The Witness Chronicles, September 14, 2024

Thank you

Reader Letter, September 14, 2024

Just touching base

Writing The Witness Chronicles is a labor of love (and hope). With my recent announcement that I am pulling out of writing for Medium, I have seen an influx of new subscribers, both free and paid, for which I am exceedingly grateful.

This platform, Substack, is truly changing the world of communication between writers, artists, creatives in general and those who read and participate in those creations. The subscription model means the reader sees no ads, no pop ups, no popovers, or any of the distracting garbage that has infected virtually every commercial website. Believe me I know, because I read dozens daily as research for my opinion pieces.

To find a site without that stuff, and without having to constantly swat away that junk, is a blessing. Many Substack sites offer a layered approach, with free subscribers seeing part of the content and the rest offered exclusively to paid subscribers. That is the publisher’s choice and I respect the option.

I experimented with that early on, paywalling some stuff as a teaser to draw in paid subs. But I didn’t feel right about it, in part because I feel strongly about my message. So I made the same content available to all readers.

This effectively turned paid subscribers into patrons, those supporting my work purely as an appreciation or encouragement to continue, or both. And my percentage of paid to free is actually a little higher than the averages I see.

I am semi-retired after many years as a tech marketing director and professional writer. The income I receive from subscriptions and small donations from Buy Me A Coffee, a donation platform, are the only pay I receive for my work and I greatly appreciate all of it.

But I also equally appreciate those who read for free because having engaged readers is the lifeblood of any writer. I know many cannot afford to pay for all the newsletters they read and I am continually surprised at how many my readers subscribe to. I think the record is 125!

That’s a vibrant community. Don’t get me wrong, the money does mean something to me. Writers and artists in general should get paid. But, as a marketing guy, I know making money from something like this comes from high quality writing, hard work, and growth. It’s a slow path, despite the success stories sites like Medium are littered with.

I write an average of eight hundred words a day and doing it is pure pleasure because no one is telling me what to write nor am I doing it purely for money. Because of that, each donation or paid subscription, no matter how large or small, is an event to be celebrated. But so is every free subscriber, comment, even likes, claps or whatever they call them.

The times right now, here in the US, and across the planet, are often dire. Climate change is here in full force despite what deniers, oil companies, and politicians say. Wars are everywhere, often for the stupidest reasons. But I am an optimist and I try to inject that into my writing when I can, along with a little of the sarcasm and humor that politics deserves.

This is the best and worst paying job I have ever had and I love it. This newsletter reaches readers in 61 countries! Amazing. Stay with me and let me know when I screw up. But not about typos or autocorrect mistakes, please. I try to catch them but Google Docs sometimes sneaks them by me.

Thanks again and again, 

Martin Edic

This is from a reader supported newsletter. Please consider helping out by upgrading to a paid subscription or donating a small amount through Buy Me A Coffee, a site for small financial contributions. Thanks, ME