How to use this newsletter

A guide to accessing all the good stuff...

HELLO THERE!

So, whether you’re a new reader or an old timer, I wanted to take a minute to explain how this newsletter works. 

C’mon Farrah…how hard can it be, you’re probably thinking. And you’d be right to think that. After all, all you really need do is pop your email below, sign up to my free emails and le voila, you’ll get my Sunday long-read into your email or the Substack app every single week. 

But there is also stuff…

STEP 1: Decide how often you want to hear from me

There is a lot more to this newsletter than just a weekly column. (Although I get it, a weekly column may be all you can handle in your life right now). A few months ago I realised that a good percentage of readers were interested in writing as well as reading. This, of course, was music to my ears since I’ve been teaching writers how to craft features for most of my career. Since I left editing last year I thought it made sense to put all my years of knowledge and experience to good use. That good use is called The Writer’s Room. Think if this as an extra newsletter that has a dedicated writing group attached to it. Every week I write one column about writing. Sometimes that’s a writing prompt, other times it’s an exercise. Often it’s a little nugget I’ve learned along the way that I think is worth sharing. We do invite-only workshops where we get to know one another and comment on one another’s work. It’s all very civilised and friendly and if you’re a writer sticking it out alone in a dark room somewhere in the word then we are your people.

Now, if you are a purist and have zero interest in learning how to write then you can continue to get Things Worth Knowing into your inbox or Substack app every week by opting out of The Writer’s Room. It’s a little fiddly to do but here’s how you do it.

1. Log into your Substack account. Done? Okay, now look for your profile picture, which should be in the top right hand corner. Click on that and it should give you an option that says: Account Settings in the dropdown menu

2. Click on that, scroll down a short way  and it will show you all the Substacks you are subscribed too (see below). 

   

3. Click on Things Worth Knowing and it will show you, under the heading Notifications, that there are two parts to the newsletter. Simply uncheck the part you don’t want. Obviously you are more than welcome to stay subscribed to both. It should look like the below

STEP 2: Decide how much you want to get involved

When I used to edit magazines it always struck me as odd that we had thousands of people reading the same stories month in, month out and yet they never once spoke to each other.

With this newsletter I actively encourage you to share your views, feelings and experiences in the comments section. This isn’t a standard comments section by the way. We tend to be a troll-free place. People let it all hang out here. I try my best to do the same. Think of it as very pure place where people don’t turn up with an axe to grind, fake names or a reputation destruction order. Basically if you’re wondering what the internet was like before Twitter, Reddit and The Daily Mail comments sections, this is it. My hope is you might find some like-minded friends. Or even better, friends you don’t necessarily share the same world view with, but who you like all the same. 

With this in mind I have started a new series called Private Hour. This will take place on the second Wednesday of every month. It will be for paying subscribers only and will be your chance to ask me anything as well as share anything you want to get off your chest. I will be there the entire hour answering questions and trying to encourage debate, laughter and conversation. We may even start to do this virtually. Real life may not be beyond the realm of possibility.

PRIVATE HOUR;  2ND WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH; 7PM-8PM GMT

Paying subscribers will be send a thread link to this with something that is on my mind to kickstart the conversation. That’s it. Then we chat, we debate, we eat snacks whilst we do it. Easy. Think of it as buying me a drink at a cheap bar.

STEP 3: GET CLOSER TO THE ACTION

Every few months I give a number of invite-only writing classes. These are small-ish groups where we approach a different subject every time. Here’s what we have left for the rest of the year.

By all means, pop them in your diaries but there’s no need to do anything yet. A reminder and invite will be sent to paying subscribers in advance of each session. 

JUNE 7TH, 7PM-8PM

How to write a newsletter people love

This one hour virtual course will focus on finding your niche, creating a community, building audience loyalty, plus, as ever, plenty of time for Q&A

JULY 12th, 7pm-8pm

Pitching Workshop

This is a fun, participatory workshop where we thrash out your ideas before you pitch them into the wide world.  It’s a lot of fun and definitely for the faint hearted as well as the fearless. 

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 7pm-8.15pm

How to write for women

Based on my sold-our Guardian masterclass this one hour course focus on the basics of writing for women’s magazines. We cover everything from tone, to how to pitch an idea, to what makes a great coverline. A good beginner’s course for any aspiring writer

OCTOBER 11th, 7pm-8pm

How to write a newsletter people love

A repeat of this popular one hour virtual course which will focus on finding your niche, creating a community, building audience loyalty, plus, as ever, plenty of time for a Q&A

I haven’t decided what we’re doing for the final months of the year- maybe a party. Or drinks IRL. I’ll keep you posted. But if you don’t want to miss any of these as well as access to Private Hour and the audio recordings of all my columns then you can become a paying subscriber by clicking below.

I’d also be grateful of you could share this with anyone you know who might want to become part of our community.

Or you might be REALLY nice and want to give someone a gift subscription. See it as investing in their writing education. Just be warned, they will probably write about you one day….