There are so many newbies who need to read this. The theme days you mentioned skyrocketed my views and engagement. Also, if you're happy to be a team player and support other writers, this is a wonderful place for all fiction.
The Theme Days have helped a little for me, but not as much as I hoped they would. I'm still struggling to reach new readers. And my Notes don't seem to be getting seen by many people. You're all doing amazing, though, and it does show what's possible on here with Fiction, if you keep at it... 😎
It can feel like that on here, for sure. Especially in the early months. It's really just a case of getting people aware you're here, by engaging lots on Notes and Commenting on things you like and Restacking wherever you can. It helps a bit. But it is a very long road when you start from scratch. Good luck to you... 😎
Commenting on other people's posts helps, too. That's how I found you! Substack is a lot like the real world, there are many people we've never met and many stories we've never read, simply because this place is so big it's impossible to know what's out there. You were about to shut down The Circus out of frustration, and just happened to mention it in a comment on another Substacker's essay... I'd never heard of you before, but I thought it would be sad for you to kill off a baby story like that, so I took a peek at your Circus series and got hooked!
I know there is so much more out there, but I can't dig around Substack all day. All the work on here is like a big jumble of books at a book sale, all piled up in a random mess - everything that I read, I've found randomly. A Substack librarian would be useful! But pretty much everything I read here, I've found by happy accident. Substack is a community, a digital world. It's easy to get lost in here, but there are all kinds of wonderful rewards for the adventurous reader...
Nicely put. Thank you so much, Jeannine! Substack is this beautiful mess of stories, and it’s hard or probably even impossible to read all. I am grateful you chose to read mine.
It is a shame so much great work goes relatively unseen on here. There’s just so many good writers putting up amazing work, and only a limited number of readers we’re all trying to reach. I read and comment where I can, but of course, there’s only so much time you can spend doing that, because it’s important to work on your own things as well! 😎
Very true! Not to mention dealing with just day to day life - I have to force myself to limit what I read, simply because I have responsibilities that can't be ignored, and a limited amount of leisure time. There was a woman in one of the nursing homes I worked in who did almost nothing but read. We even had to bring her meals into her room for her. That sounds a nice sort of retirement to me! 😉
This was great! I’ve had a similar experience and would tell people the same thing. Well, the theme groups is new. Thanks for that. One thing that made me laugh though, 300% of one is three. 😉
Well, technically, there were 2 of my own e-mails like test subs too, along with my buddy’s it was 3. But I didn’t count those. I should’ve made that clear. I should stop living in my head so much and remember other people can’t read my thoughts.😂
It feels like you were writing directly to me! I honestly have been getting discouraged because I just don’t know how to find my readers, and I know they’re out there. I’m covering an entire genre! I even tried reaching out to other mystery writers but it’s been hard going. I’ve made some friends and actively participate in Notes. I’m hoping SmallStack will really take off and I’ll be able to find some people that way? Idk. Thanks for writing this, I subscribed because you seem so genuine and encouraging. Thanks for writing this when I needed to hear it the most!
Do not give up! If mystery is your genre, have you tried Macabre Monday? They are pretty flexible. The novel I first shared there wasn’t horror at all - more like urban fantasy with dark wibes. People who write mystery - @Bridget Riley and @S.E.Reid, also @Scoot.
I don’t want to be a “nay-sayer”, but I don’t believe these big community projects, like Smallstack. There’s already a thousand (?) members, I think. How are they going to help each individual stack to grow? I don’t see how it can work technically. I’m afraid it will be a big slush pile to get lost in. Smaller, more niché community projects work better, I think. Not because I happen to host Thorny Thursday.
PS very useful. thank you Kathrine. Can't bring myself to promote myself, I was born in a different culture, it's like really really going against myself. Not in the mood to hang on Notes-very rarely there.
Also arrived here with two people one of them me)) But yes you're right all these things they do help. Communities, if one can find one. Etcetera
I think your knowing, being very sure that you just have to write-that's the most important thing. I've spent my life telling myself I shouldn't, and the switch is hard sometimes.
I don’t like to promote my stories. I really don’t. But I’ve become quite shameless over time. I just approach it as a neccessary sacrifice to the good cause. Like I said - swallow that toad and just promote your stuff.
As if you can read my mind. I do feel un-seen and un-heard sometimes, then there are days that I get a sub or 2 and I feel so positive again. Thank you for sharing this.
LOL, your first piece of advice to me was about putting chapter links into each story! Gosh, what a steep learning curve! But you gave it so kindly, and it was such a positive push in the right direction!
I myself have yet to learn a lot of things about the Stack. My page is chaotic. But I have learned a few things. I want to share them, especially with those feeling lost in Substack, like I was when I started. Since I’m seeing some vultures lately trying to trick the newbies into subscribing, because those vultures claim to know “new tricks” to grow readership, I decided to share my experience. For free. Because if those people really wanted to help, like they say, they wouldn’t be asking for subs or even paid subs, to share their wisdom. Yeah, I got pissed by that.
