I'm genuinely not saying this to curry favour, but I do think the 'Substack shows the value of editors' is more of a problem for people *leaving* the mothership. Good editors have let me be a braver writer because I can go 'this idea, it doesn't quite work, but I can leave it in the mix'. - ThreadSky

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stephenkb.bsky.social • 194 days ago

I'm genuinely not saying this to curry favour, but I do think the 'Substack shows the value of editors' is more of a problem for people *leaving* the mothership. Good editors have let me be a braver writer because I can go 'this idea, it doesn't quite work, but I can leave it in the mix'.

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stephenkb.bsky.social•194 days ago

I think there is a bloated quality to a lot of big name Substackers because they have grown used to being able to do that and now they can't. Plus also some of them just left because they confused 'the editor's right to edit' with 'the editor acting as censor'.

casmilus.bsky.social•194 days ago

A few weeks ago MoS did a front page of Sarah Vine rambling about her every grievance in the world after an ostensibly topical lead about the riots. It seemed like a hugely bloated version of the AmConMag articles that start vaguely about a news item then divert to generic anti-lib anti-left stuff.

casmilus.bsky.social•194 days ago

If you're a big enough name then there will be an audience for any old rambling, regardless of whether there's any attempt at an argument. The equivalent of a legendary stand-up comic doing a tour of just going on stage and "riffing" ie. no newly prepared material. Enough fans will love it.

cnbsg.bsky.social•194 days ago

The ecosystem encourages length. Meaningful preview length + substantial material behind paywall = very long/multiple ideas per piece.

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