumors that the NYT has been taken over by Woke post-college Zoomers and that NPR has become more propaganda than neutral news source.

Of course, there is a response from NPR:

Outrage As A Business Model: How Ben Shapiro Is Using Facebook To Build An Empire

An NPR analysis of social media data found that over the past year, stories published by the site Shapiro founded, The Daily Wire, received more likes, shares and comments on Facebook than any other news publisher by a wide margin.

Even legacy news organizations that have broken major stories or produced groundbreaking investigative work don't come anywhere close.

The article notes that “other conservative outlets such as The Blaze, Breitbart News and The Western Journal” that “publish aggregated and opinion content” have also “generally been more successful… than legacy news outlets over the past year, according to NPR's analysis.”

Is the argument presented that Shapiro publishes lies? No. 

“The articles The Daily Wire publishes don't normally include falsehoods.”

Is he Trump-y? Nope.

Shapiro “publicly denounced the alt-right and other people in Trump's orbit,” and “the conspiracy theory that Trump is the rightful winner of the 2020 election.”

The NPR piece can't even claim that The Daily Wire is a news organization as they are quite clear on the Shapiro's website that "the site declares, "The Daily Wire does not claim to be without bias," and goes on to say, "We're opinionated, we're noisy, and we're having a good time."

So, aside from being more successful in attracting eyeballs that NPR, what's the beef?

By only covering specific stories that bolster the conservative agenda (such as… polarizing ones about race and sexuality issues)… readers still come away from The Daily Wire's content with the impression that Republican politicians can do little wrong and cancel culture is among the nation's greatest threats.

Ah! This because NPR doesn't cover specific stories that bolster the progressive agenda (such as polarizing ones about race and sexuality issues), right?

Hypocrisy, thy name is Moralistic Propaganda.

What Does It Mean To Be Latino? The 'Light-Skinned Privilege' Edition Maria Garcia and Maria Hinojosa are both Mexican American, both mestiza, and both relatively light-skinned. But Maria Hinojosa strongly identifies as a woman of color, whereas Maria Garcia has stopped doing so.

The Racial Reckoning That Wasn't In the wake of several high-profile police killings last summer, support for Black Lives Matter skyrocketed among white Americans. Their new concerns about racism pushed books about race to the top of the bestseller lists, while corporations pledged billions of dollars to address injustice. A year later, though, polls show that white support for the movement has not only waned, but is lower than it was before.

Black TikTok Creators Are On Strike To Protest A Lack Of Credit For Their Work Tired of not receiving credit for their creativity and original work — all while watching white influencers rewarded with millions of views performing dances they didn't create — many Black creators on TikTok joined a widespread strike last week, refusing to create any new dances until credit is given where it's due.

New Zealand Weightlifter Will Be The First Openly Trans Competitor At The Olympics

She Struggled To Reclaim Her Indigenous Name. She Hopes Others Have It Easier

Monuments And Teams Have Changed Names As America Reckons With Racism. Birds Are Next

There is absolutely nothing wrong about the heavy-left lean from NPR. I personally still prefer them to almost any other news source. That said, it is anything but hypocritical to then level the accusation at Shapiro's obviously and fully transparent biased website that it is biased while exhibiting the exact same bias on the other side of the fence.

Is their any such thing as objective journalism? I don't believe so but there needs to be the attempt or the whole fourth estate is nothing more than a pack of moralists lecturing those they disagree with on how they should believe and behave and that isn't what journalism is supposed to be. That's what a nosy neighbor, an angry nun, or ideology-spewing lunatic does.

I don't care much for Shapiro or The Daily Caller but the stance of "Do as we say not as we do" is too pervasive in this instance. I expect better from NPR but the pressures of reach, finance, and facing the reality that half of the country finds the brand of scolding progressivism to be so offensive that they scatter to the type of click-bait infotainment on the right of the spectrum is daunting.

Stick to your guns, NPR. Don't buy into the post-modernist belief that objectivity cannot exist. Suffer the slings of neutrality and if the population ignores you, it wasn't like you were killing it in the ratings in the first place.

Like the reporters and producers I worked with years ago, get it right not popular.

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

What Is the Future of Substack

Will it face Enshittification like other platforms? Thought Experiment: Here’s Why Some People Say Substack Is Too Good to Be True Tackling “Enshittification” as It Matters It is not difficult to feel something has gone wrong with the apps and platforms we once loved. They were places where creativity flourished, connections deepened, and communities thrived. However, over time, they have…