Substack Reader Round-Up
Readers... Assemble!
My Substack profile has a tongue-in-cheek joke about being the “ONLY reader on Substack.” At the risk of explaining a joke, I hear a lot of talk about writers writing for other writers and/or writers only promoting other writing so they can promote their own. And while I do have my own writing, the majority of what I post here is the signal boosting of writers from a reader’s perspective.
This has placed me in a unique spot within Substack’s “Fiction Ghetto.” I get a lot of access to writers, to their processes, neuroses, advice, failures, and successes. I get sent a LOT of stuff to read. But — to circle back to that joke — I am but one1 man. With that in mind, and in my eternally benevolent manner, I thought I’d compile a brief list of other readers here on Substack for you to harass submit your work to.
Readers (and Writers) Reading Writings
Recently,
announced a new side project for her Substack called Nocturnal Reads2, a “a very random, when I have time series where I share what I’m reading (not open for submissions after today)—posts, publications, and my honest reviews. Brutally honest. Not mean or intentionally provocative, of course.” Last I looked, Nikki was still taking requests though she have been subsequently overwhelmed between me typing this and you reading it.Another reader in our collective is
who writes the DREAD Reviews. DJK is not only a prolific Substack reader, but a proactive one. He (somehow) came across my story “Just a Little Tired” and reviewed it. In exchange for guest reviews, he offers reciprocal promotion of your own work. It’s a great give-a-penny, take-a-penny system that not only helps build community but offloads some of the real work onto you deadbeat writers. is the anti-hero of our motley trope, wielder of a bonesaw and scalpel. Emil is primarily an editor (THE Editor) and writes his Autopsy series where he surgically dissects a proffered piece of short fiction. Not to go overboard with the wordplay, but Emil’s feedback is sharp and incisive. He does not fuck around. runs (TiF), and accepts review requests on a weekly basis that are then curated and compiled into a newsletter. TiF also maintains a database of fiction on Substack that is sortable and searchable. It is only as complete as the writers submitting to it, but it is a valuable resource nonetheless.I put a call for readers out on Notes, and got responses from the following folks who you might also reach out to as well:
our resident trashy panda; who curates Sunday Reads but is on hiatus until September; who is a wonderful supporter of Substack fiction; and who already has curated a list of works she’s enjoyed here; and who probably didn’t know what he was signing up for but threw his hat in regardless3.If you are another generous soul, please sound off in the comments.
And if you’re still hard up for finding a place to engage, hit me up on notes:
. 🤙A Brief Aside on Community
Recently some mud was slung at the fiction “community” here on Substack. Look, the Notes tab can appear a little circle-jerky but a lot of that is just a cynical response to earnestness. Some people find it hard to believe that anyone anywhere can like anything that they haven’t personally advocated. I’d be jealous, too, if I were on the outside looking in.
Everyone has their own standards for advocacy. Find the people you trust and maybe try not to worry so much about what other people are talking about amongst themselves just because you can overhear. You don’t own the public square. You don’t control the discourse. Useless griping, trolling and pedantry belong on TwiX (or Facebook if you’re old).
Anyways, I appreciate the way writers and readers support each other here. Speaking for myself personally — because I explicitly said I am open to any/all feedback — I’ve gotten a lot of useful critique on my work (it’s not all sunshine and rainbows). I’ve also started to see some cross-pollination between “genres.” The horror kids are playing nice with the poets who are restacking the personal essayists.
There are pop-up workshops, craft essays, fiction challenges, collaborations, anthologies, fuckin’ rap battles… I mean, what else do we need besides more readers4?
— V
PS. If you have a few extra coins, toss one or two to a writer or reader to say thanks. These are labors of love, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be compensated.
brilliant, handsome, magnanimous, and humble
I was so excited to have another “reader,” I did not pick up on the (very humbling) homage.
We love a reckless king here at Vinny Reads Enterprises
Money. Obviously.
Reckless king 😂 I love it