Oops...Accidentally Enabled Paid Subscriptions on Substack
Now accepting tips for good work & exceptional writing
For a while now I’ve been trying to figure out how to reward my most loyal readers by sharing some of the short fiction I’ve been working on—without affecting the pieces’ “unpublished” status, vis-a-vis contests & journals I’m sending them to.
Publications often run submitted manuscripts through plagiarism widgets, to make sure the work hasn’t appeared previously—even in a free blog somewhere. I know people who’ve been burned by this.
Putting non-public content behind Substack’s paywall seemed like the most reasonable approach. That way only VIP members could access the secret stuff—and potential publications would find no matches online (you can block paywalled posts from search indexing).
Be careful with a new tool…
I went into the Substack settings to explore the options. There’s a little toggle you have to switch on in order to see and set up the various elements. I played around a bit and weighed some factors.
There’s some cool options there, including automated referral bonuses, customizable welcome emails, etc…so I got into it and wound up building a reasonably complete but still rough system.
Then I hit Save—planning to sit and think for a bit whether I was ready for this step, and if so, when I should implement it—and apparently it activated the thing. 🤷♂️
What’s the upshot here?
For one thing, Pledges all instantly become paid subscribers—many thanks, by the way (you know who you are) and sorry for any surprises on that front.
For another, now I have to actually put out some VIP content to match the offer, which is exciting though admittedly a little scary—but that’s always the case when an author considers sharing new fiction.
For you on this list, nothing changes. I won’t paywall these regular posts/emails you’ve been enjoying. Except now you’re finally free to indulge your upwelling generosity and support the artist’s work—by buying me a coffee every 3rd email or so, to fuel my efforts here to amuse and enlighten you:
Make a one-time donation on Substack
Not a regular reader but still want to chip in? Sign up for the $5 monthly subscription, and cancel it after the payment goes through. Repeat at will, whenever you feel so moved: I won’t be offended—I’ll be delighted that this Substack tip-jar hack works!