StackVoid

Or the struggle to make it on Substack is real. Substack newbies, I’m addressing especially you!

*image taken from Canva.

Can anybody hear me?! Does anyone see my posts or Notes? No? Is this Substack thing even working? What am I doing wrong? I don’t get it. I guess, nobody likes my writing. I’ll give this Substack thing another week, then I’m quitting. It’s not working.

This is what it felt like when I first started my Substack nearly a year ago. Now I call it the StackVoid and smile, but back then I didn’t feel like smiling. Oh, no! Quite the opposite. I felt unseen. Un-heard. Un-read. And for a writer who wants to share their work, there’s nothing worse than to feel un-read. I cried. I literally cried over my stats - maybe there were some views, but mostly there were none. Not to mention reactions or comments! A “like”? Are you kidding me?

There was nothing for 4 months, I think. What did I do wrong? Probably nothing. I had the disadvantage to start from scratch. My writing buddy was my first subscriber because she was kind enough to do it for testing. I wanted to see if maybe there’s something wrong from a sub’s perspective.

Back then I didn’t know much about how Substack “works” plus being tech stupid didn’t help. I was stuck in the StackVoid and I had no idea how to get readers. I posted my urban fantasy novel consistently, a chapter per week. I promoted it on Notes a couple of times a week. I made hand-drawn thumbnails. It didn’t help. Nothing did. I was invisible. I blamed the algorithm. And it probably was to blame. It’s like you’re stuck on the shore, and you can’t get into that current. I was SubStuck. What got my Stack going was consistency and persistency. I didn’t give up. I waded and paddled to get near that active current. I tried to understand Notes. Until I stumbled upon Macabre Monday events on Notes. It was like a sign from Heaven. The title of my novel was “Cirque du Macabre”. I needed to know more about this Macabre Monday. It turned out - I could join it. Share my novel every Monday. It was what gave my Substack that boost it needed to find readers. And then my readership began to grow. Slowly but consistently. I explored Notes. Began interacting with others. If I had a thought I felt like sharing, I didn’t hold back, I shared it. As little as a sentence. I found other events - Warrior Wednesday, for fantasy, etc.. I began writing and sharing other stuff - horror, fantasy. I entered competitions on Substack, I promoted my stuff more frequently. And things got going. From more views, to likes, to finally comments. Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The views were low between the Winter Holidays. Along with other events, it got me down to a point where I nearly quit sharing my novel. I can only thank God for sending me that one reader who not only binged all the chapters and liked them, but also requested me to go on with sharing on Substack. For that I will be forever grateful (no kidding!).

Why am I writing this? I wanted to share my journey with the new fiction Substackers, along with some observations and advice. I’m not the biggest success story on Substack, but considering I came here with one subscriber (plus my own two test e-mails as subs), my stack has grown 300%. It’s not some special wisdom, just my experience and some tips:

• Fiction stacks take time to grow. Definitely more than non-fiction stacks.

• Readers will most likely choose to read a short story or even flash fiction over a long-serialized novel.

• There is no magic bullshit way to grow your sub count quickly, at least not for fiction stacks, no matter what some Substackers try to tell you. Don’t trust them. Most likely they just want to use your desperation.

• Stay consistent! Don’t give up. Publish stuff consistently. Once a week or once a month, whatever. Readers, like any other human being want to trust you will deliver. Their time is precious, and they want to plan it.

• Your readers are real people not sub numbers and stats. Talk to them. A small newsletter is enough to inform people about what you’re writing and publishing in the near future.

• Keep promoting your work on Notes, on FB or anywhere you can. Yes, it’s kind of embarrassing, but swallow that toad and keep promoting! If you don’t promote, how will they know about your work?

• Try to maintain the quality of your work high. It’s my weak point, I’m bad at editing.  But you’ll do better than me, right?!

• Don’t stress if you find a glaring typo in your published work. Take a deep breath, go back and edit it! That’s what I like about Substack. Although I try my best, I know it’s a work in progress, and I can go back to edit it. Sadly, the version you send to your Subs cannot be updated. And even that isn’t the end of the world, because the subs understand that not all authors have professional editors at hand to help them.

