Why I Buy Books To Support Substackers
There are many ways to support your favorite Substackers, and some are completely free!
I recently received a DM request from a new Substacker telling me how much they enjoyed my writing, and that they would love to recommend my Substack if I recommended theirs.
I deleted the request without answering.
Honestly, I wasn’t mad. I understand, getting started on Substack isn’t easy.
Part of me wanted to respond to them individually, but considering I was going to say “No thank you,” it just seemed like too much work to explain why.
Maybe they will read this post, maybe not, but if it helps at least one other Substacker to connect with their favorite author in a meaningful way, it’s worth it.
I’ve already established the big DON’T — sending DMs, especially with a quid pro quo.
Here’s what to DO instead:
Subscribe to their Substack — if you can afford a paid subscription, do that. If you cannot, there’s always a free option. Both are very much appreciated.
Read their posts and comment consistently — I know on some posts only paid subscribers are able to comment; if you are a free subscriber, you can restack the post and add your comment there.
Make your comments meaningful — share how the post made you feel or how it related to your own experience. Substackers love to hear how their work resonated with their readers.
Be one of the first few people to comment, or restack with a comment, on posts that generally get a lot of engagement (over 50 comments) — many Substackers post on a schedule, so be on the lookout when you know a new post is going to drop. An author is more likely to see your comment, as will other Substackers, if it’s near the top.
Buy their books1 if it’s within your budget — ebooks are generally less expensive, but I know even those can be too costly. See if you can borrow the book from the library at no cost.
I won’t say there’s a right way and a wrong way to connect with authors/Substackers, but I can tell you what is effective and what isn’t.
Let me know if you found this post helpful — it’s not my intention to make anyone feel bad about wanting to connect with their favorite author/Substacker or to grow their own Substack account.
Pathological by Sarah Fay; Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing by
; The Part That Burns by ; The Hundred Loves of Juliet by ; The Wild Other and The Giant On The Skyline by ; Bad Vibes Only by ; Theatre Kids by ; And You May Find Yourself by ; All Of This by ; (not shown: Too Pretty to be Good by ; Edge of Grace by and The Guided Emotional Intelligence Journal Notebook byPlease excuse my Amazon links. My Prime account includes free shipping and generally makes life just a little bit easier for this solo mama.
Yes to all of this! I've had similar requests, and politely declined explaining that I only make recommendations after reading and engaging and valuing someone's content over a period of time - it feels important in building trust with my readers to not recommend something I cannot stand behind. Thanks for articulating Substack etiquette for those who need it 😊
Thank you so much, Amy! This means so much to me.