In a big, diverse world, there is an audience for almost anything -- the trick is reaching and retaining them. So it's true that people are beholden to their subscribers, but those subscribers aren't a random sample of the population -- there's a reason they came here in the first place.
Some perspectives and styles are more marketable than others. But I think it's best to start out writing what you like, because you're going to be stuck with it as the audience grows. Any change in direction results in complaints like "ugh this used to be good" -- because every writer's audience is disproportionately composed of people who liked their previous work.
I have a question about the genesis of your comedic style, if you don't mind the bother. I was an avid follower of LWT during its (I suppose, grudgingly) "golden era" - roughly 2017-18. My love affair with the show ended around the same time my love affair with Minecraft ended, and for roughly the same reason: despite the local variations, it seemed like there was nothing original left in either of them. It was getting to the point where some 90% of the jokes were predictably over-the-top similes, in this kind of vein: "Commenting on newsletters? The only time you should address an ex-comedy-writer is when you need him to stop taking up a whole row of seats in the subway. It's 6:30 in the morning and people are beginning to squish in like the phlegm-filled bottles in Michael Phelps' living room -- You need to move!" ... and so on and so forth.
Anyway, I assumed that this style of humor (add scare quotes liberally, as appropriate) was the result of some kind of democratic process in a fairly large committee; I guessed that it would be the lowest common denominator that everyone would be able to agree on. But now, while reading -- and enjoying! -- your newsletter, I've noticed that a lot of the same distinctive comedic quirks and repetitions that I remarked on so often in LWT are present in your independent writing. Was this your style prior to LWT? Did you singlehandedly help set the tone in the newsroom? Or did they form you -- did you become familiar with the winning strategy of the show? Were there just (shudder) a bunch of you, all coming up with roughly the same idea of comedy? Something in NYC's lovely unfiltered water, piped into those 57th street offices? Please help me to understand, and thank you again for the lovely newsletter.
Would you be willing to elaborate on specifically what topics LWT/you (1) wanted to write about and (2) thought would alienate your audience and (3) therefore avoided altogether?
Just wanted to say how much I appreciate this newsletter. I've been a free subscriber for a little over a month and I always get a little tingling feeling when I see a new post from you. I enjoy your comedy style and appreciate the fact you write on many different topics (sex workers for example). I subscribe to 8 or so substacks and yours is definitely the most unique. I will start paying once my bank account is back in order, but anyway THANK YOU!
LWT's success proves there's potentially a large audience for you. Like LWT, you say something new that feels true, with a delicious glaze of absurdist wit. Surely success is just a matter of getting enough of the right people to sample your work. Guest essays in upscale lefty publications would probably do the trick.
In a big, diverse world, there is an audience for almost anything -- the trick is reaching and retaining them. So it's true that people are beholden to their subscribers, but those subscribers aren't a random sample of the population -- there's a reason they came here in the first place.
Some perspectives and styles are more marketable than others. But I think it's best to start out writing what you like, because you're going to be stuck with it as the audience grows. Any change in direction results in complaints like "ugh this used to be good" -- because every writer's audience is disproportionately composed of people who liked their previous work.
Hey Mr. Maurer,
I have a question about the genesis of your comedic style, if you don't mind the bother. I was an avid follower of LWT during its (I suppose, grudgingly) "golden era" - roughly 2017-18. My love affair with the show ended around the same time my love affair with Minecraft ended, and for roughly the same reason: despite the local variations, it seemed like there was nothing original left in either of them. It was getting to the point where some 90% of the jokes were predictably over-the-top similes, in this kind of vein: "Commenting on newsletters? The only time you should address an ex-comedy-writer is when you need him to stop taking up a whole row of seats in the subway. It's 6:30 in the morning and people are beginning to squish in like the phlegm-filled bottles in Michael Phelps' living room -- You need to move!" ... and so on and so forth.
Anyway, I assumed that this style of humor (add scare quotes liberally, as appropriate) was the result of some kind of democratic process in a fairly large committee; I guessed that it would be the lowest common denominator that everyone would be able to agree on. But now, while reading -- and enjoying! -- your newsletter, I've noticed that a lot of the same distinctive comedic quirks and repetitions that I remarked on so often in LWT are present in your independent writing. Was this your style prior to LWT? Did you singlehandedly help set the tone in the newsroom? Or did they form you -- did you become familiar with the winning strategy of the show? Were there just (shudder) a bunch of you, all coming up with roughly the same idea of comedy? Something in NYC's lovely unfiltered water, piped into those 57th street offices? Please help me to understand, and thank you again for the lovely newsletter.
One vote here for a Marxist take on tennis.
Would you be willing to elaborate on specifically what topics LWT/you (1) wanted to write about and (2) thought would alienate your audience and (3) therefore avoided altogether?
"Ex-'Daily Show' Writer* Calls 'Daily Stormer' Only Authentic Voice in Media"
*Yeah, I know. Actually, do you want me to say this on Twitter? It would probably help both of us.
Just wanted to say how much I appreciate this newsletter. I've been a free subscriber for a little over a month and I always get a little tingling feeling when I see a new post from you. I enjoy your comedy style and appreciate the fact you write on many different topics (sex workers for example). I subscribe to 8 or so substacks and yours is definitely the most unique. I will start paying once my bank account is back in order, but anyway THANK YOU!
LWT's success proves there's potentially a large audience for you. Like LWT, you say something new that feels true, with a delicious glaze of absurdist wit. Surely success is just a matter of getting enough of the right people to sample your work. Guest essays in upscale lefty publications would probably do the trick.