Today’s Sub Pub interview is with Erica Drayton, creator of the Substack newsletter Erica Drayton, The Storyteller.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a storyteller. It is something I easily inherited and learned from my mother who instilled in me from the moment she taught me how to spell and read that storytelling was limitless. I have taken all that she has taught me and now I only hope I am able to pay it forward by sharing my own journey through writing and storytelling with as many people as I am able.

How would you describe your newsletter?

My newsletter is a perfect representation of myself. It is both a mess and yet strangely poetically organized. It allows me to stretch my imagination to the limits while also reining me in so I don’t do too much. I can think of nothing in my life creatively that better allows me the freedom to express myself.

I am able to teach through using my own experiences as the example that others can choose to either follow or learn from. And then whenever I feel the desire I can write a spontaneous 100-word story or expand by writing a Friday Fiction short story. And soon I’ll share my novels through serialization. My newsletter allows this kind of flexibility and adaptability which a storyteller like myself has been desperately seeking.

Why did you decide to publish on Substack?

I came from using MailChimp for a really long time. After leaving I was in need of a new home and I knew it needed to be the total opposite of MailChimp in order for me to not only use it but want to as well. That is key for anyone who has a newsletter. Everyone says you must have one and gives all the reasons why having an email list is vital to any entrepreneur. But no one talks about how time-consuming it can feel and grueling especially if the vessel you are using to deliver emails to your list isn’t one you particularly enjoy using. Either it’s costly or cumbersome and therefore the joy we should all have with communicating to our list becomes more of a chore. When I was using MailChimp it was very much a chore.

I stumbled across the name “Substack” while in an online convention where Elle Griffin happened to be a guest speaker to talk about Medium and Patreon and MailChimp and none other than Substack. It was then I let my fingers do the walking and I quickly investigated. It was like fate that the name happened to reach my ears as I had just made the decision to officially “break away” from MailChimp not a week earlier.

After looking into how it worked (it’s not perfect) I saw its potential and how it basically got out of my way and let me do what I love, just write.

What has your experience with your newsletter been like?

Using Substack has been such a shift for me. I think I’ve produced more content now than I ever have before. It’s because of the key difference between a service that Substack provides versus what MailChimp provides. With MailChimp I shared just my monthly newsletter where I mostly talked about myself and my projects (many of which I never completed or felt worthy of sharing at the time). With Substack I can go beyond and deeper than my monthly newsletter and incorporate literally anything I want to and just push the content out whenever I want. And that, for me, has been a breath of fresh air. 

What have you liked most about your experience on Substack?

I think it’s a combination of things for me. But let’s start with the minimalistic simplicity of it all. I’m really trying to lean in with all aspects of my life to be more simple and minimal and Substack aligns with that perfectly. No bells and whistles with email design. The options are limited and as I’ve said, this leads to just plain writing to take place. Something else I like is their “sections” options. I think of it as segments or tags within MailChimp (or any similar service). It puts the choice with the subscriber as to what content they want to receive from you. All I have to do is explain my various nonfiction and fiction sections and let my subscribers pick and choose whether they want it all or just one. This allows me to combine my writing that was once split into three different places into one place. I don’t have to worry if the content I’m pushing out is worth my subscribers' time and try to figure out how I can reach one group over another. Everyone is together. I am writing. Life is good!

What have you liked least about your Substack experience?

For a site that has been around for nearly five years I am surprised at the amount of glitches and little things that seem like easy fixes that are still occurring. But I realize these kinds of issues are to be expected and at the end of the day the positives far outweigh something minor that is usually fixed/corrected within 24hrs. The most recent example I can point to is when I imported a CSV file and it took till the next day for the additional subscribers to appear.

What tactics have you implemented to grow your newsletter? Are they working?

So far I have implemented the following ways (keeping in mind I have only had Substack going for a short time so my list is small and new):

First, I joined the Substack Writers Unite Discord server so I could meet others who were also using Substack. We followed each other.

Second, I informed my MailChimp list. One, that I would no longer be communicating to them via MailChimp. And two, that soon the frequency of emails would increase when they were imported over to Substack. I chose to do this because they had been used to my once a month delivery and I did not want to jar them with the fact that I am churning out emails three times a week and by next summer that will increase to four days a week.

