I wholeheartedly agree. There is a very small number of people on Subshite who write anything worth writing. Most of it is traffic-generating spam. Meeting other writers and creatives on Substack, whether their stuff is to my tastes or not, is like joining with the lost people, holding hands to keep each other afloat, as we wade through a torrent of raw, stinking, sewage.
That is the reason why I am still here after nearly a year. Despite the torrent of diabolical content, there are some genuine people here who are well worth getting to know, and some good advice amongst the rubbish. Sounds like you have the right attitude. About three months seems to be as long as most people last, so if you can make it past that you should be fine.
his article is why I have been considering leaving this app 6 years ago or so when I started there was no lives, "notes " or what ever other rubbish this platform has now. I feel ike it's a whingey Facebook sister and I am drowning in junk mail and noise. I write two different streams on here and am currently using it as a place to store my stories before I make an ebook.
I'd really like to find more writers too. I've found like 10 fiction writers, 4 of them are fellow romance authors, two of which don't publish their stuff here, and one fellow paranormal romance/romantasy author.
I understand it's a subgenre, and therefore not everyone is looking for it.
But I came here to find readers and fellow writers, not figure out yet another popularity contest... I mean. algorithm
I post stories—some fiction, some based on truth—about once a week. The idea of posting to Notes every day feels exhausting to me. I simply don’t have the time. I’d rather be writing, painting, or spending time with my family.
Maybe I’m thinking about this the wrong way, but when I first joined Substack, I was publishing articles and notes a several times a week.
Then I started receiving articles in my email from the people I follow here, and before long there were so many that I couldn’t possibly read them all.
That made me rethink how often I wanted to publish, and it’s why I’ve settled into posting once a week, and toned down on my notes.
My hope is that when something shows up in a subscriber’s inbox, they think, “Oh look, an article from Jackie,” instead of seeing so many posts from me that they stop noticing altogether.
My growth has slowed quite a bit, but I’d rather have ten readers who genuinely look forward to my articles than a hundred who delete them without a second thought..
YES !!! to all of your response. I feel like even my actual friends and long time subscribers do not even open the emails anymore. I have basing my stay with this app as a place to store my stories and I barely bother posting notes- it seems I am more likely to find people interested in my work through engaging with posts.
Yes! Especially because they're not looking for writers. They want writers to find them. They're spamming the algorithm, and Substack rewards them for doing so. It's very tiring.
The saddest part is that these people probably think this is their ticket to becoming a full-time author, fishing for people hungry to share their work.
Cannot imagine that truly works. So all the energy that could've gone into developing ideas wasted for nothing.
You are delusional if you think this platform is about anything else but its own profits. If we can somehow leverage it, despite itself, great! I'm not sure yet that I can.
Genuinely curious where in the app people are seeing this? I stick to "following" and am only seeing the authors i follow. Is this on "for you", or elsewhere?
I agree with the sentiment exactly, keep the focus on real content, but feel quite lucky I don't seem to encounter that much AI slop here.
I see it in the app. I see it in the Substack home page. I see it when I click Explore.
There’s a reason these open letters have gone viral. Articles and publications are getting drowned out because the algorithm prioritizes notes, and most notes are karma farming slop.
Each of these is a whole note. The algorithm floods Substack with this slop:
“Describe your Substack in three emojis."
“Show me writers who choose depth over noise 🤍"
“Just a reminder that your voice matters."
"Describe your writing in 5 words!"
“Slow growth is still growth."
“Support writers. Restack generously."
“The algorithm can’t stop authentic storytelling."
"If you could summarize your writing voice in a single word, what would it be?"
“Consistency compounds. Keep showing up."
“I want to connect with thoughtful people."
“Drop your publication below so we can support each other."
“I’m building something beautiful here."
“Write scared. Publish anyway."
“There’s room for everyone at the table."
“Community over competition."
“Your audience will find you."
“If even one person reads your words, it matters."
"Give yourself permission to be weird!"
“Substack feels like the old internet."
“Reminder to comment on smaller writers’ posts today 🤍"
“Nobody talks about how vulnerable writing is."
"You are not responsible for the versions of you that exist in other people's minds."
“The best writers are simply the ones who kept going."
"Every scar you carved became a window for light."
“What are you working on this week, writers?"
"A hotdog is basically a taco."
"Sometimes the things we don’t write tell us more than what we do."
"Some people say they find me snarky, which I am."
"Artists will do literally anything but draw the comic they want to make"
"Writers with les than 10 subscribers I want to read your work and follow you!"
