My Substack by the Numbers
Happy Anniversary to Me!
It’s my Substack anniversary. Although reluctant, I took a look at the stats and tried to draw some conclusions from those numbers - a few revelations about who I am as a Substack writer.
Stupid, stupid idea. But here goes…
Stat #1: Two years ago on June 19, I wrote my first post (article) for Substack. Since then, I’ve written 165 posts. That’s an average of 1.6 articles a week. If I wasn’t in such a snarky mood, I would argue that my average is pretty good. But that little computation is a big old lie. And I just won’t have it.
Revelation #1: The average might be nice, but the publishing dates tell the truth. I have not always been consistent. When I started teaching last fall, it got worse. Hard to write when I’m reading essays full of AI research and phrases.
Stat #2: 127 free subscribers and 574 followers. There should really be about 140 subscribers, but I lost a few along the way.
Revelation #2: Maybe I’m not so great at this. Some of the folks I’ve subscribed to in the last couple of years have had thousands of subscribers, and some of them have only been on Substack for a year or less. They don’t write what I write, though. So there’s that.
Stat #3: I have written 10 different types of stuff. I’ve now abandoned some of it for legal reasons, some of it has been merged into better sections, and others because they were stupid ideas.
Revelation #3: I’ve settled into writing the things that are valuable to me - my novel (creativity that means something to me), my book discussions (no longer academic but so much like a book club), and my Mimi Life observations. It feels like home, this writing. Like pecan pie that I didn’t overcook.
Stat#4: My posts don’t gain many new subscribers. My first post “And, so it begins” on June 19, 2024, added 7 free subscribers. Of those seven, two have unsubscribed and three have stopped reading anything. The other two are loyal, wonderful readers, though.
Revelation #4: Again, maybe I suck at this. Or maybe I am not writing interesting pieces worth reading for the million Substack readers who do not subscribe to me. Or maybe I don’t advertise enough. But I am reluctant to change any of what I do because I enjoy it so much.
Stat#5: I’ve had more “schedules” here than I can count. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve added an apology to an article because I posted “late” and felt so guilty.
Revelation #5: I now have a firm schedule. I post an article every other day for one of three sections: Mimilife, The Unnamed Cinderella Project, and Notes from the Margins. Because I finally realize that nobody really cares about the timing of posting. I mean, who has time to care about whether they have received their Monday essays. I have several stacks that I am devoted to and couldn’t tell you what day they will arrive. I read those as soon as I can and keep going.
**Just FYI: After July 3, this every other day business will shift a bit because one of those posts will be a post sent to paid subscribers (an extra post of Notes from the Margins).
Stat #6: Of the 165 posts, I have 7 with over a hundred views.
Revelation #6: On one hand, this stat irritates me because it is about views and not about reads. It might mean that ten people read the post while the rest opened it and deleted it after the first line. No way of knowing how much time anyone spends with the work. On the other hand, a hundred people feels like a lot, so I’m going to pretend that they all read the thing and thought nice things about me.
I also think that people have lives and sometimes they just can’t fit this reading into their daily schedule. So I’m okay with the whole some read and some don’t truth.
Stat #7: The money question - people want to know if I’m making any money. Well, not really. I have had a few tips, which makes me emotional. One reader pledged an annual subscription, causing me to do the happy dance and hurt my hip.
Revelation #7: I started offering paid subscriptions two weeks ago, and I’m still not sure that I’m worth it. The idea that someone would pay a monthly fee in order to read my work feels like pressure and Three Musketeers bars at the same time.
**Just FYI, my monthly subscription fee is $5 and my annual subscription fee is $51. I did not want the reader who offered the $50 last year to get charged, and I could not remove or delete the pledge, so Substack told me to make my annual fee higher than the pledge. It worked - the reader didn’t get charged.
Stat #8: I’ve “quit” Substack twice and wanted to quit more than a dozen other times. I wake up in the morning thinking I should just quit. I read a brilliant essay or piece of serialized fiction and think I should just quit.
Revelation #8: I’m going to write no matter what, and Substack is a better place to post than others. I’ve met some amazing writers here, read essays that I’ve saved and returned to read more than a few times, and found that I truly love hearing from people that visit my tiny little corner of the universe.
ICYMI - here are links to three of my favorite posts, one from each of the sections (which I’m still organizing, by the way):
The Prophecy - first chapter of TUCP
Oh The Places You'll Go - Notes from the Margins
Thanks for the last two years. Y’all are the best. And cheers to year three. Next year, I’m baking myself a real cake for the picture.
Hi! I just wanted to pop in and say that I often read emails in preview mode, which apparently doesn't flag them as being read.
I don't read everything that lands in my inbox everyday, but what I do usually eats up an hour or so and then I feel guilty I wasn't writing instead!
I've been here a year and am still wondering what is the best way to manage myself as a Substack writer - so far, most days I feel like it's managing me and feels a little out-of-control and dumping way too much pressure and expectation!
However, I'm loving the extra productivity it's added to my life. On the other hand, I wonder if I am not just playing the same old game but on a different platform...
Overall I feel the experience is moving me closer to my ultimate goal, so that has to be a good thing, right?
Happy Anniversary, Mimi!