Dear Friends,
Almost 6 months since I launched this Substack, 26 posts, 3 of them video. Firstly, I’d like to thank you all for subscribing. I love writing here, weaving in images, sounds, links and videos. It’s been much more of an adventure, much more exciting and satisfying than I dared hope. We are now over 400 strong - the size of a respectable village! A few of you are old friends and family members. Many are friends and acquaintances I hardly know, but with whom we clearly share something in common. But most of you are strangers - welcome all!
Today I am clicking the small ‘enable payments’ tab.
That means that the 7 of you who have generously pledged a subscription will begin to financially support my work, to the tune of £5 or $8 a month. Thank you, hugely!
To the 400 of you who clicked the ‘subscribe without a pledge’ button, please consider contributing this small sum, if you can. Each post takes a few hours, some as much as a day of my time. Some I write off the back of my BBC work, some are related to my books, my recent trip to Ukraine was just for you!
Substack offers a variety of financing models.
Some writers put everything behind a paywall.
Others make the first half or two-thirds of each post free, but only paying subscribers get the whole thing.
I have decided to keep my weekly posts full and completely free, for the time being at least.
But I’d also like to offer something extra to those who pay. The first new feature, is to open the chat function for paying subscribers. That means you will be able to chat here, not just with me, but with one another, about the issues raised. You will also be able to suggest topics for future posts, and of course to challenge anything I write. Our conversation can now begin!
A second idea is to add extra posts on a wide range of subjects - reflections on politics, travelling, and literature, in the paid section. A third idea is to open a new strand of video or audio conversations. I’m not yet sure how much extra capacity I have - let’s see how this pans out: I will keep free subscribers informed of what they’re missing, just in case you want to switch :-).
The ‘Message Nick Thorpe’ button will remain on the free version, of course.
Thanks for joining me here, and looking forward to all our travels together in the future.
Nick