"I’m a sucker for a story about a robot learning how to be human"
"Oddly enough, the world makes less sense the closer you look."
"Oddly enough, things are about to get even weirder."
"You write to process your emotions, and in doing so, you emote the process."
"I appreciate you all, by the way."
"There is a quiet magic in the way a story unfolds, one page at a time."
Reluctantly, I'm starting to agree. I'm new to Substack and already I'm scrolling past a lot of slop and spam to find anything worth engaging with, in particular articles.
I'm here for writing that compels me. I post more notes than articles, and when I share my photos I want words around them- that's what makes them worth stopping on. A photo with one word stapled to it isn't an invitation to slow down. If I wanted images without words, I'd be on Instagram.
“If I wanted images without words, I'd be on Instagram.”
Instagram is turning into pure slop too. Think about how many people you see there, using their accounts for nothing but spam. Y’know, all those images with text over them, promoting whatever they’re selling. It’s all spam.
I think past tense is more appropriate- has already turned into pure slop. It is too hard to stay connected with people you actually do know, for all the ads and noise.
I write literary fiction. I'm posting my novel Five Dollar Wrench on my other publication, here on Substack. I'm looking for readers, and I'm also interested in meeting other authors, especially if they write litfic too... or something similar-ish.
I feel you on that. Almost no one finds my articles organically, almost all of my traffic comes from commenting on other's people's stuff and them deciding to follow.
I write fiction as well, an Urban Fantasy serialized story about a man named Bryan who gets the power of darkness from a criminal. The current chapters are on my page in the posts tab if you want to check it out
I warn you, I am stealing enshitification. it begs to be stolen. but also, let me add, I write sci fi/fantasy and weird western fantasy horror. you scared yet?
I so wanted to love Substack and did for about five minutes. I'm slowly moving away though. To me, it's as pathetic as all the other "social media" platforms now.
This is so true. Especially on the phone, notes are much more accessible. There are so many hurdles to get through to read the posts. Why can’t I categorize my subscriptions? Why can’t I make an easy-to-access “read later” list without immediately saving the article or scrolling through a million others that I have already read?
Am I missing functionality? Reading posts is a whole task 😭
I joined substack right after notes became a thing (and didn't realize it wasn't always a thing), but those first few months of the notes algo was wild. The only notes I posted to get close to viral were ones that commented about the failings of notes or had the words substack on it. The algo has shifted multiple times since, and now I can post something similar and it goes nowhere, so... I feel like I've been shadowbanned? Either way, it feels like I played the game wrong. I always see the same 20 people (they're great, don't get me wrong), and the only notes being pushed to me outside of that circle are ones that have 200+ likes already. I've been told consistency is the key, but... it's proven wrong for me (Been posting a serial fic for over a year, a chapter a week, and I figured by now there are fiction enclaves here and there but almost none for the YA contemp that I write). I think a lot (but not all!) of the people who are having it the best here are the ones who come in, already established with their own following and email lists.
“I figured by now there are fiction enclaves here and there but almost none for the YA contemp that I write”
Yeah, I don’t write a popular genre. Romance, fantasy and scifi are the rage, and a lot of it is great, but it’s not what I write. My novel, for example, is a character study. It’s litfic.
“I think a lot (but not all!) of the people who are having it the best here are the ones who come in, already established with their own following and email lists.”
You’re right. Substack doesn’t promote articles, so the easiest way to get your articles noticed is to already have an audience to read them…
…or… you decide to spam the algorithm, since it’s designed to spread spam.
I’m not going to call anybody out, but I’m noticing many of those who do best here constantly flood Substack with phony-Hallmark Greeting Card style notes, hoping the algorithm takes them viral.
"You can’t edit a blank page. Make it exist first, make it good later."
Spam.
"Be more afraid of wasting your life than being embarrassed."
Spam.
"If you wait until you feel like a writer, you'll never write."
But Substack rewards spammers by tuning the algorithm to spread their spam instead of drawing attention to their actual content.
So, the question becomes this: How much of your own sense of ethics are you willing to give up in exchange for building an audience on Substack?
The easy way? Join the spammers.
I’m doing it the hard way, by posting real content here instead of spam notes, and by trying to bring readers from elsewhere to my publication here.
