On my Substack Newsletter
Welcome to Circles In Space. My name is Keith Walpole and this is a little about my Substack.
“Text on the internet is arguably the most competitive medium in all of human history. If you’re going to ask people to pay for a newsletter, it has to be something they’re not getting anywhere else.”
-Ben Thompson, from article Are We Past Peak Newsletter?
Back in 2020, when the country was in the midst of a pandemic and protests, I started writing fiction. I’d never written anything before. Shortly after, I started a blog as a way to learn and write more. I’ve blogged about books, music, running, drumming, New York City history and more.
Along the way, I started doing ‘monthly roundups’ where I’d list what I was reading, watching and listening to. These posts were the precursor to my current newsletter.
What’s your newsletter about?
Every Friday I publish Five Bullet Friday. I share five bullet points of interesting stuff I found during the week. I explore topics collected from a variety of sources: books, magazines, news, youtube, instagram, movies, tv, the internet - really anything that catches my eye. I try to share a variety - one bullet about music, another about books or writing, another about news, and so on. My aim with this newsletter is to share things that interest me, in the hope that they may interest you too.
How do you write the newsletter?
On a good week, I’ll have plenty of topics and sources. During a week when I’m not reading, listening or watching much it’s more difficult to find stuff to write about so I’ll usually set some time aside to consume material. By Wednesday or Thursday I’ll have some notes jotted down and I’ll select my five topics. Next I’ll do some research - read articles, look up background info, taking notes while I do this. Using my notes, I’ll sketch out a blurb for each bullet. When I’ve got a first draft, then I’ll begin shaping it into something worth reading. My goal is to have all of this done on Thursday. I usually write the newsletter’s preamble (that block of italicized words at the top) on Friday morning by starting with something off the top of my head about the weather or current events. I’ll try to tie into what the body of the newsletter explores. When I’ve finalized the draft, I’m ready to publish - usually at 9am or 930am at the latest.
To read more visit my Substack.
Why substack?
I could’ve setup a newsletter at my website but I just enjoy Substack as a platform. Substack feels like where all the writers and bloggers are presently. I enjoy reading posts and seeing what others are up to. It’s a fun community to be a part of. My website is more for me, while my Substack is for the readers.
What are your goals with the newsletter?
Right now, my only goal is free content every week. Ultimately, though, my goal is to share some of my other work - fiction, blog posts, essays, short stories - and grow towards a paid subscription, with ‘premium’ content releasing on a different day of the week while continuing to publish my free newsletter on Friday. I also plan to add some audio episodes and podcasts in the future.
I’ve been publishing my newsletter for about ten months. I’ve learned a lot about the topics I’ve covered and how to write in this format. When I first started out, I found it difficult to quickly digest material and write a blurb that wasn’t simply ‘I liked this movie’ or ‘this book was good’. The process is quicker now but I’m still learning.
This week I need to make sure Friday’s newsletter is scheduled for publishing by Thursday night. I’ll be traveling on Friday so I won’t be able to make any changes. This has shifted my schedule up a bit. I’m already in ‘content curating mode’ and have 5 bullet points ready to go. I’ll draft an outline and start writing the blurbs over the next few days and finalize the newsletter by Thursday afternoon.
One of the great joys of writing this newsletter has been friends and family being excited to talk about something I’ve shared. Through sharing the things I’m passionate about I’m creating a lexicon of stuff that we can all discuss. And if readers like the stuff I’m sharing, maybe they’ll enjoy my writing too.
Every Friday morning, I get such a lift from publishing some work each week. I love that it’s non-negotiable - I must publish something. I’m on a deadline. I might not have anything written but by Friday morning, I’ll have published a newsletter.
