Thanks for sharing this. You always inspire me. I like the frequency of bi-monthly newsletters. I find I am more likely to open newsletters that come less frequently - it feels a little more special, more like the writer really has something to say vs trying to churn out content. (But perhaps that’s a self-comforting bias!) Thanks again for being so transparent about your processes.
Of course! I have been thinking about the same thing in terms of frequency. I feel like I also tend to open ones that come less frequently although I also get why people send more frequently. It definitely varies depends on content but less can definitely be more.
Congratulations on growing your newsletter! I'm not surprised, actually, because yours is my favorite. You're so good at balancing your voice and helpful info. For example, knowing your pitch to acceptance ratio really made me feel more motivated to send out pitches.
And I missed your pitch class a couple years ago. If you offered one, it's something I would take.
Thank you! I feel like seeing other people's pitch/rejection ratio is always helpful for me too because I think I tend to think some people are not getting rejected but turns out everybody is! I think I'm almost always around 20 to 30% but that number also feels a little arbitrary since I could probably move that number up or down depending on where I was submitting.
And good to know on the pitch class. The one already in the works is one I'm going to co-teach on pitching and submitting to parenting pubs but I could think about a general pitching one too!
Hi Julie! Thank you for sharing this! I love your openness. This is such a great shift “submit to X publication,” I'm going to adopt it for 2024. I look forward to your fiction! Happy holidays!
Thanks, Liz! And thanks for allowing me to virtually vent at times this year and I look forward to seeing you in person at Erma. Happy holidays to you too :)
This is fantastic! I too think twice a month is perfect. And as a new subscriber I loved going through the links to your backlist in this post and catching up!
I think the timing of your newsletter is perfect. 2023 was a veritable shit-show for my family and I finally had to tell myself that writing through trauma wasn’t happening. So my goal is just to write AND submit.
Your newsletter is always great, and I think twice a month is a great cadence. Such great Substack growth this year! And great places to have your work accepted.
My wrap up post is coming! I'm definitely trying to focus on goals that I can actually control, and more than goals, I'm happy to just choose a project or two to focus on. I spent a lot of 2023 testing different platforms/approaches etc, and I'm hoping next year I can just focus on a couple that are actually working and not feel so stretched thin.
I like the twice per month frequency and think, as the newsletter market gets more crowded, that will be a winning formula. I'm planning on 1-2 posts per month next year so I can recalibrate and focus on other priorities. In particular, I've only ever pitched McSweeney's (0-5) and -- inspired by you and others -- I'd like to expand my opportunity set.
This year I didn't write a year in review, though I think I'm going to whip one up over the next few days.
I do feel like the frequency thing may need to shift down for a lot of newsletters as the market gets more crowded. There are some that I get more often and don't mind but I feel like it really depends on content and I don't think I would mind if they started sending less often. I think slowing down to allow yourself to focus on other things makes sense.
And I look forwaryd to reading your year in review -- happy holidays to you too!
Thanks for reading and I think making that distinction has helped me a lot because it was easier for me to get disappointed when something didn't happen (although honestly still working on being able to manifest things into happening too).
I think publishing every 2 weeks is just right for the reader! And thanks for pointing out we can toggle options on and off. I like getting all of the sections but as a Substack writer I didn’t think about clarifying that option for readers. And finally: I hope you write a novel! We need more funny fiction in the world.
Thanks for sharing this. You always inspire me. I like the frequency of bi-monthly newsletters. I find I am more likely to open newsletters that come less frequently - it feels a little more special, more like the writer really has something to say vs trying to churn out content. (But perhaps that’s a self-comforting bias!) Thanks again for being so transparent about your processes.
Of course! I have been thinking about the same thing in terms of frequency. I feel like I also tend to open ones that come less frequently although I also get why people send more frequently. It definitely varies depends on content but less can definitely be more.
Congratulations on growing your newsletter! I'm not surprised, actually, because yours is my favorite. You're so good at balancing your voice and helpful info. For example, knowing your pitch to acceptance ratio really made me feel more motivated to send out pitches.
And I missed your pitch class a couple years ago. If you offered one, it's something I would take.
Thank you! I feel like seeing other people's pitch/rejection ratio is always helpful for me too because I think I tend to think some people are not getting rejected but turns out everybody is! I think I'm almost always around 20 to 30% but that number also feels a little arbitrary since I could probably move that number up or down depending on where I was submitting.
And good to know on the pitch class. The one already in the works is one I'm going to co-teach on pitching and submitting to parenting pubs but I could think about a general pitching one too!
Hi Julie! Thank you for sharing this! I love your openness. This is such a great shift “submit to X publication,” I'm going to adopt it for 2024. I look forward to your fiction! Happy holidays!
Thanks, Liz! And thanks for allowing me to virtually vent at times this year and I look forward to seeing you in person at Erma. Happy holidays to you too :)
Right back at ya! So great to encourage (and commiserate) with you :) Yes, April will be here before we know it! Can't wait! xo
This is fantastic! I too think twice a month is perfect. And as a new subscriber I loved going through the links to your backlist in this post and catching up!
Thank you and glad to hear the backlist was helpful too!
I think the timing of your newsletter is perfect. 2023 was a veritable shit-show for my family and I finally had to tell myself that writing through trauma wasn’t happening. So my goal is just to write AND submit.
Sorry to hear that but I think that sometimes you just need breaks and the writing can wait. Hope things look better in 2024.
Your newsletter is always great, and I think twice a month is a great cadence. Such great Substack growth this year! And great places to have your work accepted.
Thanks, Nina :)
My wrap up post is coming! I'm definitely trying to focus on goals that I can actually control, and more than goals, I'm happy to just choose a project or two to focus on. I spent a lot of 2023 testing different platforms/approaches etc, and I'm hoping next year I can just focus on a couple that are actually working and not feel so stretched thin.
Looking forward to your wrap up post and undersand on the not feeling stretched too thin thing. It's always a balancing act for me.
I like the twice per month frequency and think, as the newsletter market gets more crowded, that will be a winning formula. I'm planning on 1-2 posts per month next year so I can recalibrate and focus on other priorities. In particular, I've only ever pitched McSweeney's (0-5) and -- inspired by you and others -- I'd like to expand my opportunity set.
This year I didn't write a year in review, though I think I'm going to whip one up over the next few days.
Happy Holidays!
I do feel like the frequency thing may need to shift down for a lot of newsletters as the market gets more crowded. There are some that I get more often and don't mind but I feel like it really depends on content and I don't think I would mind if they started sending less often. I think slowing down to allow yourself to focus on other things makes sense.
And I look forwaryd to reading your year in review -- happy holidays to you too!
I love your newsletter! I appreciate you writing about your submissions too and agree with so many things Melanie said. :)
Thank you, Sally! And thanks for letting me complain to you about my most recent rejection, ha!
I love the distinction in setting goals to submit rather than publish (which we can't control). Thanks for this wrap-up, Julie.
Thanks for reading and I think making that distinction has helped me a lot because it was easier for me to get disappointed when something didn't happen (although honestly still working on being able to manifest things into happening too).
I think publishing every 2 weeks is just right for the reader! And thanks for pointing out we can toggle options on and off. I like getting all of the sections but as a Substack writer I didn’t think about clarifying that option for readers. And finally: I hope you write a novel! We need more funny fiction in the world.
Thank you! I do want to do it at some point I just need to think about it a lot first, I guess? But I am inspired by how many novels you have written!