I love character studies and consider mine to be one as well, but in a more goofy YA way. But yeah, I agree that romance/fantasy is popular, but what I've seen in my circles is also a lot of horror/thriller/literary. I think a lot of getting into that community takes a lot of work/time, just by commenting on other people's notes/stories and @ them when you make your own notes, so in that sense, my being on the outside makes sense as I haven't had the time to do commit to the community. But at the same time! I think some just get lucky and something about their work or their personality shines and people flock to them naturally or something, as I never see them commenting or interacting with people? It's such a puzzle.
But definitely I agree with the rise of spam and the use of AI to construct vapid notes with the same cadence. It makes me so mad because I've been avoiding AI as much as I can, and sometimes I think that maybe I should look it straight on, in a 'know thy enemy' sense, but it's like, I'm learning what AI sounds like without trying and it sucks. Because there's so much of it! And I think that's also part of the reason why there's so much spam b/c I'm sure there's some way for people to just... have it auto schedule a spam note without any work on their own.
I'm also doing it the hard way and it sucks because it's not like the amount of effort is reflected, you either vibe with people or you don't, and in this current social media world where things are rewarded near instantly it's a tough long game.
I don't mind if people use it. I just want them to be honest about whether or not the words they're sharing under their name were actually written by them.
Everybody knows the dudes from Milli Vanilli did not sing those songs. Likewise, anybody who has AI do the writing is just Milli Vanilli 2.0 since they didn't write the words they attached their name to.
If AI wrote it, AI is the writer and should be credited as such.
I publish short stories in a variety of genres, some related to my historical cozy culinary mysteries. I also publish recipes from said culinaries, and book reviews of forgotten mystery series. Take a look.
I'm new here, so can't cast any stones (yet). However, I have noticed the trend you point out and it does have echoes of X, where bots (or just really annoying engagement farmers) like twelve of my posts, follow me, and then ask inane questions like, "I’m always looking to connect with inspiring fiction writers on here. Tell me: What is the deepest, most unexpected emotion your current story is stirring up in your soul right now? Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!" (That was totally an AI prompt I asked Gemini to create for me! 😂)
Only here, it hurts more, because when I discovered Substack and invested the time to establish a presence, I thought (and still do, for the most part) that this place would be genuinely better; a place where I could connect with real writers, editors, and others interested in all sorts of writing and writing-related things.
This issue has frustrated me to, the fact that my notes seem to get more traffic and visibility than my actual posts is concerning. I don't want to feel forced to be some aphorism poster just to be seen. I want to make actual content to.
And keep in mind, getting traffic for your notes doesn't necessarily lead to people reading (or even noticing!) your actual content. Substack is turning into a platform entirely for slop. Too many people don't realize getting likes and followers from notes doesn't mean they're reading your actual content. They're usually not reading your content, especially if they're using the Substack app. The app hides your publications.
I have been looking for fiction/fiction writers, too! It is what I have been craving to read/connect with but have had such a HARD time to find. It seems you have just created a little pocket for all of us to find one another. Thank you. I am new to writing fiction and have been scraping looking for this bubble within Substack. And, yes, all the slop doesn't help at all. I refuse to play along with it.
I have a publication for my book 'The Heart of Elowen'. I absolutely have been loving the journey of writing it but it is absolutely lost to the void.
I wholeheartedly agree. There is a very small number of people on Subshite who write anything worth writing. Most of it is traffic-generating spam. Meeting other writers and creatives on Substack, whether their stuff is to my tastes or not, is like joining with the lost people, holding hands to keep each other afloat, as we wade through a torrent of raw, stinking, sewage.
It feels like half the feed is empty self-help slogans, the other is writing about writing about writing about making big bucks with writing.
Having been here only a few weeks, this here is a good reminder to focus on the fun games to play.
Like actually practicing my craft. Being grateful for the few genuine connections rather than chasing a thousand slop ones.
Yup. This. This. This.
That is the reason why I am still here after nearly a year. Despite the torrent of diabolical content, there are some genuine people here who are well worth getting to know, and some good advice amongst the rubbish. Sounds like you have the right attitude. About three months seems to be as long as most people last, so if you can make it past that you should be fine.
Welcome to the idiot house.
thank you kindly for the introduction. I’ve occupied worse places than Idiot houses.
his article is why I have been considering leaving this app 6 years ago or so when I started there was no lives, "notes " or what ever other rubbish this platform has now. I feel ike it's a whingey Facebook sister and I am drowning in junk mail and noise. I write two different streams on here and am currently using it as a place to store my stories before I make an ebook.
At least we all seem to have found each other here
Im here with you.
