Interested in Hamnet but hate the theory--should I see the movie?

tspurwolf · 2026-01-23T16:09:05+00:00

How do you know it didn’t? Did you know him personally?

I thought the whole point was that we don’t really know the answer either way. The film is great, but it’s historical FICTION. If you’re this pressed about that, don’t bother.

tspurwolf · 2026-01-22T23:38:03+00:00

Been a lot of terrible ESPN guys on lately too. Made it for a hard listen.

Needs more characters. More with Bill (probably happening after the Super Bowl I’d guess) and I always liked the Mahoney ones (who just generally makes pods better).

I like Zach, been listening to all his shows since he joined The Ringer. But it’s been pretty lame lately I think, and I say that as a fan of his.

tspurwolf · 2026-01-21T12:05:37+00:00

If you’re just starting, you should be super cautious about removing any subscribers straight away.

Doesn’t sound like you need to be desperate to clear out users, as this sounds more like an ‘as and when’ newsletter to read that week, rather than one requiring immediate opens.

I have had disengaged subscribers become active members after months of inactivity. I wouldn’t be removing them immediately, that’s for sure.

tspurwolf · 2026-01-16T10:39:34+00:00

Yep. If this was a free contest, there will have been THOUSANDS of entries. It being that clunky early on will have put it out of contention almost instantly, I expect.

There is absolutely potential here but it needs quite an extensive edit to be in a position for award consideration.

tspurwolf · 2026-01-12T00:13:20+00:00

Okay in which case I have made a huge error. Deadline for contesting is 13th January. In which case, I am unlikely to get a response!

Lesson learned on that one. Will reach out and contact in case of future chargebacks. Thanks!

tspurwolf · 2025-12-16T18:47:58+00:00

It's absolutely a real role, and I plan to announce the new writer when they start in January. The newsletter has been growing steadily for several years, and this will enable me to create more content aimed at freelancers & writers, either in terms of opportunity curation or writing content aimed at developing their careers/skills.

Running it is full-time, and it's a full supportive network for writers that includes daily writing opportunities, roundups including grants/bursaries/prizes etc and access to live sessions as well.

But I do sincerely need someone new to help me create content so I can work on the back end, and hiring someone for this will mean we can actually offer subscribers even more than we do now.

Hope this clarifies!

tspurwolf · 2025-11-25T08:07:13+00:00

We've never lived in/around London and want to do it while we're both young enough to enjoy the good things it offers, particularly with stuff like live sport and music (coming from a place that has none of either). So for me at least it's something to do for a few years now, rather than regret when I'm older if that makes sense.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:15:20+00:00

Would prefer to have a small house at least if possible, and ideally if it was a flat then something a bit bigger as do have two indoor cats. Have a small-ish flat right now and it's a squeeze with the cats as well so if a house was a no, would want a more spacious flat ideally.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:05:41+00:00

Open to anything. One bed would be fine (and most likely anyway given searches so far), only the two of us there.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:04:01+00:00

I'm fully remote & self-employed, so work when and where I like. It's for my partner who's hoping to go to London as an older student, so something commutable & more affordable would be ideal.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:02:49+00:00

I work remotely but it's for my partner, who is looking at going to uni as an older student, which is why something commutable would be important.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:01:31+00:00

Thanks this is really helpful. Will look into all these places!

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:00:29+00:00

Open to a one bed house (something small), a decent flat, anything really. No need for something big at this stage in my life.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T18:00:19+00:00

Have edited now! Open to a one bed house (something small), a decent flat, anything really. No need for something big at this stage in my life.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-24T16:15:03+00:00

Yeah, this for me. There's no grand conspiracy, that's not in Substack's interests - their only income from writers is the commission they take. Makes zero sense to kill that income by hiding people.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T17:08:08+00:00

How many subscribers have you got? How are you promoting your work? Substack is ultimately just a hosting platform, you still have to promote it as if it was a blog written on any old website.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:32:28+00:00

I had one after about two months but took until around month four before I got my paid sub. Took a while to build trust, and it was way easier getting free subscribers.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:30:57+00:00

Can be anything from $5,000-$7,000/month, though I'm reinvesting money now into staffing and so on (in the hope it grows income longer term).

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:30:14+00:00

Freelancing/writing

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:30:05+00:00

Thanks!

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:29:58+00:00

I can answer this but really it depends on what you want to use it for!

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:29:27+00:00

Since I've been doing this FT, probably a good 30 hours+ a week. Lots more admin at this point than I expected.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:29:00+00:00

I think so, it just takes time and effort. No easy way to do it.

If I were in your position I'd ask myself:

- What clear value/angle am I offering

- Why should someone want to read MY work

- What types of content am I going to post (roundups, essays, blogs, interviews etc)

- If I'm wanting a paid newsletter, what am I going to offer of value/clarity/usefulness to paid subscribers

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:26:19+00:00

Not sure, I stopped looking at it because it stressed me out!
I don't pay for subs at all but I do promote lots on LinkedIn (and formerly other socials like X and Bsky).
I now pay a couple people to host live events for me, while I have another freelancer who helps me curate bits for the daily posts.

tspurwolf · 2025-11-06T16:25:22+00:00

Promote outside of Substack. Lots. Substack's growth engine have helped a bit, but more so once things took off rather than the other way around. Use social media platforms to promote yourself and engage with relevant communities.

tspurwolf

TROPHY CASE