Third would have to be my current plan of using BookFunnel and StoryOriginApp. Many years ago I used them both simultaneously and grew my newsletter from zero to ~1600 in less than three months! Now my tactic is different. I’m using a Reader Magnet that is a collection of my favorite short stories (ie Friday Fiction that I wrote from 2016 - 2020) with the understanding that anyone who accepts this free gift and signs-up for my newsletter will be getting a new short story every Friday. Two things for newsletter publishers to remember are: first, each service will cost $10/mo; and second, you’ll have to download the CSV file and import it into Substack as neither service syncs to Substack. Without paying this monthly fee you will not have access to the emails and none of this will be worth it.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

Oh, that is easy, it would have to be my first Substack for Fiction Writers Series post. So far it has gotten close to 150 views. The more that post is viewed the more the surrounding posts before it and after it increase in views as well. Creating this series to document my journey with using Substack as a fiction writer was one of the best things I could’ve done. It allows me to do what I love, which is to help people. And it also gives me reach and growth. I am unique in that I am looking for writers to help and readers to share my stories with. Substack gives me one place to invite them all to.

What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?

I hope that it grows in size and turns into a community where I get to do what I love and eventually earn some kind of a living from it. I’m not looking to earn six figures like most. I get by just fine taking care of a house, two dogs, and my wife with my current 9 - 5 income. So, if I can earn that much with just a bit more on a monthly and yearly basis from helping writers and delighting readers with my stories that would be amazing. And the idea that I might be able to do all of that from one place makes it all the more of an exciting journey for me to undertake.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Lately I’ve been writing some pretty cool 100-word stories that are just appearing on my newsletter but I’m intentionally not sending them via email. And who knows what other ideas I’ll come up with next? My Friday Fiction 2.0 stories are honestly getting better and better each week! I’m even impressing myself! And soon-ish Born from Blood, a trilogy featuring skinwalkers, wendigos, jackalopes, and other amazing creatures will be released every Sunday in serialized form. This story is unlike any I’ve ever written and I promise it will be more than worth the wait as well as the read. Mark your calendars for Sunday June 5th when the nightmare begins!

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I hope you'll enjoy today's interview with Ajinkya Goyal, who writes the Substack newsletter Innocently Macabre.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve been writing and reading as far back as memory serves, and, if parental accounts are to be believed, even further back than that! Speculative and gothic stories are particular favourites since they tend to rely much more heavily on characters in the story rather than the plot; I’ve always maintained the importance of characters, believing good characters can save a mediocre plot, but a good plot cannot do the same for bad characters.

How would you describe your newsletter?

Innocently Macabre features tales of the speculative, the gothic, and the weird and wonderful. It’s an interplay of worldly merriment and twisted secrets, distilling the wonders of the cosmos for your kind perusal.

What have you most liked about your experience on Substack?

Around two months ago, I ended a near year long hiatus from publishing. I still wrote occasionally, but no where near the frequency I maintained while publishing online. Amongst the contributing factors drawing me back to the online sphere, was the community that came with Substack. Fiction on Substack currently consists of a precious, albeit rapidly growing, few, so everyone is very supportive of one another. Experiencing this sealed the deal for me and I relaunched my newsletter.

I really like Substack’s simplicity and ease of access, but I do wish we had more detailed analytics and better subscriber management tools.

How have you let people know about your newsletter?

I’m not going to lie, I’m not great at the whole marketing thing and it doesn’t help that all the advice out there is catered steeply towards nonfiction. I just send out the newsletter, ask a couple of close friends to share it with people they think will be interested, send a link on writer communities I’m a part of, and share it to my socials (with an extremely limited sphere of influence). Something that I’ve been foraying into recently though is cross-promotions. They’re great – I get to meet writers working on cool things, discover new newsletters, and form a connection that I most likely otherwise wouldn’t have.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

My first post-hiatus post would probably take the cake. In it, I teased five upcoming stories, all spread across my three dominating (intentionally broad) genres, all in various stages of development. I also talked a little bit about the writing process and the joy of discovering old drafts. It was a very raw post for me in the sense that I usually refrain from sharing anything other than what I’ve deemed “publishable”, but not a single one of the teasers met that mark. Luckily, it was met with a positive response, which added to my motivation to keep on writing!