I'd really like to find more writers too. I've found like 10 fiction writers, 4 of them are fellow romance authors, two of which don't publish their stuff here, and one fellow paranormal romance/romantasy author.
I understand it's a subgenre, and therefore not everyone is looking for it.
But I came here to find readers and fellow writers, not figure out yet another popularity contest... I mean. algorithm
I am a fiction writer on here, and I have to post notes to get any traction. It’s insane.
For excellent fiction, find my new friend. I love his work so far!
https://substack.com/@authordannoswarthout/p-200845546
I’ve been thinking about this too.
I post stories—some fiction, some based on truth—about once a week. The idea of posting to Notes every day feels exhausting to me. I simply don’t have the time. I’d rather be writing, painting, or spending time with my family.
Maybe I’m thinking about this the wrong way, but when I first joined Substack, I was publishing articles and notes a several times a week.
Then I started receiving articles in my email from the people I follow here, and before long there were so many that I couldn’t possibly read them all.
That made me rethink how often I wanted to publish, and it’s why I’ve settled into posting once a week, and toned down on my notes.
My hope is that when something shows up in a subscriber’s inbox, they think, “Oh look, an article from Jackie,” instead of seeing so many posts from me that they stop noticing altogether.
My growth has slowed quite a bit, but I’d rather have ten readers who genuinely look forward to my articles than a hundred who delete them without a second thought..
YES !!! to all of your response. I feel like even my actual friends and long time subscribers do not even open the emails anymore. I have basing my stay with this app as a place to store my stories and I barely bother posting notes- it seems I am more likely to find people interested in my work through engaging with posts.
Wholeheartedly agree. Substack should be about writers and readers and less about followers.
I’m new to Substack, but the “connect me with writers” and “tell me about” posts are already tiring.
Yes! Especially because they're not looking for writers. They want writers to find them. They're spamming the algorithm, and Substack rewards them for doing so. It's very tiring.
The saddest part is that these people probably think this is their ticket to becoming a full-time author, fishing for people hungry to share their work.
Cannot imagine that truly works. So all the energy that could've gone into developing ideas wasted for nothing.
happy sloppin' everyone.
You are delusional if you think this platform is about anything else but its own profits. If we can somehow leverage it, despite itself, great! I'm not sure yet that I can.
there’s no need to play games you don’t enjoy
it's like being in a nite club I want to leave 1o minutes after arriving
Genuinely curious where in the app people are seeing this? I stick to "following" and am only seeing the authors i follow. Is this on "for you", or elsewhere?
I agree with the sentiment exactly, keep the focus on real content, but feel quite lucky I don't seem to encounter that much AI slop here.
I see it in the app. I see it in the Substack home page. I see it when I click Explore.
There’s a reason these open letters have gone viral. Articles and publications are getting drowned out because the algorithm prioritizes notes, and most notes are karma farming slop.
Each of these is a whole note. The algorithm floods Substack with this slop:
“Describe your Substack in three emojis."
“Show me writers who choose depth over noise 🤍"
“Just a reminder that your voice matters."
"Describe your writing in 5 words!"
“Slow growth is still growth."
“Support writers. Restack generously."
“The algorithm can’t stop authentic storytelling."
"If you could summarize your writing voice in a single word, what would it be?"
“Consistency compounds. Keep showing up."
“I want to connect with thoughtful people."
“Drop your publication below so we can support each other."
“I’m building something beautiful here."
“Write scared. Publish anyway."
“There’s room for everyone at the table."
“Community over competition."
“Your audience will find you."
“If even one person reads your words, it matters."
"Give yourself permission to be weird!"
“Substack feels like the old internet."
“Reminder to comment on smaller writers’ posts today 🤍"
“Nobody talks about how vulnerable writing is."
"You are not responsible for the versions of you that exist in other people's minds."
“The best writers are simply the ones who kept going."
"Every scar you carved became a window for light."
“What are you working on this week, writers?"
"A hotdog is basically a taco."
"Sometimes the things we don’t write tell us more than what we do."
"Some people say they find me snarky, which I am."
"Artists will do literally anything but draw the comic they want to make"
"Writers with les than 10 subscribers I want to read your work and follow you!"
"I’m a sucker for a story about a robot learning how to be human"
"Oddly enough, the world makes less sense the closer you look."
"Oddly enough, things are about to get even weirder."
"You write to process your emotions, and in doing so, you emote the process."
"I appreciate you all, by the way."
"There is a quiet magic in the way a story unfolds, one page at a time."
