Readers' habits and what that means in terms of writing on Substack. Length doesn’t equal greater creativity or artistry. More words don’t create complexity or depth. Think of the three s’s: synthesis, selection, and subtext.
Brand new subscriber here, really interesting post. I write a weekly column on health and wellbeing for our local newspaper (in rural Ireland), and have been doing so for about 15 years, every week! It has to be around 500 words, and I have found the discipline of that to be great for organizing my thoughts clearly. Looking so much forward to my Substack journeu
Thank you, Sarah! I love the Blaise quote, which I think is bang on for many writers! We probably don't entirely realize how long it takes a great writer to say what they say. More is just —more. Not necessarily better.
Thank you, this is definitely a read and re-read every word, kind of post. is there a way to collect or bookmark favorite Substack articles inside of our Substack dashboard? This one's a keeper.
Oof, this was hard to read for a verbose writer. But I had a gut feeling throughout reading this that you were right and that I've probably known this for awhile. Sure, I could (and have) blamed the declining collective attention span, but I know it has more to do with my ongoing work as a writer to distill my point down to only the most necessary pieces of the puzzle. On balance, my pieces for Substack could be twenty percent shorter and no one would miss a word, not even me. Thanks for this, Sarah.
This was a really helpful read for a Substack newbie. I'm still trying to find my voice on here and I've been worried my posts have been too short. Thanks for the insights!
Thank you for writing this post. As a new substacker, I'm still formulating just exactly how I want to treat this space. I love short, concise writing, and it's comforting to know that removing the pressure of finding thousands of words benefits both me and my future readers. Phew!
Thank you so much. Until it's wired into my brain, I need to read this every time I start and every time I think I've finished a post. I've been drowning in details, completeness, leaving no stone upturned....just like I'm doing with this sentence :) Thank you.
When the self pub movement kicked in big time-the early 2000’s - I met a writer at a conference where I teach who was also a tech guy. He was working on several novels, a trilogy I think, but had never published anything. I hired him to help me with my website. The advice he gave me he also applied to his own writing, was to publish LOTS. Back then, ‘algorithms’ was the buzz word, as in, the more books you publish, the higher your ranking and therefore the more eyeballs on your works. It was a trend that still may be trending out here given the sheer number of people writing and publishing. I do believe it also may factor into Amazon becoming a slush pile of draft works - I think? a billion books are now on the web for consumption. To me? this is the underbelly of independent publishing, everybody and their brother, mother, sister and father believe they can write prose worthy of putting a price tag on it.
I don’t know much about stats, but of some of us prefer to work on miniature anyway. Knowing not only where to put the final period, but when, is a kind of grace.
Wonderful article, Sarah. And yes, I read the whole thing so what you were doing was working. I have a question, though. What do you mean by: "Regularly give your subscribers a nugget."
Brand new subscriber here, really interesting post. I write a weekly column on health and wellbeing for our local newspaper (in rural Ireland), and have been doing so for about 15 years, every week! It has to be around 500 words, and I have found the discipline of that to be great for organizing my thoughts clearly. Looking so much forward to my Substack journeu
As a newbie to Substack, I cannot wait to sharpen my skills using your suggestions!
Thank you, Sarah! I love the Blaise quote, which I think is bang on for many writers! We probably don't entirely realize how long it takes a great writer to say what they say. More is just —more. Not necessarily better.
I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I am a psychotherapist. Not much of a writer. Your words of wisdom are so helpful. Thank you so much
Thank you, this is definitely a read and re-read every word, kind of post. is there a way to collect or bookmark favorite Substack articles inside of our Substack dashboard? This one's a keeper.
I have learned to love writing shorter posts and stories. It's freeing to get to the point without feeling the need to give all the backstory.
Is anyone else having trouble opening the hyperlinks at the bottom? Mine says it's private but I've paid for a subscription.
Oof, this was hard to read for a verbose writer. But I had a gut feeling throughout reading this that you were right and that I've probably known this for awhile. Sure, I could (and have) blamed the declining collective attention span, but I know it has more to do with my ongoing work as a writer to distill my point down to only the most necessary pieces of the puzzle. On balance, my pieces for Substack could be twenty percent shorter and no one would miss a word, not even me. Thanks for this, Sarah.
This was a really helpful read for a Substack newbie. I'm still trying to find my voice on here and I've been worried my posts have been too short. Thanks for the insights!
Usefull numbers, gives me stuff to think about, thanks!
Thank you for writing this post. As a new substacker, I'm still formulating just exactly how I want to treat this space. I love short, concise writing, and it's comforting to know that removing the pressure of finding thousands of words benefits both me and my future readers. Phew!
Thank you so much. Until it's wired into my brain, I need to read this every time I start and every time I think I've finished a post. I've been drowning in details, completeness, leaving no stone upturned....just like I'm doing with this sentence :) Thank you.
When the self pub movement kicked in big time-the early 2000’s - I met a writer at a conference where I teach who was also a tech guy. He was working on several novels, a trilogy I think, but had never published anything. I hired him to help me with my website. The advice he gave me he also applied to his own writing, was to publish LOTS. Back then, ‘algorithms’ was the buzz word, as in, the more books you publish, the higher your ranking and therefore the more eyeballs on your works. It was a trend that still may be trending out here given the sheer number of people writing and publishing. I do believe it also may factor into Amazon becoming a slush pile of draft works - I think? a billion books are now on the web for consumption. To me? this is the underbelly of independent publishing, everybody and their brother, mother, sister and father believe they can write prose worthy of putting a price tag on it.
I read every word
I don’t know much about stats, but of some of us prefer to work on miniature anyway. Knowing not only where to put the final period, but when, is a kind of grace.
Wonderful article, Sarah. And yes, I read the whole thing so what you were doing was working. I have a question, though. What do you mean by: "Regularly give your subscribers a nugget."
Super helpful thank you! I enjoy listening vs reading.