#Substack for authors

[chongoblog]

WAIT

I JUST REMEMBERED HEARING AN ELON MUSK QUOTE WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE BELIEVES CHESS IS "TOO SIMPLE" OR WHATEVER AND HE SAID HIS FAVORITE GAME WAS A GAME CALLED "POLYTOPIA"

I JUST REMEMBERED THAT IVE PLAYED POLYTOPIA

It being Elon's favorite game (or at least one so important to him that his biographer dedicates a lot of time to it) is.....really really funny.

Basically, imagine Civilization, but as a mobile game. So like if Civilization Revolution was even more dumbed down (that's a Civilization insult. That's devastating. It's devastated right now). For what it's worth, it's not a bad game. On the contrary, from what I could tell in the little bit of time I played it, it's a perfectly competent game with good design. But it's not a deep game by any means. I played through it once, won easily on my first go, then saw that the other playable characters had barely any differences between them.

Like, not to imply you can judge a book by its cover, but here's what it looks like

I came across an article by Dave Karpf discussing this exact thing, and I think it describes it wonderfully

[jolenes-book-journey]

Changing Newsletter Places Can Bring New Readers

Why I’m Moving My Author Newsletter to Substack — And Why You Might Consider It Too If you’re an author juggling multiple platforms for your newsletter, blog, and social updates, you know how overwhelming it can be to keep everything in sync. That’s why I’ve decided to make a change — I’m shifting from using the WordPress newsletter plugin to Substack as the new home for my writing, publishing…

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

How I Will Help Freelance Writers Save $600 by Condensing My Bestseller 5 Times for Them

Just like some prefer fatty cuts while others opt for lean, my goal is to cater to the unique needs of every reader. Reader Feedback is everything for book authors! As a busy content creator myself, I know the demands of trying to keep up with reading, writing, and staying ahead in the game. That’s why I wanted to share a real-life solution I developed to help writers save time — and…

[malusokay]

What's the point of a diary if you're not lying in it?

On Anaïs Nin, literary self-mythologizing, and why personal writing should always be slightly dishonest. (from my substack)

If you’re not lying in your diary, you’re just journaling, and journaling is for people who don’t know how to edit.

A diary is not a record of events; it is an act of creation. The best diarists know this instinctively. Anaïs Nin knew it better than anyone. Her diaries were not mere confessions but performances, half-lit mirrors where the truth shimmered, distorted but no less real.

Nin understood that life is not lived in a single register. Her diaries are a study in contradiction—one moment, she is in love; the next, repulsed. She is independent yet wholly consumed by those around her. But contradiction isn’t falsehood; it’s literature. She rewrote and edited her diaries, sculpting herself into the character she wanted to be. And is that really so dishonest?

People love to be outraged by the idea of a diary that is not entirely factual. But fact is not the same as truth. Diaries, at their best, are emotional truths, shaped by mood, by desire, by the need to impose a narrative on the chaos of daily life. Nin was not interested in being objective—she was interested in being immortal. She once wrote, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.” But why stop at tasting? Why not rewrite, reshape, embellish? If we can curate the lives we present to others, why should we not do the same for the versions of ourselves we leave behind?

Nin herself was a master of this. She edited her diaries before publication, removing, refining, turning herself into a protagonist. She blurred lines, shifted timelines, made herself more alluring. She called it shaping reality. Others call it lying. The truth, of course, is that all personal writing is selective. Even in confession, there is curation.

The danger, of course, is that history will take the performance at face value. That the diary, once private, will harden into biography. But this, too, is a kind of truth. A diary is not a static object. It lives, it breathes, it deceives, but always in service of something larger than the mundane details of existence.

[a-lady-and-her-quill]

𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 🌺,

𝘚𝘰 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

[gigireece16]

hi guys! i just published a new essay over on substack!! this week, i wrote about religion and homosexuality’s complex relationship. despite opening old wounds, i really enjoyed writing this piece. i’d love to hear from y’all! feel free to leave any comments or buy me a coffee. i hope you guys like it, thank you!

[the-almighty-gob-john-langley]

#America First, World Last? The Perilous Path of Trade Tariffs, and the potential 'New World Order.'

When "Making America Great Again" Risks Unmaking the Global Economy.

