What is this thing even called?

Dear friends,

Not so long ago, we were all about writing and/or reading blogs. Now everyone talks about subscribing to ‘Substacks’.  You may have noticed that Letters from a Canadian is not actually a ‘Substack’. More precisely, it is not hosted on the Substack platform. I’m still not sure whether I should be calling it a blog, or a newsletter, or a website. What is the modern parlance for these regular emails showing up from strangers when it’s not a ‘Substack’? Let me know if you have any ideas of how I should refer to my latest career move.

Letters from a Canadian is hosted on a non-profit platform called Ghost.org. I chose this over publishing on Substack for a number of reasons, the primary reason being that my much-smarter-than-me cousin recommended it. Though Rebecca is only 1 year my senior, I have always trusted her to be wiser and infinitely more knowledgeable than myself. So, when Rebecca said that she highly recommends Ghost.org, it was a no-brainer for me to set my techy husband on the task building me https://www.letters-from-a-canadian.com (blog name also recommended by my very clever cousin).

Some good things to note about Ghost.org

I really appreciate the fact that Ghost.org is an independent non-profit organisation. We’ve seen what happens when tech companies are run by greedy operators and their profit-hungry shareholders. I’m more than happy to have a way of sharing my thoughts that doesn’t participate in this skanky business model.

I also really appreciate their Codes of Conduct page. The internet world is chock full of dicks, and I know that Substack gained some publicity from their lax acceptance of some dick-ish publishers of the Nazi variety. Ewwww. I definitely don’t want to be affiliated with or supporting that! With Ghost.org, the #2 item on their Don’t be a Dick list of common examples of dickery (these folk speak my language!) is, “Sexist, heterosexist, racist, or otherwise hateful remarks are not tolerated under any circumstance. Needless to say, this is really important to me. I’m happy to be able to publish on a platform that aligns with my values.

Please consider a paid subscription

You may have noticed that cute little purple box up above asking you to please consider a paid subscription. Anyone who knows me knows that it’s not at all within my comfort zone to be asking for cash, but (sigh) it’s part of the world we inhabit. Before I started Letters From A Canadian, I had recently retired from running my own granola business for 13 years. It was great! The granola was great. The customer service was great. I think I was a pretty good employer, and I was always giving back to my community. But I was total crap at charging money. It’s a miracle I kept that business afloat all those years, but I did, and I was able to pass it on to someone who’s way more comfortable charging prices that reflect the value to the product.

 So now I’m retired from slinging oats and, you may have noticed, I have A LOT to say these days. Lucky for me, it would appear that quite a few of you want to read what I have to say and seem to appreciate the way I say things. So, when my lovely cousin suggested I start Letters From A Canadian (seeing as I was posting all my political correspondences on Facebook anyway), I leapt on the idea and here we are. My new career. Ta-da!

Back to asking for paid subscriptions – Even though Ghost.org is a non-profit organisation, they still require payment, so it costs me to run this blog/newletter. Your paid subscriptions help cover these monthly fees. Your paid subscription also helps with my daily expenses now that I’m retired. And, your paid subscription allows you to comment on posts.  One of my hopes for this blog/newsletter/thingy is to start conversations about how we can all engage in resisting the rise of fascism and, hopefully, creating the world we want to live in. The way Ghost.org works is that only paid subscribers can comment on posts, so the more paid subscribers, the more lively the conversation can be.

Why I do this and what’s it worth to you

Truth be told, it wasn’t until I’d published my first piece (I Write Letters) that I understood why I’m even doing this Letters From A Canadian caper. Now I know that my goal for this blog/newsletter is to encourage and inspire everyone who reads it to take up some form of activism. Holy moly! We are living through some deeply terrifying shit, and none of us, no matter how terrified we are, can afford to sit this one out. We all need to do something to fight the rapid-fire rise of fascism. I know just how paralyzing that fear can be, so I’m here to be your cheerleader, your inspiration, your band leader, sports coach, whatever, as long as I can encourage you to BE NOISY. I’m here to remind you over and over that your voice is valid, your voice is needed, and you have what it takes to be part of a powerful, growing movement of resistance. If you find value (specifically $25 Cdn worth) in what I have to offer, I would greatly appreciate you considering a paid subscription.

Only if you have spare cash!

Friends, I am so much better off than so many people who are struggling to make ends meet, and, while I could always use the cash, please don’t feel pressured if you’re not feeling particularly flush. $25 Cdn isn’t a bunch (especially as most of my subscribers seem to be in the US with those great big US dollars), but if it feels like it’s a stretch, please ignore my not-so-subtle pleas and keep on reading Letters From A Canadian free, gratis.  I don’t have a tiered system where the juicy bits are only available to paid subscribers (how are other writers that organized?). What you see is what you get and it’s what everyone gets. Hopefully, what you see will inspire you to write to a politician, paint a protest sign, help out at the local food bank... Whatever activism looks like to you, I hope my blog will inspire you to do it.

With gratitude and solidarity,

Jessica

p.s. I told you I’m crap at asking for money!