Farewell Substack
I'm decisively abandoning this newsletter and focusing on WordPress. Here are some ways to keep up with me.
Hi!
I know it’s been a while! My last Newsletter was in September and it is now December. I have decided that with my new job, my too many hobbies already and my desire to play Skyrim [writing as quickly as I can so I get time to play Skyrim before the weekend is over!], I just do not have time to cram in trying to make a Substack blog about my blog newsletter.
Since the last newsletter I did start my new job, and I’m now two months into it. Love it, I am so glad I took the plunge... but also it’s a lot to learn, with more mental load, and I can’t skive time off in quiet times to sneak blogging!
Drama
I follow Elizabeth Tai and I did catch that there has been some Substack Drama of late with comments she made about Substack’s UI/UX being taken out of context by Summer Brennan, for a rant about how people who aren’t big successful writers are just lazy and jealous losers who don’t want to put in the work, or some such. Liz’s summary Note here.
I follow them both so I had read both of the original posts. I agreed with Liz Tai in her post What I learn from one of Substack, she pointed out all the things I do not like about Substack. Summer’s post just made me feel icky, it was gatekeeper in tone, and I decided to unsubscribe.
I read all this while I was drinking my tea in the morning, and really it just reminded me that I need to get myself off Substack.
I don’t want to put in the work. I don’t have the time.
Substack is not for me. I’m not a Writer. I don’t really have ambitions to be. I’m not here to mine for gold.
I do this for FUN. I like to keep my hobbies as hobbies. If I try to do it for money it will induce the anxiety that I originally was trying to relieve.
I don’t find Substack fun.
I find the UI horrible. I hate the editor. The reader app is also a pain in arse to navigate.
The discovery tools - as Liz Tai pointed out - are rubbish if you’re looking for anything other than an already successful famous writer with loads of subscribers. If you want to find the small fries, good luck to you - happy endless scrolling. I wanted to find other small bloggers like me... I have no idea how to do that on Substack!
I hate the endless “subscribe” prompts as a reader. I hate that it prompts you for your email - and money - before you have even read an article!
Since Notes the whole place has a social media vibe that I don’t like. I don’t need another app to keep up with either!
I’m Sticking with WordPress
So I have moved my old Newsletters to my website, and I’m going to focus on using the tools WordPress gives me to engage with other bloggers. (Now I finally figured out how to get Jetpack set up properly!) Those are also not amazing discovery tools but they’re lightyears better than Substack.
I am looking for online community and it’s not here, but maybe I can find it there.
If you do want to keep up with me (my precious 7 Subscribers) here are some options, more details on this page.
Wordpress Email Subscription
Wordpress Follow/Subscription if you have an account and use their Reader.
RSS feeds - my posts might be about books, embroidery or just personal blogging so you can subscribe to just specific feeds if you use an RSS Reader.
I am on Mastodon too: https://universeodon.com/@alice_digest
For my own following I’m slowly moving the Substacks I subscribe to my RSS feed reader instead.