• Promote your work when it’s daytime in US (if you’re not from the US). Majority of the Stackers are from the US. When do people read actively? In the mornings and evenings.

• Join a themed day/ prompt / competition on Substack. There are many to choose from:

Microdosing for flash fiction, hosted by

Miguel S.

Macabre Monday - horror, dark fiction, hosted by

The Chronicler

Jon T

Shaina Read

John Coon

Warrior Wednesday and Swords&Saturday - epic fantasy, dark fantasy hosted by

The Brothers Krynn

Thorny Thursday - romance, love fiction, poetry, hosted by me

Kathrine Elaine

(currently happening once a month, next date July 11)

SciFriday - Sci-fi hosted by

Andrew Smith

Sunny (funny) Sunday - humour, hosted by

Addam Ledamyen

Horror Haiku - hosted by

Honeygloom

And there are more!

Join any of these, it will help to get more exposure on your work!

• What else helps? Interact with others on Notes! Tag people whose opinion you value, to read your work!

• Don’t try to get attention by posting controversial/divisive thoughts on Notes deliberately. I’ve seen people do that for attention. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t get them more subs.

• What else? Imagine your Substack page as a garden. Take care of it to help it grow. Make it understandable and easy to navigate. (I’m guilty, my page is a bit chaotic). Number your chapters in the title. Mention the genre or any trigger warnings in the subtitle. Make index pages for serialized stuff. (I still have to do more of that…)

• It will take time to grow. Especially for fiction writers, but as my writing buddy (off Substack) said - it will be a real readership, because it’s a slow, steady growth, created by people interested in my work.

• And there is no “magic trick” to jazz up that number of subs. No matter what the “kind” guys and gals on the stack say. Don’t buy into their scams. Even if they’re not asking you to go paid (yet!), their goal is to suck that sweet attention and your subscription to raise their numbers.

• Remember, it’s not about the numbers! It’s about readers. Many of the subs won’t be readers. The numbers are important, sure, but don’t worry about them too much, please!

  What would I have liked to hear when I was stuck in the StackVoid and felt alone and unwanted on Substack? If writing is your thing, don’t give up on Substack! Especially if you’re a bit shy like me, if you’re not ready to self-publish, or if you don’t have any luck with trad publishing. Substack is the right place for you. And Substack definitely has a place for you. Be patient! Please, be patient. Do your thing.  Be active. Don’t be afraid! Don’t despair! It will happen. You will get out of the StackVoid! You will be heard. You are not alone in this. Good luck, my friend!

P.s. I have thought about what would happen, if one day I lose all subs or Substack would shut down or something. I would still write. My stories will stay with me. That will not change.

P.p.s. Sometimes I still get scared if the next thing I share will lose me subs. I’m still sad when it happens. It still hurts when a story/essay I share flops. I guess it’s a part of the process you have to accept. Heck, maybe this essay will flop, but hey, I had a go. I tried something. I wanted to help. I hope I have. If I can help with information or something, feel free to DM me.

(Yes, I am hosting the Thorny Thursday. You might think it brought me hundreds of subs. Nope. Firstly, I didn’t do it for subs. Secondly, I did expect a growth, and it did happen, but a lot less than you’d think. My own writing has brought me more subs than the TT ever did.)

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Finally, I wanted to thank all the people who have actively helped me with my growth on Substack with advice, restacks and kind words. Though my journey isn’t over, I just wanted you to know I am grateful. Thank you

Jeannine

! Thank you Macabre Monday team! Thank you

Joyce

V Kelly-Sibley

The Brothers Krynn

The Man Behind the Screen

Joseph Wiess

Ika Wright

and all the other wonderful, kind people on Substack!

If you think this whole rant of mine could help anybody new to Substack or anybody stuck in the StackVoid, please feel free to share/restack it! I am not adding the Subscribe buttons. It’s not about me.🩶