Gotta say I do not love how Substack keeps emailing me trying to get me to join a Writer Boost that's supposed to result in hundreds of new subscribers and-- oh, hello, what's this??-- costs $21 a month.

One of the big draws of Substack IMO is that it's not pay-to-play. Offering to promote (possibly terrible) work in exchange for a fee feels icky to me. I like the idea of a month-long boost for up-and-coming writers! But for heaven's sake, can't we just elevate good work on its own merit?

We're introducing a new series of discussion prompts at The Pomegranate, and I love how