And now for a special announcement...

...and a new chapter.

Last New Year’s Eve, I decided to create a Substack with the goal of making enough to live off while I write. I wanted to just write for a living, and all of you fine folks—my paid subscribers—immediately came forward to help me get started on making this a reality.

A few months ago, Substack reached out to me to get some general feedback on my experience with the site. I hadn’t published in several weeks and told them I wasn’t sure how I felt about staying on here. I was honest with them regarding my concerns over transphobic content. We had a productive discussion over it, they heard me out, and I took some time to think about it.

During our follow-up meeting, I told them that I do feel they could be doing better, but I was not going to leave the platform because, quite frankly, I’m tired of trans people being the only ones to bear the consequences of transphobic social media nonsense. I’m not going to leave Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere else because of transphobic people existing on there. So, why would I do that with Substack?

I also told them that I appreciated them discussing all this in good faith and that I would not hesitate to be appropriately critical of the site moving forward.

They thanked me for my honesty, told me they respected my decision, and then threw a curveball: they offered me a ProDeal. It basically amounts to a writer development contract—a 1-year, six-figure deal—with some incredible services provided: design help, consulting, and a part-time editor dedicated to my blog.

They did this because of CWT’s performance over the first five months and potential for growth in their analysis.

I was surprised because, obviously, I had just finished telling them that I was going to continue to be critical of Substack as appropriate. They encouraged me to write what I think needs to be written, even if it’s critical of them.

They see my blog as an investment for their business, and I greatly appreciate the compliment and the opportunity.

So, friends, allow me to reintroduce Charlotte’s Web Thoughts. This will be a site about what’s generally on my heart, what I think is interesting and funny and remarkable, what I believe needs to be said, and how I think the world looks from my little corner of it.

This is now my full-time job. Although I’ll continue to offer communications consulting to select clients (and always be open to speaking engagements), writing is what I want to do moving forward. I’m quite excited for it.

Typically, I’ll be publishing twice a week, sometimes more.

Charlotte’s Web Thoughts will remain completely free to anyone willing to provide only their email.

HOWEVER, there are some great perks for paid subscribers, so I hope you stick with me for the foreseeable future:

1. Only paid subscribers are allowed to comment on posts.
2. Only paid subscribers receive advance notice of special announcements — and there will be more to come, particularly a certain book deal in the near future.
3. Only paid subscribers can participate in community threads on my site.

And not for nothing: you’ll be sending a message to Substack that their investment in my writing is a wise one.

More fun news: I’ll be launching a companion podcast for Charlotte’s Web Thoughts that will be audio versions of my posts, perfect for folks on-the-go or who prefer audiobooks, etc. This should be completed in the next few days, and I’ll be sure to link it in future posts.

My new logo was designed by the amazing folks at Talooka Studio here in D.C. — you should absolutely check out more of their work. They’re fantastic.

I can’t thank y’all enough for helping me reach this point. I want to make Charlotte’s Web Thoughts a successful blog/newsletter (newsblog? blogletter?) that will strive for clarity, humor, and progress.

This is gonna be a great chapter, and I’m so happy to have y’all with me for the ride.

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Hi, I’m Charlotte Clymer, and this is my Substack. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my writing, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription: just $7/month or save money with the $70/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $210.

You can also follow my work on Twitter.