Good for you! As a reader (exclusively) of Substack and X content, I have thought about this a lot. How many subscriptions can I have, which should I pay for, and it makes me feel a bit guilty to read for free if it’s a daily go to. Mainstream media is, for me, now the anti-Christ (sticking with your theme), and I avoid it like the plague. My go-to for important news is X and Jeff Childers, but you are f’ing funny! And I have grown to love your take on things. I don’t know how I found you, but I subscribed because it was free. At first I probably read one article per week and over a few months I began to read you daily. Is your stack critical to me? Maybe not for breaking news but definitely for my mental health. Am I willing to pay? Yes! It would actually make me feel better, less guilty even. Why haven’t I already paid? I guess if I can get something for free I am guilty of taking it. A gentle nudge is all I needed. And one example of too much nudging, even though I do pay him, a bit begrudgingly though, is Alex Berenson. This way of getting our news is new territory and difficult to navigate. One thing mainstream media does right is consolidate writers and sell ads. But then again, that’s probably what got us to this newer model. Tough business.
I appreciate the thoughtful reply and honesty, David! I feel the same way and I certainly understand that we all can't pay for every word we read. I'd be broke by noon! :) I realize I fall more into "entertainment" than "news" (seeing as *I* pick the topic I feel like skewering), but people pay for entertainment all day long! Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, Friday night movie date, whatever... I'm sure most folks will be able to live with 20%-less-Jenna without suffering TOO terribly if they can't or don't want to pay... :)
Substack should offer a volume discount deal, for example, 3 stacks for $10/mo, or 6 for $18, that authors could opt out of or into. Your approach is also a very good effort to compromise. Thanks for that.
Yes Jenna, don’t feel bad about putting up the paywall. Like David said. A lot of us just needed a nudge. I believe you help with my mental health by making me laugh and releasing serotonin lol. Thanks! Keep up the good work. 😇
It’s hard on Substack because there are many good writers, few of us can afford to pay for all of them. I subscribe to Jenna because she’s lighthearted and funny, and we need more of that in the world. There are plenty of places to get serious takes on the news (humor and sarcasm is why I love Jeff Childers too... it’s a theme, lol)
I guess it's just their bad luck that their writing attracts folks who are "frugal." ;^) What's a person got to do to attract the d*mn spendthrifts and dissipants?
(I guess it's time for me to "make an honest man" out of Jeff Childers too...)
[EDIT: Whoops! I completely misremembered the subscription cost. I simply can't do it. I'm in the Ko-fi camp, cf.]
[EDIT of the EDIT: So I _DID_ look through the other handful of 'stacks' I get and looked into Midwestern Doctor's whose work I also believe is important (I can't figure out where to put the 'truly' in...). "And the price was right." so I'm a new subscriber there.
PS, I'm glad we can have these angst-ridden guilt sessions every so often. Like it's only going to get more of with public broadcasting... It was no-contest there because just about the time they got you thinking, "Maybe I could...", they hit you with a program that says, "You're SH*T! You're the REASON it SUCKS for EVERYBODY!" and I would think, "Maybe if it ever calms down..."]
I can’t do the full amount for Jeff either, but I’ve set up a monthly payment that’s the same as the other accounts I contribute to. If I paid for Jeff it would be the only one I could fit in the budget.
My mom used to say, "Don't make me choose between you and your siblings--because you'd be sooo gone..." Your way is the way to go, for the frugal, and I'm guessing it would work in Vegas too. Decide how much you want to spend on each entertainment, and stick to it...
Yes but if you break it down that's less than $10 weekly. My twin sis and I just had a birthday and gifted ourselves one subscription to be shared between us.
^What he said💗…except that I’m already a paid subscriber. Bcs you’re funemployed. I only pay for three…JC w C&C, Christopher Rufo, and YOU. Go forth, my child (who is almost exactly the same age as I!), and thrive!