I feel very much in the Stackvoid, so your piece felt reassuring. Since joining Substack in April I’ve gained followers, but it’s all crickets when I post in Notes. From what understood the hope is that followers may become subscribers. So I’ve been commenting and interacting in other posts, and still my posts and Notes swim in the void. Frustrating, but persistence is the name of the game. At the end of the day with all the tech and the flashy bells and whistles, we return to the basics of humanity: good old persistence. Thank you for the encouragement of your post.
Consistency is definitely key. Thank you for the advice and encouragement!
I already know a bit about needing to stay consistent through YouTube. And although it's not easy to be consistent, especially when you are a perfectionist, it is definitely the best way to grow an engaged audience!
What a great article! You speak from my soul! "SubStuck" hits the nail right on the head. Especially when it comes from platforms like Medium. Even if you have a harder time as a fiction writer, you at least get a few likes, but above all the most valuable thing: comments.
It took months. It took joining multiple theme days and active, consistent participation in them. Experimenting, trying new genres, even poetry! Good luck, just don’t give up!
Thanks for sharing your experience with Substack. I can identify. I have views, but not many subscribers. My page is free forever. I need to find a community...romance and/or memoir groups. Thanks for that nugget.
Writing to the Void. What an intriguing idea, and one that seems to resonate with me. It’s actually very Zen; egoless effort without expectation of return; art solely for the sake of expression rather than response.
I completely agree Fiction is hard on here. I was doing low numbers for about five months, too, before things started to pick up a little. I'm hoping to hit 100 Subscribers by the time I've been here a year. But I've only got a couple of months to go and I'm not quite there yet! Haha. It's a shame so much great work goes relatively unseen on here. But you're absolutely right, perseverance and consistency are the key... 😎
There are so many newbies who need to read this. The theme days you mentioned skyrocketed my views and engagement. Also, if you're happy to be a team player and support other writers, this is a wonderful place for all fiction.
The Theme Days have helped a little for me, but not as much as I hoped they would. I'm still struggling to reach new readers. And my Notes don't seem to be getting seen by many people. You're all doing amazing, though, and it does show what's possible on here with Fiction, if you keep at it... 😎
I’m lost at sea and drowning- about to abandon ship and go back to Wordpress!!! 😵💫
Deep breaths! Don’t give up on Substack just yet! Let’s see what we can do…
It can feel like that on here, for sure. Especially in the early months. It's really just a case of getting people aware you're here, by engaging lots on Notes and Commenting on things you like and Restacking wherever you can. It helps a bit. But it is a very long road when you start from scratch. Good luck to you... 😎
Commenting on other people's posts helps, too. That's how I found you! Substack is a lot like the real world, there are many people we've never met and many stories we've never read, simply because this place is so big it's impossible to know what's out there. You were about to shut down The Circus out of frustration, and just happened to mention it in a comment on another Substacker's essay... I'd never heard of you before, but I thought it would be sad for you to kill off a baby story like that, so I took a peek at your Circus series and got hooked!
I know there is so much more out there, but I can't dig around Substack all day. All the work on here is like a big jumble of books at a book sale, all piled up in a random mess - everything that I read, I've found randomly. A Substack librarian would be useful! But pretty much everything I read here, I've found by happy accident. Substack is a community, a digital world. It's easy to get lost in here, but there are all kinds of wonderful rewards for the adventurous reader...
I love your work, Kathrine!
Nicely put. Thank you so much, Jeannine! Substack is this beautiful mess of stories, and it’s hard or probably even impossible to read all. I am grateful you chose to read mine.
And I am very grateful that you chose to post them. I count myself very lucky to have found your stories among the beautiful mess! 💜
There is The Library here on Substack, and I've found some terrific fiction through there. Have you found it yet? Terrific place to hang out!
And authors can submit their work to it, too (https://thelinklibrary.substack.com/p/submit)! Very, very cool! Thank you again for this!
I found it! This looks cool! https://thelinklibrary.substack.com/
It’s very cool.
No, I haven't. Thank you for telling me about it. Now I'll need to go looking for it! 📖
It is a shame so much great work goes relatively unseen on here. There’s just so many good writers putting up amazing work, and only a limited number of readers we’re all trying to reach. I read and comment where I can, but of course, there’s only so much time you can spend doing that, because it’s important to work on your own things as well! 😎
Very true! Not to mention dealing with just day to day life - I have to force myself to limit what I read, simply because I have responsibilities that can't be ignored, and a limited amount of leisure time. There was a woman in one of the nursing homes I worked in who did almost nothing but read. We even had to bring her meals into her room for her. That sounds a nice sort of retirement to me! 😉
Yes, having the free time to do the things you want to do is a wonderful feeling and always very precious... 😎
This was great! I’ve had a similar experience and would tell people the same thing. Well, the theme groups is new. Thanks for that. One thing that made me laugh though, 300% of one is three. 😉
Well, technically, there were 2 of my own e-mails like test subs too, along with my buddy’s it was 3. But I didn’t count those. I should’ve made that clear. I should stop living in my head so much and remember other people can’t read my thoughts.😂
It feels like you were writing directly to me! I honestly have been getting discouraged because I just don’t know how to find my readers, and I know they’re out there. I’m covering an entire genre! I even tried reaching out to other mystery writers but it’s been hard going. I’ve made some friends and actively participate in Notes. I’m hoping SmallStack will really take off and I’ll be able to find some people that way? Idk. Thanks for writing this, I subscribed because you seem so genuine and encouraging. Thanks for writing this when I needed to hear it the most!
