8 Questions for... Jodie Beckford

Spotlight on Jodie's Substack

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Jodie Beckford is a writer, artist, techie, trainer, blogger, and coffee enthusiast. She writes Jodie’s Substack.

1. Why Substack?

I’d been a sub stack reader for a while before I decided to start using the platform as a writer. I also have my own personal website and blog. About a year and half ago I felt like I was spending a lot of time sharing my blog and trying to get readers to go to it and getting little in return. So, I decided to try Substack instead because I was hearing a lot of good things about it from both artists and writers. I thought it might be a more efficient way to connect with readers and have a better sense of community with other writers. 

2. How long did it take to find my groove?

I've been on Substack for about eighteen months now, but it's really only been in the past couple of months that I started really finding anything one might call a groove. At first, I was in the void. I had a few loyal readers, mostly people who had come over from my blog or people who follow my art on Insta and were curious about my scribblings. I gained about 30 subscribers pretty quickly at the start, but the needle stuck there for a long time. I also wasn't really putting a lot of effort into it. I was inconsistent with posting and engaging with others, so the void was a safe place to hide.
But then I figured out how Notes worked. Since then, I feel like I'm finding a steady rhythm to it all. I feel more motivated to be consistent. I'm taking part in the community more, and I am discovering more and more amazing writers. My reading stats haven't changed much, but I'm happy to be the tortoise for now. Slow and steady, as they say.

3. How has it changed me?

When Eleanor first asked me this, my reaction was 'Erm, it hasn't'. But that's not entirely true. Since finding something of a groove here, I've become a more consistent writer, and a better editor of my work. I've also lost a lot of inhibition. The diversity on Substack is fantastic and being someone with an eclectic taste, I get to read and engage with writers from all walks of life and parts of the world. All of this is making me a better writer. I feel like I've found a space where I can start writing those stories I've been too afraid to write in the past. 

4. What mistakes have I made?

Probably a ton. I don’t really care about mistakes though. There’s a lot I could do better or differently if metrics really mattered to me, but I like doing things my own way. I am very much a DIY, trial-and-error type of person. I also teach for a living, so if I'm going to tell my students that you can only learn from making mistakes, I better practice what I preach, right?

One thing I wish I had done a little differently was to be more consistent with interacting with other writers from the start. I was very much a 'post-it-and-they-will-come' beginner, but that doesn't really work here. You've got to interact with others and read their stuff if you want them to read yours. If I had been better at doing that from the start, I may have spent a little less time in the cold dark void. 

5. To pay or not to pay

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I have received pledges, and had people ask me how they can support my writing, which is wonderful. On the other, I know a lot of people can't afford to pay for every writer they subscribe to (I know I certainly can't). I also have a bit of an aversion to the constant monetisation of everything these days. At the moment, I am more focused on building an audience and getting more people to read and like my work enough to come back and read the next thing. I'm hoping that when I publish my serialised novella, when it's done, that they will go and buy a copy. But I am also a realist. At some point, if I want to earn any kind of living as a writer, I'm going to have to start asking for paid subscriptions so that I have more time to spend writing. 

For the moment, though, I'm staying free. I may add the option for people to support me with a paid subscription if they want to in the future. I may start adding extra content for those subscribers in the future too. But I am still mulling over how that would look. 

6. What artistic and technical choices have you made?

I haven’t really changed anything about the format of how I post things. I do the same thing on my blog as on Substack. I do my own artwork for featured images and use Canva to make promo images for the socials. I often write my initial drafts by hand, both for fiction and for short essays, so I do have to dictate the texts to my laptop before editing and posting, but again, this is how I have always done my writing. I write better with a pen in my hand than with fingers on the keyboard. 

7. What’s been the effect on my writing?

The main one is that it’s motivated me to publish a novella in episodes. It got an old manuscript out of the drawer and onto the screen and that has definitely given me a bit of a kick up the bum. Also, publishing in episodes has given me some great insights into the structure of the story and given me the confidence to do some ruthless editing. This is also why it sometimes takes a couple of weeks for me to get the next episode ready. Sometimes I need the time to mull over a problem before I can find a good solution.
Another overall effect is that I just write a lot more now. Where I used to hide my thoughts and ideas in notebooks, I am now taking those random tidbits and turning them into flash fiction and short stories. Most of that comes from being inspired by other writers here on Substack. I read a piece I enjoy and then think, hmm how would I do that? What would it be like to write a short story in this genre? Thanks to a few writers on here, I'm now drafting a dark little thriller set in small-town South Africa. I never imagined I would ever write a thriller before.

8. In it for the long haul?

Yes! I can say that pretty emphatically now. A couple of months ago, I would not have given that answer. I was still very on the fence about this, but since I've started climbing out of the void and am nudging the warm edges of the Substack atmosphere, I can see the benefits. If you're willing to put in the time and energy to become a part of the community, this is a great place to be a writer.

Thanks to Jodie Beckford for joining this conversation. Subscribe to Jodie’s substack here: