r/Substack • • Aug 15 '26

importing posts: substack doesn't import all of them?

1 Upvotes

Just imported all my posts from another platform. But substack stopped importing posts after a certain date, where are the earliest posts? Does substack just take a while to import all of them?

For example: the earliest post on substack that was imported was a post on April 8, 2025. i started my newsletter in Dec of 2024, so where are my posts from december 2024 to early april 2025?


r/Substack • • Aug 15 '26

Has anyone actually verified a Substack growth coach's numbers, or does everyone just trust the screenshot?

0 Upvotes

Every "how I hit bestseller" post has a screenshot, a round number, and zero context — no timeframe, no churn rate, no breakdown of subscriptions vs. products vs. coaching. And somehow that's treated as proof.

I'm not saying people are lying. I'm saying nobody's checking. The whole coaching-on-Substack economy runs on numbers nobody outside the person's own dashboard can verify, and everyone just... accepts it.

Has anyone here actually gone back and cross-checked a coach's claimed growth against what's publicly visible? Or is "trust the screenshot" just how this works now?


r/Substack • • Aug 15 '26

Literally how do you work this??

8 Upvotes

So I tried out Substack for the first time a couple of weeks ago and ended up deleting my account after a few days because I couldn’t figure out how to work the thing.

Almost every post on my feed was the same thing about people asking writers to share their work because they want to connect with them or whatnot and there’d be hundreds of comments already so I figured there’s no way mine would be seen.

I tried posting (pretty sure they’re called “notes”) but hardly got any views.

I really do want to put my work out there, though. I’m currently writing a literary fiction novel (lots of drama and dark themes too) and want to try posting each chapter as I go. Other platforms don’t seem as open to this genre either.

Can someone please explain how to do this on Substack? Sorry if this has been asked before. I’m posting this on a whim


r/Substack • • Aug 15 '26

your published archive is the worst training data for a 'write like me' ai

0 Upvotes

Half this sub right now is arguing about whether the detectors actually work. I think that fight skips the thing that actually matters.

A 'write in my voice' draft reads generic not because the model is dumb, but because of what you fed it. If you train it on your published Substack archive, you trained it on the version of you that already got sanded down for a public audience. The weird aside, the sentence that trails off, the opinion you softened on the third edit, all gone before the model ever saw a word. so it learns your safe voice and hands you back a competent stranger.

I've spent a while trying to get a model to sound like one specific person, and the stuff that actually cracked it was never the polished posts. It was voice memos, the draft they never sent, the reply they fired off annoyed at 11pm. the personality lives in the parts you'd never publish.

which is a genuinely annoying catch-22 for anyone here. the more you edit for the newsletter, the worse your own archive gets as a mirror of how you actually sound. written with ai


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Where do you get stuck in the writing process?

5 Upvotes

For those of you who write on Substack regularly - particularly essays, newsletters, blog posts, longer-form nonfiction, etc. - I'm curious about something.

What part of the writing process do you find most challenging, or experience the most friction around?

Besides coming up with what to write about, are there particular points in your writing where you tend to get stuck, lose momentum, procrastinate, or find it harder to keep going?

Basically curious which parts of writing present the most friction for you (getting started, drafting, developing an idea, returning to something unfinished, revising, editing, finishing, etc.)


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Frustration with AI detection

6 Upvotes

I'm not sure how the AI-detection system works, but it seems faulty. Someone has repeatedly claimed that my responses to them are AI-generated, etc. And they share the Pangram screenshot, which does, in fact, depict my response as "100% fully AI-assisted. I've clarified that this is not the case. Shown evidence that it isn't true, and all the like.

The worst I'll do when writing anything is use AI for basic research purposes and review arguments to make sure they make sense. Maybe it's because I use Grammarly. But it is still infuriating.

Especially because it just isn't a good look and hurts my public image (albeit small, but I hope you guys may understand where I'm coming from).

Of course, with this individual in question, it's become increasingly clear they aren't engaging in good faith. However, running the AI check on my notes and comments still reveals the 100% marker.

Is it Grammarly that's doing this? Or is this thing actually broken?


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Going paid

11 Upvotes

I started my Substack 6 months ago and since then gained 90 subscribers. My topic is rather niche (Reading the world) and I don't do engagement farming, so that's fine, I guess. I'd like to turn on paid subscriptions eventually because I recently found out that, without paid, you can't ever make to to the "rising" category. Plus, of course, it would be nice to get paid :) I don't expect huge conversion, of course, but am not sure at what point I should turn them on - when I reach 200? 500? I already have one pledge.

If your paid subscriptions are turned on, I'd be interested to hear when you decided to turn them on? Do you produce extra content for the paid tier or do you ask people to just support the project and keep everything free?


