More stuff, because I like you people

And also because you people like me

For those of you who missed it, on the one year anniversary of Writer Therapy, I admitted to being very thirsty for attention, and asked all of you to help me figure out how to get more. There was a survey and everything.

I now have a results and a plan.

First, the results because I like charts and stuff. What can I say, I am a nerd with a Math degree.

If you find charts boring, what’s wrong with you? scroll down to The Rules.

The Results

It’s abundantly clear that I need to do surveys more often because wow, did my ego find that fulfilling.

A big thank you for those of you who submitted testimonials. I’ve added them to the About page so that I can re-read them when I’m sitting around and wondering what’s the point of it all?

For what to actually write as for Writer Therapy Extras, it was more of a mixed bag, which I interpret as “Write whatever you want, Sonal.”

I have a couple of ideas already, including Why does Sonal have a degree in Computer Science? and also, Commonly Recommended books on Writing Craft that Suck (except for maybe 10 pages) and maybe a collection of personal anecdotes about fun times with racism in publishing. Maybe I'll share all the terrible writing advice my mom has given me. I don’t know. I’m taking suggestions.

Everyone who responded to the survey was willing to help, but most of you want it to be easy, which is fair, because if it were me, I would want it to be easy. And also, I want it to be easy for me to track.

I'd initially considered something like exceeding the average growth rate in a month would mean a bonus column in the following month, but like, that requires doing math every month. So I decided to simplify.

Here’s how it’s going to go.

The Rules

Each time I hit a new milestone number of subscribers, I will write and publish an Extras column.

That's it. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.

Where do you come in? By promoting Writer Therapy—share it, recommend it on your Substack, post links to it when you’re arguing with people on the internet, tell your friends at parties about it, hire a skywriter…. I leave it up to you.

Do as much or as little as you like. Don’t want to do anything? You don’t have to, and hey, you still get to read the Extras. But, if you want to see more stuff sooner, share more stuff sooner.

Simple? Yes. Easy? Absolutely. Effective? Dunno. Guess we’ll see.

FAQ

Who decides on the milestones?

I do. This is my sandbox, I make all the rules.

How long after hitting a milestone are you going to put out an Extras column?

Uh, I don’t know. I’m going to aim for within a month, but it really depends. After all, I have a life have children spend a lot of time writing have four streaming services plus YouTube.

How do I know you’ve really reached a milestone? What if you reach one and then don’t share an Extras column?

You don’t. Likewise, I don’t really know if you’re sharing my stuff with people; Substack tracks some of that, but not everything. We’re just going to have to trust each other here.

But check my Substack Notes or my Instagram. If I’m close to the next milestone, I’ll most likely say so there.

What if I don’t want to share and promote this? Or what if I don’t want the Extras columns?

You can do this amazing thing called ‘sweet fuck-all.’

You’ll still get the Extras columns, but you can delete them unread. I won’t even know. Unless you tell me, in which case, please tell me on my Instagram, your complaints are good for my engagement.

I’ve been sharing your stuff all over the place! Why should people who haven’t done a thing benefit from my hard work?

First of all, thank you. I’m so glad you like what I’m doing enough to spread the word. I did set up the Substack referrals thingy so you can earn rewards (although truthfully, they are kind of bullshit) and put your name up on a leaderboard for the world to see.

As for other people, I’m sure you are kind and generous person who is happy to let other people read Writer Therapy Extras, but you know, if you aren’t, please complain about it on my Instagram. Your bitter ranting is good for my engagement.

What’s this about a Substack referral rewards thingy?

Substack launched this mere days after I asked you all to help me gain more attention, and while I like the idea of rewards, there’s something weirdly competitive their referral reward system that doesn’t vibe with me—especially since I have no plans to make this a paid newsletter.

I’m turning it on, but I’m not really offering much at the different levels right now except a thank you… although I saw an idea about sending top referrers a handwritten thank you note, so maybe that’s a good excuse for me to indulge in nice pens and good stationary.

If you think this is patently unfair because you want free stuff, I hear you. Please complain about it on my Instag—never mind, you know the drill.

Is this some kind of bait-and-switch where you make us do all the work and then monetize everything later?

I have no plans to monetize this. The intersection of Art and Capitalism is an awkward one, and as much as I believe that my advice has value, and as much as I believe that I absolutely deserve compensation for this work, I’m not planning to charge people for this.

I’m in the fortunate position of being able to write and also feed myself without monetizing my Substack, which gives me a little more freedom here, because losing subscribers only affects my ego, not my ability to pay rent. Consider this newsletter my gift to other writers.

That said, life changes, never say never, etc. Maybe I'll have a good reason to charge money. At the moment, though, my thinking is that if I did, I’d want to use the money to support newer writers in some way.

I’m bored. Can we get back to writing advice now?

Yes indeedy! Advice will continue to be published monthly, unless Life happens and I have to pause, or I run out of things to say.