Here's another idea. You remember "shareware", David? Each (poor b*st*d) programmer-author approached appealing for support in a different way. I was HUGE into shareware--using it until appeal became DEMAND and then I'd drop it and move on to the next greatest thing. As long as the appeal wasn't insulting, I kept using it.
ONE, particular, GENIUS--and I hope you read this, Jen--did a VERY SIMPLE THING, indeed.
She (but I don't know) had a little counter in the corner, that kept track of "how many times" the software had been used. That's it.
The effect was she had users PROVING TO THEMSELVES that her software was USEFUL to them. One day, it clicked; I shifted from an emotional state of constantly defending my use as "occasional" to one of clear realization that this woman (or girl with brown hair, but I never found out) was a REAL assistant, a REAL aide, a REAL worthy.
"Hey, friend, this is the 100,000th article you've read. Are you beginning to like what you're seeing?"
This could be, and I'm just spitballin' here, in the form of NUMBERING your columns and asking new users to take NOTE of WHICH number they first read, and then ask them, in the same breath to agree with you that "at some number they choose," the fact that they value your product will have been established and worthy of remunerative support ("Dough!", people, "DOUGH!")
But he’s not writing fiction now. I feel that he’s a bit “full of himself” riding on his laurels of being a former NYT “insider” journalist who is now doing his own thing on Substack. I believe he puts the majority of his content behind a paywall. Bari Weiss, also a former NYT “insider”, and her “Free Press” is a similar vibe.
They made a name for themselves at the “paper of record”, then they were able to ride way with the imprimatur of “being a former NYT’s journalist”. So once a NYT “journalist”, I feel the imprint of The Grey Lady and it’s “politics”, still has some undercurrent of influence on their points of view. They are what I call “mainstream alternative news”, more mainstream than alternative.
I clearly remember the first prayer I was sure was answered by God. I bought this awesome ball point pen in a wild color and unusual shape. It was 75 cents. I was in grade school. I lost it soon after I got it in the house somewhere. We were not church goers because she couldn’t drive and we lived on a farm. Dad would not take us but mom listened to a radio church and tried to impart some religious instruction. That was long long ago. I remember praying to God that he would tell me where that pen was hiding. Soon I thought to look upstairs where the laundry hung out. There it was—in a dress pocket. I immediately knew God himself (or the Angel assigned that day to lost ballpoint pens or little girls) had answered my prayer. I’m 77 and still think of that. I’ve had many prayers answered since. I say go ahead with your plan, Jenna.
Oh you need the Saint Anthony Prayer for lost items:
“Oh St.Anthony please come around…the __________ (fill in the blank) is lost and must be found”.
Some believe you need to turn in a circle a few times to cement it in. I don’t do that. Seriously if the item is just misplaced it will show up or you will come across it. Sometimes you may need to say it a few times.
Sadly if the item is really gone, the St. Anthony Prayer won’t bring it back. 🙏🏼🕯️
The Saints are a Catholic thing. St. Anthony of Padua is the “patron saint of lost and stolen articles”. But one not need “be a Catholic” to believe in the power of the “St. Anthony Prayer”! 😉🙏🏼🕯️
Sinner!! How dare you take back your words and reveal your true hair color!
Kill Tony is still my suggestion! Not only would you kill it, but the exposure would skyrocket your subscriber base! Plus, we would love to see you drop some truth bombs Jim Breuer style!
Thanks for the funemployment update, Jenna! At least you're free from the rat race and every day is Friday! 🤗
Your Substack is one of my Must Reads every morning. I was thinking about being a paid subscriber, yesterday. My suggestions are: 1) Lower the annual to $50 to $60. 2) Accept checks - need an info on that. I’ve been burned giving out my credit card on Substack and having an auto renewal go through that I did not want to renew. 3) Keep up the Great Work.
I do all mine monthly. I see it on my credit card which allows me to decide if I still want to subscribe. Jenna is always a keeper. She laughs me off many ledges I’m perched on. God bless her—and lead her to the job he has ready for her.
