There is a lot of advice out there about how to write on platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook, Substack (and way more).
This advice bores the he-double-hockey-sticks out of me. This is because I’m way too easily bored. So, I’m going to try to be quick in case you’re easily bored, too.
Yesterday, a writer and human I admire asked me about tips for writing on Substack so that he could share it with some writers he was working with. I kind of flubbed my way through it. I failed at being succinct and babbled (that poor man), so I’m going to try here.
Tip #1 - Love the White Space
White space is just the space on the page that isn’t words.
White space is your friend.
It might be your best friend.
In the digital world (especially if your content is free), it is easy to click away if you feel overwhelmed. People often feel overwhelmed with large blocks of text.
An effective use of white space helps increase the pacing of your piece, but it also makes it so that reluctant readers or people who reading isn’t their #1 skill don’t get intimidated and just click away.
So, mix it up with paragraph lengths.
Do what you can to increase the white space on your post (or essay).
Put dialogue in its own paragraph. Yes, George Martin does not do this. But you can.
Tip #2 - Love the Subheader and Header or Whatever You Want to Call Them (this is one)
Subheads and photos are subconscious markers for people as they read through your story. When they reach them, there’s sort of this positive hit of achievement that happens in their brains, which hooks them into continuing on and reading more.
Tip #3 - Clarity is Our Friend
You do not have to write like a super cool academic with a leaning toward abstract words derived from Latinate origins to talk about super cool academic things.
You can write simply even when explaining hard stuff.
Tip #4 - Lean into Who You Are
That said, if you are super cool academic who likes the long sentences and paragraphs, go for it. Embrace your Heather Cox Richardson. Your readers might be that kind of brain and totally into it.
If you persist and enjoy writing and enjoy what you’re writing about, you will find your people.
Tip #5 - Be Okay with a Slow Build & Also the Immediate Response
For many of us, when we come over onto Substack and we don’t import our email lists (or we don’t have one) and we are not celebrities (or even celebrity journalists), it can take a long time to build up an audience. But the cool thing is that while you’re building up, you’re also becoming a better writer.
I come from the world of print novels and print newspapers. The transition to digital and its immediate response is both terrifying and super cool. That’s because we are writing as communication (usually) and that immediacy is like being on the stage. We can connect to our readers. We can grow through seeing what they connect to, too.
How cool is that?
Yes, we can connect more easily to trolls and other people’s evil minions, but that’s all part of the magical world, right? And there are just as many cool creatures out there, full of heart and magic and hope and learning that we get to connect with, too.
PLACE TO SUBMIT
Fugue
Fugue is especially interested in work that is curious about the world, the boundaries of form, and the limits of language.
Poetry, fiction, nonfiction and reviews are accepted through Submittable only. Please send no more than five poems, two short-shorts, one story, or one essay per submission. For reviews, we accept pitches or completed pieces; see guidelines below.
You can find more information about what our genre editors would like to read under Submission Calls below.
General submissions open on September 1 and close on November 15.
Our annual prose and poetry contests run each spring.
We aim to respond to submissions within four months, but sometimes things take longer than we’d like. Please do not query us on the status of your submission until six months have elapsed.
Cost of Submission
General submissions require a submission fee of $3.00 per submission to help pay for online submission services. Submissions in more than one genre should be submitted separately and require separate submission fees.
If our fee presents financial hardship, please contact us at fugue@uidaho.edu so that we can offer you a fee-free submission option.
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