Support me in building a different Substack (by an 18-year-old)
By taking inspiration from my favourite blog, The Marginalian, by Maria Popova. I love her idea of quality without pay-walling or ads.
It all started when I first discovered her blog way back in 2020. I was barely 14 years old. I didn’t understand a single article that was published there. But this idea of ‘consistent quality articles’ made me stick. The topics varied, but what remained consistent was a feeling of good after reading her blogs.
She was none other than Maria Popova, and the blog I’m talking about is called The Marginalian. Here’s the model I was, am, and will always be a fan of:
“Every month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For nearly two decades, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant—a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor makes your own life more livable in any way, please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.”
I want to build the same system of writing. A place where no blogs or write-ups remain paywalled and readers (I prefer to call them friends) can support or show love and appreciation by subscribing with however much they can. It took me a while to understand the subtle difference between membership and donations.
In this Medium story, titled Here’s One Reason You Can Tip Me On Medium. (I Don’t Need It, But They Do), I write about how my reader’s tip can help a charity more than me. The year was 2022, and I was in high school. I didn’t want money. This story comes as a reflection of a good model that I can follow: make it available for free, with no ads and no memberships, and those who feel like subscribing can do so with whatever amount they want.
I like to build digital products too. I search for resources and try to solve a problem by creating digital products. I do that because I love building and solving problems. This takes time, and I would love to get paid for my efforts. (Who wouldn’t?) The first product I have made available is for Medium writers, where I created a database of top publications with relevant links, including where to apply to become a writer. This is a product that I wish I had when I was getting started on the platform.
This all takes time: building a newsletter that provides value and building digital products that help ease someone’s life or any aspect of it. I love writing, and that’s the sole motivator for me to embark on this journey.
It’s a new start for White Space.
I plan on building and writing on this platform on however little time that I get while navigating 5 years at law school. Yours truly got into one of the best law schools in the country, and I must say it’s a constant battle with time in this college. Academics is rigorous (as it should be in a law school, lol), competition is cut-throat, and you only occasionally get time to pursue your hobbies.
I write between completing my assignments. I write in the breaks I get between periods. I write, sometimes, in the library too. I built the product during my semester break. I needed a break, and writing and building products made for a perfect escape for me. I didn’t do any internships, though I got selected in both that I applied in. I was like, ‘Wait, what? Heck no, this can’t be real!’ as I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it into any of the two. That’s a topic of discussion for some other issue of White Space.
For now, here’s the new White Space: a place for some new, innovative, interesting, and valuable things. Here’s my brief try to introduce everything this newsletter should ideally cover:
White Space is the result of a teenager documenting how he’s exploring and discovering things in life. You’ll read on a variety of topics including, but not limited to:
articles that help you become a better “digital-first writer.”
read: What being an editor for 2+ years has taught me about writingpersonal life, sneak peek into law school (sometimes), and anything that’s on my mind.
read: Why am I moving to Substack despite being disappointed with the platformcontemporary ‘digital’ writing, critique pieces, and commentary.
read: Desk Notes #1: Commentary on Contemporary Writingtechnology, scientific development, media and commentary on the latest in tech.
read: Bluesky is Building a Payment Platform and Why Should We Care
There should ideally be more than one way of supporting your favourite writers. But, unfortunately, on Substack, it’s nearly impossible to monetise my newsletter by enabling subscriptions. Long story short, there is some problem with Stripe integration and that’s causing this limitation. Needless to say, this motivated me to look beyond paywalling my posts as the sole medium of monetising my content.
I had initially planned on setting this subscription without keeping anything behind the paywall. “That’s a stupid idea, Vritant. Why would anyone subscribe to you then?” Good point, I see. But my primary goal is never to earn a living from this platform. My thought was this: whoever feels inclined to support this ‘labour of love’ (The Marginalian reference) can freely do so.
A lot goes into writing and delivering value on a consistent basis, and a small earning from the same motivates a writer. Substack, I hope someday you solve this problem for the Indian writers. But until then, here are some ways you can support my labour of love, i.e. writing and building:
buying my free (pay-as-you-want) product on Gumroad. It’s only of use if you write on Medium or want to get started. This product will give you a list of top active publications accepting new writers on the platform. Some publications have upwards of 800,000+ followers.
buy me a coffee on Ko-fi: I have never really tried this platform. Previously, I used to attach my personal PayPal link and I got some donations from that. Let’s see if this makes the experience any good. I’ll be really happy on the other side of your screen if you decide to buy me a coffee hehe. I have just connected PayPal, so I don’t know how this will work, but let’s see.
a $5 optional membership through Ko-fi: If you want a means to support me on a monthly basis, here’s a $5 tier. If you value this 18-year-old’s labour that goes into writing this newsletter and building other products while navigating teenage and law school, consider subscribing. This will make me extremely happy, while also giving me some validation.
pledge your support for subscribing in the future: I hope someday Substack and Stripe work their way out and support subscriptions for writers based out of India. Meanwhile, you can pledge support through Substack to subscribe in the future. This way, you’ll be notified when White Space enables subscription in the future, and you may decide to subscribe to it then.
Here’s what the subscription page has to say about Pledges: “Show White Space that you value their work by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.”
I am just a beginner on this platform, and I know I will make some mistakes along the way. But I will never shy away from accepting and improving on it. Writing this post makes me extremely humble, and I can’t wait to explore new avenues for my writing through White Space.
I hope we all keep growing.
With lots of love,
a random 18-year-old.
good going!