Just an FYI on the credit card thing. Take a look at privacy.com. They have a free option with some limits, but you can create proxy CC numbers with limits, etc. that will protect you from those auto renewals and stolen card numbers. Just sayin. Love Jenna and yes, I could spend my entire day and all my money on Substack. I like the Kofi option so I can spread the love around. You Jenna, are a rock star with your writing!
Leaving this for the Year-5000 archaeologists: "Kofi" most commonly refers to "Ko-fi," which is a platform that allows fans to support creators with small donations—metaphorically "buying them a coffee."
Thanks for the edit. I always, stupidly, think that other people will know what I am talking about. Good luck to those Year-5000 archaeologists, AI, aliens, or whatever they are.
I have had the same thing happen to me. Became “paid” when I didn’t ask to it. I assumed I accidentally pushed some button. Jeeze,it didn’t take long for THAT to go through. Much longer to cancel it!
I would like to use a check,also. But,Ive already,recently paid for the year,so,maybe next…?
I’m not sure. I only pay for 2 annual Stacks…same card for both…
Are you asking if the automatic payment for another stack I was reading is the time the auto sign up happened? I remember mentioning it to you and you agreed I must have “pushed the pay button “, but, both paid Stacks were close together. I remember having some trouble paying for Dr Kory’s stack,then,received a “personal “ email that appeared to be from him,but,it felt a bit dodgy. I don’t recall the email asking for more money or information. It was something like” sorry you are having difficulties..” then I wrote back saying he might be a bot so I wasn’t going to move forward with signing on. Then email wrote back saying “ I am definitely a human”…Then,a couple weeks later i signed up successfully to paid subscriber to him…🤷🏻♀️
Well, Substack is NOT without its glitches, that's for sure! We (content creators) as you know have ZERO control over any of that side, so it's frustrating when it goes haywire!!!
Jenna - when subscribing to a new stack, the choice defaults to being a paid subscriber. If you don’t change it to “none” (free subscriber) it automatically charges your credit card. It happened to me once, but then I caught on.
Sounds like a very reasonable plan to get more subscribers….so you can be doing what you love! You and are so remarkably talented and funny! Let’s keep the train rolling. Plus, everyone wants the book even if they don’t know it yet.
I paid for the book, loved it - it was worth every penny ( dollar). And I got a Jenna autographed copy with note!❣️ All who have the means & love Jenna should support her funemployment.
My first confession, was similar to yours and Father Sullivan ( RIP) told me to do 20 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys . I had to kneel on the marble alter floor , it was painful . 😣
“You work hard. It’s okay to ask for support when you need it. Your efforts are valuable. The people who judge don’t matter and the people who matter won’t judge. You’re not for everyone—and that’s okay.”
Reading your comments/commentary brightens my day (and days). Is there a way to determine if I've contributed (financially) to your ex-pea-al-a-dosh-schuss commentary? [And let's not broadcast the fact that I don't know if I have contributed financially - thanks. BTW, no spellcheck used by this guy!]
Hahahaha! You're good through October, and you'll get an email from substack (not me) reminding you you're up for renewal... If you want to continue, helpfully you'll do nothing. If you decide to cancel, you have to do that actively. XOXO
Anyway, it's not even lying. As someone who has watched--a LOT--of lawyers l(aw)y(er)ing on teevee, I can testify that you haven't put your, ENTIRE, output behind a paywall, and so, as pinky-swear pledged, technically, you "haven't put your stack behind a paywall." If ever comes a day that you do decide to paywall the entire thing, teevee-law will have to be consulted again for the prevailing excuse.
As to the "never, ever" thing: my semi-professional couch opinion, adding the experiences of the last four years to the mulligatawny which is teevee these days, is that your use falls under "The Slick-Willy Exemption" which holds that words mean what you need them to mean when you need them to mean what you say they mean. (I'm particularly proud of that last construct, which I think no juryman would find scrutable.) You're still going to have egg (or another organic substance) on your face (or dress as the case may be), but it beats prison.
