Thoughts on Substack....and a Book Teaser!
Business First
Given that this is my first official Substack post (all previous posts were imported from my website https://hsgilchrist.com), I need to give you the low-down.
Do I prefer it over WordPress? Absolutely! Why?
It boasts a superior look straight out-of-box, no fuss or muss. I simply picked a color theme, uploaded a header, tweaked a few introductory/ welcome pages, and BAM! Ready to go!
User-friendly setup. There’s no need for me to fiddle with ‘blocks’ or custom CSS to achieve my desired layout.
It’s free for content providers! I’m not burdened with a $26 CDN monthly business plan fee to access basic features (like plugins) or need to purchase an additional email address for sending newsletters (Substack provides one free of charge!). Being a debut self-publishing author means the little money I have mainly goes toward editors and cover designers.
Like any quality blog, you can incorporate my URL into an RSS Reader app: https://hsgilchrist.substack.com/feed/
However, there are aspects of Substack I'm still warming up to (disclaimer: I'm a newcomer to both Substack and the blogging scene):
Gaining followers seems challenging, especially as a debut author. I sometimes feel overshadowed on this platform. My outreach strategy involves subscribing to other blogs in hopes of mutual learning and sharing my posts on social media. Time will tell!
The ‘Subscribe’ button. I don't want readers to feel compelled to subscribe to access my content. Although a ‘No thanks/Take a peek’ option exists, its font size is barely noticeable and gives the impression of a redirect away from the blog.
The ‘Follow’ button isn't prominently displayed on every blogger screen. I’d love to follow other bloggers and get a peek at their content while scrolling through my feed before subscribing. I’ll admit, this could just be a learning curve thing / something I’m not understanding correctly, but having subscribed to a few blogs myself, I know the hesitation of adding more to an already overflowing inbox.
Notes? I have yet to familiarize myself with this feature. It appears to be Substack's version of Twitter or the like. It's on my to-do list to explore later.
Back to What’s Important: Sneak Peek
I'm in the middle of crafting a character art piece that demands more of my time than usual. As a teaser, I'll share a glimpse of my ongoing project and sprinkle in some lore about it. Introducing, the biosteel heart!
Biosteel Heart
Biosteel is a parasitical pseudo-metal that consumes both the organic and inorganic components of its host. The Technocrats have recently taken to embedding these into their mods (short for ‘modified humans’ — my universe's term for cyborgs), transforming them into formidable killing machines.
How does the biosteel heart function? Once grafted, the heart unfurls its biosteel tendrils, methodically replacing the host’s body with machinery, cell by cell. The Alphaknot, a hive mind that serves as the Technocrats' psychic network epicenter, has these hearts programmed to precision, ensuring the creation of a body according to its architect's vision. The origin and nature of biosteel, however, remain shrouded in mystery, even to its creator, the Technocrat named Eleven. Eleven claims that biosteel came into being through an unintended mishap during an experiment, one they've failed to duplicate. Even now, a fresh biosteel heart can only be reproduced through a kind of mitosis, creating an identical replica from the original source. Yet, after delving into THE END OF THE WORLD, you might find yourself questioning the veracity of Eleven's account...
As a point of reference, I have included a character art piece I crafted of Eleven just a few weeks ago. I'll delve deeper into the Technocrats in future posts, but for now, here's a teaser: Eleven is one among the hundred Technocrats—a genderless alien race reigning over the remnants of America.
Eleven looks sick!!
Looks like you’re off to a running start on Substack!