Publishing Note: Beta readers wanted...

...and forewarned

Hello, hello, hellooooo, good people.

First, let me say, I love this community. This partnership of ours. To me, it is both of those. A community and a partnership. There is a mutuality in it that feels different and warmer and is more satisfying to me than my experience on any other platform.

I appreciate you; your choice to be here; and the investment you make by reading and sometimes engaging with what I write. Any expenditure of energy is an investment. I appreciate you investing some of yours in me

I have been thinking about that a lot this week.

I could go on and get all philosophical and mushy and probably a little weepy but we all have better things to do with out Saturdays than listen to me rail on all Sappy McSapperstein about how much I treasure the gift of connection I feel here. It is a gift. Thank you for being part of it.

Publishing Note: Work in Progress

I have been working on something for the past several days which has taken on a life of its own; and, frankly, I don’t really know how to manage.

It was driven by someone questioning my writing recently in a way I wasn’t expecting or prepared for...

That led to days of self-inspection about what I share here and the extent to which it is fully truthful and open and honest.

That, in turn, led to drafting what I thought would be one small thing but which snowballed into something larger and more personal and deeper. And longer.

Now, I don’t even know what I have. It feels like it might be the very unintentional first bones of an eventual memoir. But, having not intended to write one, it also feels like it could just be a collection of individual essays.

And, to be honest, while those two bob above the waterline, below the surface, it also feels like it might be shit.

I Could Use Beta Readers

I don’t know where this writing is going or whether it is going anywhere. I know that it is meaningful to me. I know that it is personal. And I know* it can be shared in parts which are each at least somewhat readable themselves.

(*I don’t actually know that. I’m a swirling medicine ball of insecurities about it at the moment TBH.)

Since the writing is in-progress, unpolished, sizeable in total, and I’m not sure where it’s going, it doesn’t make sense to just publish it broadly. And it also doesn’t make sense to share none of it while I see where it goes.

Plus, I think some feedback might help.

Sooooooo, I am going to begin publishing work-in-progress sections to paid supporters only within the next 24 hours.

If you are interested in upgrading to become a paid supporter, I believe you can do so HERE.

Why Paid Supporters Only?

Substack and most other publishing platforms strongly encourage content creators to tier their subscription offerings around “content gates”. When you join Substack, they even serve up a friendly template for doing that.

Subscribe to Basic - get A and B
Subscribe to Premium - get A, B, and C
Subscribe to Deluxe - get A, B, C, D, E, an invite to my Christmas Party, and preferred seating at my funeral

I don’t like that model.

I know for a fact it works. I know I would make more money if I adopted it. I know I would sleep better and worry less. I just feel uncomfortable with it because it feels like a promise I am not sure I can deliver.

It makes the products being paid for bundles of content. Pay $x, you get this much content. Pay $x+ you get that plus more.

I don’t like or feel comfortable making the reason to support me about the amount of my words that buys you.

I just feel like it is truer to me to have people subscribe only if they want to:

1. Support me. The writer. Or the person trying to make it as one at least.

2. Be super nice. Just because it makes them feel good to support people who recently had to get a mouthpiece because they’ve been grinding their teeth at night because this shit is stressful; or

3. Avoid blowing it on something ridiculous like a bamboo trout sculpture from Home Goods. (It was $179!! Who has that kind of money?). Seriously though, if you are blessed with ample discretionary income, I’m at least on par with a bamboo trout - and a subscription costs 2/3 less!

So, tiering content and publishing some to only paid subscribers isn’t super comfortable for me. However, it is the best way I can think of to release something to a smaller group first and get some feedback…

Getting Some Feedback

As I start releasing The Beta Papers - and that’s not the name. That would be a terrible name. - I am going to open up a Substack Chat with paid subscribers so we can talk…

Comping Paid Subscriptions

In the past, I have offered to move anyone interested in being a “paid subscriber” but unable to easily afford it financially to the paid subscriber list for free - no questions asked. No one need explain to me their reason for asking. Been there. I believe you.

I continue to be entirely willing to do that for anyone who can benefit. However, the logistics of it are maddeningly time-consuming. So, I can’t handle fulfilling those requests at the moment.

I do not intend to ever lock people out of access to anything I write because the cost of subscribing is out of reach to them. No. Not going to do that now or ever.

I apologize for not being able to get people inside the comp list right now. I will let you know when I can handle the logistics though.

In the Meantime, Helping Out Other Readers

When I have extended the comp offer above in the past, a bunch of people emailed me offering to pay for gift subscriptions for people who could benefit from them. I was incredibly touched by the thoughtfulness and generosity (community, man… see, this is where I get weepy) but had to decline the offers.

I have no way to administrate gift subs from one reader to another.

However, if anyone here wants to offer one to a fellow reader in the comments and y’all can coordinate amongst yourselves… go for it.

I have no idea how that would work and am worried it might become a cluster… but if anyone wants to give it a try, I’d appreciate the effort no matter how it turned out.

I’ll leave that to discuss among yourselves.

Okay, that’s all I have.

Beta Readers, I thank you in advance…

Usually, when you are in the premium tier as a paid subscriber, you get content that is more polished. You courageous folks will be getting less polished stuff. Masochists!

One thing I can tell you before publication: if nothing else, some of the writing is stuff I’ve never talked about or told anyone.

For better or worse, you’ll be getting some real “Read my diary” shit.

Oof. Jeez, it sounds scary when I put it that way. What am I doing.

Mike on a Platter. I hope that comes with fries.

Anyway, publishing of Work in Progress to paid subscribers to begin within the next 24 hours. Stay tuned…