8 Questions for... Deirdre Lewis
Spotlight on Snaps
Deirdre Lewis is a writer who lives in LA. Her publication Snaps is a mix of sketches, flash fiction, musings and observations. Snaps is also available to order in paperback.
Why Substack?
I started Substack in 2021 knowing little about it other than it was a site, like Tumblr or Medium or Wordpress, where you could post your work. I had written a blog in the early 2000s and later wrote a weekly column for an online publication, and my first interest was in posting something every week, having a deadline. I was open to it developing into more (more readers and paying subscribers, as well as potential material for a book) but posting something regularly was the impetus. All my early followers were family and people I knew and that was great. I mainly wanted to be accountable. I started reading other newsletters then too. Right away. I wanted to know who was in here with me. I mention other writers because that's one of the most important things I've gotten out of being on Substack, but I'll get back to that in a minute.
After posting for a few months, I learned that Etgar Keret was joining Substack This was huge for me. First, he's a superstar, so it seemed like oh shit, things just got fancy. But more than that, more than the fact that he's one of my favorites, is that a lot of his work is very short. Like mine. Substack might be the best place for short fiction and essays, work that people read on the subway or while having lunch. It was the perfect space for me.
I've always had a judgment, fully my own, about the stories I write and how they needed to be longer, a little more developed, to be legit. I knew that some were complete as they were, but others always got put in a pile of "Not A Story Yet". I wanted to try out this idea I’ve had for a long time, writing stories that are like photographs, a whole world in one scene, stories without any plot, Snaps. So, I tried it and here, in this strange new format, it worked. I felt validated, not just by readers, but by the presence of writers like Etgar Keret who was grinding out a post every week just like the rest of us.
How long did it take to find your groove?
I'm not sure I have found my groove to be honest. In terms of my voice and what I write and the commitment to posting, I came in with that. I like posting twice a week, but I am not always consistent, so that's not a groove. And even though my newsletter is called "Snaps", I also post poetry, flash fiction, Notes from the Cabin and Sunday Meeting, which are usually more personal thoughts or reflections. So, not a groove there either.
Two of my favorite Substacks, Chloe Hope's Death and Birds and Bailey Richardson's Art Dogs, are very subject specific and focused, and I often think I'd like to do something like that, but I haven't found a subject yet. I would also like to make use of audio and video, and maybe even interview, which is not something that I've explored at all. Still, in terms of discipline and as Eleanor says, the "free flowing insistence" of writing, and the view of myself as productive, I do feel like I have found a groove. My groove is being open and focused and able to say, "I can do it like this if I want to."
How has it changed you?
I think the main change is in feeling like I am part of a supportive community, which is odd for a writer. The emails and comments I have received from readers and other writers, many whom I've never met, have been so uplifting to me that I sometimes feel like I should be ashamed of myself for how much joy I get out of it. Not ashamed for feeling uplifted, but for not knowing how valuable it is. Getting feedback from a new Dad from NY, or a photographer who lives with her family on a farm in a remote village in France, or a self-proclaimed Pimp from New Orleans, or anyone who had no idea who I was, tell me how much they liked it, is inspiring and validating.
Substack is like an open studio where I can strengthen my focus and skills and make mistakes if I need to. It's a little strange to be in a space that also provides a crowd cheering me along as I do it, but there's so much sweet encouragement that comes with that, even if it's an old friend writing a note about something I posted. That's something I didn't know the value of before.
What mistakes have you made?
Other than typos and posting twice or not on the right day, and general things like that, I think my main mistake is one I continue to make, which is that I don't give the social network aspect of Substack enough time. That's my own battle with screen-time as well, and the fact that I have a full-time job. I'm still learning, but I can see how being more present on the site is important in getting more readers. Cheering for others and posting about them, checking in on Notes and responding to different posts in a consistent way is hugely important. I would like to be more intentional about that. Even committing to a certain amount of time each day. I also think I could edit better. Sometimes I think oh god, I should have changed that, or left that out, what was I thinking? Although to be honest I probably always feel that way a little bit.
