Wonderful interview which felt very much down to earth. Substack is to writing what radio is to journalism if it's possible to make that comparison. It's intimate and brings that immediate connection. The mention of Myspace, ouch! Hahahahaha Sore spot there. Used to love myspace. I guess it was a first way to connect through content, whether it was music, writing or photography. I'm sorry to have lost all those contacts over there once it was relaunched. But back to this. A relief to read how well known authors see the writing process and a writer's life. Thank you both!
I have so many Substack subscriptions at this point, that these 8 Questions are ones I usually skip. But Nick Hornby??? Literally yesterday I was driving in my car thinking I should get rid of books because I have no progeny to whom to pass them, and if I offloaded my Nick Hornby collection it would free up lots of shelf room. But...now that I know he's here, I have reversed that decision.
Oh, how marvellous if fiction starts to come also!
And loved this, especially: "Writers fail, on a daily basis. At the end of a working day we have invariably done less than we hoped at the start of it, and the work is not as good as we wanted it to be, either. And we don’t get any feedback for weeks, months, years. I feel less useless on Substack. Maybe I can make this person laugh, or introduce that person to a song or book that means something to them. That feels like an hour or two well spent."
I love what Nick said about the immediacy of Substack and all that brings with it (rough edges, typos) and the quote from Ted Gioia too about more courage and confidence in himself than in the system. So glad he's here!
Enjoyed this, thanks! “I feel less useless on Substack. Maybe I can make this person laugh, or introduce that person to a song or book that means something to them. That feels like an hour or two well spent.”
Appreciated the word of caution at the end.
Wonderful interview which felt very much down to earth. Substack is to writing what radio is to journalism if it's possible to make that comparison. It's intimate and brings that immediate connection. The mention of Myspace, ouch! Hahahahaha Sore spot there. Used to love myspace. I guess it was a first way to connect through content, whether it was music, writing or photography. I'm sorry to have lost all those contacts over there once it was relaunched. But back to this. A relief to read how well known authors see the writing process and a writer's life. Thank you both!
"What artistic and technical choices have you made" Substack is read on phones. A lot. All of us need to structure for that teeny screen
You mean tiny paragraphs?
I have so many Substack subscriptions at this point, that these 8 Questions are ones I usually skip. But Nick Hornby??? Literally yesterday I was driving in my car thinking I should get rid of books because I have no progeny to whom to pass them, and if I offloaded my Nick Hornby collection it would free up lots of shelf room. But...now that I know he's here, I have reversed that decision.
(One might wonder why I would need extra shelf room if the goal is offloading books anyway, and to that question I have no answer.)
Oh, how marvellous if fiction starts to come also!
And loved this, especially: "Writers fail, on a daily basis. At the end of a working day we have invariably done less than we hoped at the start of it, and the work is not as good as we wanted it to be, either. And we don’t get any feedback for weeks, months, years. I feel less useless on Substack. Maybe I can make this person laugh, or introduce that person to a song or book that means something to them. That feels like an hour or two well spent."
I love what Nick said about the immediacy of Substack and all that brings with it (rough edges, typos) and the quote from Ted Gioia too about more courage and confidence in himself than in the system. So glad he's here!
Really enjoyed Nick's writing in The Believer so was very happy to see him here on Substack!
Enjoyed this, thanks! “I feel less useless on Substack. Maybe I can make this person laugh, or introduce that person to a song or book that means something to them. That feels like an hour or two well spent.”
Terrific and insightful interview!
A really interesting and down-to-earth interview with some fascinating glimpses of the writing life. Thank you.