What it's like to be a poet on Substack. I was going to write advice but realized I'm probably doing some of this WRONG! Plus: Scharl vs. AI, Popa quotes Le Guin, and complex thoughts on monetization
"What happens here is simple: I write. You read. You comment. I respond. And if you have a Substack, I read yours too. Think of it as literary reciprocity. Or karma, with footnotes."
Thank you so much for mentioning my conversation with Sarah and Petya! I had such a great time chatting with them. They are both a wealth of knowledge regarding Substack 🙂
I think you should definitely do the podcast! I'm so happy to be writing here on Substack with great writerly friends like you! As far as copyright, if you want to avoid any trouble at all, your current strategy is best. Fair use is always sort of very gray area heavy. I lean more toward "ask forgiveness if necessary," like Alice Allan always did with her wonderful Poetry Says podcast, but it can sometimes get you in trouble, though almost always very little, and the worst is almost always just that you have to take something down or edit something out. As far as frequency and length of your posts, I love your long posts, but perhaps more consistent shorter posts could help with your readership, even if those are just chances for you to recommend something you're loving.
Zina, I am led to ponder by your audio readings and I learn much and are led to other sources from your longer essays. I think one or two of each per month?
Thank you for the input! I really like the process of writing my long essays. And I’m so glad you get something out of reading them. I think you are an example of my ideal audience too. But multiple people have told me they like my poetry reading voice so I probably should do at least once a month of audio posting.
Oh Zina, thanks for the mention! Of course I support you. How can I not? Your poems are elegant and your essays like twined rope with themes recurring and woven together beautifully. Sorry, that doesn't do them justice. I am left in the dust by the literary references, but can always enjoy Star Wars and BSG. LeGuin and Bradbury too.
I love Bill's back story. You are raising a resilient creative! This was helpful on a lot of levels. I wanted to laugh and cheer at this: "There is a weird silver lining to being poet in that many of us work on a poem for years just for the privilege of publishing it one day in some journal — and often for no pay. However, Substack gives you more money for your work because even one small subscription is better than no money at all." So TRUE. We poets are playing the long game. 😍Thank you, Zina!
On the Film Sack podcast, they always do what they call a “Star Trek connection” for that week’s movie, where they somehow cross-reference the movie’s cast against the casts of all Star Trek episodes and movies. There’s always at least one actor or crew member common to both.
Have you mentioned your BSG connection before? That came as quite a surprise to me. Even bigger than learning that Ethan McGuire is a Dylan fan. Will wonders never cease?
Frank, if that was a good surprise you're talking about there, I think you'll like my most recent post on Dylan! Zina, I too enjoyed the surprise of your previous BSG podcast!
Yeah, that’s the review I saw just recently. Good stuff. I know several young people who are into Dylan and, particularly, The Beatles, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but usually am.
Hi Frank, the Star Trek connection doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s cool. And no I never mentioned the BSG podcast before. It is a detail that doesn’t easy fit into the poetry and culture stuff I usually write about. It does, however, illustrate the parasocial relationship issue that Substackers seem to be writing about these days.
Maybe I should write a BSG-related poetry essay? I will have to figure that out.
Funny connection about what you said about Ethan and Dylan — Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” figures prominently in the reimagined BSG. Not sure if you meant to tie it all together— but that’s a fun bow to knot!
Yeah, lots of possibilities for a BSG essay, starting with the music, how it’s used, the weird instruments and effects that sometimes blend into the scene’s soundscape.
The series also develops a lot of epic themes. One could almost think about Starbuck as doing the hero’s journey thing — she’s heroic but she also does some bad things (like waterboarding Leoben). And like Oedipus and Moses and Luke and Leia, her childhood is murky.
Or what about the role of religion in BSG (human polytheism vs. cylon monotheism vs. whatever it is that Dr. Baltar founds later in the series)?
What does it mean to be human? In Blade Runner, humans are constantly chasing replicants; in BSG it’s reversed. At first humans and cylons are said to be incapable of interbreeding. Then they do. Oops, so much for that distinction.
Or identity. Are we just our memories? I can never forget the cylon raider they called Scar (I think), who’s been reanimated so many times it’s gone crazy with rage.
Or male-female relations. That sparring scene, with Starbuck and Apollo slugging it out. It’s kind of funny but also so savage, like something from The War of the Roses (Turner-Douglas movie).
This scene illustrates a bunch of the above, including the music, the question of identity, and the weird Starbuck-Leoben dynamic:
I am fascinated that you and your husband did a Battlestar Galactica podcast. Now I kind of want to find it. We have the entire show on DVD and have watched all of the episodes at least twice.
I hope you find a few more subscribers! Art and money is so difficult. I believe that people should be justly compensated and yet I know I feel best about giving the fruits of my artistic endeavors away. That being said, I am trying to get some manuscripts published at the moment and I would like to be compensated at some level should that happen… but more than anything I would like for people to read them.
First, good luck with your manuscripts. I’d love to hear more about your writing.
Second, the recording in the beginning were rough because our equipment was horrible, but we got into a groove. We didn’t start in the beginning either. Also, the birth of my first daughter almost threatened our ability to record the finale. We watched the last show while I had a new baby on my chest.
Zina, thank you for this! Your encouragement has meant so much. I have to admit that I am a little disappointed though... I was hoping to hear more about Bill's adventures in the kiln!
Thanks for the name check, Zina! I've been posting a poem every day for the past month or so, but I could only do that because I have a LOT of poems. Pretty soon I'll have used up the backlog --not quite sure what I'll do then.
I would love to read more of your work, but I also know that sometimes you need to allow things to marinate and form before they are ready to be put out into the world. I say: publish when it feels right.
I thought this essay was going to be easy, but it turns out that this took much longer to write. I had a huge section on the philosopher Byung Chul Han in here, and the post just got too unwieldy. I cut other stuff too. Yeah, sometimes you need to set a piece down then come back and set it all straight. Hope all is well with you, friend.
Zina, I enjoy your writing, so whenever you decide to publish is good. I found this a very rich series of reflections. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Jeffrey. Your feedback is so helpful, and it seems the poll is saying the same thing.
Thanks so for the mention--my support for you has been from my heart, Zina.
Here's my approach as expressed here: https://alisakennedyjones.substack.com/p/the-empress-questionnaire-theres
"What happens here is simple: I write. You read. You comment. I respond. And if you have a Substack, I read yours too. Think of it as literary reciprocity. Or karma, with footnotes."
Thank you so much for mentioning my conversation with Sarah and Petya! I had such a great time chatting with them. They are both a wealth of knowledge regarding Substack 🙂
It was a wonderful conversation, Emma. And it was a nice way for me to find out about your writing! ❤️
I think you should definitely do the podcast! I'm so happy to be writing here on Substack with great writerly friends like you! As far as copyright, if you want to avoid any trouble at all, your current strategy is best. Fair use is always sort of very gray area heavy. I lean more toward "ask forgiveness if necessary," like Alice Allan always did with her wonderful Poetry Says podcast, but it can sometimes get you in trouble, though almost always very little, and the worst is almost always just that you have to take something down or edit something out. As far as frequency and length of your posts, I love your long posts, but perhaps more consistent shorter posts could help with your readership, even if those are just chances for you to recommend something you're loving.
Zina, I am led to ponder by your audio readings and I learn much and are led to other sources from your longer essays. I think one or two of each per month?
Thank you for the input! I really like the process of writing my long essays. And I’m so glad you get something out of reading them. I think you are an example of my ideal audience too. But multiple people have told me they like my poetry reading voice so I probably should do at least once a month of audio posting.
Oh Zina, thanks for the mention! Of course I support you. How can I not? Your poems are elegant and your essays like twined rope with themes recurring and woven together beautifully. Sorry, that doesn't do them justice. I am left in the dust by the literary references, but can always enjoy Star Wars and BSG. LeGuin and Bradbury too.
God bless. 250!
Thank you so much, Ann. For everything. The cheerleading is a great lift! It sounds like I need to write about BSG now.
I love Bill's back story. You are raising a resilient creative! This was helpful on a lot of levels. I wanted to laugh and cheer at this: "There is a weird silver lining to being poet in that many of us work on a poem for years just for the privilege of publishing it one day in some journal — and often for no pay. However, Substack gives you more money for your work because even one small subscription is better than no money at all." So TRUE. We poets are playing the long game. 😍Thank you, Zina!
Thank you, Abigail! I am so glad this resonated with you. We are definitely playing the long game. The craft is worth it though.
On the Film Sack podcast, they always do what they call a “Star Trek connection” for that week’s movie, where they somehow cross-reference the movie’s cast against the casts of all Star Trek episodes and movies. There’s always at least one actor or crew member common to both.
Have you mentioned your BSG connection before? That came as quite a surprise to me. Even bigger than learning that Ethan McGuire is a Dylan fan. Will wonders never cease?
How about a BSG essay?
