I edited this in up top but: The overwhelming response poll-wise (and hard subscription numbers–wise) is interest in the subject, but lack of interest in subscribing for it. So we’ll see if I think I can do it, but it’s likely that it will be free to read. Thanks for your input, everybody!
I love your writing (I can’t stand Taylor Swift’s music or cultural personality but I DEVOUR your work on her and while it hasn’t changed my opinion on her music, I do feel more informed about her as a pop star and find that more interesting than I used to) and this post has convinced me to subscribe regardless of what you focus on, so maybe the occasional post like this with open comments to everyone would help bring in more subscribers. (I know that’s not the point of this post and not what you were asking about, but it seemed worth saying anyway.)
omg "I hate Taylor Swift but like reading your posts about her" is such a high compliment, particularly in this time of Taylor supersaturation!! thank you!!!!
I really like reading your writing! I'm not particularly interested in Sofia Coppola and trying to be cautious about how many American writers/publications I pay for (global American hegemony etc) but notebook is definitely one of the publications I'd like to pay for when I'm able to
Older reader here who doesn’t care much for Coppola things or Taylor Swift (according to my 20-year-old daughter, she keeps writing the same song over).
Breaking even is a great idea, a sound principle. Can even be a helpful guideline for content writing, like a constraint within which to find freedom, blah blah. You could write about the Coppola movies without buying the book, that would still be compelling. I like the idea of a running theme over several weeks (even if the theme doesn’t appeal to me, but maybe you can convince me to watch those movies). As long as you also keep other content coming for the grumpies.
I don’t like the Capsule reviews when they mix different sort of movies, it’s confusing (older AND type A reader?).
I like your other content on sickness, stays in the hospital and sticking by your guilty friends, etc. I like the mix of that + pop culture. Side comment: we all like your writing here, you could drop some the “I think” and “I feel like”, which diffuses your insightful points. We know this is you thinking and feeling (older and unsentimental reader).
Also, I accidentally voted on the question for the non-subscribers and couldn’t remove my vote.
Hm, I'll think about the capsule reviews… right now I just take notes on things I'm reading or watching as I go and then when a certain mass has built up I organize it into a newsletter. Obviously it yields somewhat chaotic results but hmm.
You're totally right about "I think" stuff though. Bad habit.
I have comparable subscriber numbers, although you’re beating me a little bit; I worry about a lot of the same issues; I have about the same pattern of subscriptions rising, plateauing, dipping, and then rising again; and I have basically settled into the same erratic-posting-for-lack-of-being-able-to-make-anything-else-workable. I am only ahead of you in having already done the “readers pay extra if they want a whole series about one of my obsessions“ thing – I did that on my old Patreon before I gave that up. Now’d you think that the sense of argumentative or narrative progression in a series would cause more people to commit, but actually, my experience is that I get paid subscriber growth when I am just kind of posting away about the stuff I care about, as I can, doing series as I feel like it. And that promising a whole series for paid subscribers in advance just made me feel more stressed. Now, the series I was doing was reading through the works of Henry and William James, while you’re talking about a filmmaker, so that’s a little different in terms of work hours. I think you should just Sofiapost bc it’s fun, and trust that paid subscribers will continue to show up.
In terms of getting paid subscribers fast, the biggest thing any of us could probably do is to comment indiscreetly on something that social media is mad about and then lock the post after a preview.
i feel like i phrased the original post badly bc this isn't about fast subscriber growth but more:
—let's say the average cost on one SC post is $100 (sometimes more, sometimes less), purely in terms of buying movies and books and such, not factoring in time
—then eight SC features films + probably at least one Godfather III post = $900
it's really about breaking even on such a venture, not about big subscriber growth
I’m just here to know what you’re thinking about these days & to support you! But I do appreciate learning about stuff I don’t specifically follow (like Taylor Swift) so I bet I’d enjoy a Sofia Coppola series.
