Treating my subscribers like they matter.
+Recentering readers +Literary servanthood +money, money, money
When you read a book it can be second nature to simply view it as a product of the author’s talents. Or an opportunity to merely flaunt their syntactical prowess to the world. But in most cases—particularly in the prose and poetry that gains global resonation—you get an unfaltering impression that they thought solely of the reader—solely of you—and a primary duty to enlighten. This is what creates literary greatness.
Writing, no matter the form, is an act of communication. We, as writers, are constantly trying to etch our thoughts onto page and pad in a way that elicits a response from the world. We do not write to be enclosed in an mental echo chamber. But rather to expeditiously escape such and tap into the power of relatability.
Sadly, I think we may have strayed from this understanding as quality prose, fiction and non-fiction dwindles to accommodate the hyper-consumerist fashion of our time. To serve is no longer the principal in our writing, but rather to sell.
It is nice to get paid to write. But this statement itself is rather conflicting. It paints a picture of a writer with money signs in their eyes and cheques swirling in their head as they put pen to paper, rather than with empathy in their heart and determination to connect* in their grip.
So, I will reword this slightly to say that it is nice to get paid to be a writer. The due diligence of surviving as a literary visionary; an artistic patronage. And that’s what this app had been from the beginning. I hope you are seeing the difference here, reader.
It is of course nice to be rewarded. But the true reward comes from the undeclared lives that are transformed by a thinkers petition through word. I don’t write to be seen, but for you to see yourself. And thus the world around you. James Baldwin said it first.
On platforms such as these it can feel as though we are churning out words faster than we have had time to think. Again in an incessant bid to be seen.
Influencers and celebrities alike have flocked to this once quiet, humble corner of the internet to enlarge their coast and ascend to yet another level of verification. And the hearts of many writers are sorely grieved at the influx of greed swarming this platform with truly lacklustre writing.
And this made me think how I desperately want to put YOU first, dear reader. I want to write to you like you matter, because you do. So deeply.
It is always bewildering to realize that writers from centuries ago produced narratives so beautiful and personal that they still offer me, a Black female bibliophile in her 20s, a sense of profound change. While this wasn't a conscious act with my specific demographics in mind, I believe great storytellers write for a generation. These authors also didn’t fight tooth and nail—enduring ridicule, debt, and persecution—just to ignore the core purpose of their gifts: to serve.
Practicalities of serving through writing
A core writing regime I abide by is to investigate: how can this serve?
This idea massively reduces the strain of trying to save, and promote myself as a deity. A common writing style that runs the risk of words sounding pious or perfunctory. I also do not seek to entertain. Our society is chock full of that already. And I am certainly not trying to maximise profit. You cannot clock in or clock out of writing—contrary to popular belief. What remains clear is that I am not charged when I get these ideas so I do not plan on charging when I express them. However, considering the society we exist in I know this can be a rather naive thought. But again, my writing will not gurantee you—nor even I—a transformative fortune1.
We need writing that doesn’t feel as though it has been written with only the writer in mind. And this is the thread that separates the writing that serves and the writing that sells, not only on this platform but in life.
It’s a metric I use often to discern good writing, and I think will serve us all a great deal as present and future writers trying to navigate this new space of literary history.
Poignantly, in an AI epidemic, human interaction/advocacy matters more than ever. We can’t take ourselves for granted. We must keep the human at the centre. At our core. Let’s recentre the reader.
So, think: As I read this piece of writing, do I feel seen? Do I feel served? You should because you matter.
As an fyi, my payment plan on this newsletter is open to generosity and a shared mission to contribute to the flourishing of writers through alleviated financial worry.