However, now that my Shining Social-Media Icon-ess has broached the idea, I too will be giving serious consideration to paywalling my own stack (which incidentally I discovered I'd created by accident). In my particular case that should put a clamp (qty:1 size:large) on the subscriber explosion which has been licking at the number 15 for months now. (I'm sorry Jenna; I really didn't mean to bring up numbers. I'm really not in a competition with you.) I think requiring payment in Yapese rai currency will give further pause to rash decision-makers.
"Real jobs" are overrated. After all, I save people's lives, you make me giggle. Okay, you win giggling is more valuable since they are going to die eventually anyway. 😇
Let's see... pay Jenna or buy a year's supply of Fruit Loops? Nah... I'll just buy a month's supply of chocolate instead.
If I email you do I need to start it with "In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti, Amen"? I'm pretty sure I never received a book. {smile} But in all fairness I'm pretty sure I said that I didn't need a book. Although I've been looking at Amazon and considering buying one of your books but then I remember that Amazon pays you about twenty cents per book. So why bother?
More seriously, a fundamental problem is that we were raised on the "advertising model". All of our propaganda (errr News?) was free because Big Pharma paid them so they could lie to us with their false promises. Why pay for something when you can get more than you want for free?
As the saying goes, when your news is free, YOU are the currency. No thanks! ;) (I get my actual news from X, a handful of substackers, and Epoch Times, which I pay for...)
It might be "old news" but I get most of my news (information) from books. Yes, you know, those bricks made out of paper that weigh a ton when you move to a new home! Crack them open and you can discover whole worlds of thought!
Every once in a while, I'll turn on mainstream media to watch a few minutes of propaganda just so I'm aware of what the "normies" are getting programmed with.
A HANDFUL of Substackers! Your profile shows 102 substackers you might read. Okay, maybe you are doing what I try to avoid, spending all day and all my money on substack. Or maybe you lie and need to say 100 hail Mary's!
"(Although admittedly, the comments section won’t be as fun.)"
That sounds like a challenge if I ever heard one. The gauntlet has been thrown down, and I for one, will do my best to pick it up and smack people with gentle and sometimes cutting humor, in the style of our fearless Humorist with 'tude, Jenna.
I hope you can turn this into a well-paying gig, because your ability to highlight the craziness of our current situation with humor and empathy is a skill that we need more of in the world.
Good for you! As a reader (exclusively) of Substack and X content, I have thought about this a lot. How many subscriptions can I have, which should I pay for, and it makes me feel a bit guilty to read for free if it’s a daily go to. Mainstream media is, for me, now the anti-Christ (sticking with your theme), and I avoid it like the plague. My go-to for important news is X and Jeff Childers, but you are f’ing funny! And I have grown to love your take on things. I don’t know how I found you, but I subscribed because it was free. At first I probably read one article per week and over a few months I began to read you daily. Is your stack critical to me? Maybe not for breaking news but definitely for my mental health. Am I willing to pay? Yes! It would actually make me feel better, less guilty even. Why haven’t I already paid? I guess if I can get something for free I am guilty of taking it. A gentle nudge is all I needed. And one example of too much nudging, even though I do pay him, a bit begrudgingly though, is Alex Berenson. This way of getting our news is new territory and difficult to navigate. One thing mainstream media does right is consolidate writers and sell ads. But then again, that’s probably what got us to this newer model. Tough business.
I appreciate the thoughtful reply and honesty, David! I feel the same way and I certainly understand that we all can't pay for every word we read. I'd be broke by noon! :) I realize I fall more into "entertainment" than "news" (seeing as *I* pick the topic I feel like skewering), but people pay for entertainment all day long! Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, Friday night movie date, whatever... I'm sure most folks will be able to live with 20%-less-Jenna without suffering TOO terribly if they can't or don't want to pay... :)
Substack should offer a volume discount deal, for example, 3 stacks for $10/mo, or 6 for $18, that authors could opt out of or into. Your approach is also a very good effort to compromise. Thanks for that.
