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Transcript

The Scooterview!

Talking to Scoot about the balance between Art and Commerce

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Scoot’s Product Lifecycle Philosophy

Gibberish
The Substack Life Cycle
I wrote a note that generated a bit of buzz about paid subscriptions and I boosted the idea of the Product Life Cycle which I wrote about in Writing About Writing #2…
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People mentioned in this episode

writes JB Minton. There he provides commentary on film, books, and music. We highlight how he paywalls his content after a short amount of time in an effort to encourage his readers to enjoy his emails as soon as he sends them out.

writes The Wecomics Handbook. I pointed out the differences and possible disagreements between what Scoot was advising and the insights that Brad shared during my interview with him. Specifically, Scoot advises people to turn on paid right away.

You can (AND SHOULD) watch that interview below.

writes Notes from the Town Hermit. Scoot mentioned her influence on him regarding the strategy he uses for his Substack.

writes Fair Wind, Sailing West. Scoot cited a statement that Keb had made comparing Substack to a bookstore and how that should guide our interactions with others.

writes Growth Croissant. During my interview with Scoot, he mentions learning about the Monopoly of You from the interview I did with Reid.

You can (AND SHOULD) watch that interview below.

writes Falden’s Forge. Scoot talks about his collaborations with Eric and how they are structuring their joint effort.

writes Germanicus Publishing Scoot talks about his science fiction collaboration and how they are showing their work and thought process as part of that venture.

writes Heavenly Chant. He mentions how he is doing an audio drama with her and Thérèse Judeana.

writes Windflower. He mentions how he is doing an audio drama with her and Chantal LaFortune.

writes Strange New Worlds. He mentions a small press set up by John Coon.

writes Kindling. He mentions the fact that she had a story included in a recently published anthology.

writes Storyletter XPress. We talk about Winston’s efforts as a smallpress publisher and the work he is doing through Storyletter.

writes Macabre Monday. We cite this publication as being a great example of how to successfully use the Chat feature.

writes Authorstrator. We cite Meaghan as being a great example of how to successfully use the Chat feature.

writes Automatic Writer. We cite Sean as being a great example of how to successfully use the Chat feature and for his ability to host an awesome conversation about The Twilight Zone.

writes SemiAnalysis. I reference SemiAnalysis as being a great example of a newsletter where the author has put some thought into the experience of his readers. Specifically, his decision to only offer an annual subscription because that allows him to deliver more value.

writes Austin Kleon. Scoot referenced Austin’s book Steal Like an Artist. That’s a fantastic book and I recommend it and Kleon’s other seminal book Share Your Work!

writes Society of History Writers. We spoke about the work she is doing with her fiction directory and Scoot related her comments about how saturated the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres are on Substack.


The Mignolaverse

Mike Mignola is a comic book artist and writer. He is the creator of Hellboy and several other characters within that universe.

Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters is a biographical documentary about how Hellboy was created and how Mignola created a career for himself in an industry where his art style didn’t originally fit in. You can watch the trailer for this documentary here.

And here’s a picture of me with Mike Mignola when I met him at my local comic shop. I know you didn’t want to see it, but here we are.


If you know someone who would enjoy this episode, please send it their way. So many writers on Substack are trying to figure things out and I believe this episode really does have a lot of wisdom and insight that can give people a jumpstart on their journeys. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

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