I've made Landfall on Ghost
Hello friends,
A few weeks ago, I announced that this newsletter was going to hibernate for a bit while I figured things out. I may have said it more dramatically than that. Something about a project being completed? I don't know...
Really, what I was feeling was a sense of disease about Substack, the platform. Between the "Free Speech" manifestos praising Elon, VC influence, and lack of Writer-focused features (like publishing customization or One-time payments and Tips), I lost the thread. Like most things, it takes me some time to figure out what I am actually feeling, and what seemed like a creative block (and manifested as snarky Notes) disappeared once I decided to make a change. I needed to be somewhere more aligned, ethically, to find the flow.
I won't bore you with the few weeks of starts-and-stops, but I did evaluate all sorts of blogging and newsletter options. What I decided on is Ghost, an independent, non-profit, and open-source publishing platform that feels like a great website+newsletter home base for all my work going forward. It allowed me to consolidate my personal website, Substack newsletter, and a few other things in one place: vanmiranda.com
What to expect with Ghost
I'm going to continue sharing the style of poetry that you're used to from Landfall, but I also want to make space to try new things. You can see the beginnings of this with the imported Poetry, Reflection, and Song Posts, and in the future I will be exploring more Fiction.
What I'd really like to know from you, as Subscribers, is what you'd like to see.
Do you have any interest in a collection of poetry from Landfall as an ebook (or special edition print)? Shared writing prompts? More space for Comments? Let me know by responding to this email or adding a comment on the Post itself.
One of the most important things to me is that I continue to grow, and while I felt like a chapter was completed at Substack, I wanted to make sure that wherever I went next would allow me to keep in touch with all of you. So, please give the comments and email replies a try - let's see what works and what needs some tweaking as I get things going here.
A Celebration Offer
To celebrate the move to Ghost and one year of writing on Landfall, I'd like to offer 30% off annual Paid Subscriptions! (You must use this link to activate the offer)
I learned a lot about getting paid on Substack, and the model I am going with here on Ghost is:
- Zero Paywalls for the newsletter (1-2 Posts/month, like usual)
- Tip links below each Post so people can pay what they want (if they feel inclined) - similar to the Kofi/Coffee buttons, but directly integrated with Ghost
- A Patron model for Paid Subscriptions (monthly and annual) for people who want to support me directly. If you do have feedback about what you'd like to see as a Paid Subscriber, let me know!
- Releasing books and collections of work as individual products separate from the newsletter (going deeper creatively and selling direct) **this is my growth area and where I want to invest my energy, with your help, in 2025
Ghost has 0% transaction fees (compared to Substack's 10%), which makes this all more sustainable for me. As always, you're welcome to Subscribe for free!
Thanks for being here, and please let me know how this newsletter found you (and if you have any feedback on the new site!)
Van