Wow, that's crazy and I'm never stepping foot outside of "following" again. What fresh hell is this?
Reluctantly, I'm starting to agree. I'm new to Substack and already I'm scrolling past a lot of slop and spam to find anything worth engaging with, in particular articles.
I'm here for writing that compels me. I post more notes than articles, and when I share my photos I want words around them- that's what makes them worth stopping on. A photo with one word stapled to it isn't an invitation to slow down. If I wanted images without words, I'd be on Instagram.
“If I wanted images without words, I'd be on Instagram.”
Instagram is turning into pure slop too. Think about how many people you see there, using their accounts for nothing but spam. Y’know, all those images with text over them, promoting whatever they’re selling. It’s all spam.
I think past tense is more appropriate- has already turned into pure slop. It is too hard to stay connected with people you actually do know, for all the ads and noise.
I stand corrected. You're absolutely right. And that's the point of these open letters to the CEO of Substack.
Twitter is gone.
Instagram is gone.
Facebook is gone.
They've devolved into pure spam.
We don't want that to happen here, on Substack. And the problem here is so easy to solve: Adjust the algorithm to prioritize articles, not notes.
Yes. 90 percent of notes are completely pointless dogshit
Yep, exactly. Slop-sloppidy-slop.
Btw, I write fiction and I know many fiction writers here. What kind of fiction are you interested in?
I write literary fiction. I'm posting my novel Five Dollar Wrench on my other publication, here on Substack. I'm looking for readers, and I'm also interested in meeting other authors, especially if they write litfic too... or something similar-ish.
https://hetobe.substack.com
Present!
I feel you on that. Almost no one finds my articles organically, almost all of my traffic comes from commenting on other's people's stuff and them deciding to follow.
I write fiction as well, an Urban Fantasy serialized story about a man named Bryan who gets the power of darkness from a criminal. The current chapters are on my page in the posts tab if you want to check it out
Literary science fiction action adventure intrigue family drama space soap opera. Lsfaaifdsso, as we say in the clubhouse.
That's a genre description that is absurdly more specific than it has any right to be... but, um, I also write that, so...
You guys, the value isn’t the critique itself. Take this shit to the next level and make Open Letters to Substack its own subgenre of post. I’ll help.
I warn you, I am stealing enshitification. it begs to be stolen. but also, let me add, I write sci fi/fantasy and weird western fantasy horror. you scared yet?
I so wanted to love Substack and did for about five minutes. I'm slowly moving away though. To me, it's as pathetic as all the other "social media" platforms now.
This is so true. Especially on the phone, notes are much more accessible. There are so many hurdles to get through to read the posts. Why can’t I categorize my subscriptions? Why can’t I make an easy-to-access “read later” list without immediately saving the article or scrolling through a million others that I have already read?
Am I missing functionality? Reading posts is a whole task 😭
Ability to create a reading list(s) would be amazing. Sadly I dont think I'm missing anything
I joined substack right after notes became a thing (and didn't realize it wasn't always a thing), but those first few months of the notes algo was wild. The only notes I posted to get close to viral were ones that commented about the failings of notes or had the words substack on it. The algo has shifted multiple times since, and now I can post something similar and it goes nowhere, so... I feel like I've been shadowbanned? Either way, it feels like I played the game wrong. I always see the same 20 people (they're great, don't get me wrong), and the only notes being pushed to me outside of that circle are ones that have 200+ likes already. I've been told consistency is the key, but... it's proven wrong for me (Been posting a serial fic for over a year, a chapter a week, and I figured by now there are fiction enclaves here and there but almost none for the YA contemp that I write). I think a lot (but not all!) of the people who are having it the best here are the ones who come in, already established with their own following and email lists.
“I figured by now there are fiction enclaves here and there but almost none for the YA contemp that I write”
Yeah, I don’t write a popular genre. Romance, fantasy and scifi are the rage, and a lot of it is great, but it’s not what I write. My novel, for example, is a character study. It’s litfic.
“I think a lot (but not all!) of the people who are having it the best here are the ones who come in, already established with their own following and email lists.”
You’re right. Substack doesn’t promote articles, so the easiest way to get your articles noticed is to already have an audience to read them…
…or… you decide to spam the algorithm, since it’s designed to spread spam.
I’m not going to call anybody out, but I’m noticing many of those who do best here constantly flood Substack with phony-Hallmark Greeting Card style notes, hoping the algorithm takes them viral.
