It is getting close to the 1-year anniversary of my first article on Substack. I started writing in early June of 2024. I had recently finished my first two books and had written a substantial portion of my third book. I thought that Substack might be an effective means to reach new readers.
I started by posting excerpts from my first two books, but then I branched out into writing new content. With almost 300 articles posted and more than 120,000 total views over the last year, I am very happy with the growth in readership so far.
I want to start by thanking all of you and particularly those of you who leave frequent comments on my articles. Getting immediate feedback from readers is one of the best features of writing on Substack. In particular, I want to thank the following readers:
I also want to thank all those Substackers who recommend my site, particularly:
Thank you all!
I also want to use this time to make a few announcements:
I am going to spend less time on Substack this summer, so that I can focus on family vacations and outdoor activity.
I will slow down on the frequency of new posts. My previous frequency of posting 5-10 articles per week was not sustainable. I will continue posting new content, but at a less frequent pace going forward.
I will be reposting old articles that were originally published when I had much fewer subscribers. In many cases, I will add content in reply to reader comments. Unfortunately, Substack does not have a Republish feature, so the reposts will not include previous reader comments. At some point, I may need to delete the older posts, so as to not have too much duplication. Sorry in advance if this results in your comment getting deleted.
Most likely, I will respond to comments less frequently, as well. I read every comment and will continue to do so. I value the feedback.
Sincerely,
Michael Magoon
Crazy that I subscribed at the start, I had no idea given your website history. The lower velocity of posts is welcome, if anything. There were some weekends where I was wondering how you were cranking out 2-3 articles per day.
Thanks for the feedback on feedback. :-)
Posting less frequently this summer works for me, as I dropped behind reading them all while on vacation, but I have saved a set for later review.
I suspect some time reviewing your 200+ book reviews may also prove useful/ helpful in either buying more books, avoiding some, and getting enough of their gist to pass on an additional purchase.
Never enough hours in the day, week, or year. Just amazing how quickly the weeks and months are flying by right now!