"This scenario is not far-fetched. The seeds of division are already being sown. The United States, under the Trump administration, has pursued a protectionist trade policy that has alienated many of its allies. This policy is based on the belief that America has been treated unfairly by its trading partners and that it needs to put its own interests first."

[annabananaaxox]

Guys I'm really cooking with this essay I'm writing, the Substack hoes are gonna love it

[adharagranley-writer]

i have a substack now! if any of you want to go there and subscribe to read my random writer ramblings and thoughts that would be very appreciated (i'll giggle and kick my feet in the air if i get subscriber & comment notifications).

any other substack writers here?

[papenathys]

peer pressured into making a substack. subscribe for

trans, sapphic, slightly melancholic bengali-inspired queer poetry

essays on translation, diasporic versus mainlander identity, and publishing trends

rambles on publishing, academia and campus literature

analysis of contemporary queer subcultures and trans/sapphic subtextual readings in popular literature and media

writing updates + character backstories/creative ideas and inspirations

lots and lots and LOTS of book recommendations

All content is free, without any paywall. but do consider supporting me on kofi or buying my book; it's been a tough couple of months :')

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

I'm on Substack!

Hi all,

I've decided to demonetize my creative writing and art! And I'm doing so through Substack. (Print options for zines and/or longer projects are still in the works, so for now just digital stuff.)

All my fiction, nonfiction, and the occasional zine or poem or drawing, will be available to access FOR FREE.

My Welcome post talks about my reasoning behind this move, especially after successfully having a novella published by a small press.

If you like Ursula K. Le Guin, Margaret Killjoy, adrienne maree brown, or other anarcho-commie / decolonial / antifascist / anticapitalist / utopian writers, I think you'll like my stuff. So please consider subscribing!

[jolenes-book-journey]

Are Newsletters Really Important for Authors

In the fast-paced world of publishing, authors are always on the lookout for effective ways to connect with their readers. Amidst social media trends and ever-changing algorithms, one tool remains a steadfast ally: newsletters. This often-overlooked gem offers authors a direct line to their audience, free from the noise of crowded platforms. Whether you’re an emerging writer or a seasoned author,…

[b0rtney]

you want homosexuals in every conceivable scenario?

Boy oh boy do i have the substack for u: mine!

NO PLEASE LEMME TELL U THE STORIES BEFORE U LEAVE--

Current is Cinnamon Muffins. TLDR: Six queer boys in a homophobic tiny town in Iowa are trying to survive winter break dodging awful parents, social stigma, and mental health crises.

Next up is How to Get Away with Marriage. TLDR: Guy with awful, religious parents marries guy who is living paycheck to paycheck so they can both get all their younger sisters out of their shitty situations (but they fall in love ofc).

Longer desc of these plus the stories coming in the next months are below the cut! (Genres include fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, mystery/thriller, coming-of-age)

Cinnamon Muffins centers on Taylor Macready, a homeless senior in high school holed up in a sleeping bag under a bridge after his parents kicked him out. He's fully ready to just accept death when it starts snowing on him while he's stargazing, but social outcast Wes Post is taking his nightly walk in a new direction and stumbles (literally) on his longtime crush, Taylor. Dragging Taylor home, Wes's parents prove themselves the only reasonable parents in this book by setting Taylor up on their pullout couch and nursing him back to health. Then Wes, whose closest school relationships include the kids who bully him for his anxiety-related speech impediment, has to get in touch with Taylor's friends to let them know the situation. Meanwhile, the mean girls of Swisher High School are starting a campaign to get homosexuality banned at school. Administratively, it gets nowhere, but it inspires several small-minded shitwads to take matters into their own hands. While Taylor is used to getting into fights, Wes isn't, but he'll have to sink or swim, because the teachers are not paid enough to care what happens in the hallways during lunchtime.

How to Get Away with Marriage opens with Luke Providence, son of a devoutly Baptist family in Nebraska, proposing to Patrick Demden, son of a recently-deceased alcoholic mechanic. The wealthy Providence parents have a longstanding agreement that once their children get married, they will receive a trust of $100,000 to use on the down-payment of a house and to start a life with their spouse. Patrick's younger sister tutors Luke's younger sister, but Patrick's sister is 16. This age gap doesn't matter much to the Providence parents, but it matters a lot to Luke, so he strikes a deal with Patrick: tell the parents he'll marry the sister, legally marry the brother, everyone gets to move to Colorado and escape abusive religious parents and crushing poverty. He needn't have done something so elaborate, Patrick would have married him for any reason at all. But the secret doesn't stay secret forever, and the Providence parents eventually come knocking, trying to recollect their children and their money.

