As my comment is the one being referenced by Summer here, I thought I should chime in. I’ll be blunt, I don’t really like how this conversation is going as I feel as if the more established writers are lecturing newbie writers.

I’m uncomfortable with the idea that it’s considered “entitled” or “expecting the platform to do the work” to make it easier for new Substacks to be found.

Currently, Substacks are organized via recommendations and number of subscribers or popularity.

A simple change to the UI could help readers like me find new Substacks and writers to follow: A simple timeline menu, for example, or a “just updated” timeline.

When the playing ground is level, everyone has a chance, beginners and pros alike.

RIght now, I literally have to dive into Notes or Office Hours comment threads just to find stacks of new writers.

As a reader, it’s a BIG pain point for me as I indicated in a previous post of mine.

As a writer, I actually get more response when I share my links to Mastodon than on Substack because I simply do not have the time to drop a comment or be on Notes to be noticed.

Not everyone has the energy to do all this. Sometimes, all the energy they have is to write quality posts. How do we find these writers? That’s the question I want answered.