This is a great point, and one that we're honestly in the process of trying to make progress on.
Ideally, I would love to have both:
- Writers and creators on Substack are in complete control of the brand and feel of their publication
And:
- All publications look & work well
- Readers get the benefit of already understanding some of what this thing is, which makes it easier to subscribe with confidence
- We can continue to ship rapid improvements across all of Substack
In practice, there are tradeoffs involved here and we're trying to figure out how to push both sides as far as possible, while maintaining a simple and powerful product.
Ideally, I would love to have both:
- Writers and creators on Substack are in complete control of the brand and feel of their publication
And:
- All publications look & work well - Readers get the benefit of already understanding some of what this thing is, which makes it easier to subscribe with confidence - We can continue to ship rapid improvements across all of Substack
In practice, there are tradeoffs involved here and we're trying to figure out how to push both sides as far as possible, while maintaining a simple and powerful product.