What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?

I really do just want it to grow! As simple as it sounds, it aligns perfectly with my vision for my newsletter. I don’t have a message I’m trying to get across through my writing (there are, of course, themes and symbolism in certain stories, but that’s something else altogether), I’m just trying to entertain you. Once or twice a week, a short story you can read in under ten minutes will grace your inbox, and I hope it’ll make your day at least a little better.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Subscribe to Innocently Macabre! My series Due North is coming to a close soon (another three or so episodes before this season wraps up), but you still have time to join us from the beginning! I also send out the occasional extra, usually in the form of flash fiction, as an added bonus, and you don’t want to miss those! (Hint hint: there might just be pirates and the high seas in the near future!)

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Today's inspirational interview is with Dmitri Sarle of the Substack newsletter #WeeklyAction.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My idea of 'myself' is a constantly changing one. Does my profession as a startup entrepreneur, investor, mentor, speaker - define me? Perhaps I am better described through my hobbies of martial arts, chess, sailing, and badminton? Better yet, maybe it's all about my marital status and fatherhood? Income? Country? Society? Do all of these define anyone, or do they put people in a box of stereotypes instead?

So let's go with a different description. To be me is to have an experience of utter curiosity for life combined with constant fast-paced action towards poorly defined goals. Too many directions are of interest. That, however, is my super-power as what others see as chaos and difficulty, I see as opportunity and beauty. Just need to figure out how to focus.

How would you describe your newsletter?

‘Self-Development Explorer'

'Random Weekly Self-Development'

'The Toolbox For Your Personal Battle'

That's how my subscribers have labeled it. As for me, I got curious about a problem. The problem of helping people achieve real, significant, and long-lasting change in their lives.

It's great to watch Tony Robbins, Jim ?, or Jordan Peterson talk and get inspired by them. It is even more profound to study Seneca and to listen to Alan Watts. Yet, how much of that gets translated into real action?

That's when I had the idea. What if there was a newsletter mainly focused on taking action towards self-betterment? That's how #WeeklyAction was born.

Why did you decide to publish on Substack?

One of my beliefs about business is that one should initially prioritize speed over almost any other aspect. Not for any 'practical' reason, though. Simply to fuel the fire of passion, for inaction will extinguish it.

That is to say, if you are walking in a park and suddenly an idea strikes you, as if from nowhere - be it a startup, a newsletter, or any other kind - you must act and do so with haste. Alternatively - every passing minute, the desire and the motivation for it will subside.

Once the idea of creating a newsletter based on 'completing actions' instead of simply 'content' came to mind, I had to act quickly. Within a few hours, I identified Substack as the most simple tool available. Within the next 24 hours - I had my first post. From there on, it was all about consistency.

As an added bonus, as I explored the different tools - I realized that I have actually met the co-founder of Substack (Hamish McKenzie) before, and it's always nice to support your direct connections.

What has your experience with your newsletter been like?

It challenges me every day and every week. Not just because it requires effort and commitment. You see, I promised my subscribers that I will do every action that I suggest that they do. So each week, I not only challenge my subscribers, but I challenge myself.

Any business/activity you engage in is a mirror to how you live your life. The challenges you have with it will be similar to any other challenges you normally have.

The newsletter is teaching me the art of focus, consistency, commitment, relationships, and so much more. It also allows me to express what it's like to be me.

If you are reading this, and you still have not decided to start your newsletter, your business, to pursue that career you really love - wait no further. This is your sign to take action, for as I can tell you with confidence - pursuing your true passion is a gift that never stops giving - no matter how challenging the path.

How have you let people know about your newsletter?

Once I had the idea, and the first newsletter - I ran with excitement to post the news to my social media. My rationality predicted that out of over 10.000 people across different profiles, I should get a decent amount of followers right off the bat. The actual result? Three subscribers.

Suffice to say, that was a little sub-par (pun intended). Social media simply does not want to promote anything that moves users away from their platforms.

