Beginner's Guide to Substack for Lesbian Authors

This platform can be a powerful way for writers of Sapphic, queer, and LGBTQ fiction to build and connect with a reader base.

I received a question from a lovely reader of this blog. She’d heard good things about Substack as a platform to connect authors and readers, but didn’t understand how it worked or how she could be a part of it.

Note: If you have any questions about writing or self-publishing, drop me a line. I may answer your question in a future post.

What are your goals?

Before you start using any platform, including this one, you need to decide why you want to be on it. I use Substack as a platform for my writing on writing and self-publishing lesbian fiction and as my mailing list for the readers of my book, Self-Publishing Lesbian Fiction. This is separate from my mailing list for those interested in my fiction books. It’s also an additional income stream as I have paid and free subscriptions available.

Ask yourself: What do you want to get out of publishing on Substack? That will guide how you use it, if at all.

Notes, posts, and videos

If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you already have an account on Substack, and you probably already know that this is a great platform for longer pieces, like this one. This is a “post.” You can also create shorter writings called “notes.” You can upload videos. I’ve never done that, so I’m not going to talk about it, although it may be an interesting option after TikTok changes owners. I am going to talk about notes and posts.

Creating a note

A note is a great place to start publishing on Substack. When you’re writing a note, think short. Think pithy. There doesn't appear to be a length minimum or maximum, but I wouldn’t write something much longer than a tweet or a posting on Threads. No hashtags. Here is my most popular note:

Just in case it’s not clear:

I support LGBTQIA rights.

The T is incredibly important.

The B is not silent.

Notes are useful for building an audience and growing your subscriber base. I also use them to promote my posts (longer writings). Tips:

• Be authentic.

• Keep it short.

• Stay true to what you want to say.

• Stay true to your goals.

To create a note, when you’re on Substack on the desktop, click the “create new” button on the left side of the screen. Scroll down to “new note,” write something, add photo or video if you like (optional), click “post.” If you’re on the phone app, click the plus sign in the right hand corner and follow the same steps. You have now published a note on Substack. I hope people read it, enjoy it, and start following you.

Creating a post

Posts are longer. They can be essays, but they can also be fiction. And, yes, some authors do serialize and publish their fiction this way. My most popular posts are those that analyze the top 20 lesbian romance titles on Amazon. These clearly provide unique value for my target audience. Other popular posts provide information and tips specific to lesbian authors writing lesbian fiction. My more general writing and self-publishing posts don’t do as well, and that makes sense. That type of writing can too easily be found elsewhere.

Here’s how to write and publish a post. On your phone, click the plus sign in the right hand corner. Click the “article” button at the bottom of the screen. Start writing. On your computer, which is my preferred way of creating a post, click the “create” button on the left side of the screen. Select “post.” You can click “edit email header/footer” to make changes to the email that gets sent out to your subscribers. I’m not going to do that because I like the header and footer I’ve already uploaded using the “settings.” If you do not have an email header or footer yet, don’t worry about it. You can create that later when you are more comfortable on this platform.

Write a fabulous title. Add a subtitle. I know it says, “start writing,” but before you do that insert a photo to run at the top of your post. There are a bunch of formatting icons at the very top of the screen. Select the “insert image” icon to add your photo to your article. Scroll down to “search stock photos,” which gives you access to Unsplash. You can also insert an image that you’ve created or downloaded from another image library. Do NOT just download random images from the internet.

Click on the three dots in the top right hand corner of the image. This allows you to edit the caption and, most importantly, edit the alt text, which is used by screen readers. Be nice to your visually impaired fans. Use alt text.

Then write a fabulous article, essay, or piece of fiction. There are a lot of options in your top bar for formatting your article, but the most important ones are “style,” which allows you to create headings, and the bold or italics to apply your text. I also like the hot link options and bulleted lists.

I like to end my articles with a call to action, like buy my book or comment with your favorite Substack tip. This is in italics.

When you’re done writing, you can click “preview” in the right hand corner of your screen to doublecheck your work. When you’re satisfied, click the continue button. On the next screen, you will be asked to choose your audience. At the moment, I send my writing to everyone, although at some point I will start writing some special posts restricted to paid subscribers. You can also choose who can comment. Most importantly, you can add tags. These are important so people can find your writing. My favorite tags are “lesbian,” “Sapphic,” “writing a novel,” and “queer,” depending on what I’ve written. You can then choose to send your post out immediately or schedule it. After you hit publish, you’ll probably get an alert advising you to insert “subscribe” buttons into your post. Say yes. Let the automatic program work its magic.

Who else is here?

Other Sapphic, queer, LGBTQ authors publishing on Substack:

• Eve Noble

• Ponderers of the Written Word

• The Pitchfork and the Butterfly

• Tomscribery

• L.M. Bennett

• K Raffa

• Rose Jean

• J.C. Snow

• Shegetsthegirl

I know there are many others. Take a look around. One thing you’ll notice is how different their publications are. The instructions I’ve given above will get your post or note published quickly without getting bogged down in a lot of the window dressing. Substack is powerful. There are a lot of settings. I recommend write, publish, repeat. You’ll get better at it. You’ll get more comfortable. When you’re ready, you can make your publication fancier. Maybe you’ll get paid subscribers. You can build your audience when you have something for them to read. Tip: I’ve built most of my audience from publishing notes and posts regularly. You can post on other social media platforms, but it’s not where most of my Substack readers come from. Substack has its own recommendation ecosystem.

What’s your favorite tip for thriving on Substack? How did you get started on this platform? Please share in the comments.