That's a great idea, actually! (Substack, you listening???)
I think they should offer a single article purchase of like $3 so you can choose an article if you can’t afford to subscribe.
Also brilliant! :)
Yes Jenna, don’t feel bad about putting up the paywall. Like David said. A lot of us just needed a nudge. I believe you help with my mental health by making me laugh and releasing serotonin lol. Thanks! Keep up the good work. 😇
It’s hard on Substack because there are many good writers, few of us can afford to pay for all of them. I subscribe to Jenna because she’s lighthearted and funny, and we need more of that in the world. There are plenty of places to get serious takes on the news (humor and sarcasm is why I love Jeff Childers too... it’s a theme, lol)
Unbelievable the amount of frugal folk here who have chosen Jeff and Jenna! I too am in that camp!
I guess it's just their bad luck that their writing attracts folks who are "frugal." ;^) What's a person got to do to attract the d*mn spendthrifts and dissipants?
(I guess it's time for me to "make an honest man" out of Jeff Childers too...)
[EDIT: Whoops! I completely misremembered the subscription cost. I simply can't do it. I'm in the Ko-fi camp, cf.]
[EDIT of the EDIT: So I _DID_ look through the other handful of 'stacks' I get and looked into Midwestern Doctor's whose work I also believe is important (I can't figure out where to put the 'truly' in...). "And the price was right." so I'm a new subscriber there.
PS, I'm glad we can have these angst-ridden guilt sessions every so often. Like it's only going to get more of with public broadcasting... It was no-contest there because just about the time they got you thinking, "Maybe I could...", they hit you with a program that says, "You're SH*T! You're the REASON it SUCKS for EVERYBODY!" and I would think, "Maybe if it ever calms down..."]
I can’t do the full amount for Jeff either, but I’ve set up a monthly payment that’s the same as the other accounts I contribute to. If I paid for Jeff it would be the only one I could fit in the budget.
My mom used to say, "Don't make me choose between you and your siblings--because you'd be sooo gone..." Your way is the way to go, for the frugal, and I'm guessing it would work in Vegas too. Decide how much you want to spend on each entertainment, and stick to it...
Hahahha I’d say something like that to my kids!
Same!
Me too. Jenna and Jeff! Does he seriously charge $500 a year or am I mistaken! 😬
Yes but if you break it down that's less than $10 weekly. My twin sis and I just had a birthday and gifted ourselves one subscription to be shared between us.
^What he said💗…except that I’m already a paid subscriber. Bcs you’re funemployed. I only pay for three…JC w C&C, Christopher Rufo, and YOU. Go forth, my child (who is almost exactly the same age as I!), and thrive!
My go-to for important news is YOU and Jeff Childers.
If there were no one to bring on the 'SNARK', then what's the point.
I already purchase a lot to cover the spectrum, if you took YOU away, we'd all be a lot less, if not LOST.
Stay the course and know, "you've already" won the day.
What a kind and wonderful thing to say. Thank you PPIF! XO
Jeff Childers is amazing. He gives such a welcome brief summary tour of the swamp, daily!
Here's another idea. You remember "shareware", David? Each (poor b*st*d) programmer-author approached appealing for support in a different way. I was HUGE into shareware--using it until appeal became DEMAND and then I'd drop it and move on to the next greatest thing. As long as the appeal wasn't insulting, I kept using it.
ONE, particular, GENIUS--and I hope you read this, Jen--did a VERY SIMPLE THING, indeed.
She (but I don't know) had a little counter in the corner, that kept track of "how many times" the software had been used. That's it.
The effect was she had users PROVING TO THEMSELVES that her software was USEFUL to them. One day, it clicked; I shifted from an emotional state of constantly defending my use as "occasional" to one of clear realization that this woman (or girl with brown hair, but I never found out) was a REAL assistant, a REAL aide, a REAL worthy.
"Hey, friend, this is the 100,000th article you've read. Are you beginning to like what you're seeing?"