Therefore I turned to 'growth hacking,' or to make it more accurate, I should say - 'laborious growth.' That is - inviting my network individually and one by one. To that end, I grabbed all of my e-mail contacts from Google Contacts, listed all of my LinkedIn contacts in an excel sheet, and started messaging them individually.

The e-mails converted poorly, but direct messages were doing very well. The key was to not immediately send the invite link but to ask whether they would be interested. Here is a sample:

"Hey, John! Having moved on from ArcticStartup, I am now starting a newsletter on #weekly self-development and entrepreneurial tips. Would that be interesting for you?"

To make it more personal, I would add custom comments as much as I could. This resulted in the first 500 subscribers, and I am not even at 50% of my network.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

Two come to mind right away. First is Action #0017 - Your Perfect Day. This is a well-known exercise that I have augmented with a few of my own ideas, and it is so memorable to me because it changed my life on the spot. To this day, I remember my own vision of my perfect day, and it keeps me going. 

#WeeklyAction by Dmitri Sarle

🗓️ Action #0017 - Your Perfect Day

Are you on your path to creating the life that you deserve? How do you know? You could be tracking your goals, staring at your purpose, or exploring how close you are to your life values. This week, I will give you a weapon, the nuclear kind. It will help you battle your calendar, destroy your miserable habits, and to have a sense of direction on a dail…

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5 years ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Dmitri Sarle

The other is Action #0014 - On Death And Purpose, as it was the first one that got a rather sweet and meaningful reply from a subscriber of mine, explaining just how much it affected them. It means the world to me to know that someone finds value in what I do. 

#WeeklyAction by Dmitri Sarle

⚱️ Action #0014 - On Death & Purpose

Every once in a while, we need a jolt to help us get back on our path or perhaps to accelerate ourselves upon it. It is my hope that this #weeklyaction will act as such a jolt. With some luck, it will even do for you, what it did for me: to actually figure out what my life path might look like and what actions I must take in order to get on it…

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5 years ago · 2 likes · Dmitri Sarle

What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?

As commented already - your business is a mirror to your soul. If you have the wrong motivation for starting it - it will never work. Same with personal relationships.

Therefore, I made it very clear to myself that my goal is not to make a living but to - first and foremost - have a place where I can fully express myself while trying to provide value.

Thus, my hope is to simply keep on doing it to the best of my ability, making sure each new post improves the newsletter overall and helps me deliver more value.

That said, I do have some developments in the 'idea generation stage':

• A Podcast on practical self-development (if you know anyone who should be on it, let me know)

• Deeper personal and theoretical articles

• Using more videos

• More engagement in my Telegram Group

• Workshops & Webinars

• Whitepapers to attract a larger audience

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Simply, that if you are struggling in self-development, know that we all are, no matter how successful we might seem on the outside. Here is a short-story I wrote on the matter:

It's on. The fight. The battle. The war. The troops are assembled, the battleplan - ready, the training - completed. Countless hours of meditation, months of intense contemplation, a workshop or two, and even a talk by a guru for your personal war.

Will that be enough? Will I finally win? Just to be sure, I think I should schedule an ayahuasca retreat, a few relationship workshops, throw in some time-management books, a couple of TED talks, a strict sports regimen, and a perfect sleeping routine.

Something is missing, I feel it down in my bones. Perhaps I need a little more calcium, or maybe less meat. I Gotta stay strong and read a few books on willpower and stoicism, for tomorrow, it starts. The day that will be the beginning of change, the day when I will stop holding it back, the day when I let myself go. The day when I will fully express all the beauty within, without fear or pain.

Just need to stay focused, and prepare like hell. Water, hydration, routine. If anyone can ever be ready, it's me. Wait, I need to make a few notes in my journal before I begin. Some affirmations will help, a few goals for the night, and a plan for the next day.

Dream interpretations. Past trauma recapitulations. Strong, loving relations. Wake up, get up, do some yoga, and martial art preparations. Breathing techniques for good measure. Today is the day. Today I begin. Just let me get to my screen.

Open my laptop, log in with my password. Today is the day. There will not be any distractions, and I will only do positive, affirmative, and life-supportive actions. I will follow my purpose, my dream, I will find the success that's within.

Just don't look at the notifications, don't open distractions, don't... Wait, what's that? A new meme? Oh, just one click for a second, I have to see this Reddit short film.