oh, i literally forgot i was paying money lol...... i'm not here for capital-c Content, i just treat this like livejournal. that said, i want you to take my money regardless of what or how often you post. but sincerely: if you aren't actively trying to turn this into a significant income source, and are publishing primarily for funsies, then please do not let the imperatives of the market sink their deadly hooks into your pleasure. i hope you'll update when you like, about whatever you like, and push the real or imagined audience out of your mind when making those choices. to paraphrase kanye, your presence is a present kiss my ass
yeah i'm not trying to make it into a major income source, just not a major income sink, if that makes sense. but it could be this is just the wrong approach. on the other hand it's kind of cool to meet all these people maybe i should always leave the comments open…
I do appreciate that you don’t have a pay wall--grad student here--but I love your writing and would pay for a general subscription. I know that’s not what you are proposing but whatever gives you the most time and freedom to muse about what’s on your mind seems ideal to me. That said I would be curious about the Coppola series and would probably pay to subscribe if you go that route.
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this substack, which I enjoy so thoroughly whenever I take the time to read it, in large part because of the open and capacious intellect I sense pulsing behind it. I hope to "convert" one day soon and become a paid subscriber, and in the meantime I'm thrilled I still get to be part of the adventure.
This might come across as annoying and unhelpful, but I think you should only follow whatever genuinely interests you, even if you don't have a precise gauge of how readers will respond. We all (clearly!) really appreciate your writing, and are drawn to what you're doing. Not every subject will strike everyone's interests, but I think people will stick around as long as you're clearly writing about the things you're passionate about.
I'm truly really excited for whatever you write about - you're a lovely writer and I always look forward to your pieces, even if I'm slightly terrified of a SC series *forcing* me to revisit Godfather III...
This isn't a particular interest of mine, so I wouldn't be more excited for it than your other posts, and it wouldn't make the difference in whether I had a paid subscription. Fwiw, my favorite pieces of yours tend to be the ones in the "so, something I've been thinking a lot about lately is..." vein. (And the TS studies ones, but those seems to be a subset of that category?)
1- i'm here because you write so well, and reading your writing does me much good.
(i'm pretty sure john ganz tweet/complimented your writing & i paid attention. if it wasn't him, i'm just lucky)
2- exhibit A: i am much more appreciated by my life partner and my 11-year-old granddaughter because i know stuff about taylor swift. (shooting baskets with my granddaughter last week, she showed me 4 bracelets she made and was wearing on one wrist, each bracelet spelled out a taylor swift album in letter beads.)
3- to get to the point, yes, i would like to read your thoughts on sofia coppola's films.
4- & you deserve more paying subscribers.
5- & thanks for so many writings lately. yesterday's is still with me; it's a hard one.
"Swift’s deal on Monday specifies that the hypothetical equity sale will result in payments to Universal’s artists regardless of their account status, meaning they’ll receive money even if they’re in the red with the company for unrecovered advances. (Sony gave those terms to its artists when it cashed out in Spotify shares earlier this year, but Warner declined to ignore artist balances, meaning that much of the money Warner gave out just went back to the label.)
A source close to the matter tells Rolling Stone that Swift’s alignment with UMG chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge’s approach to artist payments — specifically, his interest in offering Spotify equity to artists without withholding any money owed — was instrumental in the singer’s decision to sign a deal with Universal over the other labels."
no… yearly subscribers can do the "founding" thing and pay what they want over the normal yearly amount, but otherwise the only way to do that would be to raise rates in general (which I don't want to do)
I edited this in up top but: The overwhelming response poll-wise (and hard subscription numbers–wise) is interest in the subject, but lack of interest in subscribing for it. So we’ll see if I think I can do it, but it’s likely that it will be free to read. Thanks for your input, everybody!
I love your writing (I can’t stand Taylor Swift’s music or cultural personality but I DEVOUR your work on her and while it hasn’t changed my opinion on her music, I do feel more informed about her as a pop star and find that more interesting than I used to) and this post has convinced me to subscribe regardless of what you focus on, so maybe the occasional post like this with open comments to everyone would help bring in more subscribers. (I know that’s not the point of this post and not what you were asking about, but it seemed worth saying anyway.)
omg "I hate Taylor Swift but like reading your posts about her" is such a high compliment, particularly in this time of Taylor supersaturation!! thank you!!!!