"You can’t edit a blank page. Make it exist first, make it good later."
Spam.
"Be more afraid of wasting your life than being embarrassed."
Spam.
"If you wait until you feel like a writer, you'll never write."
But Substack rewards spammers by tuning the algorithm to spread their spam instead of drawing attention to their actual content.
So, the question becomes this: How much of your own sense of ethics are you willing to give up in exchange for building an audience on Substack?
The easy way? Join the spammers.
I’m doing it the hard way, by posting real content here instead of spam notes, and by trying to bring readers from elsewhere to my publication here.
I love character studies and consider mine to be one as well, but in a more goofy YA way. But yeah, I agree that romance/fantasy is popular, but what I've seen in my circles is also a lot of horror/thriller/literary. I think a lot of getting into that community takes a lot of work/time, just by commenting on other people's notes/stories and @ them when you make your own notes, so in that sense, my being on the outside makes sense as I haven't had the time to do commit to the community. But at the same time! I think some just get lucky and something about their work or their personality shines and people flock to them naturally or something, as I never see them commenting or interacting with people? It's such a puzzle.
But definitely I agree with the rise of spam and the use of AI to construct vapid notes with the same cadence. It makes me so mad because I've been avoiding AI as much as I can, and sometimes I think that maybe I should look it straight on, in a 'know thy enemy' sense, but it's like, I'm learning what AI sounds like without trying and it sucks. Because there's so much of it! And I think that's also part of the reason why there's so much spam b/c I'm sure there's some way for people to just... have it auto schedule a spam note without any work on their own.
I'm also doing it the hard way and it sucks because it's not like the amount of effort is reflected, you either vibe with people or you don't, and in this current social media world where things are rewarded near instantly it's a tough long game.
Good luck!!
My opinion of AI is based entirely on honesty.
I don't mind if people use it. I just want them to be honest about whether or not the words they're sharing under their name were actually written by them.
Everybody knows the dudes from Milli Vanilli did not sing those songs. Likewise, anybody who has AI do the writing is just Milli Vanilli 2.0 since they didn't write the words they attached their name to.
If AI wrote it, AI is the writer and should be credited as such.
I use it to check all my spelling and grammar misdemeanours -otherwise it is not alllowed to touch my writers voice
Wow was there a time when notes were not a thing?
It used to only be a newsletter service
OMG! What! I missed it.
and it was a good time
I publish short stories in a variety of genres, some related to my historical cozy culinary mysteries. I also publish recipes from said culinaries, and book reviews of forgotten mystery series. Take a look.
Will do!
I'm new here, so can't cast any stones (yet). However, I have noticed the trend you point out and it does have echoes of X, where bots (or just really annoying engagement farmers) like twelve of my posts, follow me, and then ask inane questions like, "I’m always looking to connect with inspiring fiction writers on here. Tell me: What is the deepest, most unexpected emotion your current story is stirring up in your soul right now? Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!" (That was totally an AI prompt I asked Gemini to create for me! 😂)
Only here, it hurts more, because when I discovered Substack and invested the time to establish a presence, I thought (and still do, for the most part) that this place would be genuinely better; a place where I could connect with real writers, editors, and others interested in all sorts of writing and writing-related things.
This issue has frustrated me to, the fact that my notes seem to get more traffic and visibility than my actual posts is concerning. I don't want to feel forced to be some aphorism poster just to be seen. I want to make actual content to.
And keep in mind, getting traffic for your notes doesn't necessarily lead to people reading (or even noticing!) your actual content. Substack is turning into a platform entirely for slop. Too many people don't realize getting likes and followers from notes doesn't mean they're reading your actual content. They're usually not reading your content, especially if they're using the Substack app. The app hides your publications.
it's so crazy. enshittification is such a morbid and awful feature of late stage capitalism. why bait and switch your audience so hugely?
and i know the answer is greed, the most corruptible force among humans, but still
i'm curious -- are you posting in notes excerpts from your posts? or is it notes are more like tweeting whereas ur posts are akin to blogging?
The latter, is it actually better to do the former?
I have been looking for fiction/fiction writers, too! It is what I have been craving to read/connect with but have had such a HARD time to find. It seems you have just created a little pocket for all of us to find one another. Thank you. I am new to writing fiction and have been scraping looking for this bubble within Substack. And, yes, all the slop doesn't help at all. I refuse to play along with it.
I have a publication for my book 'The Heart of Elowen'. I absolutely have been loving the journey of writing it but it is absolutely lost to the void.