Do you really need a... Substack?

Kyle MacNeill is a freelance writer based in Manchester, currently contributing to Rolling Stone, GQ, Vogue, Esquire and Playboy. After focusing on fashion and culture for the likes of THE FACE, Dazed and i-D, he has since entered the longread world.

Carolyn Yoo is a New York-based artist and writer whose work sits at the intersection of creative practice and inner life. She helps creatives build more authentic and fulfilling practices through her workshops and her Substack, See You.

Rhys Thomas is a writer and editorial consultant, and previously a full-time journalist. Alongside writing, he now works on storytelling and brand strategy for good organisations.

Alice Zoo is a photographer and writer based in London. Her work has been commissioned by National Geographic, The New York Times and The New Yorker, and has been exhibited internationally. Her writing has been published by the British Journal of Photography, FT Weekend and Granta, and she has given lectures on photography at Tate Modern, MK Gallery, and universities across the UK. Her photography Substack is called INTERLOPER.

Carolyn: “Substack cannot magically grow your audience or bring you a large amount of money just because you turned on paid subscriptions. It is increasingly difficult to grow a following on Substack, especially from scratch.”

Alice: “It's enough that it feels like I'm getting a little payment for each piece that I write, which is maybe not so far off what I might be getting editorially.”

Rhys: “I think because I have written for established publications – and been paid to – I feel like any energy I have for writing should go into that form. [...] If you are trying to build a portfolio, I’d still pitch paying publications first, but things are slow out there. If the convenience of potential career acceleration outweighs the lack of money, fine.”

Kyle: “I want to save my best ideas for places that pay, rather than dish them out in a newsletter that I don’t think will cut through.”

Kyle: “For me, Substack is great for writers starting out and looking to build up a portfolio, or established writers with dedicated followings and, for the most part, a focus on first-person writing. The diaristic vibe of Substack lends itself really well to writers who mainly focus on opinion and personal essays [...] It’s a fun way to shoot-from-the-lip and be chatty and gossipy and funny.”

Carolyn: “Substack is useful for creatives who want to experimentally share their process, use the longform format to develop a deeper relationship with their audience, and value documentation and self-exploration as a vital part of creative work. It's also great if you have an offering for your audience (whether it's analogue mail, a community gathering or bonus essays/comics/etc) that you want to paywall.”

Rhys: “It can be used just like any other platform, in which you can grow a following, exposure and validation as a creator. Editors will be on there commissioning writers for their publications, if they aren’t already. In these regards, it’s a very fruitful place to lurk as an “emerging” talent.”

Alice: “I would often start projects and start writing various things that wouldn't get finished, because I just wasn't accountable to anyone, or there wasn't any deadline. Creatively speaking, I think it's [Substack] been incredibly useful for me to formalise my personal writing practice. [...] Having some kind of system where you're accountable to an audience, however small, is useful.”

Alice: “I think for quite a long time, I was feeling like I was writing for other people a lot. [...] [On Substack] I felt like I could put more of my own voice in it, or perhaps take on ideas that were more unwieldy or experimental or ambiguous in some way.”

Rhys: “I have at times tested out creative ideas to gauge a basic reaction from people who are interested in reading what I do.”

Alice: “There's just this immediacy where if I have an idea, even if it's a bit odd or personal, it means that I can just turn it into a newsletter quite quickly without going through that pitching process.”

Kyle: “Column inches are becoming millimetres, print publications are folding like pancakes and doors in the media industry are continually closing. Which is all to say, it’s never been harder to find work as a writer. Substack gives you an instant platform to get your ideas out there.”

Rhys: “I don’t constantly need my voice and name to be out there. I probably write less than 5% of the ideas I think about; I pitch even less of them to publications. For me, that’s how things should be. It isn’t how you “win” though.”

Kyle: “If writing is all about a personal brand now (sigh!) then Substack is a useful way to build one.”

Alice: “It's given me another platform where my identity as a writer has been established a bit more clearly.”

Rhys: “I feel incredibly unrepresented by media, and I think had Substack been around when I was younger, I’d likely have used it to force my way into or against the traditional media industry, which doesn’t pay people enough to live on if they aren’t from London or rich. I can see ways in which Substack, like other social media, democratises the playing field. But ultimately, this isn’t currently Substack’s priority, nor is it a good solution.”

Alice: “Teaching and lecturing and workshop opportunities have come directly from my Substack. For example, I teach on the faculty of the International Centre of Photography now; the course is called Dialogue and Correspondences, and it's about the interview as a creative form. I think that opportunity came to me on the basis of the interviews that they'd read on my Substack.”

Rhys: “It’s similar to how Twitter used to be, but with extra space for thoughtfulness. Followings let you do things more easily. Money may fall in from there, or a book deal, or simply some clients giving you a shot.”

Carolyn: “It used to be that Instagram was the place to be – to share your art, connect with brands and art directors, and get inbound inquiries and opportunities through sharing on the platform. With Instagram's various policy shifts and algorithm changes over the years that prioritise reels and carousels, creatives are no longer seen (or don't want to adapt to ways of sharing that they don't relate to). I think a lot of people are attracted to Substack because it can house long-form content and build a more solid relationship with readers/subscribers.”

Alice: “The drawback is that I miss out on editorial guidance. There's a huge amount of value in the editorial process and working with a great editor. When I do write for publications and I have those experiences of working with a great editor, I can really see and feel how much my writing improves.”

Rhys: “[Substack can’t] teach you how to write well, help you to find editorial sharpness, train you in the diligent, legal, and ethical ramifications of non-fiction reporting – these things are much more important than we give them credit for.”

Kyle: “I feel Substack dilutes the editorial process to a detrimental level, where some entries end up reading like spontaneous prose (that’s probably a kind way to put it) and others lack the quality control of a second pair of eyes. I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable presenting some deep reporting in Substack form. [...] For budding writers, it doesn’t teach you how to work with an editor or the production process of a story.”

Kyle: “It’s become saturated, with existing publications and platforms and celebrities, meaning it’s harder to cut through the noise as a new sign-up, which was kind of the whole point.”

Carolyn: “Many of the biggest Substack publications have a team or work with an editor. Don't compare yourself to their output!”

Carolyn: “Most Substack writers I talk to are somewhat begrudgingly on the platform, making sure to export their data/subscribers for when things go further awry.”

Rhys: “Beware the timeless trap: reliance on a middle party, and consequently, being at the peril of whatever formula lets that platform show investors how it grows, not how good the writing is [...] We are all user-generated content for the platforms’ own growth first and foremost. [...] Substack is social media for long-form. In my opinion, social media platforms have caused the downfall of media and it makes me a cynic about any new media platform. Independent media teams are good; individuals writing alone are less good; individuals writing alone using a massive company’s platform which pulls 10% of the fee anyway is even less good.”

Carolyn: “Substack also allows Nazi newsletters and Andrew Tate on their platform (and makes money from them), increasingly making it an unsafe environment for marginalised folks.”

Alice: “I like to think that really good work does find its audience and does get seen. So even if you're coming to a platform without a pre-established following elsewhere, I think if the work is good, then people share it around.”

Rhys: “Doing good work is the only thing that should matter, wherever it is. If Substack is distracting you from that, you should ignore it. If it’s a healthy distraction or in some way enables you to feel better or get opportunities, great. If it is a place in which you can thrive, go for it.”

Rhys: “If you’re sitting there feeling like you have to figure out what your Substack should be, consider how authentic that is to your art and soul and life, and also how conducive it is to writing anything good at all.”