To pay or not to pay?
Pay of course! I say this with all the superficial bravado of someone who has 21 paying readers out of almost 500, who posts all my stuff for free, and rarely mentions paying other than the creepy little "If you like this please buy a subscripsh" note at the bottom of the page.
Asking for money/help/love is both impossible and something we must be able to do. How to handle? There are so many reasons that make it difficult that will end up sounding like tired excuses, but the one that has a grain of accuracy (and here, I am talking as a reader) is that it's just not possible to pay for all the subscriptions. I have to choose. A few I pay for, but most I read for free.
As a writer though, it is hard for me to draw a paywall line. I would love to force my readers to pay me, but alas, there are rules. The few times in the beginning that I tried to put up a paywall, it didn’t get people to pay, it just meant I had fewer readers. For a while, I started focusing on asking for Likes, and that made me feel strange (Oh my God what am I doing? Who am I?). I thought maybe it could generate more views or at least, some kind of algorithm, so I continued to ask. I have no idea why many of my beautiful readers, who I know for a fact would click a heart for a dog on Instagram saying, “Rye Ruv Roo”, and who write me letters to say they've enjoyed something I wrote, won't click the heart, but they don't, so I stopped asking. I’ve accepted it. I love Eleanor's idea of having a subscribe-only series and that could be something to try.
What artistic and technical choices have you made?
One choice I've made, with regards to the money side, is that I've self- published a collection of my Snaps, many of which first appeared online. This sells on Amazon, and so far, I have been able to get it into a few independent bookstores as well. It's a process I am still learning and navigating, organizing readings and getting it into independent bookstores on my own. I don't know much about it, but so far, my ignorance has been a plus: I just try.
I think the first essay I read of Ted Gioia's was the one where he wrote about the gatekeepers that artists must deal with, and how book publishing will eventually end up like music publishing where we take control of our own production. I found this very exciting and took it to heart. Of course, I would also love to be published by Simon and Schuster or another established giant, but maybe this is my route to that.
What’s been the effect on your writing?
Publishing new work twice a week is an insane thing if you think about it. I constantly have to deal with the voices in my head, No one wants to hear another bullshit thing about trees or New Orleans, who are you kidding? Or what the hell am I going to write about today? Many days I'm supposed to post something, and it is 7 am and I'm still not finished, and I have one shoe on while I'm running out the door, but I'm committed. I have reworked/recycled older pieces and reposted others just to keep the grind going, but it’s always, literally always, for the best. Even when I think, "oh well, that wasn't great", someone, one person, will comment or write to me, or even just press the damn heart and I'm soaring all over. That is an effect that pushes me to keep trying and working, re-working, learning how to write longer pieces, and staying connected in all ways.
The thing I wanted to come back to about other writers, both the heavy-hitters and the unknowns, is their support cannot be overstated. Just to be in the same room, (let's face it, it feels like we are) with Sherman Alexie or Hanif Kureshi, George Saunders, Elif Shafek, Etger Keret, Margaret Atwood, Tommy Swerdlow, Mary Gaitskill, Patti Smith, and so many more who write at the level they do is inspiring to me. Then there are the new-to-me writers like Third Eye Lisa, Clancy Steadwell and Thom Wong who are really strong and interesting and fresh. Marc Typo, Ana Bosch, Rachel Leeke and Adam Nathan are not only great writers, but great cheerleaders. And all the damn Brits, (why are they always so great?) Tom Cox, Eleanor Anstruther, Chloe Hope, brilliant all. And the food writers... and politics... and travel!
We are all in here making donuts together and that's exciting to me.
In it for the long haul?
Yes absolutely, though as soon as I get a 10-million-dollar advance, I'm cutting back to one day a week.
Absolutely one of my favorite writers on Substack or anywhere.
Enormously relieved that Dierdre is in it for the long run! I could read her thoughts on trees, New Orleans, or literally anything else, forever.