This is an important comment, and I want to reply with something that I think is equally important but hard: no writer, no book, no essay or post, is entitled to be read.
No one is entitled to success in their writing, and notable success in writing always takes a lot of work. No exceptions.
It is easy for the work of successful writers to become invisible.
But when we compare ourselves to others, we have to ask—did I do what they did? Did I do the equivalent?
I recently learned that David Sedaris does full re-write edits of all his essays at least 15 or 20 times, or something like that. He’s patient. He prints them out, waits, considers, and rewrites them over and over. He works and works and works on them. His finished essays seem so effortless, but that is because he works HARD to make them seem that way.
I can feel jealous of David Sedaris’s fame, I can feel like I’ll never get to that point, but I should ask myself: am I doing 15 or 20 full rewrite drafts of my essays? Am I pushing myself to search for a universal feeling, for a moment of poignancy, and for a laugh, all in the same piece? Am I doing what he did, in my own way? No, no, and no. I am not. If I did that, and then did it for 15 years before getting published, like he did, then maybe I would find out how close to David Sedaris (or my own equivalent) that I could get.
You can’t expect to get the results of a person who works very hard at something without also working very hard at it yourself. When I work hard at my newsletter, it grows. When life intervenes for whatever reason, as has happened on multiple occasions since I started my newsletter, it plateaus or even shrinks. I am not entitled to people’s attention, time, or money.
If you want to build a readership, then yes, you do have to publish. That is true here or in any context of writing. The alternative is nonsensical—how can people read you if you’re not publishing?
But not everyone has to be extremely aggressive in their work ethic. Writing can be a hobby. Or it can be a side gig. Or it can simply be a labor of love that sometimes yields income and sometimes doesn’t. Writing just one essay or piece per month is still a lot. But producing writing that many people will pay for, writing that is ready for the marketplace—that takes hard work no matter what. It takes a lot more work than most people are willing to put in. That’s the hard truth.
Finding one’s community in writing is important for those who want that. I am working on finding ways to provide that through my own Substack with Essay Camp, Chat threads, and people can also find each other in the comments. It can feel good to connect with people who share your goals, enthusiasm, or taste. But there is also no obligation to do that.
What you’ve said here is true: not everyone has the bandwidth to become a full time professional writer. Many people don’t have the bandwidth to be a writer at all. And most people who vaguely dream about becoming a writer are not willing to put in the work that it takes to get there. But the hard reality is that those who can’t or don’t want to put in the hard work of writing—fair or not—cannot expect to be read except by their friends.
There is nothing wrong with that, and yet some people seem to think they can achieve the readership of a professional writer who works very hard for a long time without also working very hard for a long time.
Not everyone who writes needs to do any of these things. What I do know, and what I tried to say in my post, is that those who put metrics and ego and a sense of entitlement above the work will never capture a reader’s heart. Not only that, it warps the spirit.
Substack offers an amazing opportunity for writers, but also for readers. It is really unprecedented. It should not be a surprise to people that those who were already full time professional writers will have a shorter path to a full time income here. People who were already famous will find a large audience faster. Because they have already put in the work. There are National Book Award winners up in here sharing their new, experimental writing! MacArthur genius grant winners on here shooting the breeze about writing! Alexander Chee, the recent editor of Best American Essays, is on here sharing essays! George effing Saunders is on here talking about stories with anyone who wants to sign up! It’s amazing! Am I as famous or successful, here or elsewhere, as the people on Substack who have won the National Book Award or a MacArthur genius grant? No. But have I put in the work that they did to get there? Also no. Not quite yet anyway 😉
I don’t actually know that Substack prioritizes “users” with a lot of subscribers. But writers that write a lot, and that get a big response to their work, they do rise in the charts and become more visible. Anyone who does good work consistently can achieve that, but it takes work, and it takes patience. (And reading—don’t forget to read!)