Eight hours have passed. F#$@. Well, I guess I will just have to do it all over again. Maybe some detox is needed, cold showers, and a little less pain.

It's on. The fight. The battle. The war. Tomorrow it starts. The day that will be the beginning of change, the day when I will stop holding it back, the day when I let myself go. The day when I will fully express all the beauty within, without fear or pain.

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Today’s Sub Pub interview is with Belladonnaoflavender, aka Shalini, of Belladonnaoflavender’s Newsletter.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I have been a science student, good at maths, mastered Laws- a reader and learner for life. I value experiences and recommendations, both of which form a part of me and my upbringing. Brought up in a small town in India, I am a world-navigator who calls herself a general specialist and a good one at that! I read and watch a lot, everyday. Consumption is my way of living, this newsletter is my salvation to provide a home to the tremendous amount of content I consume.

How would you describe your newsletter?

A stash of words, experiences and everything in between. For a very long time, and still, I struggle to box my newsletter- Belladonnaoflavender's Newsletter. The name is my brand name. Me. The letter is a representation of me and an extension of my Instagram personality. Instagram (@belladonnaoflavender) is my main blog and I saw that I don't need clout or expectations to write, which inspires me to write my newsletter.

It is a mixture of themes, topics, specials which focuses on my real life stories, book and movie/TV Recs, Always a collection of Articles from the Internet, some really hair raising accusations, revelations, hitting home. I also feature small businesses and Creators, support other writers, Newsletters, share quotes and thoughts, which gives a reader extensibility to get lost in content where everyone can find something in my newsletter- and my aim is to make that Something, everything for someone who is looking. Imagine listening to Crimson and Clover on a rainy day and walking out, and it’s sunny on a cold winter's day- That is my newsletter. You grow wittier than you came.

Why did you decide to publish on Substack?

I looked at various prospects and apart from competitor Tinyletter, I found Substack to have lots of improvisation as well as good workshops, tips, etc which as a writer matter to me more than just a platform.

What has your experience with your newsletter been like?

I started last year in November, after conceptualizing for about an year and reading multiple newsletters everyday since last 5 years or so. I have a readership of 500 readers and my newsletter is slowly growing but I believe in hygge and slow growth. Anything which off shoots manically is a result of capitalism and I fight it when it becomes a problem for under represented groups and people of colour. I want to bring a safe space which offers dollops of information, data to a reader who is like me- variant and resilient. My newsletter has become my base to connect with readers and other writers.

What have you liked most about your experience on Substack?

I love the community. Take for instance your newsletter, Sub Pub, which is really one of my favourites as it helps me discover new newsletters, and also I love reading interviews, other up and coming writers. This space has provided me with a lot of functionality, always something new and awesome to look forward to.

What have you liked least about your Substack experience?

There are many writers who focus more on earning than providing. The process to sift through the grains to find a brethren I connect with is tough. Also, I want Substack to make it's upcoming writers more visible. Substack can be the next Facebook and I don't want it to become THAT.

How have you let people know about your newsletter?

I just have a bio link on my IG and whenever I write a new letter, I try to talk about it as less as I can, sometimes I broadcast it on my Whatsapp and other media.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

https://belladonnaoflavender.substack.com/p/no-theres-no-way-not-to-suffer This letter connected the most with my audience. And for that reason, it is my most memorable letter.

What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?

Have a readership of 50K someday, free of cost. :) If I reach that goal, I will free my newsletter for all, forever.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Do follow me on my IG- that is where the real magic happens. I also have 70+ highlights on various topics for your pleasure. You will lose time if you enter my world or my newsletter. So, beware.

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Today's Sub Pub interview is with Vanshika Lohia of Vanshika Lohia’s Newsletter.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hey there, I am Vanshika. I love fiction, travel and writing. I believe in staying humble and talking to new and different people.

How would you describe your newsletter?

My Newsletter is like a fresh dose of caffeine on any day. It’s all about embracing and spreading positivity with the help of life’s basic amenities, whether they may be travel, books, web series or news.

What has your experience with your newsletter been like?

My experience has been mainly dominated by ‘learning’. The fact that a few simple emails can bring a smile to people’s faces is new to me. Creating good content has become my ultimate goal now.

