11 Comments
May 6Liked by Tivadar Danka

Congratulations Tivadar Danka for going back to quality.

In a society where there is too much content (regardless if it is free or paid) we are faced with the sad reality that most of the content is click bait meant to grow subscribers and/or sell something.

I believe writers like who realise the quality is more important that number of subscribers, are the only ones that will end up having loyal readers that will support you and keep you up and running for years or decades to come.

I myself will always support a writer that makes me think, teaches me something and does not believe that I am stupid enough not to understand how online writing works and the fact that at the end of the day the writer needs to pay his own bills.

Again I congratulate you for realising that quality is all that you need to keep subscribers engaged and loyal.

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author

Thanks!

"quality is all that you need to keep subscribers engaged and loyal" is what I realized as well.

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May 7Liked by Tivadar Danka

I can really appreciate your learning, honesty and sincerity here. For a reader, her originality in your highest quality is what matters to us. If you're not feeling the flow joy and immersion, we might notice it in your work.

Congrats for reaching a very decent amount of readers.

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author

Thanks! I agree, when I am not in the flow, readers feel it in my writing.

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I like your return to fundamentals to do what you love about writing: producing high quality content.

I cannot speak for everybody, but whenever i see a request to consider upgrading to paid, it serves as a reminder that the people writing this have put immense effort into it. As a result, I don’t mind it at all. Free content is paid for with the writer’s life-force.

People would normally fork over hundreds of thousands for a college education but when a Substack asks for $100/yr to help you learn math the right way, it shouldn’t feel like too much of an ask from a writers point of view- imho.

Those who don’t ask, don’t get. So ask away! 🙂 - just my 2 cents.

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author

I'll definitely ask - but not too much. (Once per post.) I feel that I have asked too much and delivered too little lately, so I'll reverse the ratio.

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Thanks for the honest and candid post. It’s tough to find the right balance. Nothing is truly free-somewhere, someone is always paying. Hopefully more and more readers will understand and accept this!

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author

What I realized that for me, success (financial and otherwise) is a side effect of me enjoying what I do. This is probably not true for everyone, but I certainly feel that way.

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I agree and feel the same. I just hope it works to bring an income too!

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May 6Liked by Tivadar Danka

Steps in the right direction. I feel that science, math, religion, poetry, music, art, etc. All should be de-monetized as much as possible. Think of the Fields Medal winners..they did what they did, not to get a paycheck or to render service to subscribers who had in effect purchased parts of their soul, turning a thing, formerly of joy into an onerous job and obligation.

We live in a society that imposes practical financial constraints on us, but places like the IAS were designed to remove those constraints. Would that society could shelter every mathematician likewise.

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author

Thanks! I am an academic at heart, so I know what you mean; knowledge should be free for all. This is a very tough problem though, as currently, there are very few jobs that would allow me to do what I do, which is why I have to monetize somehow.

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