Authors Turn to Substack for Newsletters. Why They Are Fleeing in the Spirit?

Last March, The poet and critic Yanyi were very busy. Between teaching at Dartmouth, preparing a writing magazine, preparing an upcoming book, and using a creative article called “The Reading,” his schedule was completed. However, he decided to add another function: pull “Reading” for Substack at the end of the month. He said, “Before the Transibility Day, and I thought it was necessary to change that day.”

Yanyi was disappointed by the decision to announce the mail at the beginning. The Substack platform was easy to use, and was given access to more than one part of the company’s affiliate programs, which makes it compliant, efficient. But he wasn’t too happy with the amount of Substack to keep. The platform allowed content from author Graham Linehan that Yanyi saw as anti-trans and a violation of Substack’s principles. He was not the only one who was unhappy; some senior Substackers announced their decision to leave for this reason immediately. Many of the survivors also had one: Ghost, a non-profit platform that pays for itself as a “stand-alone solution for Substack.”

In fact, this mention is staggering. Although Ghost has been sending anonymous hideouts — the company has a link job to attract writers who want to change — it’s not a replacement for a one-man Substack. Letters are made by Substack. Not so for Ghost, who initially looked like a WordPress snazzier when it paid for it through the Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Unlike the VC-fueled Substack, Ghost is a bootstrap-based object, with a dozen thin employees scattered around the world.

Substack and Ghost business types are also completely different. Instead of just reducing subscription fees like Substack, Ghost paid subscriber, Ghost Pro, pays, starting at $ 9 per month. (The number varies depending on how many readers they have.) Their freelance director and co-founder John O’Nolan, who has been publishing their cultural videos on YouTube for years, is now in Florida. Without money, they would not be forced to climb fast. Ghost has grown significantly since 2013 — its paid customers include Tinder and OkCupid, so there is a chance that you could be given a gift on a dating app that uses Ghost, and its app has been downloaded more than 2.5 million times – but for no apparent reason it’s not trying to use it the same way never stop! ideas that lead to many digital and media startups and Silicon Valley finance.

Also, Ghost is an open source, which means that anyone, anywhere, can use it as they see fit, as long as they know how to maintain their site. While Ghost Pro has a few principles (basic things – no pornography or permissive fantasy), most Ghost users go the free way, leaving them unmoved. In fact, Ghost can be home to the same thing that drives people to Substack. Or worse. “We have no real ability to control the way Ghost is used,” says O’Nolan.

Why, then, did Ghost become a target for people who wanted to leave Substack? When asked, the modified authors had fewer answers as to why Infinite Ghost seems to be better than the lightweight Substack. To begin with, Ghost’s unmistakable features give their history a bright light. Most importantly, Ghost knows what it is and what it is not — and it is not a book.

One of the main reasons Substack received so much for Substack Pro, is its software that pays well-known authors a lot of money to create mail. Frankly speaking, Linehan is not one of these writers. However, the presence of the app shows many critics that Substack, whether they accept it or not, is a publisher and platform. Authors who pay are, after all, the only choice. “Substack has set the stage for a reduction,” said progressive political adviser Aaron Huertas, who recently wrote his essay from Medium to Ghost. “Once you have a point, you have to follow it.” (Asked for comment, Substack’s spokesperson said, “Progress is not really about ideas or critical reviews. We are strong advocates for free journalism and the exchange of ideas, so we don’t take anyone’s writing and take it lightly.”