Do not give up! If mystery is your genre, have you tried Macabre Monday? They are pretty flexible. The novel I first shared there wasn’t horror at all - more like urban fantasy with dark wibes. People who write mystery - @Bridget Riley and @S.E.Reid, also @Scoot.
I don’t want to be a “nay-sayer”, but I don’t believe these big community projects, like Smallstack. There’s already a thousand (?) members, I think. How are they going to help each individual stack to grow? I don’t see how it can work technically. I’m afraid it will be a big slush pile to get lost in. Smaller, more niché community projects work better, I think. Not because I happen to host Thorny Thursday.
Good luck!🩶
You cover an entire genre? Mystery???? Oooooh, I HAVE to come check your Substack out!
Yay!
First assocation, don't know why:
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row"
PS very useful. thank you Kathrine. Can't bring myself to promote myself, I was born in a different culture, it's like really really going against myself. Not in the mood to hang on Notes-very rarely there.
Also arrived here with two people one of them me)) But yes you're right all these things they do help. Communities, if one can find one. Etcetera
I think your knowing, being very sure that you just have to write-that's the most important thing. I've spent my life telling myself I shouldn't, and the switch is hard sometimes.
Thank you again
I don’t like to promote my stories. I really don’t. But I’ve become quite shameless over time. I just approach it as a neccessary sacrifice to the good cause. Like I said - swallow that toad and just promote your stuff.
for this, one must be sure his cause is good))
As if you can read my mind. I do feel un-seen and un-heard sometimes, then there are days that I get a sub or 2 and I feel so positive again. Thank you for sharing this.
This was exactly what I needed to read this morning. Sometimes when you scream into the void, the void screams back.
LOL, your first piece of advice to me was about putting chapter links into each story! Gosh, what a steep learning curve! But you gave it so kindly, and it was such a positive push in the right direction!
I myself have yet to learn a lot of things about the Stack. My page is chaotic. But I have learned a few things. I want to share them, especially with those feeling lost in Substack, like I was when I started. Since I’m seeing some vultures lately trying to trick the newbies into subscribing, because those vultures claim to know “new tricks” to grow readership, I decided to share my experience. For free. Because if those people really wanted to help, like they say, they wouldn’t be asking for subs or even paid subs, to share their wisdom. Yeah, I got pissed by that.
Thank you, V!🩶
I feel very much in the Stackvoid, so your piece felt reassuring. Since joining Substack in April I’ve gained followers, but it’s all crickets when I post in Notes. From what understood the hope is that followers may become subscribers. So I’ve been commenting and interacting in other posts, and still my posts and Notes swim in the void. Frustrating, but persistence is the name of the game. At the end of the day with all the tech and the flashy bells and whistles, we return to the basics of humanity: good old persistence. Thank you for the encouragement of your post.
“I felt unseen. Un-heard. Un-read.” Yep. I still do much of the time, except for that core of loyal readers who lift me up always. They keep me going.
Why though?! I liked the stuff you shared for the Thorny Thursday. Hm…🤔 That’s also another problem with Substack - so many good authors.
Thank you, Kathrine! Yes, so many good authors! The question has always been, how do we get readers in here?
Consistency is definitely key. Thank you for the advice and encouragement!
I already know a bit about needing to stay consistent through YouTube. And although it's not easy to be consistent, especially when you are a perfectionist, it is definitely the best way to grow an engaged audience!
Thanks for the reminder! :)
What a great article! You speak from my soul! "SubStuck" hits the nail right on the head. Especially when it comes from platforms like Medium. Even if you have a harder time as a fiction writer, you at least get a few likes, but above all the most valuable thing: comments.
I will definitely try to follow your advice.
Thank you!
It took months. It took joining multiple theme days and active, consistent participation in them. Experimenting, trying new genres, even poetry! Good luck, just don’t give up!
I still have many stories to publish here and more stories to write. Thank you, Kathrine!
Thanks for this, is hard to know what to do, you made me want to keep going, thnx
Thanks for sharing your experience with Substack. I can identify. I have views, but not many subscribers. My page is free forever. I need to find a community...romance and/or memoir groups. Thanks for that nugget.
Hey, romance is what I’m here for! Join the Thorny Thursday tomorrow, July 11. 🌹
Okay. Thanks so much for the invite!!
Writing to the Void. What an intriguing idea, and one that seems to resonate with me. It’s actually very Zen; egoless effort without expectation of return; art solely for the sake of expression rather than response.
I completely agree Fiction is hard on here. I was doing low numbers for about five months, too, before things started to pick up a little. I'm hoping to hit 100 Subscribers by the time I've been here a year. But I've only got a couple of months to go and I'm not quite there yet! Haha. It's a shame so much great work goes relatively unseen on here. But you're absolutely right, perseverance and consistency are the key... 😎