how does this newsletter thing work?

take my hand, dear reader, let me walk you through it

Juvenescence is a newsletter written by me, Leah McLaren. I publish 2-3 times a week and should you choose to subscribe, the newsletter is delivered straight from my keyboard to your inbox. I like to keep it loose, but as a rule I’m pretty chatty, so you can expect to hear from me every few days, on all manner of subjects. If you’re thinking, huh Leah who? you can read more about me and the stuff I write about here.

If you haven’t already subscribed you can do so by clicking the green button below. At that point you will be offered a choice of either a free or paid option — totally up to you — I explain the difference in more detail further down.

Needless to say I won’t share your email address with anyone or sell it on to data-mining crypto-scammers running 24 hour call centres staffed by children in Bangladesh because that would be a violation of your privacy and surveillance capitalism sucks.

Substack is just the web platform that delivers my newsletter to your inbox. It’s kind of like MailChimp but way better, in that it’s more curated and writer-friendly in terms of support. Weirdly simple concept, I know, but also kind of ingenious.

What I really like about Substack is that their business model isn’t algorithmic or ad-based. Instead it allows readers like you direct access to writers like me — so when you pay to subscribe to Juvenescence you’re sending your shekels directly to me and my family, in exchange for my copyrighted content, rather than say, some massive multinational media/publishing company with whom my multinational agency has negotiated a lengthy royalties contract at a commission rate of 20% or, more likely, a monolithic dying legacy beast owned by a family-controlled-trust of feckless billionaires that’s in the process of laying off hundreds of talented journalists so the remaining ones can work on zero hours contracts without pensions before being discarded in mid-life.

Look don’t get me wrong, I adore my agent and all of my editors — people in publishing and journalism are my family, my people — but over the past twenty years I have watched as a tsunami of creative destruction in media and publishing decimated the industries I love and as a free agent I have had to work harder and harder for less and less money. Like many professional writers I have had the disorienting (and at times downright terrifying) experience of watching my earning power and financial stability slowly drain away as my audience grew and craft improved. This has been deeply frustrating to say the least.

Substack is the first platform I’ve encountered that genuinely supports and serves writers — the people who actually make the content valued by readers. They take a cut, obviously, but it’s a fair bargain to my mind because they provide a lot of support. Don’t ask me how much — I’m an English major.

FREE:

If you subscribe for free you will receive short weekly newsletter posts and occasional essays, which I throw open to everyone whenever the spirit moves me. Sometimes I’ll include a free preview, so you can have a sense of the work and take a free trial if you like.

PAID:

First of all, it’s cheap . At the moment I’ve discounted monthly subscriptions to $5/£4 — literally one fancy coffee per month — or less for £50 a year). After you click paid you’ll be asked for your card details. Then just just keep following the links, the way you’d buy anything else online.

From then on, every time I post an interview, essay, open thread or short post on Juvenescence, it will go straight to your email inbox. If you find you’re not receiving the mails, check your spam and if necessary redirect it to your primary inbox.

If you have any other technical problems or questions, do not hesitate to email me at leahkmclaren@gmail.com . Substack IT department is extremely helpful and I’ll be able to get you back on track in short order.

WHAT YOU GET:

In addition to new posts you will get full and exclusive access to my best essays, reviews, interviews, pay-walled reported feature articles, weird comic riffs, archival writing and guest posts by notable writers.

1. AUTHOR Q&A’s

For many subscribers the biggest draw is access to my Author Q&A’s. These are in-depth interviews, in their own words, with some of the biggest contemporary names in the world of publishing, screenwriting and literature. I’m incredibly proud of the archive I’m building and see it as a curated-online version of the Paris Review.

In these interviews leading writers and thinkers of our time share their thoughts about process, craft, fame, publishing and literature. Recent subjects include the lauded British novelist and essayist Geoff Dyer, acclaimed memoirists Lauren Hough and Elissa Altman and the best-selling novelist Bonnie Garmus among others, and there are loads more in the works.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH ‘MEMOIR CLUB’? DO I NEED TO BE WRITING A MEMOIR?

Short answer: No! Paid subscribers will also become automatic members of my Memoir Club — which I must stress is not just a club for people writing memoirs but anyone who happens to be interested in writing, ideas, creativity and how to live an interesting and well-examined life. It’s more like an online salon than a club, if that makes sense? I find the word ‘salon’ annoyingly pretentious.

Memoir Club works as a kind of open forum in which members can workshop their own writing and share musings on creativity and modern life. By joining you are not committing to any kind of mandatory participation — there is ZERO HOMEWORK. However if you want to engage further, there are regular writing exercises provided, lots of feedback and plenty of tips and ideas for how to advance your own creative process and accomplish the project you set out to complete.

OPEN THREADS:

Members are invited to participate in weekly members-only Open Threads (in which I am both moderator as well as an active and engaged participant) on topics of interest. These Open Threads are completely optional and have been an absolute revelation to me. The conversations are so insightful and funny and they are now are easily one of my favourite things about this newsletter.

ACCESS TO CREATIVE SUPPORT & A NEW NETWORK AND — WAIT FOR IT — A COMMUNITY:

Honestly? Before starting Juvenescence I was terrified of talking to people on the internet — I don't like Facebook and Twitter scares the shit out of me, I do Instagram grudgingly, I’m not very good a social, quite honestly. But since starting this newsletter I’ve come to realise it’s not about the internet or people per se but which people, where you meet them, what you talk about and how. It’s head-smackingly obvious, right? I honestly cannot believe it took me til my 40s to understand this, but good people, your people, exist on the internet just like they exist in real life! The confusion, I think, is that the blare of social media can sometimes make you forget that — and the good news is there is no noise or confusion here on Juvenescence. Just like-minded people sharing ideas on stuff that interests them.

I have made friends here, and so have many members, which needless to say was not one of the stated aims of starting this newsletter. But man, what a bonus! Over the past several months, I’ve been astonished to watch as a truly switched-on little community has developed here organically, almost of its own accord. And it’s a club that’s growing every day. Paid subscriptions are currently in the low hundreds, so Memoir Club is intimate but also highly diverse. Likeminded folks from around globe gather here on a regular basis to share and respond to each other’s ideas. My members include distinguished academics, writers, artists, musicians, stay-home parents, teachers, university and high school students, politicians, poets, architects and all sorts from all over the world. (Quite a few of my paid members are famous. You’ll just have to trust me on this because I refuse to name-drop, tempting as it is!)

Members tend to be well-read, easy going, engaged and — crucially — impeccably well-mannered. There is no squabbling, no drama (I make sure of it), just fascinating people and lively engaging discussions on topics that make you go hmmm.

If this sounds like you, go on, give it a whirl. The first week is free.

THE ALTRUISTIC ANGLE:

Look the world is a bin fire, the ice cap is melting and every time I buy something on Amazon or order an Uber I feel a little part of myself wither and die. But the good news is, this subscription isn’t like that. It’s a Do No Harm kind of purchase, and how many things on your shopping list can you actually say that about with confidence?

When you subscribe to Juvenescence, you’ll be supporting my work and the continued existence of this newsletter, which at the moment is a labour of love. It will always be that, but I also dearly hope it will one day become a love that manages to ‘wash its face,’ as they say in business. In all honesty, it needs to be. Like everyone else I have to justify my time, feed my family and keep my head above water.

Having said that, I absolutely get that not everyone who wants to become a member can afford it. To this end, I’ll be donating two paid subscriptions a month to those in economically strapped circumstances. If this is you, or someone you love, email me and tell me why at leahkmclaren@gmail.com and we can work something out.

So that’s the rub. In the mean time, feel free to have a snoop around.