Sending out a rare Sunday e-mail because I’m going to talk about the future and I’m hopeful you’re chill and in a good mood, ready to spend a little money to help a great cause. Me.
That’s right. I’m here looking for paid subscribers because as a writer, I’m constantly wondering when one bottom is going to drop out and I’ll have to find another way to pay the bills. I’m sure a few of you know I generally publish an article at some publication almost weekly, and I still send out The Melt two times a week. Part of the reason I do that is that I love being able to communicate this way and I get a massive boost out of seeing people enjoy the stuff I maybe had rejected from other publications on here or the people that come up and tell me that they love The Melt without even bringing up the stuff I write for some famous magazine or website. It’s truly humbling that something I started for fun has grown from a couple of dozen subscribers to a few hundred to thousands of people reading this thing whenever I send it out, and I’d like to continue doing it.
Not only that, but I’d also like to grow it. I don’t think The Melt is ever going to be my prime focus or source of income, but I’d like it to be sustainable. Ideally, I’d also like it to be a way to feature some other writers and pay them since we’re quickly running out of places to pitch to at some point. Would I say no to The Melt becoming the next great media empire? Absolutely not! If I could go full Logan Roy with this thing you know I would (OK, maybe more like Cousin Greg), but I’m just aiming for a few hundred or so of you to help me get this thing going. How else can I keep spoiling my dog Max if I don’t get paid? Just look at him! He’s begging you to support me. Don’t make me pull a National Lampoon “If you don’t subscribe I won’t be able to buy him a hot dog when I buy myself one” sort of gag.
I’m going to continue posting for free on here at least once a week, likely twice, but if I could start making some income then I’d be able to dedicate a little more time to reported pieces and stuff of that nature. Once I clear that hurdle, then I’d want to start asking some writers I like if they have things they want to publish that maybe they can’t fit anywhere else but could maybe make sense here. A lot of the publications I respected when I was coming up functioned that way: The Believer, The Awl, Grantland, etc. I’d love it if maybe this newsletter could be something like one of those. Long-term, it would be great if I could have a little thing that is sustainable and also provides a platform for myself as well as other writers. That’s really it. That’s my grand vision. Too many magazines and websites failed because there was a lot of money one day…and then the money dried up. The owners looked around and wondered what went wrong. They figured they did everything right, installing kombucha taps and paying some over-the-hill rock band who had a hit in 1992 to play the company party and not, you know, investing more in making sure their writers and editors were going to have a secure place to work for a long time. Ever notice how you hardly ever hear about writers or editors working at the same place for 20 or 30 years anymore? There’s a reason for that and I think it’s only going to get worse. I’d like to have one little thing that feels dependable, and that’s The Melt.
So that’s where I’m starting from. I like this newsletter and appreciate everybody who reads it. I think if you subscribe it’s because maybe you like me or something I wrote, and you trust that I’m going to keep sending interesting things to your inbox. And if that is the case, first, thank you. Second, please consider helping me grow this into something a little more sustainable for me and eventually, hopefully, G-D willing, some other writers. I promise it’ll be good.