I really like reading your writing! I'm not particularly interested in Sofia Coppola and trying to be cautious about how many American writers/publications I pay for (global American hegemony etc) but notebook is definitely one of the publications I'd like to pay for when I'm able to
Thank you!! I hear you on the American bit.…
Older reader here who doesn’t care much for Coppola things or Taylor Swift (according to my 20-year-old daughter, she keeps writing the same song over).
Breaking even is a great idea, a sound principle. Can even be a helpful guideline for content writing, like a constraint within which to find freedom, blah blah. You could write about the Coppola movies without buying the book, that would still be compelling. I like the idea of a running theme over several weeks (even if the theme doesn’t appeal to me, but maybe you can convince me to watch those movies). As long as you also keep other content coming for the grumpies.
I don’t like the Capsule reviews when they mix different sort of movies, it’s confusing (older AND type A reader?).
I like your other content on sickness, stays in the hospital and sticking by your guilty friends, etc. I like the mix of that + pop culture. Side comment: we all like your writing here, you could drop some the “I think” and “I feel like”, which diffuses your insightful points. We know this is you thinking and feeling (older and unsentimental reader).
Also, I accidentally voted on the question for the non-subscribers and couldn’t remove my vote.
Hm, I'll think about the capsule reviews… right now I just take notes on things I'm reading or watching as I go and then when a certain mass has built up I organize it into a newsletter. Obviously it yields somewhat chaotic results but hmm.
You're totally right about "I think" stuff though. Bad habit.
I wouldn't do a whole-year subscription, but I might consider going month-to-month.
Thank you!
I have comparable subscriber numbers, although you’re beating me a little bit; I worry about a lot of the same issues; I have about the same pattern of subscriptions rising, plateauing, dipping, and then rising again; and I have basically settled into the same erratic-posting-for-lack-of-being-able-to-make-anything-else-workable. I am only ahead of you in having already done the “readers pay extra if they want a whole series about one of my obsessions“ thing – I did that on my old Patreon before I gave that up. Now’d you think that the sense of argumentative or narrative progression in a series would cause more people to commit, but actually, my experience is that I get paid subscriber growth when I am just kind of posting away about the stuff I care about, as I can, doing series as I feel like it. And that promising a whole series for paid subscribers in advance just made me feel more stressed. Now, the series I was doing was reading through the works of Henry and William James, while you’re talking about a filmmaker, so that’s a little different in terms of work hours. I think you should just Sofiapost bc it’s fun, and trust that paid subscribers will continue to show up.
In terms of getting paid subscribers fast, the biggest thing any of us could probably do is to comment indiscreetly on something that social media is mad about and then lock the post after a preview.
i feel like i phrased the original post badly bc this isn't about fast subscriber growth but more:
—let's say the average cost on one SC post is $100 (sometimes more, sometimes less), purely in terms of buying movies and books and such, not factoring in time
—then eight SC features films + probably at least one Godfather III post = $900
it's really about breaking even on such a venture, not about big subscriber growth
though maybe that's a crass and bad way of thinking about things, i don't know…
Ah got it
I loved the James Brothers series and I'm sorry that it hasn't continued, and this gave me the same vibes *immediately*.
I’ll bring it back someday, someway
If you enjoy it, please do. But I'd hate for you to be torturing yourself for my sake!
I’m just here to know what you’re thinking about these days & to support you! But I do appreciate learning about stuff I don’t specifically follow (like Taylor Swift) so I bet I’d enjoy a Sofia Coppola series.
<3
I'm happy paying already, not more interested in the series than other posts but would read it.
