I was his hundredth and he was my first!

the day I won the chook raffle on Substack

(Chook: Australian slang for chicken. A cooked chook is a common prize in a pub raffle, raising money for local charities. Photo by John Towner, Unsplash).

***

Early in 2023 a friend shared a link of Patti Smith reading a poem to her Substack subscribers. She was broadcasting late at night from her dimly lit bedroom in NYC. No styled or staged background, just a regular room with books lying about, a peace symbol leaning against the wall, a lamp shining at us brightly, throwing light on a low comfy looking bed —our view from the desk where via Substack, she regularly sits to have a chat, do a reading or give some news.

Subscribers? Substack? I’d been hearing the word pop up in conversations online, but what was this thing all about? I signed up to Patti for free, and pretty soon was receiving regular missives direct from her bedroom to my inbox. It was a different experience from watching her clips and posts on Instagram or elsewhere on social media. It felt far more intimate and special — I was completely taken by Patti’s almost motherly, low vibe, late night chat and pretty soon I was hooked.

As a free subscriber I could receive Patti’s clips but if I wanted to comment on her posts and engage with other members, I could sign up for a paid subscription ($50US per year). Cheaper than Netflix by far! Behind the scenes I could get other bonuses like episodes of her new extended prose work, The Melting which she began writing in the early days of the pandemic.

I took the plunge and joined as a paid sub. Took a deeper plunge and made a few comments on different posts, engaged with other members by liking theirs. I was most active when to mark the Year of the Rabbit, Patti had us totally entranced as she read excerpts from her childhood book, Uncle Wiggily Starts Off by Howard R. Garis. I’ll never forget these precious moments with Patti and Uncle Wiggily, as she so playfully stretched the story out over several sessions leaving us in complete suspense.

Spurred on by this charming experience I developed a thirst for more. I found that all Substack authors recommend their faves and it was easy to browse your own interest areas. I came across

Tim Lott

’s Writing Boot Camp. Always interested to see what other writing teachers are doing and keen for tips for my own writing, I signed up. Tim, an award winning British author of fiction and non fiction (who I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t familiar with until then) had great essays on different areas of writing craft, an excellent podcast on the art of story called Storyville and more. Readings of his memoir, The Scent of Dried Roses, had me in tears. His generous, provocative, no bullshit approach appealed to me and I was content to remain a free, no extra benefits member until…

A note in my inbox from Tim Lott: ‘Who will become my 100th paid subscriber?’

How could I resist such a call to action? Like entering the chook raffle at the pub, it was a longshot, surely there’d be many others scrambling for the honour.

‘Take me,’ my finger responded, as I pressed the join button, expecting to have missed the boat.

But lo, next day, a notification arrived— I’d won the honour and the chook was mine!

Now I could comment, take part in discussions, agree/disagree, read chaps, listen to readings and so on.

So I did — reading, viewing, listening, and depending how much time I had — commenting or not. It was very stimulating and exciting to say the least.

Of course I didn’t stop there. Hungry for more I started following other authors and artists, buzzing like a little bee from this one to that. I’m currently subscribed to 217 fabulous stacks and like everything on the internet, it can become all consuming. (Read more in my recent post Is Keeping you Awake at Night).

Especially after April 2023 when I launched Writer’s Journey on Substack.

But the chook raffle has a long life it seems, or maybe it is just how this community works. Now I will come to the point of this story —

In a lovely moment of serendipity, guess who won the prize for being my very first subscriber and my prime recommender on Writer’s Journey Substack?

Tim Lott!

I was his hundredth and he was my first!

And that’s the wonder of Substack!

Photo of mailboxes by Daria Nephriakina, Unsplash.

Thanks to Biff Ward for the title of this article.

This post was updated on Aug 9, 2024.