Frank, if that was a good surprise you're talking about there, I think you'll like my most recent post on Dylan! Zina, I too enjoyed the surprise of your previous BSG podcast!
Yeah, that’s the review I saw just recently. Good stuff. I know several young people who are into Dylan and, particularly, The Beatles, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but usually am.
Sailor Bob, with Joan Baez’s little sister:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/american-singer-songwriter-author-and-visual-artist-bob-news-photo/1257209813
I just watched ‘Complete Unknown’ by the way. Have you seen it? Was a huge disappointment for me!
I was warned away from the movie.
No, I haven’t seen it. I’m not the biggest fan of the biopic (I rhyme that word with myopic). I suspect my reaction would be similar to young Ada’s:
https://adasfilms.substack.com/p/a-complete-unknown-is-only-concerned
I have seen I’m Not There, though, which is an absolute hoot, almost its own genre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFUEofAr9GA
Hi Frank, the Star Trek connection doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s cool. And no I never mentioned the BSG podcast before. It is a detail that doesn’t easy fit into the poetry and culture stuff I usually write about. It does, however, illustrate the parasocial relationship issue that Substackers seem to be writing about these days.
Maybe I should write a BSG-related poetry essay? I will have to figure that out.
Funny connection about what you said about Ethan and Dylan — Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” figures prominently in the reimagined BSG. Not sure if you meant to tie it all together— but that’s a fun bow to knot!
Yeah, lots of possibilities for a BSG essay, starting with the music, how it’s used, the weird instruments and effects that sometimes blend into the scene’s soundscape.
The series also develops a lot of epic themes. One could almost think about Starbuck as doing the hero’s journey thing — she’s heroic but she also does some bad things (like waterboarding Leoben). And like Oedipus and Moses and Luke and Leia, her childhood is murky.
Or what about the role of religion in BSG (human polytheism vs. cylon monotheism vs. whatever it is that Dr. Baltar founds later in the series)?
What does it mean to be human? In Blade Runner, humans are constantly chasing replicants; in BSG it’s reversed. At first humans and cylons are said to be incapable of interbreeding. Then they do. Oops, so much for that distinction.
Or identity. Are we just our memories? I can never forget the cylon raider they called Scar (I think), who’s been reanimated so many times it’s gone crazy with rage.
Or male-female relations. That sparring scene, with Starbuck and Apollo slugging it out. It’s kind of funny but also so savage, like something from The War of the Roses (Turner-Douglas movie).
This scene illustrates a bunch of the above, including the music, the question of identity, and the weird Starbuck-Leoben dynamic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE89rPJM7JY
I am fascinated that you and your husband did a Battlestar Galactica podcast. Now I kind of want to find it. We have the entire show on DVD and have watched all of the episodes at least twice.
I hope you find a few more subscribers! Art and money is so difficult. I believe that people should be justly compensated and yet I know I feel best about giving the fruits of my artistic endeavors away. That being said, I am trying to get some manuscripts published at the moment and I would like to be compensated at some level should that happen… but more than anything I would like for people to read them.
First, good luck with your manuscripts. I’d love to hear more about your writing.
Second, the recording in the beginning were rough because our equipment was horrible, but we got into a groove. We didn’t start in the beginning either. Also, the birth of my first daughter almost threatened our ability to record the finale. We watched the last show while I had a new baby on my chest.
And I would definitely read a BSG essay. 🤣
Zina, thank you for this! Your encouragement has meant so much. I have to admit that I am a little disappointed though... I was hoping to hear more about Bill's adventures in the kiln!
Loved this post :)
Bill’s adventures! Yes, we’ll catch up in Houston about that story. Maybe I should write children’s verse about it and I can find an illustrator.
And thank you for providing the inspiration for the post. ❤️
Thanks for the name check, Zina! I've been posting a poem every day for the past month or so, but I could only do that because I have a LOT of poems. Pretty soon I'll have used up the backlog --not quite sure what I'll do then.
Maybe you could space out the poems a bit to stretch out the benefit? I’ve been enjoying seeing your work here.
I would love to read more of your work, but I also know that sometimes you need to allow things to marinate and form before they are ready to be put out into the world. I say: publish when it feels right.
I thought this essay was going to be easy, but it turns out that this took much longer to write. I had a huge section on the philosopher Byung Chul Han in here, and the post just got too unwieldy. I cut other stuff too. Yeah, sometimes you need to set a piece down then come back and set it all straight. Hope all is well with you, friend.
Short audio (podcast) Twice a month.
Sounds good. Maybe 1 Shakespeare and 1 favorite poem?