Recommendations (updated)
Some other Substack publications I enjoy
Below is a list of a few of the many publications that I read and enjoy on Substack (the platform where you are reading these essays). If you’re looking for other writing to check out, do take a look.
If you’re new to Substack, and unsure about what it means to “subscribe” to a publication, “follow” a writer on the Substack app, or how to read a publication without doing either of those, please read the paragraphs below. Otherwise, skip down to the list itself.
I’ll probably rotate the publications that appear on here from time to time.
This is a quick explanation, to the best of my ability, of what it means to subscribe to a Substack publication; the difference between subscribing to a publication and “following” a writer in the Substack app; and finally how to read a publication without either subscribing or following.
Subscribing to a Substack publication
When you “subscribe,” you are signing up to receive each new article in your email, and/or in the Substack app if you are using that.
Some publications are free to subscribe to and read; others have a paid system where you pay a monthly or an annual subscription fee to read some or all of the contents.
Some Substack publications also have community/discussion aspects that are limited to subscribers or specifically to paying subscribers.
When you subscribe to a Substack publication, your email address is shared with the person whose publication it is. They may also see information about your activities on their publication, such as which articles you’ve opened.
Update: There seems now to be new function where you can “subscribe” directly to a person on Substack, even if they don’t have a publication. I don’t understand how that works, so won’t say anything further about it. I don’t use it myself.
Following a writer in the Substack app
If you use the Substack app, you can also ”follow” a writer there. That’s a bit like following them on Twitter or Instagram, I think (I don’t use those, so I’m not really sure).
But in any event, it’s not like subscribing: you don’t get their articles in your email or in your feed on the app, and they don’t see your email address or (as of this writing, and so far as I know) information about your activities on their publication.
You do see some of the social media-like posts that they do on Substack Notes, which often includes notification that they or another writer has a new piece out.
If you subscribe to someone’s Substack publication, you automatically “follow” them as well.
Accessing a Substack publication without either subscribing to it or following the writer on the app
All of the Substack publication homepages can be explored without needing to subscribe first. How many of the articles on the homepage you can open will depend on how much, if any, is behind a paid-subscription paywall, but you can usually get a pretty good sense of the writing without subscribing first, and many of them, like mine, are free to read without ever subscribing at all.
Hope any of that was helpful, and happy reading!
Click on the publication’s name below to explore it without subscribing — ignore the “type your email” bit and the “subscribe” button.
Nice summary of Substack features. It’s good to know the difference between subscription, following, and what if not subscribing or following. I learned my own way to figure it out, but your writing gives that clarity. Thank you. Also thanks for recommendations. Well done.
Thank you very much for including my Substack, it is such a generous thing to do. They are so many delights here that I might otherwise have missed. Thank you.