This could be, and I'm just spitballin' here, in the form of NUMBERING your columns and asking new users to take NOTE of WHICH number they first read, and then ask them, in the same breath to agree with you that "at some number they choose," the fact that they value your product will have been established and worthy of remunerative support ("Dough!", people, "DOUGH!")
Berenson was not worth it even free! IMO!
Not sure what happened to him but I can tell you some of his earlier books are the best fiction I have read in many years.
But he’s not writing fiction now. I feel that he’s a bit “full of himself” riding on his laurels of being a former NYT “insider” journalist who is now doing his own thing on Substack. I believe he puts the majority of his content behind a paywall. Bari Weiss, also a former NYT “insider”, and her “Free Press” is a similar vibe.
They made a name for themselves at the “paper of record”, then they were able to ride way with the imprimatur of “being a former NYT’s journalist”. So once a NYT “journalist”, I feel the imprint of The Grey Lady and it’s “politics”, still has some undercurrent of influence on their points of view. They are what I call “mainstream alternative news”, more mainstream than alternative.
I clearly remember the first prayer I was sure was answered by God. I bought this awesome ball point pen in a wild color and unusual shape. It was 75 cents. I was in grade school. I lost it soon after I got it in the house somewhere. We were not church goers because she couldn’t drive and we lived on a farm. Dad would not take us but mom listened to a radio church and tried to impart some religious instruction. That was long long ago. I remember praying to God that he would tell me where that pen was hiding. Soon I thought to look upstairs where the laundry hung out. There it was—in a dress pocket. I immediately knew God himself (or the Angel assigned that day to lost ballpoint pens or little girls) had answered my prayer. I’m 77 and still think of that. I’ve had many prayers answered since. I say go ahead with your plan, Jenna.
Oh you need the Saint Anthony Prayer for lost items:
“Oh St.Anthony please come around…the __________ (fill in the blank) is lost and must be found”.
Some believe you need to turn in a circle a few times to cement it in. I don’t do that. Seriously if the item is just misplaced it will show up or you will come across it. Sometimes you may need to say it a few times.
Sadly if the item is really gone, the St. Anthony Prayer won’t bring it back. 🙏🏼🕯️
😀. I come from a long line of Baptists so I never heard about him. I was never a Baptist though.
The Saints are a Catholic thing. St. Anthony of Padua is the “patron saint of lost and stolen articles”. But one not need “be a Catholic” to believe in the power of the “St. Anthony Prayer”! 😉🙏🏼🕯️
I was born 39.8 kilometers from Padova, according to Viamichelin.com
Into a Catholic family, obviously.
Still getting over it...
How did your hair turn from brown to blonde? 😁
It's one of the universe's great mysteries, frankly.
Happened to my wife, too, and she is equally at a loss to explain.
Happened to both my daughters. Then there's the wife who was always brown and at 78 still is. Women are such a mystery 🙄
LingOL! :)
😂
My guess is it has something to do with Dow Chemical? (kinda blowin' a hole in the side of that "kindness and generosity of subscribers" theory).
Sinner!! How dare you take back your words and reveal your true hair color!
Kill Tony is still my suggestion! Not only would you kill it, but the exposure would skyrocket your subscriber base! Plus, we would love to see you drop some truth bombs Jim Breuer style!
Thanks for the funemployment update, Jenna! At least you're free from the rat race and every day is Friday! 🤗
Your Substack is one of my Must Reads every morning. I was thinking about being a paid subscriber, yesterday. My suggestions are: 1) Lower the annual to $50 to $60. 2) Accept checks - need an info on that. I’ve been burned giving out my credit card on Substack and having an auto renewal go through that I did not want to renew. 3) Keep up the Great Work.
I do all mine monthly. I see it on my credit card which allows me to decide if I still want to subscribe. Jenna is always a keeper. She laughs me off many ledges I’m perched on. God bless her—and lead her to the job he has ready for her.
