Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), Robin Taylor (he/him)
Great interview!
“Then I realised you have to pitch for that stuff or start your own!”
Woah, I didn’t know that, lol. But makes sense how that happens with writers on promo tours hitting all the podcasts. (Or their publicist pitches for them?)
I used to work in marketing, and I can confirm, that is exactly how it happens. The bigger names usually have the resources to hire PR teams with connections and experience to go out and pitch for them. But you can apply that to yourself on a smaller scale, too.
Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), Robin Taylor (he/him)
Thank you for this both Robins and Clare Venus and thank you for creating Smallstack and making kindness the driving force. I am very happy that I now have nearly 200 subscribers since launching the serialisation of my memoir on Substack in Jan 2024. I definitely don’t want zillions of subscribers just for numbers and don’t do any hardcore promotion, but I do still want to reach readers who might like and connect with what I’m writing about. That’s where I’m hoping wise and gentle tips from Smalltalk will come in.
I'm a volunteer on SmallStack, and it has been such a great experience! The Robins are, truly, who they say they are, and I have no doubt that, even as our community expands and evolves, it will retain all the best parts of that smalltown breakfast diner feel. I love SmallStack!
Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), LC Sharkey, Robin Taylor (he/him)
I loved this exchange. It has given me hope for the other SmallStackers out there (myself included) that we have something important to share – and that's the love for these people here!
Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), LC Sharkey, Robin Taylor (he/him)
As a new Substacker finding my way, I love what you are doing. Thank you for sharing your time, your experience, your words. This resonated:
“Kindness is our guiding value around SmallStack, even with ourselves. If we put kindness at the front of everything we do, every interaction we have, and every decision we make, then I think we’ll be heading in the right direction.”
Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), LC Sharkey, Robin Taylor (he/him)
I joined SmallStack at ground zero on my own Substack I see people as people and believed after blogging for over 10 years and getting very little notice for writing my thoughts and my heart publicly I might find the kindness and feedback here, so I joined. There are a few extremely kind subscribers I now have who have given me feedback and encouragement. I am so grateful to them and for them. Yet, my hope is to get my work noticed more. I hoped SmallStack’s offer of independent writing would lead me to a space I fitted into without being judged for being an average American woman with independent thoughts and expression in writing them. I’m still unsure of my footing or if I am accepted for simply who I am in my writing. I know I’m out of my league with respect to education because I have not had an opportunity to attain a degree. Yet, my urge to write has been a part of me for more than fifty five of my seventy one years. I sincerely believe I have a story to tell and a need to impart what I know… so others may feel free to do the same, I think SmallStack is a great place for all of these things. Once the launch happens and the library is active a lot of peoples work may have a great home and be sated. So thank you so much for the interview here and the clear explanations. All of it resonated with me.
You know, Kathy, I don't think a degree is a requirement for your writing to be good or sincere or valuable to yourself or to others. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of love for education, but I also think our voices matter simply because they are ours. I'm glad your voice is here.
Aug 29Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), Robin Taylor (he/him)
Thank you, Robin and Claire, for this enlightening piece! I really value your approach to building a community that values each voice, no matter the size and I'm looking forward to seeing how SmallStack continues to grow and uplift its members. Great work!
I had similar feelings when I first started, seeing larger publications succeed made me want to succeed right away, but as I've started writing, I feel like the right people are finding me and I enjoy my interactions with my subscribers. Being small is great in that way! Can't wait to see the launch of the new library, thank you Robin and Robin.
Thanks, Istiaq! It is so rewarding to have those interactions with subscribers. I'm really glad you're finding such a wonderful community through your own writing.
Sep 1Liked by Robin Cangie (she/her), Robin Taylor (he/him)
Thanks! I’m happy to be here, have been eating pancakes all weekend trying to recover from Covid in our household so am really hunkering down and getting into my substack for the coming year- I really want to flourish in the small stack library and community, it’s been such a great learning curve for year 1.
Chris, you're too kind! I hope your household recovers swiftly from Covid and that your year 2 on Substack brings you more than you dared dream for. We're so glad you're here with us!
I came to Substack after finding someone I like to read. He was talking about semi-retirement and that notion clicked for me. I engage and comment, and his other readers are very active too. We have created a small tribe of people that like to discuss. People started following me, yet I have never written anything on any writing platforms. I would like to, but do not know how to start. I literally accidentally paid to join Sparkle (with Claire) but still feel like things are moving too fast for me to keep up. I am inundated with "how-to" emails, articles, and reading everyone else's stacks, I have yet to start my own.
This can be an overwhelming place. We don't say it enough, but it's okay to be here and NOT be writing or creating something. Substack, in general, is a great place to find content we want to read and connect with. It's also okay to end a subscription, paid or free, if it isn't giving you what you need or want in that moment. The how-to emails and posts just add to the overwhelm for a lot of us. There is so much out there!
Robin is most def the trans friend I didn't know I needed. Thank goodness Robin spoke up for so many of us here.
He's one of a kind for sure.
the friendliest
Wow, y'all are the best!
Great interview!
“Then I realised you have to pitch for that stuff or start your own!”
Woah, I didn’t know that, lol. But makes sense how that happens with writers on promo tours hitting all the podcasts. (Or their publicist pitches for them?)
