Future of Pen in Fist
Subscriber survey
Hello readers of Pen in Fist!
I’m thinking of making a few changes to the newsletter from September:
In addition to the regular essays on writing and activism, a monthly interview with another activist writer. This would be available as audio and transcript. Readers (you!) could suggest people to interview (including yourselves!). I want to bring the collective/collaborative aspect of this newsletter to its heart by hearing and sharing the experiences of other activist writers.
Adding a paid OPTION for those who can afford it. A bit of income flow would let me: 1) Buy equipment for taping/transcribing interviews; 2) Pay an honorarium to interview guests; 3) Pay myself for my writing, which up until now I’ve been doing for free – not sustainable for me and bad for other writers trying to earn a living (see my post on the ethics of writing and money), while keeping the newsletter available to all. Unlike on most Substack newsletters with a paid option, nothing will be behind the paywall and there won’t be a hierarchy of paid/free subscribers. Think of it as newsletter sliding scale/pay what you can.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these proposals. Please help me by answering the questions below.
THANK YOU!
Pen in Fist is written by me, C Lou, aka Dr Carrie. You can find my other writing and projects here.
A question comes to mind if the substack model itself is based an economy of necessity, not particularly but in the context of what surrounds us all the time. Hence, the paywall. Without the hierarchy, the reader still wrestles mentally with the other orders of necessity. For this reason, to pair the writing with another binding necessity can help. No one should want to reduce the writing to “product line” but on the other hand, everyone needs a new tshirt or summer hat at some point. Who could resist a pen in fist tshirt?
Hi C Lou,
If you consider my newsletter activist writing, I would love to be one of your interviews. I write my newsletter to challenge accepted practices, so to me, it is activist writing. Your monthly interviews are great idea, and I am happy to chat with you about it.