So grateful, Janet! :)
Just an FYI on the credit card thing. Take a look at privacy.com. They have a free option with some limits, but you can create proxy CC numbers with limits, etc. that will protect you from those auto renewals and stolen card numbers. Just sayin. Love Jenna and yes, I could spend my entire day and all my money on Substack. I like the Kofi option so I can spread the love around. You Jenna, are a rock star with your writing!
Leaving this for the Year-5000 archaeologists: "Kofi" most commonly refers to "Ko-fi," which is a platform that allows fans to support creators with small donations—metaphorically "buying them a coffee."
Thanks for the edit. I always, stupidly, think that other people will know what I am talking about. Good luck to those Year-5000 archaeologists, AI, aliens, or whatever they are.
I have had the same thing happen to me. Became “paid” when I didn’t ask to it. I assumed I accidentally pushed some button. Jeeze,it didn’t take long for THAT to go through. Much longer to cancel it!
I would like to use a check,also. But,Ive already,recently paid for the year,so,maybe next…?
Wait that happened with MY stack??? 🙈
I’m not sure. I only pay for 2 annual Stacks…same card for both…
Are you asking if the automatic payment for another stack I was reading is the time the auto sign up happened? I remember mentioning it to you and you agreed I must have “pushed the pay button “, but, both paid Stacks were close together. I remember having some trouble paying for Dr Kory’s stack,then,received a “personal “ email that appeared to be from him,but,it felt a bit dodgy. I don’t recall the email asking for more money or information. It was something like” sorry you are having difficulties..” then I wrote back saying he might be a bot so I wasn’t going to move forward with signing on. Then email wrote back saying “ I am definitely a human”…Then,a couple weeks later i signed up successfully to paid subscriber to him…🤷🏻♀️
Well, Substack is NOT without its glitches, that's for sure! We (content creators) as you know have ZERO control over any of that side, so it's frustrating when it goes haywire!!!
Jenna - when subscribing to a new stack, the choice defaults to being a paid subscriber. If you don’t change it to “none” (free subscriber) it automatically charges your credit card. It happened to me once, but then I caught on.
Oh I know that because I subscribe to dozens of substacks… and I think it’s crazy that that is the default but we have no control over that!🙈
UPDATE: SHOCKING:
President Reagan left office in 1989. In terms of purchasing power, it would require $130.26 to buy what $50 would buy back then.
Put another way, today's $50 Federal Reserve Notes would buy just $19.20 worth of what $50 would have bought back in 1989.
That should give us all pause and some context about "How much I would charge if I were Jenna..."
Sounds like a very reasonable plan to get more subscribers….so you can be doing what you love! You and are so remarkably talented and funny! Let’s keep the train rolling. Plus, everyone wants the book even if they don’t know it yet.
I paid for the book, loved it - it was worth every penny ( dollar). And I got a Jenna autographed copy with note!❣️ All who have the means & love Jenna should support her funemployment.
😭🩷🥰
LOL thanks Katy! :)
Gee. So you want to be read AND eat daily? Sounds reasonable to me.
I totally get it. You need an income.
I'm afraid I can't afford to pay at the moment but I hope plenty people will.
My first confession, was similar to yours and Father Sullivan ( RIP) told me to do 20 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys . I had to kneel on the marble alter floor , it was painful . 😣
Good luck with your funemployment! Catholicism sounds confusing.
From my college days, my impression was that Catholocism was where they trained good girls to be "bad".
“You work hard. It’s okay to ask for support when you need it. Your efforts are valuable. The people who judge don’t matter and the people who matter won’t judge. You’re not for everyone—and that’s okay.”
Amen Jenna. Carry on dear friend. 😘❤️
Reading your comments/commentary brightens my day (and days). Is there a way to determine if I've contributed (financially) to your ex-pea-al-a-dosh-schuss commentary? [And let's not broadcast the fact that I don't know if I have contributed financially - thanks. BTW, no spellcheck used by this guy!]
