Multiple tabs open, no time to read

Yes, I could read every one of the headlines that caught my attention for any number of reasons. But instead, I’ll focus on one or two especially interesting ones.

Apparently, this is the Summer of Substack. Not to be confused with the Summer of Love. Not even close.

Over the past few years, Substack has been slowly building a literary scene, one in which amateurs, relative unknowns, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writers rub shoulders with one another. This spring, a series of writers — perhaps best known for their Substacks — released new fiction, leading to a burst of publicity that the critic, novelist, and Substacker Naomi Kanakia has declared “Substack summer.”

Wow! Guess I didn’t get the memo. What’s new? :)

“Is the Next Great American Novel Being Published on Substack?” asked the New Yorker in May. Substack “has become the premier destination for literary types’ unpublished musings,” announced Vulture. [Blogger’s note: the link has a paywall, so you’ll have to trust me them on what it says.]

Can Substack move sales like BookTok can? No. But it’s doing something that, for a certain set, is almost more valuable. It’s giving a shot of vitality to a faltering book media ecosystem. It’s building a world where everyone reads the London Review of Books, and they all have blogs.

“I myself think of BookTok as an engine for discovery, and I think Substack is an engine for discourse,” said the journalist Adrienne Westenfeld. “BookTok is a listicle in a way. It’s people recommending books that you might not have heard of. It’s not as much a place for substantive dialogue about books, which is simply a limitation of short form video.”

Okay, so BookTok is like free advertising and Substack is a place for discussing high-minded literary shit talking about things on our minds. Thoughts on subjects we find important.

I think it’s pretty weird that BookTok provides better advertising than, say, YouTube videos. Or is YouTube too crowded with creators to be noticed? Is YouTube so “five minutes ago” that it’s no longer trendy enough?

Eight novels, one short story collection, all of which I’ve published or will be publishing on Substack, and none of them are The Great American anything. But I never set out to write that.

One of that lot did make the New York Times bestseller list. That is a fact.

So, tell me again … how does Substack differ substantially from Wordpress.com, for instance? (Okay, the paywall bit. How much does that really help us obscurios relative unknowns? :) )