Who Do I Pay To Read?
A list of every newsletter I pay for, plus some thoughts on why, and how, to pay for words.
Last month, I raised the subscription price of Burnt Toast. When
and I stopped to consider how much the newsletter had grown in the past three years, from one weekly post, to one essay and a podcast, to an essay, a podcast, and a Friday Thread that is often another essay…we knew it was time to ask readers to pay what we’re worth. (If you became a paid subscriber prior to June 15, don’t worry — you’re locked into the old price forever!) And I’ve been so encouraged by the response: New subscribers are still joining us! Nobody got (very) mad about it, or told us we were over-charging!
I think the increase went over so smoothly because we’ve been working hard to demonstrate the value of a paid subscription here. I do a lot of original reporting behind those paywalls. (Inside the alt-right cult of 1000 Hours Outside, how to co-parent with an ex stuck in diet culture) I also do a lot of cultural analysis (Huberman Husbands, Protein Girlies). And you get my most personal writing; the pieces I’m not ready for the entire Internet to read, like my divorce announcement or where I land on bikini waxing.
Corinne puts a ton of work into each of those pieces too—brainstorming with me, and then editing, sourcing images and links. On the podcast, the paywalls get you our unfiltered thoughts on breast reductions, Bridgerton bodies, jeans, and so much more. Our audio game is strong because of Tommy’s meticulous engineering, and the thousands of hours we all spend planning and editing each episode. (If you like to nerd out about all of this, you can hear a lot more about our workflow process in this episode.)
Starting tomorrow, Burnt Toast is going on our summer break. We have an awesome slate of reruns planned for you, and we’ll be back right after Labor Day. (My apologies to those of you in states where school starts in July or August, but here in New York, August is the hardest childcare month of the year!) Because of paid subscribers, I’ll be continuing to pay Corinne, Tommy, and myself during this time off—which feels pretty amazing because PTO is also a concept that never existed when I was freelancing for mainstream media. If you're investing in this work, I trust that means you’re happy to invest in good working conditions for the people who make it for you, and understand that includes us figuring out the most sustainable publishing schedule.
If you haven’t joined us yet, subscribing now will help make this break possible for us. It’s also an investment in all of the great reporting, writing and audio we’ll be bringing your way come September.
Subscriptions start at just $7 per month. There are two tiers of access (regular and Extra Butter!) so you can choose whichever is best for you.
If you’re a free subscriber and staying that way—please know, we value you too. I know lots of you don’t subscribe, but do support our work by sharing what you read and listen to here, by subscribing to
, and by buying my books, or checking them out from your libraries. It has always been important to me that Burnt Toast stay accessible, which means keeping a significant portion free. That includes all of my guest interviews (Emma Copley Eisenberg! Christyna Johnson! Ash Brandin! Elise Hu! Tigress Osborn!) and all of our Burnt Toast Guides, where you can get answers to all of your top questions about navigating weight, health, diet culture and anti-fatness. And if you’d ever like to access the paywalled content but upgrading your subscription is financially out of reach, please remember that I will always give out comp subscriptions, no questions asked. (Just hit reply to this email.)
But Can We Talk A Bit More About Paywalls?
There is one constant concern I hear from readers, both those who can and do pay, or those who could pay but aren’t yet, which I want to talk about today: What to do when you love a lot of newsletters but cannot possibly subscribe to them all. This is the reality of our fractured media landscape. For-profit newsletters offer writers one of the most sustainable ways to make a living that we’ve ever had —more than most staff media jobs, and more than writing a New York Times bestselling book (ask me how I know!). But for readers, you can see all those $5 and $7 and $10 monthly subscriptions add up to something deeply unsustainable, fast. I know this because I’m also a newsletter reader, and pay for a ton of subscriptions — which is doable for me since they are all a business write-off, but still a tally I keep an eye on.
An adjacent argument I hear frequently is: “Why can’t you all just write for the same magazine?” After all, the first year of a digital The New Yorker subscription is $50 – less than this newsletter. And of course there, you get access to a full masthead of brilliant writers. But much, much less of your $50 (and then your $130 per year when it auto-renews) goes directly to those brilliant writers. You’re also supporting the entire toxic battleship that is Conde Nast. As someone who made a decent-ish living writing for monthly magazines most of her career, I can say: That model never, ever served writers. It served advertisers. At their height (late 90s, early 2000s), the best monthly magazines paid between $1 and $3 per word. These days, it’s far more common to be offered a flat rate of $500 or less for a piece that takes hours and hours to report and write, and once upon a time might have paid $5000 or more. And the contracts we’re offered are draconian. Writers rarely retain any rights to the pieces we write for hire, which means corporate media makes all the money on reprints of our work. I could go on.
I do subscribe to mainstream media outlets, both for research purposes, and because I believe in supporting journalism in all forms, especially when one of the people running for president would like to decimate the free press as we know it. But I know those subscriptions don’t directly support writers in the same way.
So here’s what I do instead, as a reader of newsletters: I set a monthly budget for how much I want to spend on paid subscriptions. (Yours might be $5! Mine is more because again, this is a business expense.) Then every few months, I check over my list of subscriptions and rotate out the publications I find I’m reading less to make space to rotate in the new writers I’m discovering.
Let me say this clearly: I don’t expect you to subscribe to Burnt Toast forever. I get that is an unreasonable ask for the vast majority of readers! Rotate us in for a few months, then rotate us out to make room for a new voice. Maybe rotate us back in later, maybe don’t.
Switching up subscriptions like this is labor, yes, but it’s also fun. It’s just like a trip to the bookstore, or the ye olde magazine stand; a chance to discover new writers and new ideas, and fall in love over and over again. This is how we continue to diversify the voices we listen to; to make space for new writers who were never going to make it onto the very white, very exclusive mastheads back in the heyday of magazines, and still aren’t making it into nearly enough newsrooms. As long as enough readers understand why it’s important to pay for words, there will be enough audience to go around.
So, Who Am I Paying to Read Right Now?
If you need ideas of who to read next, here’s a full list of every writer I’m loving and paying for at the moment.
#AmWriting by
(and her co-hosts); relentlessly helpful advice for every stage of a writing career.The Audacity by
; impeccable link roundups, plus great guest voices because Roxane knows how to use her platform to lift others up.Big Salad by
; I love how joyfully Jo writes about post-divorce life.- ; because I will pay for every word Sam ever writes.
- ; come for the pop culture recs, stay for the fat joy.
Can I Have Another Snack? By Laura Thomas; no longer on Substack, still absolutely worth the read if you’re feeding kids!
Culture Study and the Culture Study Podcast by
; probably don’t need to tell you why you should read this one bc you already do!- ; one of my favorite thinkers and humans.
- ; smart analysis about how we revolutionize care work.
Evil Witches by
; “parenting content” for those of us who hate parenting content.- ; a new fav! Love how Jenn writes about ambition, beauty, everything.
- ; our beloved First Lady of Frump.
Gretagram by
; formerly of Nerdette, always of my heart.- ; very honest, messy and joyful writing about divorced life.
How to Move by
; another new fav! Solidly anti-diet and incredibly useful fitness writing.In Pursuit of Clean Countertops by
; one of my work wives, also our nation’s leading scholar on Ballerina Farm and trad wives.- ; the MOST helpful parenting advice (no like, legit useful and never shaming).
- ; you will learn so many change-your-life useful kitchen tricks, plus power lifting and other fat positive writing!
Landline by
; truly the most hilarious pop culture writer, I said it and I stand by it.The Liberation Collective from Chrissy King; excellent rants and wisdom from body liberationist and author Chrissy King.
Living Small by
; I will never be a minimalist or a small house person, but I so admire how Laura inspires me to think hard about consumerism.- ; beautiful writing on self-care, trauma, and mental health from my genius cousin.
Mad Woman by
; another work wife and one of my favorite feminist writers.- ; I’ve talked before about how Lyz’s writing (and friendship) helped get me through my divorce but she’s also one of our smartest political journalists.
- ; also! Preorder Shana’s new book!
- ; “profoundly athletic” is a big part of my personality and yet I adore Frankie’s smart, queer, sports writing. I don’t make these rules.
- ; Jo is another powerhouse who does so much to support other writers. And such a smart, funny writer.
- ; smart nature and environmental writing from a Burnt Toast alum!
Practicing by
; gorgeous writing about writing.- ; one of my OG colleagues on this beat, now doing critical work around wellness culture, disinformation and more.
- ; required reading for anyone questioning beauty standards and beauty labor.
TCF Emails by
; always a killer link roundup plus feminist pop culture analysis.Unflattering by
; indispensable for anyone who dresses themselves.- ; the most thorough researcher we have working to untangle questions of weight and health.
YTF Community by Amy Palanjian; also not on Substack, but essays + meal plans!!
And next on my list to rotate in:
Love this, love all your points, love that you've raised the price, even! You continue to inspire and awe me, Virginia.
Last year when I decided to switch to a donation-based model, the response was fascinating and revealing (I actually made *more* money than dividing content into paid and free) and it caused me think so deeply about all of Substack's pricing options. For me, "pay if you can support my work, but everything is available to everyone either way" just works. It might not always work, but it's working now, and more importantly to me, aligns with my vision for what I want my newsletter to be.
With 16 years as an underpaid copywriter under my belt, it brings me so much joy when I can afford to support a fellow writer. And I actually feel good about myself when reading! Why was I paying for an issue of Cosmo to make me sad, back in the day? I have no idea. Burnt Toast was my gateway drug into the heady world of Substack and Big Undies was soon to follow. I’ve been loving All Things Fat lately, Jessica Torres has some great advice and recs, not to mention serving the most gorgeous colourful looks.