Newsletter: A Year in the Red
or: How to Win Subscribers and (Negatively) Influence Your Checking Account
Humble Beginnings
Way back in July 2024, I went to a writing conference where someone suggested posting on Substack. I’d never been a very good (or even consistent) blogger, but I liked the idea of a social media platform centered around long-form writing. I clicked around the site, scrolled through a few tutorials, and signed up. Ten days later, I published my first short story on the platform.
One of the big decisions when starting a Substack is deciding what to put behind a paywall. I assumed (correctly!) that this blog would never really rake in a significant amount of dough, and it seemed counterproductive to ask people to read my stories only to hide half of them in a Members Only section.
On the other hand, Substack isn’t doing this for free, and I strongly suspected that a 100% free blog would be viewed less favorably by the algorithms. I needed something to lure in paid subscribers. But what?
I eventually decided to set up paid subscriptions and pledge the proceeds to charity. From my About page (which I’m certain no one has ever read):
If you do decide to subscribe, here’s a short breakdown of where your subscription goes.
- A portion goes to Substack, because that’s how they make money
- A smaller portion goes toward maintaining the site, whether that’s registering domain names, hiring web designers, or paying graphic designers to generate assets
The rest goes to non-profit charities to promote literacy
2024 came and went. I published 24 posts and ended the year with 17 free subscribers. The textbook definition of a flop, but I was still committed.
The First Subscribers
In 2025, I slowed down the posting schedule and started to devote a little more time to promoting my fantasy novel, Company of Ghosts. I participated in a few submissions calls, got more active on Notes, and made a few friends. Total subscriptions crept steadily upward, and I landed my first paid subscribers, to whom I am eternally grateful.
As a result, I’m pleased to announce that I made $250 in subscription revenue last year. After Substack’s cut and Stripe’s processing fees, that leaves $216.55 for my chosen charity, Reading is Fundamental.
According to their donation page, this is enough to get books into the hands of 54 children across the country. By way of comparison, I published 46 posts last year, which means that every time I sat down to write a post, I was—in effect—buying a book for a kid.
This is my new North Star. Those other lights in the night sky? Pure decoration, at best.
But Wait, There’s More!
The cynical readers stopped to scratch their heads a few paragraphs ago, and we should take a moment to address their concerns.
After all, wouldn’t it make more sense for my subscribers to just donate their subscriptions directly? It would cut out two middlemen, which means that more kids would get books, and they’d still be able to read the exact same posts.
Well, I had the same thought myself, which is why I decided to match my subscribers’ donations and give $216.55 to a local charity.
Technically, this means that I lost money on Substack last year, but it’s hard to see it that way. These kids live in my neighborhood. They walk on the same sidewalks as I do. They will—someday, I hope—wander through the same bookstores, driven by a lifelong love of reading. A love that started, as mine did, in childhood.
A writer without readers is nothing. By supporting me, you’ve made sure that I’ll be surrounded by readers for years to come.
Other News
The Hope and the Ruin is well underway. My first reread starts in February, and I’ve committed to finishing the first major rewrite by the end of April, so we’ll see how much I get done. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and trying to stay sane.
That’s all for this week! See you on Monday for your regularly scheduled microfiction.