Thanks for sharing this Simon! It’s helpful to hear your experience of writing both fiction and non fiction here on Substack: it’s a model I use too, and I’ve worried at times that it’s ‘wrong’ to try and do both (though my readers engage with both).
Thank you, Simon. I usually publish one newsletter, sometimes two, a week. For me, a real challenge is to know at what time to publish so that I'm more likely to be read...?
Great question! I’ve experimented a bit with this, though I’ve not really settled on a good answer.
Most of my readers are in the US, while I’m based in the UK. As such, if I publish a newsletter first thing in the morning UK time, a lot of my US readers will be asleep.
In theory, publishing around 4pm UK time would hit the east coast at about midday, and the west coast around breakfast time. That sounds like a pretty good time, and yet when I’ve scheduled for that time I don’t see any noticeable difference.
I published this newsletter early morning UK time, and it’s already had lots of responses.
My suspicion, which is based more on a hunch that hard data, is that it doesn’t really matter. Readers will read in their own time, based on their own unique schedule. Some people will read over breakfast, others on the commute, other in the evening or at lunch, etc etc. Trying to predict and understand that probably doesn’t make sense.
All that taken into consideration, I’ll often aim for about 3-4pm UK time, because I might as well. But other times, like today, I’m impatient and just want to get the thing out. :) Ultimately, I base it more around my own schedule, I think, and worry less about the other end.
It is indeed very, very, very slow. I've been two years on Substack and for a fiction newsletter that used to publish sporadically until mid-September, I'm doing amazingly well. On the other hand, the amount of time and work I invest in this newsletter is staggering. When I look at the grass on the other side (non-fiction) I must sometimes wonder what I'm doing here.
Yeah, doing a newsletter properly is an absurd amount of work. Definitely isn’t something anyone should attempt unless they REALLY enjoy writing about their subject.
I’m pretty sure I could make a lot more money if I dumped the fiction and went all-in on a certain type of non-fic, but I’d be a pretty miserable person.
Consistency has been my big problem here. I have been updating stuff on two submission sites somewhat regularly (Tuesday and Friday, usually early morning .. usually - this week will be off) but only got two newsletters out (and only one of them correctly I think)... Just could not find anything to say the third week and now on week four.. and just started a piece for a contest which has absorbed about 89% of my writing time. May have to dredge out some od my ongoing fiction here and see what happenes
Sounds like you’re doing a ton of work, just not all in one place.
I’m often surprised that I haven’t run out of things to say yet (some might argue that I have…). I do have quiet weeks, sometimes, where I’ll throw out a discussion topic or some other shortcut.
One thing I’ve pondered is whether to switch to a slightly different pattern, where I do fewer non-fiction pieces but make them a bit meatier. The newsletter would still be weekly, but the non-fic would have more time in the oven. Or even going the seasonal route that Mike Sowden does.
This has been incredibly helpful and validates some of my actions and thinking. I've been posting both fic and nonfic--one a month each. The nonfic has mostly been history related or connected to the research I'm doing for the serialized novel. Whether that's going to hold readers' interest or not is yet to be seen. I do feel I need to increase the frequency but I'm not sure I can manage that and the other parts of my life right now. Perhaps the new year would be a good time to aim for doing that. Thank you again, Simon, for sharing your experience and insights.
Thanks for reading. It’s important not to over-commit, as that is a quick route to stress, and then you’ll no longer enjoy the writing process! It’s a tricky balancing act.
If every fiction writer was also giving out advice, or giving me their weekly diary, I think I'd die by a thousand cuts.
It's always funny to me that there's a huge audience on Substack looking for how to write fiction and how to succeed on Substack, instead of reading fiction. It's a never ending irony.
I think it has worked well for you, because you have the depth of experience on Substack and on other platforms. Most people can't bring that to the table.
Hi Simon! Thanks for this. I was wondering about how that works for nonfiction vs. fiction. It makes sense to get known by the non first, then spill over into the fiction. Can't wait to learn more! Great pic, by the way!
Useful to know, thanks Steve! And totally fine, I should say, as well. There’s always going to be a bit of a Venn diagram going on: some people will only be interested in the Monday non-fic stuff, some only in the Friday fiction, and a smaller group will be here for both.
Thank you. I have completed work on the initial draft(s) of my novel and am working up the courage to share on Substack. This was a useful and gentle nudge.
This is interesting; I originally intended to write two pieces a month, one fiction and one a sort of non-fiction companion piece. I've moved away from that because I didn't feel like people were interested in the non-fiction. I'll have to take a harder look at my data.
This is very helpful, thank you! Exactly the advice I’ve been looking for.
Glad to help!
Thanks for sharing this Simon! It’s helpful to hear your experience of writing both fiction and non fiction here on Substack: it’s a model I use too, and I’ve worried at times that it’s ‘wrong’ to try and do both (though my readers engage with both).
Yep, I worried for the first year, or even the first two, that it might be the ‘wrong’ approach. I don’t worry about that any more! :)
Whether it’s the ‘best’ approach is a whole other discussion, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have caused me any problems.
Thanks Simon, this is useful and really appreciated.
Thanks for reading! Hope it helps.