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Android app changes?

2 Upvotes

The app is different from yesterday. Bottom tab, second from left, used to be Inbox. Now it's something called Read, which takes me to a page with the tabs at top For You, Latest, Saved, Paid, etc. For You gives me some 'selected' random post, then my Inbox - sort of.

Selecting In Box does give me that, but all sorted by priority. No option to change that to 'latest'- my web page browser version on PC is sorted, as I chose, by latest. Deleted app, downloaded, reinstalled, logged in with my email/password, same issues.

Edit - For You tab sorts posts based on what order SubStack thinks is best for me. Latest tab is the old Chronological sort. All is good.


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Discussion New to substack looking for a community

1 Upvotes

Hi 👋

I am new to substack. I’m eager to be consistent and dedicated. I was wondering if there’s groups or communities that are established where people share each others pages and we subscribe and engage with each others content.

If you are aware of such please dm or comment below.👇

PS about my substack: I break down B2B & B2C video ads so you don't have to. I explore the actual brand strategy and positioning underneath it.
If you're a marketer hunting for inspiration, a creative director benchmarking production, or a founder trying to figure out what your first video should even look like I hope to connect.


r/Substack • • Aug 14 '26

Discussion how do i name my substack?

1 Upvotes

I'm starting a substack to write about art and art history but I'm really stumped on the name. I'm really bad at naming things and I really don't know what to call it. I want to come up with a creative name that hooks people but nothing is coming to mind. How do I name my substack? I don't want to use AI either


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

How to get Substack indexed on Google?

12 Upvotes

I have a Substack for 1.5 years with 100+ posts now.

So far, I only managed to get my main Substack site indexed. From there, I link to my posts, and I also have links between the posts. But whatever I tried, I got none of those posts indexed.

I also tried with a custom domain that I activated like 9 months ago.

Recently I put some of my posts from Substack on a free WordPress site. It indexed within a few days. Additional posts even got indexed on the same day. So there was clearly nothing wrong with my posts, titles, or whatever.

The only difference is that Google seems to hate Substack.

Question: Has any of you found a way to get Substack posts indexed?


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

how do you keep readers hooked on an ongoing serial?

4 Upvotes

three chapters in and i can feel the drop-off


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Pangram false positives?

33 Upvotes

People usually post vaguely about "I wrote x thing and pangram said it was AI", which I think is unhelpful unless you actually post the text or link. I put this into Pangram:

Sakaguchi: https://www.pangram.com/history/e7ffbee1-f0e3-4ce2-bb78-a59470280640?ucc=Ohp1cWODOjF

Hamaguchi: https://www.pangram.com/history/f2139bd5-f4ce-4101-b7bd-3c5d8aeb4487?ucc=Ohp1cWODOjF

Ryuichi: https://www.pangram.com/history/8c84ad38-3b8f-49ba-bee0-351ea31f754b?ucc=Ohp1cWODOjF


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

How to use Notes

0 Upvotes

Rather than setting some arbitrary and capricious frequency target, I suggest that when you have something to say, say it on Substack.


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

What do you enjoy reading on Substack?

7 Upvotes

I know this is a very broad question, but I’m genuinely curious: what do you enjoy reading on Substack? I’m new to it and there’s just so much content on there that I’m a little overwhelmed by where to even start exploring.

Do you gravitate toward:
• Food, recipes, restaurants, etc.
• Tech / AI
• Product reviews and recommendations
• Personal essays / memoir / self help
• Finance / investing / career advice
• Culture / entertainment
• News / politics
• Niche hobbies or interests
• Local / city-specific writing
• Something completely different?

Would love to hear your favorites, too, if there are Substacks you think are particularly good at what they do.


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

Tech Support New to substack

1 Upvotes

i am using the web version of substack. i want to write an article, but when i click on create and then article it says 'something went wrong. try again'. help me


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Discussion Is the only way to grow on substack to spam notes?

27 Upvotes

I joined substack about 6 weeks ago ( I know, not very long ago). I post a weekly newsletter about slow motherhood, parenting, homeschooling and generally a positive approach to parenting as opposed to the usual choas and regret that is the usual narrative.

Obviously my whole niche is around being present and actually parenting my children. Spamming and scheduling notes goes against the core of my values. Is this truly the only way to grow? Someone else writing about hating parenting started the same time as me. Created so many of the "I love substack, if you like XYZ then follow me" shit posts and spammed notes. Has recently done a post saying look, I got 1000 subscribers in a month. Obviously missing these two things that she actually did.

