Supporting your Substackers

A major discount on annual Subs to Wordsmith. And Words about the value of Words.

It’s that wonderful time of the year… when, if you’re like me, you’re being hit up with solicitations for end-of-year donations, especially for charitable tax write-offs.

This is NOT one of those appeals. Wordsmith is not a charity.

This IS an offer, however. For the next 48 hours, or until I get up on New Year’s Day, the next 365 days of Wordsmith are yours for just $40, a 20% discount below the current annual subscription rate of $50.

This is a double bonus offer, because, as of January 1, subscriptions at Wordsmith will finally increase to the recommended base level of $6 a month, $60 for the year. (I have been operating beneath this level since coming on board over 18 months ago.) So, I hope you will take advantage of this offer. The button is below; remember it’s only good until New Year’s Day.

However, if you need some nudging or persuading, please read on below this picture I took of My (Good) Old Desk, and which I wrote about earlier this year here.

If you’ve been signed up to Wordsmith for a while, free or monthly, you hopefully know that I deliver, as promised, two posts a week, sometimes more. You also hopefully know that while your free account gets you the base posts and the last 12 weeks of archives, the subscription model gets you exclusive posts that this past year have predominantly centered around my interview archives; it gets you the Crossed Channels podcast; and it gets you access to ALL the archives.

If you are brand new here and want an idea of what these posts comprise of, I summed up some of my more popular and my personal preferred posts from 2024 here.

So: Why pay to subscribe when you get most of these posts for free, there’s always someone else’s work to read for free and besides, certain newspapers with paid staff offer subscriptions for an equal rate? Plus, reading is outdated and over-rated, and there’s this thing called YouTube and, for now, TikTok?

Well, this fellow Substacker might be able to help on the last of these matters. But, in short, I hope you would consider doing so for the same reason that you should occasionally buy an (preferably indie) act’s physical album/CD/t-shirt and not just stream their music. For the same reason you should try and buy a (preferably indie) book now and then, not just rent it from the library. For the same reason you should shop local, not at Amazon or Walmart where “savings” come with real societal costs. The “free” model is wonderful for consumers who don’t mind being bombarded with the crassest of capitalist consumerist advertisements. However, it enriches a handful of tech billionaires and the 1% of most popular social media icons, pop stars and other creatives. It renders everyone else a virtual busker.

The desk of Charles Dickens, currently on display as part of the (free!) Treasures exhibit at the beautiful 5th Avenue/42nd St headquarters of the New York Public Library. Dickens serialized his novels, which were hastily reprinted by publishers in the USA, where there were no copyright laws. Dickens successfully lobbied for copyright protection; we much to thank him for.

From a personal, Wordsmith perspective, a couple more incentives:

1. I’d like to do more, not less, on Wordsmith in 2025. I’m particularly interested in hosting occasional live chats, conversations on specialist subjects, classes and talks and tutorials… for my paid subscribers. The platform here can support all such endeavors and to that extent, its growth offers real multi-media potential.

2. I am going to put more of my longer weekend posts behind the paywall in 2025. I have noticed that as Substack does indeed grow and become more of a social media platform than its original model - a Patreon for newsletters - it has become that much easier for those who, bored by Facebook and finally realizing that Twitter/X is owned by a Trumpite whose money and power do not deserve their support, can choose to surf around, dive into arguments on Notes, and “follow” various writers at random will, without any particular desire to dig deep. While I understand the attraction, I came onto Substack so that people who have appreciated my own writing over the years could get it delivered directly to them, side-stepping social media and archaic print media, avoiding the ads that drive me crazy if not you. The plan was to provide quality writing/media for those who were willing to support that work financially, if they could. In 2025, in the face of its relentless expansion, I think you’re going to see more and more longer-term Substackers like myself hold to our intent.

If you’re genuinely hard up but would really love to receive all posts, you can reach out to me by hitting reply from your Inbox. If you just pitched in for an annual subscription at the regular rate and want a bonus month or two, likewise hit me up.

And as I always say to all of those, like me, with the desire to support but a limited budget to do so, and it comes from the heart: If not Wordsmith, please subscribe to someone else here on Substack. There are a number of truly excellent individuals doing work far and above my own capabilities or specialism, and while I make a point of recommending some of them on a regular basis, I’m happy for you to use the comments below to big up those who you believe deserve it.

Later this week I have a post coming that sums up my Music of 2024 with a particular focus on the fun and the feisty. In the meantime, cheers all around and may 2025 not be a shitshow!