Writing on Substack: Future Plans

I wrote my first blog post back in November 2005. Little did I know how it would change my life. The contacts I made through the community that formed around my writing led to invitations to work with fellow history teachers, public speaking, and opportunities to publish. It’s been a wild ride and one that I don’t take for granted, especially over the past few years during the COVID pandemic.

The thought never crossed my mind to place my writing at Civil War Memory behind a paywall.

Moving to Substack this past March has given my online writing a much needed recharge. One of the things that I’ve especially enjoyed has been the interaction with an entirely new audience of readers. It’s gratifying to wake up most mornings and have thoughtful comments to respond to as well as new subscribers.

When I moved to Substack I planned to eventually transition to a premium subscription plan. I’ve seen a few of my colleagues embrace this option with some success. A number of you have even asked if I plan on offering a paid option, simply as a way to support my efforts here. Thank you.

My online writing is a form of labor that competes with my many other responsibilities, including a book project that I hope to finish by the end of the year. I certainly don’t expect to be able to retire from a paid subscription plan, but a little income will help to justify the amount of time it takes to research and write these posts on a regular basis. It may even pay for a book or two that helps with the development of future posts.

The most common approach to “going paid” on Substack is to keep the majority of posts free for readers and set aside one or two a week for paid subscribers. I’ve thought about numerous ways of going about this, but all of them seem contrived. More importantly, it just doesn’t seem fair to folks who, for whatever reason, can’t afford a paid subscription.

I think I’ve come up with a plan that maintains the open access to my writing, which I have maintained from day one and a premium option for those of you who may be interested in more opportunities to interact and learn.

Zoom Meetings

Paid members will receive a link to join me and other readers for a conversation about recent postings on this site. This will give you the opportunity to talk through questions you may have about anything I’ve written or even a subject that has not been discussed. Of course, readers can comment on individual posts, but sometimes it is helpful to be able to ask the question more directly and have the opportunity to follow up.

On occassion, I may put together a brief presentation on a topic of my choice, including my current research project. Think of it as a sneak preview. I am also planning on hosting book/article discussions and author interviews.

Document Analysis Club (This needs a catchy name.)

Once a week I will post a primary source and some questions to help you work through how historians interpret different types of sources. So much of my scholarship and work as a teacher has been about trying to help people develop the skills of the historian. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to learn together.

Nothing is set in stone at this point, but the paid option will be introduced at $5 per month with an option to subscribe for a year at a discount. I have not decided when I will introduce this new subscription plan, but I wanted to be transparent with all of you as to what is coming around the corner.

As always, I am very interested in your thoughts about all of this. Let me know what other ideas you may have. What have you seen work at other paid subscription sites? My overriding concern is that the new subscription plan will be fair to both free and paid subscribers.

Thanks for all your support.