Yeah, not that I don’t appreciate them, but that literary journal route can be confusing and painful. It’s cool to see the new opportunities arising with Substack. Thanks for choosing option #2.
Apart from 1965 being a very good year (at least in Sweden, in the little town Härnösand on the 31 of March when yours truly was born) I get how you're thinking. I'm doing the same, currently publishing my burnout recovery story "House on fire" in parts here on Substack.
I look forward to some (more) good reading from you in the near future. :)
I feel you. I know this struggle very well. I didn’t start seriously writing until I got sober in 2010. I wrote hundreds of stories, some of which were published in literary journals and magazines. I’ve written 12 novels, several of which have had fierce agent interest. Yet...No agent. It’s a tough game out there, man. Honestly I got knocked several times because my protagonist was a WSM (White Straight Male). Sad but true. What I love about writing on Substack is: I can be totally honest. I’ve always been a rebellious, transgressive writer. I don’t think there’s room for that in trad publishing anymore. It’s all about identity politics and safety now. Boring. My stack is growing. I’ll stick to that.
For what it’s worth, I appreciate your decision and the reasoning behind it (probably because it mirrors my own). The traditional route feels like a rigged game, but going paid on Substack right now just feels like bad timing: everybody and their brother is going paid, and there’s only so much to go around. I’m biding my time to try to build up a readership and, maybe, see if Substack comes up with some aggregate pay scheme that will work. Keep focusing on your voice and the readers will come.
A good choice, Matt. I've been putting my stories up here since June. My stories are pretty long, which makes it hard finding a home in some of the literary markets out there, so this struck me as the best way to go. All the best to your future success!
Smart move, Matt. This is sort of where my head is, too. And if you do end up getting a traditional publishing deal on something, they're going to want to see that you've been active online in building an audience anyway. Go for it, bro.🙌
Yeah, not that I don’t appreciate them, but that literary journal route can be confusing and painful. It’s cool to see the new opportunities arising with Substack. Thanks for choosing option #2.
Apart from 1965 being a very good year (at least in Sweden, in the little town Härnösand on the 31 of March when yours truly was born) I get how you're thinking. I'm doing the same, currently publishing my burnout recovery story "House on fire" in parts here on Substack.
I look forward to some (more) good reading from you in the near future. :)
Go matt go!
Sounds great, Matt. I look forward to reading your work.
I feel you. I know this struggle very well. I didn’t start seriously writing until I got sober in 2010. I wrote hundreds of stories, some of which were published in literary journals and magazines. I’ve written 12 novels, several of which have had fierce agent interest. Yet...No agent. It’s a tough game out there, man. Honestly I got knocked several times because my protagonist was a WSM (White Straight Male). Sad but true. What I love about writing on Substack is: I can be totally honest. I’ve always been a rebellious, transgressive writer. I don’t think there’s room for that in trad publishing anymore. It’s all about identity politics and safety now. Boring. My stack is growing. I’ll stick to that.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
For what it’s worth, I appreciate your decision and the reasoning behind it (probably because it mirrors my own). The traditional route feels like a rigged game, but going paid on Substack right now just feels like bad timing: everybody and their brother is going paid, and there’s only so much to go around. I’m biding my time to try to build up a readership and, maybe, see if Substack comes up with some aggregate pay scheme that will work. Keep focusing on your voice and the readers will come.
A good choice, Matt. I've been putting my stories up here since June. My stories are pretty long, which makes it hard finding a home in some of the literary markets out there, so this struck me as the best way to go. All the best to your future success!
Matt am I listed as a paid subscriber for you?
Congratulations on your new path!
Awesome Sawss!💖
I just did this with my substack. It works pretty well.
Good for you! I think this is increasingly the way.
Smart move, Matt. This is sort of where my head is, too. And if you do end up getting a traditional publishing deal on something, they're going to want to see that you've been active online in building an audience anyway. Go for it, bro.🙌
This is a really good idea. I might do the same. Thanks for the inspo 🤙
BTW, I like the way you explained how to only subscribe to part of a ‘Stack. Among the best treatments of that tricky issue I’ve seen.
Looking forward to the influx of new stories, Matt! 🔥♥️🌟