Quick note: I'm just as tired of reading about writing as you are, but bear with me for a minute.
Hey Substack team, just a humble suggestion:
Anyone wanting to start a publication here should first present their degree in English or Literature, or at the very least, a couple of published books. Then, they’d need to pass a rigorous assessment, which includes writing a long-form essay like "The Existential Dread of My Dead Grandma's Antique Teapot: A Deep Dive Into the Meaning of Life, Time, and the Human Condition" packed with fancy words, metaphors, and zero spelling mistakes. Oh, and don’t forget, at least 50 drafts required. Only those who ace all of this can truly be allowed to publish here. The rest of us? Well, time to pack it up.
Because what are we even doing here, people? We have no rights to write at all. This platform is for the writers who tick all the boxes. Us? Who are writing for 'fun,' they say, we should go do something else, or whatever. Because WE ARE TAKING UP THEIR SPACE AND FLOODING IT WITH MEDIOCRE CONTENT. You’re writing about movies? Ewww, how dare you?! You’re writing… l… li… lists…? OMG *fainting* an..d monetizing it?! *dead*
Clearly, we’re ruining the purity of this platform. Because how dare we enjoy writing without having published a 500-page novel or writing about things we actually like??? They’re probably crying into their first editions of Shakespeare right now, devastated by our audacity to not take ourselves too seriously. Imagine the horror, people enjoying writing as a form of expression and not to impress a panel of literary judges. Tragic, really!!
If you have nothing to write? GET OUT. You’re only writing for what? For fun? OMG, what a disgrace! GET OUT. Want your publication to be aesthetically pleasing? GET OUT, because your focus should be on the actual writing (as in how you write, not what you write). Who cares! Enabled chat to connect with your readers? Who even does that? GET OUT. Writers in the Stone Age didn’t have access to their readers, they were mysterious, so you should be too! Supporting others? Well, you’re just doing it for the numbers, aren’t you? GET OUT. Using the Notes app? The devil reincarnate in Substack form? GET THE F OUT. NOW!
(okay done with the sarcasm)
Those are the complaints I’ve been seeing around here for the past few weeks. Yesterday, I read one that was my last straw. I kept muting the author. There were so many not just one or two, so I didn’t really care. But the way these party poopers were shoved in my face made me lose my last bit of patience. I almost deleted my entire publication and tossed my phone out the window. I blame my algorithm for pushing that stuff to my feed but it’s hard to ignore when a huge chunk of substack writers are out here deciding who gets to write and calling it 'their opinion' or 'constructive criticism.' What if I say YOU HAVE ZERO RIGHTS TO JUDGE PEOPLE HERE? You could have a 100 degrees and 1000 published books, but that doesn’t give you the right to criticize others for what they choose to do. None of you are providing real reasons; you’re just mad. There’s no evidence to back up your so called ‘constructive criticism’. I just can’t take any of you seriously, it just screams elitism.
Suddenly, everyone’s acting like they’re the CEO of substack and obsessing over this platform.
Writing. “The Sumerians in Mesopotamia invented cuneiform, the first known writing system, around 3400 BCE. The Sumerians used writing for long-distance communication, which was necessary for trade as cities developed in Mesopotamia.” If writing was so sacred, this platform wouldn’t even exist. How ridiculous does that sound? Letters, languages, writing, speaking. It's all just a medium for communication. WRITING IS ABOUT COMMUNICATING, not about how many drafts you’ve done, how many fancy words and metaphors you’ve included, or what 'quality' means. Writing was for everyone until these strict rules came in because that’s when you could capitalize on it. This has already limited people wanting to write. And now, when some of us are just happy to have a platform, people can’t stop complaining.
Quality writing??? What even is 'quality writing'? No one here is publishing sentences like 'I pooped today' and hitting 'publish.' Everyone is trying something, and that’s what matters. So their posts are just lists? Who cares? They’re still offering something to their readers. Just because someone writes less than you doesn’t mean they aren’t putting in their work. Good for you that you had the chance to specialize in writing and make a career out of it. But not everyone has that luxury. I come from a middle class family and we still struggle financially from time to time. If I had chosen literature or English as my major, I’d probably be jobless in this country. I’m studying economics, focusing on numbers and statistics. Does that mean I can’t write on the side at all? Even people who publish books in my country don’t get to be full-time writers.
Everyone's life and situation is different.
Another complaint I’ve seen is ‘everyone is writing the same thing.’ Y’all realize we’re all mentally different, right? We each have our own perspectives and ways of thinking.
I’m all about being positive and spreading love everywhere, but people really test my patience. It’s sad to see that most of y’all are so thrilled to be here, thinking this platform is all sunshine and rainbows when there’s clearly a hierarchy. We’re always looked down upon. They’ll always stick with their own kind and new writers hardly ever get a chance. I was subscribed to some big names here for a few weeks and noticed they never give new writers a chance or share their work. It’s always just their circle and I can’t stand that kind of exclusivity. I’ve unsubscribed from them all.
Everyone’s obsessed with numbers, likes, subscribers, comments, restacks, payments. That’s all that matters to them. So, if one person gets it all and doesn’t fit their idea of a 'writer,' they’ll say the platform is 'polluted.'
Just write whatever you want. You are a writer. Everyone is a writer. We all have the ability to create sentences and share what we want to convey.
If they actually cared about quality content, they’d be helping to share the posts from people who put in blood, sweat, and tears only to get 0 likes every single time. They’re all quick to complain 24/7 but do nothing or even read what others write.
Substack isn’t about 'quality' (that’s just a made up concept); it’s about engagement.
ps: and if you think connecting with your readers is stupid, sorry to break it to you, but you’re not a celebrity. Those people took their time to subscribe to you, and as a decent person, the least you could do is communicate with them. You won’t win a Nobel Prize for being “mysterious”.
If I came off as a negative entity, a mean girl, a hater or whatever, feel free to unsubscribe. I’m deleting the Substack app because I just can’t escape these people.
People have started talking about reader elitism more recently but NO ONE TALKS ABOUT WRITER ELITISM!!! This post was so refreshing
I haven't come across these people yet, but I do think it's laughable to try and gatekeep the most basic form of human expression. You're so real about the fact that most people don't have the privilege and generational wealth to get away with being full-time writers.