Thank you, Simon. I usually publish one newsletter, sometimes two, a week. For me, a real challenge is to know at what time to publish so that I'm more likely to be read...?
Great question! I’ve experimented a bit with this, though I’ve not really settled on a good answer.
Most of my readers are in the US, while I’m based in the UK. As such, if I publish a newsletter first thing in the morning UK time, a lot of my US readers will be asleep.
In theory, publishing around 4pm UK time would hit the east coast at about midday, and the west coast around breakfast time. That sounds like a pretty good time, and yet when I’ve scheduled for that time I don’t see any noticeable difference.
I published this newsletter early morning UK time, and it’s already had lots of responses.
My suspicion, which is based more on a hunch that hard data, is that it doesn’t really matter. Readers will read in their own time, based on their own unique schedule. Some people will read over breakfast, others on the commute, other in the evening or at lunch, etc etc. Trying to predict and understand that probably doesn’t make sense.
All that taken into consideration, I’ll often aim for about 3-4pm UK time, because I might as well. But other times, like today, I’m impatient and just want to get the thing out. :) Ultimately, I base it more around my own schedule, I think, and worry less about the other end.
Thanks for this. Helpful and encouraging.
Thanks for reading, Joe!
(Now off to check out your Babylon 5 newsletter…)
It is indeed very, very, very slow. I've been two years on Substack and for a fiction newsletter that used to publish sporadically until mid-September, I'm doing amazingly well. On the other hand, the amount of time and work I invest in this newsletter is staggering. When I look at the grass on the other side (non-fiction) I must sometimes wonder what I'm doing here.
Yeah, doing a newsletter properly is an absurd amount of work. Definitely isn’t something anyone should attempt unless they REALLY enjoy writing about their subject.
I’m pretty sure I could make a lot more money if I dumped the fiction and went all-in on a certain type of non-fic, but I’d be a pretty miserable person.
Enjoyment does play a huge part in doing this kind of work. Looking forward to reading more from this series.
Consistency has been my big problem here. I have been updating stuff on two submission sites somewhat regularly (Tuesday and Friday, usually early morning .. usually - this week will be off) but only got two newsletters out (and only one of them correctly I think)... Just could not find anything to say the third week and now on week four.. and just started a piece for a contest which has absorbed about 89% of my writing time. May have to dredge out some od my ongoing fiction here and see what happenes
Sounds like you’re doing a ton of work, just not all in one place.
I’m often surprised that I haven’t run out of things to say yet (some might argue that I have…). I do have quiet weeks, sometimes, where I’ll throw out a discussion topic or some other shortcut.
One thing I’ve pondered is whether to switch to a slightly different pattern, where I do fewer non-fiction pieces but make them a bit meatier. The newsletter would still be weekly, but the non-fic would have more time in the oven. Or even going the seasonal route that Mike Sowden does.
For now, I’ll stick to this mode, though…
I wasn't consistent until 1.5 months ago. But I publish my fiction here. Without fiction, I'm not sure if I would have a weekly newsletter.
This has been incredibly helpful and validates some of my actions and thinking. I've been posting both fic and nonfic--one a month each. The nonfic has mostly been history related or connected to the research I'm doing for the serialized novel. Whether that's going to hold readers' interest or not is yet to be seen. I do feel I need to increase the frequency but I'm not sure I can manage that and the other parts of my life right now. Perhaps the new year would be a good time to aim for doing that. Thank you again, Simon, for sharing your experience and insights.
Thanks for reading. It’s important not to over-commit, as that is a quick route to stress, and then you’ll no longer enjoy the writing process! It’s a tricky balancing act.
If every fiction writer was also giving out advice, or giving me their weekly diary, I think I'd die by a thousand cuts.
It's always funny to me that there's a huge audience on Substack looking for how to write fiction and how to succeed on Substack, instead of reading fiction. It's a never ending irony.
I think it has worked well for you, because you have the depth of experience on Substack and on other platforms. Most people can't bring that to the table.
Hi Simon! Thanks for this. I was wondering about how that works for nonfiction vs. fiction. It makes sense to get known by the non first, then spill over into the fiction. Can't wait to learn more! Great pic, by the way!
I'm always impressed with your consistency! (I made that my goal for this year but am only managing about 1-2 posts a month).
I do wonder whether it would be wiser to slow down and focus on boosting quality, but so far it’s worked out OK, I think!
FYI - I'm primarily here for the nonfiction. You offer sensible writing advice. I haven't read the fiction, to be honest.
Useful to know, thanks Steve! And totally fine, I should say, as well. There’s always going to be a bit of a Venn diagram going on: some people will only be interested in the Monday non-fic stuff, some only in the Friday fiction, and a smaller group will be here for both.
Another uplifting piece from Simon K Rando!
As ever, your clear explanations are encouraging. Thank you for investing the time to share.
Thank you. I have completed work on the initial draft(s) of my novel and am working up the courage to share on Substack. This was a useful and gentle nudge.
This is interesting; I originally intended to write two pieces a month, one fiction and one a sort of non-fiction companion piece. I've moved away from that because I didn't feel like people were interested in the non-fiction. I'll have to take a harder look at my data.