Sub for Sub

The problem with subscriber culture on Substack and how I personally operate

“If you subscribe, I’ll subscribe”, “Shamelessly subscribing to anyone I interact with here”—I’ve seen so many posts like this. I love Substack. I’ve only been on here for a week, but everyone seems super nice and I’m really excited that people are reading my work. Still, this is a problem, not just with Substack, but with the world in general. Everything is a transaction now. Everyone is either a person who can help you achieve your goal or someone who is in the way. Do I have a huge issue with these posts? No! If it works and that’s how you want to do Substack, go ahead. That’s great for you, just not for me.

I’ve also seen a few posts along the lines of “how can you ask me to subscribe, but not subscribe to me😤” I may lose subscribers for saying this, but these posts really annoy me. Like genuinely, what do you mean? I will use fictional characters named Bertha and Irene to illustrate how I see it…

I write short stories and poems. Bertha may love my short stories, but Bertha is a forty-year-old single mother navigating a divorce and that’s what she writes about. I am far from that, and I don’t want to read about it. She probably has a bunch of people who do, and I’m sure that she’s a great writer. Still, it’s not my cup of tea and I don’t want her latest post “Divorced with Children” in my inbox.

Meanwhile, Irene writes interesting accounts of things that happened in history, while providing witty commentary. I find it super entertaining, so I subscribe. However, she doesn’t like fiction, and she finds poetry boring. If she subscribes to me, my work will only cloud her inbox, forever unopened, and neither of us wants that.

I cannot stress this enough—Not every person who writes things you like, likes things you write—and vice versa. If you subscribe to me, I’ll totally check you out (unless I forget, which has happened, sorry guys), and I’ll like it if it’s good and possibly leave a comment, but that doesn’t mean I’ll subscribe. I’m also planning on querying a book soon and I get emails from teachers all of the time, so I need a relatively clear inbox.

Now, I absolutely don’t have a problem if you want to operate in a subscriber for subscriber way, but I don’t. I want my subscribers to be people who aren’t annoyed to see my posts flooding their inboxes and I want to feel the same way about people I subscribe to. It hurts to say, but if you are only subscribing to me so that I’ll subscribe to you, you might want to unsubscribe. I want to get this out early and be transparent before it is too late. Also, I do need to acknowledge, I’ve definitely commented my stuff under posts that are asking for connection and that’s my bad. I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant and I do try to look at your stuff if you respond, but I don’t always follow you.

In conclusion, you do you! Substack certainly has a place for all types of people and you can get subscribers however you want. However, I’m trying to build a space where people are appreciated for their creativity and identity, not their ability to grow a number. I just want to clarify that this is how I operate and as my subscribers, you should know that.

If you read this, thanks so much! What are your thoughts? Do you feel the same way? Do you disagree and think that this is just how Substack works? I would love to hear other opinions on the matter! 😊