I don't trust them further than I can throw them

DIY or die baybeeee 🙃

Illustration by Lauren Denitzio

Well before COVID, I started using Substack because it offered functionality that I wanted to explore. Having a newsletter that could also act as a subscription series, with paid options, was something that excited me, and I wanted to see where that could go. I thought of it like using other apps like Mailchimp or PayPal - a tech company, but also just a tool I could use. Building something like that myself was just too complicated, so using Substack seemed like a no-brainer. They were a startup, and their founder even answered some of my questions personally via email. In the grand scheme of things, they seemed like one of the little guys.

I knew from day one that I wasn’t going to agree with everyone who used Substack. That would be like expecting to like everyone on Tumblr. That’s insane. Except Tumblr isn’t making money off of your blog. To be honest, I have no idea how Tumblr makes money, period, but it’s not directly from how many people follow you.

When it came out that noted transphobes and other right-wing conservatives had started making significant amounts of money through Substack, my initial disappointment was about them having popular newsletters at all, let alone newsletters on Substack. Then someone pointed out that not only has Substack started giving out advances (some of which probably went to the above conservatives) but they also take 10% of your revenue. A newsletter with thousands of paid subscribers is making Substack a ton of money, whereas someone with only a couple hundred subscribers, such as myself, is just a drop in the bucket. I don’t want to be associated via my revenue share with right-wingnuts and neither do a lot of the writers who are (or were) on the platform.

Substack published their own statements about freedom of speech, creating a more independent world for writers, not tolerating hate speech, etc. but none of it made me think they would take down a hateful post from someone with a huge subscriber base. It didn’t make me think they minded if someone was spewing transphobic, incendiary garbage so long as they had a lot of paid subscribers. Substack gave no clear examples of what they would potentially remove and won’t say who has received an advance from them, furthering my suspicion that they’re a company I don’t want to support. If there’s one thing I don’t do, it’s trust anyone backed by venture capital.

Still, they seemed to care about developing writers and even gave me a nice grant last year when I really needed it. They had materially supported my practice, so I wasn’t about to impulsively jump ship. I wrote them an email that basically said “wtf? I don’t trust y’all right now. Give me one reason to stay.” but this time they didn’t write back. No form response. No acknowledgment of my concerns as a queer person having their name attached to my work. Nothing.

So y’know what? I’m switching to a service that can remain totally anonymous, takes no money directly from my subscribers, and that’s a non-profit. It’s almost like a ghost. 🤔 The newsletter is going to be built directly into my website, I can offer all of the same things, and those of you who are already subscribed don’t even have to do anything. As far as your concerned, nothing changes but the URL. I don’t like having another company’s name or logo on my work anyway, so this is perfect. Honestly, I’m excited.

The internet is full of toxic bullshit and I don’t need to be anywhere near this thing when something inevitably more disappointing and gross happens. I get to choose who I give my money to, and I’m choosing to no longer give my money to Substack.

All of that said, this transition is going to take a moment, so there may not be a free post from me next week. I know, I know, but I promise you will make it through. It’s a pain in the ass to leave this platform, so fair game to any of my colleagues who keep using Substack. You gotta pick your internet behemoth battles. Please keep subscribing to their newsletters or otherwise supporting them if you can.

PS - The prospect of switching services and building this into my site is pretty daunting, and not something I had much bandwidth for at all. I made that fact known to the internet and one of my followers on Instagram, out of the kindness of their heart, walked me through the main technical thing that was holding me up, and it made a huge difference. Thanks, Charlie. Just wanted to share an example of how you can support artists without necessarily subscribing or buying something. It means a lot and makes a difference!