Thank you!
oh, i literally forgot i was paying money lol...... i'm not here for capital-c Content, i just treat this like livejournal. that said, i want you to take my money regardless of what or how often you post. but sincerely: if you aren't actively trying to turn this into a significant income source, and are publishing primarily for funsies, then please do not let the imperatives of the market sink their deadly hooks into your pleasure. i hope you'll update when you like, about whatever you like, and push the real or imagined audience out of your mind when making those choices. to paraphrase kanye, your presence is a present kiss my ass
yeah i'm not trying to make it into a major income source, just not a major income sink, if that makes sense. but it could be this is just the wrong approach. on the other hand it's kind of cool to meet all these people maybe i should always leave the comments open…
I do appreciate that you don’t have a pay wall--grad student here--but I love your writing and would pay for a general subscription. I know that’s not what you are proposing but whatever gives you the most time and freedom to muse about what’s on your mind seems ideal to me. That said I would be curious about the Coppola series and would probably pay to subscribe if you go that route.
Thank you!
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this substack, which I enjoy so thoroughly whenever I take the time to read it, in large part because of the open and capacious intellect I sense pulsing behind it. I hope to "convert" one day soon and become a paid subscriber, and in the meantime I'm thrilled I still get to be part of the adventure.
thank you!! :)
This might come across as annoying and unhelpful, but I think you should only follow whatever genuinely interests you, even if you don't have a precise gauge of how readers will respond. We all (clearly!) really appreciate your writing, and are drawn to what you're doing. Not every subject will strike everyone's interests, but I think people will stick around as long as you're clearly writing about the things you're passionate about.
I think you're right in general! It is quite likely I will substack about SC whether I get more subscribers or not, if we're honest…
I'm truly really excited for whatever you write about - you're a lovely writer and I always look forward to your pieces, even if I'm slightly terrified of a SC series *forcing* me to revisit Godfather III...
This isn't a particular interest of mine, so I wouldn't be more excited for it than your other posts, and it wouldn't make the difference in whether I had a paid subscription. Fwiw, my favorite pieces of yours tend to be the ones in the "so, something I've been thinking a lot about lately is..." vein. (And the TS studies ones, but those seems to be a subset of that category?)
I think that's because I'm always thinking a lot about Taylor Swift… 😭
And the world is better for it!
1- i'm here because you write so well, and reading your writing does me much good.
(i'm pretty sure john ganz tweet/complimented your writing & i paid attention. if it wasn't him, i'm just lucky)
2- exhibit A: i am much more appreciated by my life partner and my 11-year-old granddaughter because i know stuff about taylor swift. (shooting baskets with my granddaughter last week, she showed me 4 bracelets she made and was wearing on one wrist, each bracelet spelled out a taylor swift album in letter beads.)
3- to get to the point, yes, i would like to read your thoughts on sofia coppola's films.
4- & you deserve more paying subscribers.
5- & thanks for so many writings lately. yesterday's is still with me; it's a hard one.
thank you for this comment!!
here is a fun taylor swift article for your granddaughter: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/taylor-swift-universal-republic-deal-spotify-758102/
"Swift’s deal on Monday specifies that the hypothetical equity sale will result in payments to Universal’s artists regardless of their account status, meaning they’ll receive money even if they’re in the red with the company for unrecovered advances. (Sony gave those terms to its artists when it cashed out in Spotify shares earlier this year, but Warner declined to ignore artist balances, meaning that much of the money Warner gave out just went back to the label.)
A source close to the matter tells Rolling Stone that Swift’s alignment with UMG chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge’s approach to artist payments — specifically, his interest in offering Spotify equity to artists without withholding any money owed — was instrumental in the singer’s decision to sign a deal with Universal over the other labels."
You should do a paid subscriber post where you cook every meal in Redwall (series inclusive)
I would pay for this.
wonder how pancreas friendly that set up is 🤔
I’m curious - would it be possible to add tiers for paid subscribers who would actively like to give more per month than $5?
no… yearly subscribers can do the "founding" thing and pay what they want over the normal yearly amount, but otherwise the only way to do that would be to raise rates in general (which I don't want to do)