Is Substack the way forward?
Navigating today's journalism hellscape as a freelancer is, uh, interesting
Ever since I left London two years ago, none of the close friends I get to see in person on a regular basis are writers. That sucks, because – like most things in life – writing is better with friends.
In lieu of real-life writer pals, I’ve been listening to an excellent podcast called The Bleeders. Presented by Courtney Kocak, it’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives, minds and rituals of some truly brilliant writers: from Elle Nash to Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, there’s a wide range of experiences to get stuck into. Each episode has been memorable for different reasons, but one that really resonated was Elle Griffin’s discussion of serialising her novel on Substack.
A long-time fan of Gothic horror, Griffin wrote her own novel and then tried pitching it to more than 100 agents in total. Around 50 rejected her outright, the rest ghosted her. Instead of losing motivation, Griffin instead started digging deeper into the world of publishing; she quickly realised that she wasn’t the problem. In the episode, she cites some pretty depressing figures: 96% of all published books never sell more than 1,000 copies, and only 100 books manage to sell more than 100,000 copies. Consider that writers get – if they’re lucky – 15% royalties for each book sale and the dazzle of the publishing industry starts to dull considerably.
Now, The Bleeders landed in my lap at the perfect time. Last year, I found an agent. This year, I polished a second book proposal and started shipping it to different publishers.
This process has been a wake-up call in many ways, and a glimpse into an ultimately unsustainable industry, especially if you happen to be marginalised in some way. The industry is fucked on every level. Although publishers pay lip service to diversity, it’s seemingly still the case that writers from marginalised backgrounds are largely paid lower advances, if they’re offered them at all. The people working at these publishing houses fare no better, either. In fact, staff at Harper Collins have been on strike for over a week and counting, demanding fair pay in an industry which rakes in billions but still relies on staff accepting salary offers that barely cover their rent and bills. That’s not to mention the unpaid overtime.
What I’ve seen so far is that authors are treated similarly. Advances are usually split into four payments: one upon contract signature, the second upon first draft submission, the third upon final draft submission and the fourth upon publication. Usually, books are commissioned at least one calendar year in advance. So, if you’re offered a £4000 advance, that means you’re paid £1000 upfront — nowhere near enough to take a month or two away from your regular job to focus on your actual book. You’re essentially asked to choose between rushing your book and burning yourself out, and the results are pretty shitty either way.
Griffin absorbed this information and thought fuck it, I’ll turn to Substack. By interviewing other writers who had serialised their novels and fine-tuning a business strategy, she’s managed to build an income from her novels that the vast majority of advances likely wouldn’t have given her.
I’ve been lucky in so many ways to find a publisher that will pay me fairly for my next book, but the constant precariousness of freelance writing means it’s always worth having a back-up. So, is Substack the answer?
For me, only time will tell. Like most writers disenfranchised by the state of freelance journalism, I’ve toyed with this platform for years. Two, to be exact. Publication budgets are shrinking, the claws of nepotism are sinking ever deeper into the UK industry in particular, and the notion of ever writing a “passion project” for cold, hard cash is increasingly unthinkable. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is burning Twitter – a valuable tool for freelancers – to the ground. Is there any wonder so many of us are migrating here? No, I don’t want to panic-register to Mastodon. I definitely don’t want to start promoting my articles in TikTok dances – trust me, you might think you want that from me, but you don’t.
In the meantime, I’ll be here carving out my own little corner of the internet to write about whatever I like. I hope you’ll join me.