“It became acceptable. It’s okay to ask people to pay for your creative work... every minute that you spend working on these projects is valued.” Simon Haisell
I sat down with the wonder that is Simon Haisell in Spring to chat more about his patron model here on Substack (the one I always use as an example).
It was such a precious conversation about the magic of Substack and community. I know you’ll be super inspired.
If you’ve not heard of Simon - you’ll be enchanted to meet him - he’s the creator behind Footnotes and Tangents on Substack which is now in year 3. He’s based in the North East of England (like me) and I always adore supporting North East creative minds - this conversation was just an honour.
Simon runs slow read-alongs of classic and literary fiction (his flagship being a chapter-a-day of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace across a full year).
He started the book club on Instagram before moving to Substack around end of 2023.
“You read a chapter (of War and Peace) each day and you’re living the life with the characters rather than racing to the end... it does allow you to make connections with your own life.”
The conversation covers his journey from passion project to full-time Substack creator, how word of mouth (including a major Gretchen Rubin (!!) shoutout) drove lots of his growth.
We talk about why he uses a “soft paywall” model including complimentary subscriptions for anyone who can’t pay, and how he intentionally stays off the leaderboard numbers to protect the soul of his work.
We also touch on how we manage our nervous systems in relation to ‘leaderboards’ and ‘being’ online.
The episode ends with exciting news: Simon has just signed with literary agency Curtis Brown and been in conversation with Penguin, directly because of his Substack presence. What a well deserved whirlwind. I can’t wait to see what happens next!!
“If I chased the numbers and tried to make the world’s biggest book group, all of the soul would suck out of it very quickly... what comes across in my writing is my love of the books, that’s why I’m here.” Simon Haisell
War and Peace Daily - https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com/s/2026-war-and-peace-daily
Free Masterclass with me - The four types of monetisation on Substack.
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