I've Decided to Celebrate my Birthday in a Unique Fashion

An Announcement.

I’ve been on Substack now for around seven months at this point. Well, maybe actively on Substack would be the better choice of words, because I signed up for it for about a year before I finally worked up the courage to actually start posting here. And yes, I was actively blogging since 2017 on another blog platform (Wordpress), but this was still a new experience for me.

I’ve seen a lot of good writers here on Substack and plenty of them are trying to make a living at their writing. Ever since I started writing here, I wondered whether I should try to see if anyone would be willing to pay for what I’m producing on a regular basis.

It’s a legitimate question. I’m an author who has at least one published book to my name and I’m planning on having another published this year. However, all that makes me is like thousands of people who have done the same thing, some famous, some obscure.

On the other hand, though, I’ve been working in the writing field, either as a journalist or a reporter, for more than 25 years now. There are many things that I have no knowledge about: for example, my son Jacob knows more about mechanical issues, especially heating and air conditioning systems, than I’m ever going to know. However, I think I know something about writing, and I think I have something to offer people who are interested in improving their writing craft.

March 30, 2023, is the day that I turn 50 years old. More often than not, as I get older (not old, as some might say), I ask myself the question, “If not now, when?” Sometimes I worry that I don’t do everything perfect as a blogger, and this was an example of that. But why not just jump into it?

So, I am announcing a very special 50th birthday celebration. On March 30, 8 p.m. Central Time, I will be going live with a paid subscription option for this site. For the price of just $5 per month or $50 per year, you will have access to all of the archives of this site, as well as access to exclusive material on The Writing Life that will be posted on a bi-weekly basis at least.

There will always be a free subscription model for this blog, and you will get weekly newsletters from me letting you know what I’m up to and what I’ve been working on. There will also be other posts and chats that will be available to all subscribers, no matter what you contribute.

However, I want to give something to those subscribers who have been willing to give me their emails and read what I have written over these past months. As a result, any person who is one of my free subscribers by March 29 will get a free 3-month paid subscription trial to The Writing Life With Jason Liegois.

Those subscribers will also be entered into a contest for a longer free trial and at least one writer’s workshop consult with me. This workshop will cover any basic writing advice, questions, or even reviewing your own work with me. Consider it a freewheeling consultation session that will fit whatever writing needs that you might have. I’ll reach out to you and figure out a time for those consultations that works for you.

In addition, I’m going to have some other special giveaways coming up later in the year for sure. The plan is to have my next book, The Yank Striker (learn more about it here), come out this year. So, there will be some contests with that release and the paid subscribers will be in a drawing for them. (I also will likely have opportunities for my free subscribers to have a chance at some of those giveaways as well).

There are going to be more books coming out later, as well. Watch this space, as I often say.

Finally, I want to thank everyone in advance for supporting me, whether it’s as a paid or a free subscriber. I appreciate everyone who has put their faith in me and want to follow what I have to say about the ins and outs of writing.

If you like what I’m writing, if you want to hear about something that I’m not discussing, in either case, I want to hear from you. I don’t want this just to be me talking; I want this to be an ongoing conversation between us about the art of writing where we educate each other.

There are also many other ways that you can support me even beyond a subscription. If you have any social media sites, feel free to post a link to my page.

Also, I just found out that if you are a writer on Substack, you can actually request Substack feature different blogs on their recommended list. Just click on the button below to do that.

And know this: whether you are a paid or free subscriber, I am always going to value you and appreciate you. And now that I’m actually going to ask you for financial support, if you can give it, I’m going to work hard to make sure that this is as good of a blog on the writing life as I can make it. It’s the least I can do to repay the faith you subscribers have given me before, now, and in the future.

That’s it for now. Thanks to you all, and I look forward to writing for you and hearing from you.