I used to work in marketing, and I can confirm, that is exactly how it happens. The bigger names usually have the resources to hire PR teams with connections and experience to go out and pitch for them. But you can apply that to yourself on a smaller scale, too.
Maybe the big question is what each of us would start if we weren't worried that it was someone else's job to make it happen?
Thank you for this both Robins and Clare Venus and thank you for creating Smallstack and making kindness the driving force. I am very happy that I now have nearly 200 subscribers since launching the serialisation of my memoir on Substack in Jan 2024. I definitely don’t want zillions of subscribers just for numbers and don’t do any hardcore promotion, but I do still want to reach readers who might like and connect with what I’m writing about. That’s where I’m hoping wise and gentle tips from Smalltalk will come in.
Congrats on reaching 200 subscribers, Emma! The readers who need to see our work tend to find it eventually (even if it happens slowly).
Thank you, Robin.
I'm a volunteer on SmallStack, and it has been such a great experience! The Robins are, truly, who they say they are, and I have no doubt that, even as our community expands and evolves, it will retain all the best parts of that smalltown breakfast diner feel. I love SmallStack!
Aw, SmallStack loves you too, LC!
I loved this exchange. It has given me hope for the other SmallStackers out there (myself included) that we have something important to share – and that's the love for these people here!
You definitely do, Amy! Also, I LOVE the Beatles. 😁
As a new Substacker finding my way, I love what you are doing. Thank you for sharing your time, your experience, your words. This resonated:
“Kindness is our guiding value around SmallStack, even with ourselves. If we put kindness at the front of everything we do, every interaction we have, and every decision we make, then I think we’ll be heading in the right direction.”
I'm so glad to hear it, Heidi! And we're glad you're part of this community.
Thanks, Heidi!
I joined SmallStack at ground zero on my own Substack I see people as people and believed after blogging for over 10 years and getting very little notice for writing my thoughts and my heart publicly I might find the kindness and feedback here, so I joined. There are a few extremely kind subscribers I now have who have given me feedback and encouragement. I am so grateful to them and for them. Yet, my hope is to get my work noticed more. I hoped SmallStack’s offer of independent writing would lead me to a space I fitted into without being judged for being an average American woman with independent thoughts and expression in writing them. I’m still unsure of my footing or if I am accepted for simply who I am in my writing. I know I’m out of my league with respect to education because I have not had an opportunity to attain a degree. Yet, my urge to write has been a part of me for more than fifty five of my seventy one years. I sincerely believe I have a story to tell and a need to impart what I know… so others may feel free to do the same, I think SmallStack is a great place for all of these things. Once the launch happens and the library is active a lot of peoples work may have a great home and be sated. So thank you so much for the interview here and the clear explanations. All of it resonated with me.
This is wonderful to hear, Kathy, and I'm so glad you're following that urge to write.
Thank you so much for all you do
You know, Kathy, I don't think a degree is a requirement for your writing to be good or sincere or valuable to yourself or to others. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of love for education, but I also think our voices matter simply because they are ours. I'm glad your voice is here.
Thank you
Thank you, Robin and Claire, for this enlightening piece! I really value your approach to building a community that values each voice, no matter the size and I'm looking forward to seeing how SmallStack continues to grow and uplift its members. Great work!
Thank you, Chase! That's such a lovely thing to say.
I had similar feelings when I first started, seeing larger publications succeed made me want to succeed right away, but as I've started writing, I feel like the right people are finding me and I enjoy my interactions with my subscribers. Being small is great in that way! Can't wait to see the launch of the new library, thank you Robin and Robin.
Thanks, Istiaq! It is so rewarding to have those interactions with subscribers. I'm really glad you're finding such a wonderful community through your own writing.
Thank pancakes for small-stack, I’m a year and 165 readers in, I still have no idea what I am doing, this community looks like it’s where I should be.
I’m going to spend today cultivating some relationships that matter most to me as a writer. Thank you both Robins.
Chris, we're so happy you're here!
Thanks! I’m happy to be here, have been eating pancakes all weekend trying to recover from Covid in our household so am really hunkering down and getting into my substack for the coming year- I really want to flourish in the small stack library and community, it’s been such a great learning curve for year 1.
Thanks Robin
Chris, you're too kind! I hope your household recovers swiftly from Covid and that your year 2 on Substack brings you more than you dared dream for. We're so glad you're here with us!
Loved this, and love Smallstack!
I came to Substack after finding someone I like to read. He was talking about semi-retirement and that notion clicked for me. I engage and comment, and his other readers are very active too. We have created a small tribe of people that like to discuss. People started following me, yet I have never written anything on any writing platforms. I would like to, but do not know how to start. I literally accidentally paid to join Sparkle (with Claire) but still feel like things are moving too fast for me to keep up. I am inundated with "how-to" emails, articles, and reading everyone else's stacks, I have yet to start my own.
This can be an overwhelming place. We don't say it enough, but it's okay to be here and NOT be writing or creating something. Substack, in general, is a great place to find content we want to read and connect with. It's also okay to end a subscription, paid or free, if it isn't giving you what you need or want in that moment. The how-to emails and posts just add to the overwhelm for a lot of us. There is so much out there!
An inspiring post! Congrats to SmallStack for making a difference in this space.