What have you liked most about your experience on Substack?

The user-friendliness of the forum is what best makes Substack one of the best newsletter platforms.

How have you let people know about your newsletter?

At first, I let my friends and family know about the Newsletter who then sent it to a few people they knew. Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook promotions have also played a role in increasing people engagement.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

My recent post where I talk about the ‘3 Easy-Peasy Life Tips’ is something I absolutely love. It is something that I believe in and have learnt over the years.

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Today’s Sub Pub interview is a little different from previous interviews.

Not completely different, of course. Like the other interviews, this one is with a fellow Substack newsletter publisher: Owen Morawitz of The Pitch of Discontent.

But the focus of this interview is different: subscriptions – including paid subscriptions – to his newsletter and other newsletters.

If you’d like to be interviewed on these subjects – or about your newsletter or Substack in general – please contact me.

Tell us a little about your newsletter.

I have a weekly newsletter called The Pitch of Discontent with a focus on alternative music and culture. Each week, I highlight some of my favourite artists and new music of all different genre persuasions and I publish that roundup every Monday. For subscribers, I do an extra newsletter every Thursday which includes more substantive “deep dive” content like retrospective essays and lists on some of my favourite records, films, features, and more.

What do you think people see in your newsletter that might motivate them to be paid subscribers?

I've been doing freelance music journalism in fits and starts for over a decade now, and I think in our current moment it's very easy to give musical discovery over to a mindless algorithm. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong in doing that, but I do think the value of my newsletter comes down to personal curation. I like to think, rather narcissistically anyway, that I have decent taste in music, but that I'm also really open to new sounds. So, if I come across something that's outside of my regular wheelhouse, but really engaging and well performed, then I want to feature that in my curation and get that into other people's inboxes.

What do you see in other Substack newsletters that motivates you to be a paid subscriber?

I'm subscribed to a bunch of different newsletters, and I would say that the common theme among them is personality. Whether it's political reporting, books, music, or online ephemera, I'll give someone else my hard-earned money if they give me something that no one else can. I think that's the powerful thing about the newsletter-subscriber model.

In choosing Substack newsletters to subscribe to, do you focus on newsletters with subjects related in some way to your newsletter?

Yes and no. I follow a lot of other music writers on Twitter and subscribe to their newsletters, because I usually find a lot of genre overlap in things that I'm interested in, but also because they're fantastic writers and they inspire me to do better. That said, I also sub to a whole bunch of other non-music related content as well.

As a publisher or as a subscriber, do you feel Substack should improve anything regarding subscriptions?

I like how streamlined and easy to use Substack is as a platform. I'm not really trying to do anything too crazy with my newsletter, so for me and my audience, it gives me all the options I need. That said, I like how active the developers are in the community, and it bodes well for future developments on the platform based on how people are actively using it.

Do you have any advice for other Substack publishers who offer paid subscriptions or are thinking of doing so?

Well, I'm a very small publisher and my newsletter has plenty of room to grow, so I'm not sure if I have any sage advice for would-be newsletter writers. Find your niche, write consistently, and use your voice in a way that drives you every day. Easy, right?

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Thanks for having me!

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Today’s interview is with Dave Cowen, creator of the Shuffle Synchronicities newsletter!

Tell us a little about yourself.

While I've been published in The New Yorker and McSweeney's, I'm mostly a DIY writer these days. Most recently I've self-published 6 books in the last 4 years (available here). Some of which have been featured in The New York Times. The relative success of the self-published books inspired me to start my Substack because I've seen the benefits of DIY publishing.

How would you describe your newsletter?

I describe Shuffle Synchronicities as an unusual mix of music & memoir. The project started when I began to discover Synchronicities between the songs that came up on my Spotify shuffle and what was going on in my life. For those that don't know, Psychoanalyst Carl Jung coined the term ‘Synchronicity’ in the 1950s; and it's the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer. Many other people in the world have this sort of spiritual relationship with their music and their life, and this is a newsletter for them and more. Specifically, the concept is that every day I Shuffle my Spotify Liked Songs playlist (over 35,000 and counting), then write about how the song Synchronizes with my life and maybe somehow the readers'.

