Dear Substack, you've changed.

It's time for me to reframe our relationship

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Dear Substack,

I feel hurt and a bit sad.

Let down by you.

When we first met, you promised so much, but now I’m seeing a different side to you. You caught my eye by making out that you were different, that you were unlike the social media platforms I’d been with before you. You didn’t even call yourself ‘social media’, instead a ‘new engine for culture’ or something that sounded quite pompous, but you were so charming it made me smile. Perhaps I should have trusted my instincts.

You showed me a world of writers, of connection, of community. I became entranced, but slowly slowly, you began to change. You did give me community and connection and I will be forever grateful for that, but you also started to lure me in with ideas of income, growth, financial stability – all the things that are challenging for those, like me, that you attract. You honed in on my weaknesses, my vulnerability and made me feel like I could perhaps depend on you, but that’s not the case is it?

For the first couple of years I felt so excited when people began paying to read my words. My paid subscribers crept up and up until it became enough to be noticeable each month, rather than just a cup of coffee here and there. I started to factor it in to my livelihood, but then it stopped. And began to drop off. You changed what people came to you for. You introduced ‘followers’ and ‘notes’, and the ‘viral’ infection. I know you have many others in your life, and that sometimes you choose some of us to shine your magic spotlight on - mentioning us in a weekly roundup perhaps, or even becoming a fêted ‘Substack Featured Publication’… but that light has never fallen on me no matter what I do. The quiet space is gradually being replaced with noise which makes it harder for people to find smaller writers like me. We are made to feel we need to be more, to do more - be ‘live’, post videos, make podcasts, to recommend, to be on notes ALL the time, become a bestseller…when all we want to do is write…and connect.

You remind me of when I first met a previous love of mine, Instagram. I was courted there with beauty, stillness, sanctuary. Beguiled by stunning images that I could linger on and that made my heart soar. I took time creating and sharing art, engaging in commentary with those that I chose to be aligned with. Insta has betrayed me in the most pernicious way, with its insidious controlling behaviour that now makes me feel ‘less’. Its algorithms honed to make me question my self-worth, my appearance, my life choices…while simultaneously rendering me strangely unable to leave. Bombarding me with adverts for products I have never and will never use just because I’m a ‘woman of a certain age’. Determining that I must see videos of Julia Bradbury walking backwards or taping her mouth closed at night with ‘sponsored by’ small print in the top corner. Choking my feed with collagen powder, mushroom gummies, shaper underwear and foot files. No regard for what I actually want to see: flowers, landscapes, REAL people. Not reel people. [although I do find the greyhounds and the fuzzy felt frog couple quite life enhancing – there’s always a reason to stay.]

Please don’t go the same way.

I don’t think the model you currently operate works for me either as a writer or a reader anymore. When I had a dalliance with national newspapers this month (we’re in an open relationship, right?), that paid me in about eight hours more than my Substack income does in three months. Everything I do here is thoughtful and takes time, but feeling I need to increase my presence means I have no space to write my book, or dependably earn a living. You made me feel like we could grow and grow together in a nurturing way, but that no longer feels possible. People can’t keep adding on subscriptions and neither can I - it’s not sustainable. There’s not enough time or money. You know I’m not the only one who feels this.

The Real Reason that Substack is Collapsing

Others have dreamt up a new world order…and you only have to look in the comments to see how many others are disillusioned.

We can’t keep trying to do more for less.

So what am I going to do?

I’m going to do less, and charge less. I am not going to ‘show up’ on notes five times a day just to get the algorithm to notice me. I’m going to simplify instead of keep trying to offer more and be more.

I am enough.

I’m halving my subscription rates. Yes that will hurt my pocket at first, but more importantly it will start to ease my dependency on you. I didn’t come here for the money, but you dangled it in front of me and yes, I went for it. Now I’m going to thank those that have supported me by dropping my prices significantly and come back to the real reason I am here – the writing and the community.

The first people I want to benefit from this are my current paid subscribers – those that have supported me, some since the outset. You don’t make that easy with your chatbot, but thank you for still having humans in the background who can help. I had to go through the most ridiculous conversation with the ‘support widget’ that didn’t seem to realise it was a support widget when I first enquired how to lower rates for my existing subs.

Me: What is the widget?

SW: The support widget is the chat/help box you’re using right now.

Me: My publication is called Lemon Soul. I want to reduce the rates to £3.50 monthly and £35 annually for my current subscribers

SW: Would you like me to help you phrase the request to paste into the widget?

Me: Yes

SW: You can paste this:

“Hi, I publish Lemon Soul at https://.emmasimpsonauthor.substack and would like to reduce the price for my current paid subscribers to £3.50 monthly and £35
annually. Please let me know if you need anything else from me to make this
change.”

Me: [copied and pasted into widget]

Hi, I publish Lemon Soul at https://emmasimpsonauthor.substack.com/ and would like to reduce the price for my current paid subscribers to £3.50 monthly and £35 annually. Please let me know if you need anything else from me to make this change.

SW: Since you’re already in the support widget, submit that message there and a specialist can review the request for changing current subscriber pricing. [didn’t I just do this??]

Me: So have i sent it?

SW: Not yet, you’ve pasted it here in this chat, but I can’t confirm it has been submitted to a specialist. To send it, use the support widget’s submit/send option for that message.

Me: Is this chat the same as the widget? [where I have ‘sent’ the message as advised]

SW: Yes, this chat is the support widget.

I’m going to stop chasing ‘growth’ and just be here. To write the words I love to share. To honour my subscribers both paid and unpaid. To continue to foster my lovely community and enjoy our live book club and café chats, and thank them with lower prices. To write for everyone and to trust that I will continue to connect with people without seeking reassurance from the dashboard of doom.

There will be no ‘flash sales’, coupons, gimmicks or short term discounted offers, just a very low priced sub. I will stop kidding myself that offering my paid subs access to an archive of over 200 essays is in any way an incentive because who on earth has time to look at archive posts? There is too much content in the ‘now’ let alone the past.

And if I need to focus on other things, my book, my family, my health, I will. Without feeling beholden to the pressure your model puts on creators. As we stand right now, you hold all the cards. Writers will burn out, subscribers won’t get value. Things have to change. I don’t know the solution, but I just needed to tell you how I feel in the hope it makes you reflect on different ways of being.

I think I still love you and I’m not leaving you, not yet anyway. I’m just putting us on a more equal footing.

Yours for now,

Emma

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How is Substack working for you at the moment? Do you feel it has changed? Do you think the model works? Do you get to read the content you want to? Is Notes helpful or horrible? I’d love to hear your thoughts. We don’t have a Lemon Soul Café in August, but this will be the topic for our next café chat on September 16th at 1015 UK time.

As always,

Love & lemons 💕🍋

Em xx

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