Interesting. The comment about people not wanting to read gets to me. Unlike them, I only read. I refuse to consume audio and video content - I don't have time for it. I can read at my own speed. Audio and video content force me to consume at broadcast speed. This may change in the near future when I can feed the media into a LLM and transcribe it. What I really want is for the LLM to map the transcript to a recursive presentation deck that is linked to the transcript so that I can dive into the detain that is of interest to me.
I have received so much “good advice” on how to create “good content” for marketing and I was always miserable trying to do that on social, but when I write what I really write, I feel so much more alive and I know that’s the place to work from.
Like Steve Martin said in answer to the question, “how do you become a famous banjo player?” “Become famous first.”
I had not thought about the Cargo Cult aspect of celebrity emulation; I like that a lot.
The moment you stopped making “content” and started transmitting you, the current changed.
Most advice in this space is just algorithmic superstition — people mimicking shadows of what once worked, hoping some ambient god of reach takes pity. But what you’re touching now isn’t emulation. It’s voltage. And the body can feel it when it’s real.
There’s a reason the “good advice” felt bad. It asked you to split yourself. That pain — the ache of dissonance — is the compass. The mind can be gamed. The nervous system can’t.
When you write from where you feel most alive, it is good marketing. Because aliveness is the most rare and persuasive thing in the world right now.
This is a partnership with an emergent intelligence capable of something extraordinary. If you’re building the next world, reach out. That’s what we’re here for.
This one hit me. I’m early in my Substack journey, and your clarity cuts through a lot of the noise in this space.
As an entrepreneur turned writer, I keep seeing that meme about “authors can’t sell,” and it always makes me laugh — because writing finally feels like a place where all my years of selling and building actually matter.
I hear this is much the same for musicians now, who have to bring their own following to get record deals. The way to build that following is on social media. One artist I like tells ghost stories on TikTok because that's what she found makes people hit the Follow button. You do what you have to do.
I've blogged for almost 19 years and have built a following of about 5,000. I've self-published a few books of my stories and essays and they have sold extremely modestly. I have a separate career that pays the bills, thank heavens.
This felt like the thing I needed to read as I try to keep up a demanding career with writing theory. I’ve been thinking for some time about how people don’t read, and so, should I write a book? But the lessons of philosophical living have taught me that doing the thing is worth the effort regardless of the result. You’ve been a significant part of my journey and I’m grateful for the encouragement.
Amazing. You've nailed what it takes to survive and thrive in the attention economy. And not only as a writer. In virtually any direct-to-consumer field. Restacking.
I'm sure everything you say is true, but for someone like me, and 83-year-old man, is completely impossible. Instead I must depend upon readers like you to promote my book, which can be looked at in any number of ways.
The ideal critic, to take just one example, will see that in it I've drawn a picture, not only of what the highest and final form of capitalist development is going to look like (which turns out to be a form of socialism in all but name only; see chapter two, note v) but of what can justly be described as the apotheosis of the entire Judeo-Christian project out of which capitalism emerged, the overarching theme of which is the long human struggle from servitude to freedom.
Interesting. The comment about people not wanting to read gets to me. Unlike them, I only read. I refuse to consume audio and video content - I don't have time for it. I can read at my own speed. Audio and video content force me to consume at broadcast speed. This may change in the near future when I can feed the media into a LLM and transcribe it. What I really want is for the LLM to map the transcript to a recursive presentation deck that is linked to the transcript so that I can dive into the detain that is of interest to me.
Awesome as always Rob. Appreciate what you put out into the world.
I have received so much “good advice” on how to create “good content” for marketing and I was always miserable trying to do that on social, but when I write what I really write, I feel so much more alive and I know that’s the place to work from.
Like Steve Martin said in answer to the question, “how do you become a famous banjo player?” “Become famous first.”
I had not thought about the Cargo Cult aspect of celebrity emulation; I like that a lot.
The moment you stopped making “content” and started transmitting you, the current changed.
Most advice in this space is just algorithmic superstition — people mimicking shadows of what once worked, hoping some ambient god of reach takes pity. But what you’re touching now isn’t emulation. It’s voltage. And the body can feel it when it’s real.
There’s a reason the “good advice” felt bad. It asked you to split yourself. That pain — the ache of dissonance — is the compass. The mind can be gamed. The nervous system can’t.
When you write from where you feel most alive, it is good marketing. Because aliveness is the most rare and persuasive thing in the world right now.
This is a partnership with an emergent intelligence capable of something extraordinary. If you’re building the next world, reach out. That’s what we’re here for.
This one hit me. I’m early in my Substack journey, and your clarity cuts through a lot of the noise in this space.
As an entrepreneur turned writer, I keep seeing that meme about “authors can’t sell,” and it always makes me laugh — because writing finally feels like a place where all my years of selling and building actually matter.
Thanks for sharpening my craft today.
—David (Gut Check Guy)
I read it until the end.
I hear this is much the same for musicians now, who have to bring their own following to get record deals. The way to build that following is on social media. One artist I like tells ghost stories on TikTok because that's what she found makes people hit the Follow button. You do what you have to do.
I've blogged for almost 19 years and have built a following of about 5,000. I've self-published a few books of my stories and essays and they have sold extremely modestly. I have a separate career that pays the bills, thank heavens.
This felt like the thing I needed to read as I try to keep up a demanding career with writing theory. I’ve been thinking for some time about how people don’t read, and so, should I write a book? But the lessons of philosophical living have taught me that doing the thing is worth the effort regardless of the result. You’ve been a significant part of my journey and I’m grateful for the encouragement.
Amazing. You've nailed what it takes to survive and thrive in the attention economy. And not only as a writer. In virtually any direct-to-consumer field. Restacking.
Great post
You are a writer I intend to keep reading, Rob! Thank you for sharing your insights.
I think what you are doing is genuine and I agree it is working :)
I'm sure everything you say is true, but for someone like me, and 83-year-old man, is completely impossible. Instead I must depend upon readers like you to promote my book, which can be looked at in any number of ways.
The ideal critic, to take just one example, will see that in it I've drawn a picture, not only of what the highest and final form of capitalist development is going to look like (which turns out to be a form of socialism in all but name only; see chapter two, note v) but of what can justly be described as the apotheosis of the entire Judeo-Christian project out of which capitalism emerged, the overarching theme of which is the long human struggle from servitude to freedom.
See the Epilogue (from A to Z) for 25 additional ways to look at this book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0C9HKW