Why did you decide to publish on Substack?

The practice of shuffling for Spotify synchronicities was discovered, for me at least, in my 2019 book This Book Is The Longest Sentence Ever Written And Then Published, which is an experimental stream of consciousness memoir about my spiritual awakening after my father committed suicide. Originally, I was going to write a project just focusing on this device as another self-published book. However, the serial nature of the musical synchronicities, which seem to happen pretty much every day, seemed to want to be more immediately experienced and shared than collected and published later in book form. I happened to be reading a New Yorker article about Substack right before the new year of 2021 and when I started to subscribe to some of the amazing creators' newsletters on the platform, I realized this mixture of newsletter and medium-length prose and email and article and social media and blog and whatever else you want to call it (a Substack!), it is the right medium, the right delivery system, for this particular project.

What has your experience with your newsletter been like?

The experience with the newsletter has been very meaningful and enriching for me and I think for many of my readers. Creatively, I have the freedom to explore new territory in music criticism and memoir. I didn't try to become a professional music critic before this partly because I didn't like to rate or rank music (I think everything is good in its own way) and partly because well I was too busy failing at screenwriting LOL. But using music as a launching off point to explore my life and other themes like spirituality and self-help; mental health and bipolar disorder; books, movies, TV, and art; gender and sexuality; love and relationships; family and friends; the Enneagram, Numerology, Astrology, Tarot, and other esoterica; and of course other music; has helped open me up to new possibilities in the form, which I feel has also resonated with a niche group of readers.

What have you liked most about your experience on Substack?

Substack as a platform is very simple to get started with and use effectively. I had always thought of starting a Patreon, but this felt more specific to one project, instead of just generally supporting the creator, which I feel less comfortable with for my particular output of work, though I also definitely subscribe to other creators' Patreons. Mostly, I like the 'here's a box put anything you want inside of it' format. And the lack of censorship. Because part of my project is quoting selections of song lyrics, which is a bit of a gray area in terms of intellectual copyright law. But I'm heavily influenced by thinkers like Lawrence Lessig and Lewis Hyde and David Shields and believe that the balance between intellectual freedom and property control needs reforming and redefining. Substack seems to be part of the leading edge of this.

What have you liked least about your Substack experience?

You've been well on top of this, Scott, which is one of the many reasons I read your work, but it does seem particularly challenging to be discovered on this platform. Shuffle Synchronicities is listed in the top 25 of Paid Music Substacks in the Beta Reader Discovery thing. However, it doesn't seem that many people use the Substack Reader yet. I think most of us would welcome a major advance in discoverability.

How have you let people know about your newsletter?

I mostly Subscribed people that I knew already and thought would be interested. Then I also post sometimes on social media. Recently though, I've also started having (and paying) guests to post their own Shuffle Synchronicities, which has brought in some new readership. If you are a creator with a Substack (or not) but are interested in collaborating on a guest post, please do reach out.

Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?

The concept and the audience's interest really seemed to click right around the third post, which I think is memorable for its quality (daily writing has peaks and valleys haha) as well as the fact that it's a good exemplar of how the project weaves music & memoir as well as often books and spirituality together. In terms of guest posts, Ray Padgett of the Bob Dylan music Substack Flagging Down the Double E's and I collaborated on a post that seemed to have a lot of synchronicities and was also well-read.

What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?

I plan on and have committed to my readers to write the newsletter daily for this calendar year of 2021. Then we'll see. Haven't ruled out continuing for another year. Or FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE haha. But perhaps I'll move to weekly. Though I'm pretty sure it will continue in some form. I'm always looking for more collaborators to do guest posts with, and Scott, if you're interested, I'd love to have you. [Editor’s note: I have drafted a guest post for Dave’s newsletter.] But really I am just enjoying the process of showing whatever readers there are that there seems to be a spiritual connection between our music and our lives.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Thanks so much for the opportunity to be featured on your Substack, Scott. I really enjoy your work for the Substack creator community. Keep it up (if you want)! [Editor’s note: Thanks, Dave, for these kind words, this interview, and your newsletter! Intriguing newsletters such Shuffle Synchronicities help motivate me to keep improving Sub Pub.]

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