Substack Is for Serious Writers, Medium Is For Junkies
Are you an addict or an author?
When the earnings collapsed on this platform in January, the junkies jumped ship.
William Burroughs once said, “When it gets hard to get drugs, we leave.”
This is what writers on here did. They went somewhere else. They went to Substack.
Only they didn’t like it. Something was missing. That instant gratification that comes in the form of claps, comments, and money wasn’t there.
People got strung out. They started shaking. They didn’t know what was happening.
In the old days, there was plenty to go around. You could write every day, and someone would give you a bit of money.
Some days, you made a lot when you got high on the crack-pipe of a boost. So you wrote even harder to get that feeling back, as you realised you couldn’t do without it.
You were hooked.
Then they turned the tap off, and we all went cold turkey. Where’s the dope! Where’s the hits? Where’s those 10k views! Where’s the money!
So we all hopped over to Substack and hoped it would be the same. We write, we post, and everyone signs up and pays us. It’ll be just like old times again.
Only it wasn’t.
We realised Substack was serious.
Substack was where serious writers went. This was where writers who have been plying their trade for years go. There’s no clickbait here. Or if there is, it’s carefully crafted clickbait.
Some have a plan — maybe even a business plan! An idea of what they want to write, where they want to go and how to get it. That in a year, they plan to have 100 subscribers.
“I’ve got 100 subscribers already,” we all said.
Then realised the snag.
“Oh, you mean, paid subscribers.”
Yep.
That’s why we were all going crazy. Not only did we have no comments or claps. But we had no money.
So we started complaining. We started getting angry. We lashed out and started writing about how Substack isn’t working for us. How the business model is wrong — it doesn’t benefit writers.
But we were wrong. We were stupid.
Because what we meant to say was, “It doesn’t benefit us!”
We were like spoiled children entering the big school. After five minutes we went crying home to mummy complaining no one reads our pieces anymore.
One size doesn’t fit all. You can’t be expected to write on Substack and reap the same rewards. It’s like a basketball player switching to soccer and wondering why he’s not getting any game time.
Substack isn’t designed for hits and instant money. It’s more of a department store than a candy store. Take your time to look around, see what you want, and make your choice.
It’s built for hard work, not thrills and spills. If you want that, go to the cinema. Or go and buy some real drugs. There’s plenty around.
For more 21st Century Comedy, click here.
Getting paid subscribers is definitely not easy on Substack. I'm getting closer to breaking my addiction with Medium since I can't even make $100 in a month now. I think Substack has the better long-term potential, since I've never been boosted, and I have no chance at that with my writing style.
There are some very good writers here, and lots of famous people. Musicians and actors. It's actually pretty cool. Yes, there are some talented people. I'm continuing to write and publish with Medium, but I'm no longer a Medium junkie. How could any of us be?