When (Not If) to Monetize Substack

Short answer—Who knows?

Happy Friday, friends! This is your weekly reminder to set your timer for a writing sprint or two and get to work (after you finish reading this newsletter). You’ll feel better, I promise.

It’s always been my intention to turn on paid subscriptions for my Twists & Turns newsletter. I have two main goals—to be paid for my own work and to pay other contributors for their work.

Often, starting is the hardest part of taking on a new project, but starting my substack wasn’t difficult for me. One month in, I’m enjoying myself and stretching my writing wings in ways I didn’t expect. It hasn’t interfered with my fiction writing, for which I’m grateful. Though Twists & Turns is currently a free publication and my mailing list is small, sticking to my Tuesday/Friday schedule is important to me. I believe it was Glennon Doyle who said, “Serve the audience you have.” I’m working hard to do that.

What is difficult is deciding when to turn on paid subscriptions. Like many writers, I’m chronically underconfident, and it’s hard (for me, anyway) to determine the value of my creative work. Consequently, I’ve consistently undervalued it. But eventually (maybe soon), I’ll open it up to paid subscribers.

I feel justified in monetizing Twists & Turns because it’s never been about promoting my books. If it were simply an update about my life and work as an author—a means to sell more books—I’d have stayed on Mail Chimp, which is, to me, a more appropriate platform for that sort of thing. Instead, Twists & Turns is a publication in its own right, filled with original content written by me and (hopefully) other contributors.

Beyond the two main goals I indicated above, I have a plan. When I turn on paid subscriptions, free and paid subscribers can access all content. If a reader chooses to support my work with a paid subscription, it’s because they value it, and they’d like to see it continue. During this time, there will be no obligation or expectation of payment, but paid subscriptions will be greatly appreciated.

Access to all content for unpaid subscribers will be temporary, however. In the new year, one post a week (likely Tarot Tuesday) will be behind a paywall, available only to paid subscribers. I’ll also add other benefits for paid subscribers, though I haven’t yet determined what they will be.

I’ll be honest. It feels rather cheeky to ask people to pay for my work, especially when I’ve been giving it away for so long. Why start charging for it now? Well, writing has been my main occupation since 2014. I’ve gotten quite good at it. It’s time to treat it for what it is—a job for which I’m well qualified. And part of that is getting paid for it.

That doesn’t mean I don’t value all of my readers, paid subscribers or not. I’m subscribed to a few substacks, but I can’t afford to support all those I enjoy or find useful—I wish I could. And I don’t always have time to read the ones I subscribe to, regardless of whether I’ve paid for them.

Bottom line: Deciding whether to pay for anything is a personal decision, and I don’t fault anyone for choosing not to, regardless of their reason. I still value them as readers, and I still want to serve them.

Do you have a substack? Regardless, what are your thoughts on this subject?

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Holly xx