LOL and you are in fact a GENEROUS PATRON OF THIS STACK! Thank you most sincerely. :)
Please have "your staff" remind me when that financial support should repeat. [If I were more capable, I would insert a smiley face.]
Hahahaha! You're good through October, and you'll get an email from substack (not me) reminding you you're up for renewal... If you want to continue, helpfully you'll do nothing. If you decide to cancel, you have to do that actively. XOXO
Anyway, it's not even lying. As someone who has watched--a LOT--of lawyers l(aw)y(er)ing on teevee, I can testify that you haven't put your, ENTIRE, output behind a paywall, and so, as pinky-swear pledged, technically, you "haven't put your stack behind a paywall." If ever comes a day that you do decide to paywall the entire thing, teevee-law will have to be consulted again for the prevailing excuse.
As to the "never, ever" thing: my semi-professional couch opinion, adding the experiences of the last four years to the mulligatawny which is teevee these days, is that your use falls under "The Slick-Willy Exemption" which holds that words mean what you need them to mean when you need them to mean what you say they mean. (I'm particularly proud of that last construct, which I think no juryman would find scrutable.) You're still going to have egg (or another organic substance) on your face (or dress as the case may be), but it beats prison.
However, now that my Shining Social-Media Icon-ess has broached the idea, I too will be giving serious consideration to paywalling my own stack (which incidentally I discovered I'd created by accident). In my particular case that should put a clamp (qty:1 size:large) on the subscriber explosion which has been licking at the number 15 for months now. (I'm sorry Jenna; I really didn't mean to bring up numbers. I'm really not in a competition with you.) I think requiring payment in Yapese rai currency will give further pause to rash decision-makers.
"Real jobs" are overrated. After all, I save people's lives, you make me giggle. Okay, you win giggling is more valuable since they are going to die eventually anyway. 😇
Let's see... pay Jenna or buy a year's supply of Fruit Loops? Nah... I'll just buy a month's supply of chocolate instead.
If I email you do I need to start it with "In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti, Amen"? I'm pretty sure I never received a book. {smile} But in all fairness I'm pretty sure I said that I didn't need a book. Although I've been looking at Amazon and considering buying one of your books but then I remember that Amazon pays you about twenty cents per book. So why bother?
More seriously, a fundamental problem is that we were raised on the "advertising model". All of our propaganda (errr News?) was free because Big Pharma paid them so they could lie to us with their false promises. Why pay for something when you can get more than you want for free?
As the saying goes, when your news is free, YOU are the currency. No thanks! ;) (I get my actual news from X, a handful of substackers, and Epoch Times, which I pay for...)
It might be "old news" but I get most of my news (information) from books. Yes, you know, those bricks made out of paper that weigh a ton when you move to a new home! Crack them open and you can discover whole worlds of thought!
Every once in a while, I'll turn on mainstream media to watch a few minutes of propaganda just so I'm aware of what the "normies" are getting programmed with.
A HANDFUL of Substackers! Your profile shows 102 substackers you might read. Okay, maybe you are doing what I try to avoid, spending all day and all my money on substack. Or maybe you lie and need to say 100 hail Mary's!
+1 on Epoch Times. Lifetime subscription. (Realizing now who got the better of that deal...)
You are worth every cent I have sent you. BTW, shouldn't it be 'baited-and-switched'?
Wait. I could've sent "cents?"
Sure, but in 5,000 cent increments. OK?
OK! but then I thought of the postage, and I got one of those little whatdoyoucallits at the base of my spine.
"(Although admittedly, the comments section won’t be as fun.)"
That sounds like a challenge if I ever heard one. The gauntlet has been thrown down, and I for one, will do my best to pick it up and smack people with gentle and sometimes cutting humor, in the style of our fearless Humorist with 'tude, Jenna.
I hope you can turn this into a well-paying gig, because your ability to highlight the craziness of our current situation with humor and empathy is a skill that we need more of in the world.
I love this with every fiber in my being! Thank you friend.😭🥰