Leaving Substack - But never NITMON
Find me on Patreon.
Hey Monsters.
By now you’ve undoubtedly already heard the news. Facing criticism for the hate speech and overt Nazi iconography on the platform, Substack’s creators (who have seemingly no issue censoring adult content) have made it clear they don’t intend to do anything about it. They’re happy to keep profiting off those paid accounts, and, naturally, that makes a whole lot of people very uncomfortable remaining here.
This isn’t the first time this sort of thing has come up on the platform. Substack’s “free market of ideas” philosophy has been raising alarm bells for LGBTQ and Black users from day one, and the Nazi issue has been raised in the past. But I think a lot of us, myself included, were kind of holding out hope that Substack would see the error in its ways and change gears. Instead, they’ve doubled down, and the harm is evident.
Harm because violent voices are being given a platform, monetized, and even signal-boosted by the site itself. Harm because many creators feel unsafe being here and have abandoned the site altogether. And harm because many others have decided to stop supporting users on this site. I’m hemorrhaging readers already and it’s just been a few days.
So: Enough.
I am extremely fortunate in that I do not rely on Substack for an income. I did not go all-in on the platform the way many others I know have. But it’s a blow that still hurts. I know that, for some of you, this will be the end, and that makes me very sad.
I want to say: Thank you, each and every one of you, for your support. Whether you’ve left a comment, shared a post, or simply hung out silently to enjoy my writing, I am so thankful to you and hope I’ve given you something to think about and enjoy.
I truly hope you will consider following me elsewhere.
Which brings us to the main event. Where can you find Notes in the Margins of Nightmares next?
I will be concentrating my activity on my Patreon moving forward: https://www.patreon.com/tlbodine
You will be able to read my monthly posts for free.
You can become a free follower on Patreon and receive my posts directly to your email inbox, just like you do now!
If you wish to support me, I have three membership levels to choose from - choose whatever makes sense for you financially, the rewards are the same (for now, anyway, I may grow my offerings in the future).
I have a lot of content ideas planned for my Patreon in 2024.
Free subscribers will receive:
A monthly deep-dive post, just like what I’ve been publishing to Substack.
Paid subscribers will receive:
Monthly voting access to choose the next deep dive topic.
Writing guides. Subscribers get instant access to ALL of my existing writing guides + what I produce in the future. In 2024, I intend to do close readings and analysis of several contemporary horror novels with an eye toward honing your writing craft.
Fiction. In 2024, I’m hoping to produce a lot of short fiction, as well as some long-form projects. I’ll still be trying to get this stuff published through the usual channels, but subscribers will be the first to hear about what’s going on and will have exclusive access to stories that I don’t publish elsewhere.
So. There it is. I’d been on the fence about how to balance the two platforms — at one point I considered leaving Patreon for a PWYW Substack instead — but I think this makes the most sense. I truly hope to see you all there, whether you are able to pay for a sub or not.
Is Patreon a perfect platform? No. Nothing is. But they have at least taken some steps in the past to deplatform Nazis, which is a step in the right direction. Also, at this point, I just don’t have it in me to try to learn an entirely new service.
For the time being, I will leave my existing content up on Substack. That may change down the line, but I want this post at least to remain visible so people know where to find me.
I hope to see you on Patreon.
And if YOU are leaving Substack, comment below so I know where to follow you next :)
See you on the flip side, monsters.