Can Chill Subs become a home for writers?

If you build it, maybe they'll come? Maybe not. Eh, it's too late to turn back anyway.

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Chill Subs: A Home for Writers.

That’s the plan, you know. We’re even toying with that as a future tagline. By “toying with,” I mean “I’m trying to convince everyone.” And you’re only hearing about it cause everyone else forgot the password to our startup diary.

But even if we don’t go with that as the tagline, it’s still the goal. Because, I mean, c’mon, seriously, internet? Talk about a place that is absolutely the worst for writers (never mind giving them a home).

Why has this happened?

I think it’s because most companies have gone in one of two directions. They target the hustle-writer (Slam content. Bash out listicles. Make dough…bacon? Cheese? Ugh, yum.), or they go full-tilt the other direction with craft-heavy workshops, conferences, loads of educational materials, and usually shit web design.

And, like, what if I’ve just got some poems, man? What if I want to write about my life a little and publish it? What if there’s this really neat story I want to tell, but I don’t have ten years (or $60K) to learn how to tell it the way these folks seem to want? What if I want someone other than my mother to tell me my work is special!?

Cause that’s where a lot of writers are. That’s where a lot of writers begin their journey. It’s like, “Hey, I do words good. Maybe people like read words…” then blam! Cormac-fucking-McCarthy…or like, Todd. It’s a crapshoot.

So, if that’s the baseline (I write words and want to do something with them other than blog), then we should start there, right? I hope so. Cause that’s what we’re doing. Maybe we’re just too lazy for hustle culture and too anti-social for conferences. Maybe shut up.

So, what does this look like?

• Pleasant user experience - No ads. No investors. No sponsored content.

  • So, we need to make a subscription model work.

• Access to information - free access to all the essential information a writer needs to find publishing opportunities.

  • So we better create some damn good unessential tools and content to make money.

• Community first model - AI will eventually destroy any business model that depends on content or information aggregation (unless that business uses a bunch of AI [and fuck that])

  • So we need to insulate ourselves from technological advancements by creating a community space. Communities are timeless.

• Healthy community - Writing is stressful. The internet is stressful. People are stressful. Every social/networking community dies or only finds profit through ads or or becomes a pig-pile clusterfuck of bad actors and porn bots.

  • … … … OK we’re working on it.

But the writing world is not only made up of writers. Editors, publishers, agents, readers, people who bookmark a lot of things they plan to read someday…cats. Lots of cats.

So, here is what you’re going to see.

1. A new admin panel for editors to manage their presence on chill subs

2. New premium profiles created to serve writers and industry professionals

3. Unified feed for exploring, connecting, networking, following, sharing.

4. Group functionality for writing clubs, reading clubs, and hopefully that’s all.

5. A revamped browsing experience for discovering submission calls AND exploring magazines for the sake of reading

And more stuff. Because stuff is what we need. Nice stuff, happy stuff, enough stuff to fill a home, you might say. Or maybe a shed. Or at least a suitcase.

If you think we can pull it off, feel free to support us now by becoming a member.

If not, I’d like a promise that when we pull this off, and you can’t resist becoming a premium member someday, I want you to send me a picture of a kitten with its paws up in an email with the subject line: “YOU GOT ME!”

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