WHAT ARE THE THINGS WORTH KNOWING? 

Once upon a time, in a land where algorithms didn’t exist, adverts were adverts and people paid for the writing they enjoyed. Back then, I knew where to go to find honest, well-written stories. Magazines and newspapers mainly, but also the occasional blog that hadn’t yet been dictated to by the whims of a big, fat sponsorship deal.

But things have changed. I know this because I was a journalist. It’s what I did for twenty-two years. I was the founding editor of Women’s Health in the UK. I edited Cosmopolitan for almost 4 years, and later ELLE. And then? Well then the digital revolution slam dunked into the paper press and writing suddenly got rechristened content. And content felt just wrong. I didn’t want listicles. I didn’t want as much ‘content’ as you my optic nerve could handle. I didn’t want another ‘hot take’ on Dnald Trump or leather trousers. And iI definitely didn’t want to read long, eulogising captions on Instagram from an influencer who had been gifted their entire outfit.

I wanted to connect with a writer. I wanted nuance. I wanted honesty and I wanted points of view that were perhaps not always reflected in the mainstream press. But more than that, I wanted a community. I didn’t want to argue with randoms in the comment section of an article I had just enjoyed. I wanted to connect.

And that’s how this Substack was born, one cold morning on January 4th, 2021. The hope was always to write about the things I felt were missing from mainstream media-points of view that sometimes felt too outre or too marginalised for publishing. I have written about why women really have affairs; what happens when you don’t have children; the desire to be thin in a world that wants you to accept yourself. And the best bit? You have all written back to me sharing your own experiences. You have made connections; friends, writing buddies- it has been amazing to watch.

So what are you going to find here if you’re new? (And if you are new HELLO!). Well a little bit of everything really- thoughtfully done. Fashion, beauty, books, life stuff. I sometimes do crazy things like designer clothes sales and we have meet-ups and events planned for 2024. This is also the home for all my personal pictures from now on. (BYE Instagram! Now there’s a liberating feeling. I strongly recommend it.)

Being here means you are part of something. Sort of like stepping into a women’s magazine but where everyone is down-to-earth and willing to open up.

So how does it all work? Let me explain….

FREE SUBSCRIBERS

Once a month you will get one of my newsletters or voice notes delivered directly to your inbox. These are usually a pretty ling read and I hope feel valuable to you. You will also get decent previews of all my other newsletters (they drop every week) so you can decide before becoming a paid subscribers.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS £10 A MONTH/£70 A YEAR

I won’t lie. This Substack is essentially supported by you. I do this all in my downtime on top of my day job so your financial support means I can do this. It also means I can pay other writers to come and write here for you too.

But I also offer lots of good stuff. Like, a virtual monthly writing/creative group for those who fancy meeting others and nailing down a creative project they’ve never quite been able to nail down the time to do. The groups change every month but you can always just use them as n accountability hour to get your work done surrounded by others.

You also get a newsletter/audio notes every single week. And the ability to join the precious community. This means you can comment on all my pieces; start a conversations and sometimes even steer the conversation.

Then there are all sorts of other random bits like invites to all my IRL events. And the entire archive which contains travel guides and fashion run-downs and you name it, we probably have it in the archive.

I also do weekly threads which is basically a virtual cup of tea where we chat.

Become a paid subscriber

FOUNDING SUBSCRIBERS £150/year

Finally I have a limited number of founding memberships available. I release a few places every month so the numbers never swell beyond a certain point. As a founding member you get:

  • Emails to me. You can email me and I will write back. It’s that simple!

  • You also get to shape the direction of this Substack- you just need to message telling me what you’d like more if. If i can do it, I will. In this way, YOU are my true thought collaborators on this journey.

  • Invites to IRL events BEFORE anyone else. These events are always going to be limited in numbers so you get to have first dibs. Always.

  • There will be other stiff as and when but I haven’t figured this out yet- but tell me your suggestions. A private chat group? Maybe…A special event just for founding members?

  • Finally know that YOU make the absolute difference. The generosity of founding members means I can keep this thing going. You are in many ways the patron of Things Worth Knowing. And that means a lot. Take it from me.

BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER

And if you do have a little extra to spare you can gift or donate a subscription to someone by clicking here.

Give a gift subscription

Finally if you know someone who might benefit from being here then I’d love it if you could share this page with them. You can do that by hitting the button below.

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So now that’s all out of the way…

We can begin.

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A smart new corner of the internet to talk fashion, feelings and creativity with the former editor-in-chief of ELLE & Cosmopolitan. Plus join my invite-only community. We're nice...I promise.

People

I'm head of Writer Partnerships for Substack UK. In another life, I used to edit ELLE & Cosmo . You can find my writing on ThingsWorthKnowing.substack.com