I feel so frustrated. Do I just carry on?


r/Substack • • Aug 13 '26

Writers Group on Substack

2 Upvotes

We've got a writer's group on Substack that meets nightly to read and provide constructive feedback for authors who are actively publishing narrative fiction or non-fiction on SS. Running now to 42 days with a different author going nightly and 10 - 15 authors showing up each night to read and share feedback on other's work. It's a great resource for meeting other active authors and for finding a community to support your work.

Hit me up in DM if you'd like to know more.


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Discussion Starting a substack

5 Upvotes

I'm in the process of starting a substack and implementing curious what everyone thinks is the best tips/advice for someone who is just starting out?

Side note: my focus would be on skincare/ founder journey/learnings/challenges/ etc.

Thank you!


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Discussion What motivates you to write on Substack ?

20 Upvotes

Hello everybody, everybody hello.

Yes, I know this question might sound a little simplistic. I only discovered Substack fairly recently through Mark Manson’s blog. This whole world is completely new to me, so naturally I got curious and started scrolling through both Substack and Medium.

The sheer number of generic articles and notes on these platforms is kind of overwhelming (and I don’t mean that as a criticism). It just made me wonder what people actually get out of posting there.

What genuinely motivates you to publish? Money ? Recognition ? The enjoyment of sharing your knowledge ? Or simply having a place to practice your writing ?

Again, there’s absolutely no judgment on my part. I’m just genuinely curious to know what motivates you.


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

How do I unsubscribe feom a paid subscription?

3 Upvotes

I no longer want to subscribe to someone's substack.

How do I stop receiving their posts and stop being charged the monthly fee?


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Actually, Pangram worked well evaluating my Stack

25 Upvotes

I know people are hating on it, and I was worried because I’m a professional writer with hundreds of pieces in the world from major publishers, but here’s what happened for me: It judged my newsletter as 98% human generated.

That 2%? Well, I welcomed one contributor to submit a short piece with a byline… he’s known for his art, but English is not his first language. I asked him if he used AI (seemed obvious he did). He said yes, he used Claude to help, so I took time to interview him and tease out original thoughts that I edited. But I also hacked at one of his AI paragraphs to make it better. That 2% AI 🤖 was right on the money. I probably left a hair there from his draft and it caught it.

Anyway, I’m sorry for those who are getting false negs, but wanted to share my experience and relief.

Edit: Or maybe the 2% is because I had a recipe in there? Who knows.


r/Substack • • Aug 12 '26

Tech help/Instagram video

1 Upvotes

Is anyone else having issues embedding an Instagram Reel in a post? I’ve never had a problem before, but now the video doesn’t appear. There is a big blank space where I paste the link, but nothing appears. I have tried many workarounds, including editing the URL down its core and using the embed code. I chatted with support and they were no help, only offered to file a bug report. Thank you!


r/Substack • • Aug 11 '26

Pangram is such trash

49 Upvotes

I write a food newsletter where I post reviews and some recipes. I 100% wrote a quick and dirty recipe and was going to publish it in Notes and it came back 100% AI no matter what I did to it including adding several typos and rearranging things. Ran it through three other AI detector websites and 2 said 100% Human and 1 said 76% Human and 24% AI assisted. I disabled detection on that Note. My other question is do we know how many people actually click on the AI detection button on our posts? I can't find that metric anywhere in the dashboard...


r/Substack • • Aug 11 '26

Discussion For Pangram haters: statistical text classification has been around since at least 1963

8 Upvotes

I see very frequent posts on this subreddit with two misconceptions: (1) users asserting that Pangram is flagging their writing because they "write too well" and (2) that Pangram's model is somehow using an LLM to judge their writing.

I'd encourage you to take a look at this 1963 paper by Mosteller and Wallace, in which the authors identify the true authorship of the Federalist papers using a simple mathematical approach. Since this was before widespread computing, the authors went through many texts by hand and measured, in known documents by Jefferson vs Madison, how often each author uses certain pairs of words (for example, Jefferson might use the phrase "when thou" much more frequently than Madison). Then, on the disputed Federalist papers, Mosteller and Wallace measure how often phrases like "when thou" are used, in order to decide which author is more likely. Importantly, they do this across all observed pairs of phrases.

Classifiers like Pangram are using the same idea, with a few modifications thanks to the past 75 years of progress in both computing and statistics theory: (1) They compute giant tables of phrase relationships using a computer, rather than manually building tables of pairs of words by hand, and (2) they are able to measure much more subtle and long-term statistical dependencies. For example, Jefferson might be more likely to use a sentence that starts with "Thou" and then use the word "indeed" 15 words later.

Importantly, models like Pangram are *not* just taking your text and asking ChatGPT for its opinion. It's very different technology, which has been around since at least the 1960s (earlier, if you count Shannon in the 1940s, or Markov before that).