Future stories I'll keep shorter, but feel free to ask about them either in the replies or my askbox and I'll elaborate!

Assassin x Demon King will be getting books 2 and 3! ADK is about an assassin and the king he was supposed to kill, both of whom have quit their jobs and started trying to save as many people as the assassin killed before he dies of a slow-acting poison in twelve months. Books 2 and 3 will have things getting awfully tragic and somewhat more horny than before! (No smut will make it into the print versions of these, that will remain on my substack alone)

How to Find Your Friends After the End of the World is a fantasy inspired by the isekai anime genre. Five friends in their 20s are on earth as it is wracked by a violent battle between the Heroine of the Gods and her Nemesis, and then, suddenly, they aren't. Earth has been destroyed and they are now on a new planet, in new (non-human) bodies, strewn across continents! On their new wrists, they have tattoos with each others' names, plus one (or two) new ones: their soulmates. Court politics and wastelands of monsters await them as they try desperately to reach each other, and their soulmates try desperately to reach them.

HtFYF will also have a prequel, focusing on the events that led to earth's destruction, and the battle between the Heroine of the Gods, a young woman, and her Nemesis, who seems to know more about the gods than she says. Why do the gods keep choosing such young heroes? What has the Nemesis done to put the world in such peril? Will the Heroine get to graduate on time despite the sleep she's been missing!?

The following do not yet have titles, but are fully fleshed out works ready to be thrown onto Substack:

A trilogy of eleven teens assisting in the fight against an agency that traffics, tortures, and then sells children with preternatural powers and abilities, and an exploration of the trauma those kids emerge with.

A murder mystery where a woman's sister dies, the police rule it suicide, and the woman enlists the help of a rumored contract killer to help her solve the murder-- but why does this rumored murderer-for-hire seem to know so much about her sister's death? And who was truly responsible?

A campy novel about a woman who graduates college, goes back to her hometown, and finds her highschool crush is still there, still single, and has since come out as gay. Of course, the only solution is to co-adopt an at-risk child from a neighbor.

This post will remain pinned on my profile, but for the next few days I'm having a sale on my substack tiers-- 20% off! That makes the cost to you just $8 per month to get a chapter every other day. 15 chapters for $8; that's a steal!

[authorhollyamberwebb]

Hi friends!

I'll be honest, I have not used Tumblr consistently since 2018, but with the rise of fascism and the oligarchy being so prevalent on the other Meta apps, I've found myself drawn back to Tumblr. Call it nostalgia, call it a yearning to get back to my roots. This app is where my radicalization began, and I would like to continue that journey here by sharing my poetry with you all. 🥰

Since it has been so long, let me reintroduce myself! I'm Holly (she/they), and I am a non-binary writer based out of New York City. I have been writing poetry since 2014, but have only been committed to it seriously in these past three years. I have published two poetry books, titled "Am I the Villain?" and "From the River to the Sea: Poetry for a Free Palestine". I am currently sharing my third exclusively on substack, titled "Letters to a Lover I Have Yet to Meet". All is linked below! ✨

I am also in the process of getting my fantasy romance book published, and can share more info on that later! 🐉

I plan to start using my Tumblr regularly and posting my poetry here, and I'm curious how you prefer to consume poetry:

This poll will help me to determine how I want to post my poetry here on Tumblr! 🖋️

I'm also on Instagram, TikTok and rednote under the same username if you'd like to access my older poetry. ❤️‍🔥

I think that's all for now! Thank you friends! And for the algorithm, here's pictures of me and my cat, Walter 😻

[thelycian]

"as she holds my two hands, not yet ruined, not yet scarred, not yet bruised, pure as a swan,"

-'My Grandmother's Rosary' by Li Parker.

⊹Read all of our pieces on our Substack⊹

⊹Submissions are open⊹

[gigireece16]

from my recent essay over on substack!!