I've had this post up in one of my tabs for several days. Sorry it has taken this long to comment. I am pondering the same questions about subscriptions, etc. I haven't turned mine on and think that, when I do, I'll keep everything free but invite contributions. I think it all depends on your goals for your newsletter. I see mine as a way to meet others with similar interests, to introduce them to the fiction I am working on, encourage and learn from each other, iron sharpening iron along the way. I don't see how I can produce additional material that would justify a paywall. I'm painfully aware that every hour spent on my newsletter essays, articles, etc. is precious time taken from my long-form fiction. My fiction progress is paying a real cost here. My Substack newsletters are short but take between 3 and 5 hours to write and edit. That's a lot of important hours lost on the fiction every week. Last week I was considering reducing my newsletters/posts from one per week to once every two weeks. And yet, without our newsletters, etc. we toil away alone--neither smart, nor healthy. I wish someone had answers for us, but we're all finding our way. I'm wishing you well in your adventure here!
I've had this post up in one of my tabs for several days. Sorry it has taken this long to comment. I am pondering the same questions about subscriptions, etc. I haven't turned mine on and think that, when I do, I'll keep everything free but invite contributions. I think it all depends on your goals for your newsletter. I see mine as a way to meet others with similar interests, to introduce them to the fiction I am working on, encourage and learn from each other, iron sharpening iron along the way. I don't see how I can produce additional material that would justify a paywall. I'm painfully aware that every hour spent on my newsletter essays, articles, etc. is precious time taken from my long-form fiction. My fiction progress is paying a real cost here. My Substack newsletters are short but take between 3 and 5 hours to write and edit. That's a lot of important hours lost on the fiction every week. Last week I was considering reducing my newsletters/posts from one per week to once every two weeks. And yet, without our newsletters, etc. we toil away alone--neither smart, nor healthy. I wish someone had answers for us, but we're all finding our way. I'm wishing you well in your adventure here!