Thought Couture's Next Chapter

Everything you need to know about the new paid tier.

When I started the Thought Couture newsletter last year, I wanted to build the thing I needed most: A place where writers, thinkers, and creatives at large who’d become dormant and distracted could find their way back to a life they love and work towards fulfilling their greatest potential. As it turned out, a lot of you needed that too.

Lately, I’ve had the strong sense that it’s time for Thought Couture to become more structured, targeted, and intentional in order to reach that goal. So today I’m (finally) opening up a paid tier and ushering in this next chapter. Not because the usual free posts are going anywhere—they aren’t—because I want to offer a more focused, hands-on experience for the readers who are ready for it.

Back in February, I sent out a survey to gather your thoughts on what you’d want to see in a paid tier of Thought Couture, and your responses were immeasurably illuminating. After considering our options and combining them with what I’m skilled enough to offer—which is to say, overthinking every minute detail for far too long—I’ve landed on the following perks:

What’s Inside 🎁

✦ Hand-picked educational epilogues.

Each post will end with a special section featuring curated resources chosen to inspire further reflection, education, and action. For example:

• Additional creative exercises, journaling prompts, and discussion questions

• Interdisciplinary recommendations of books, films, music, scholarly articles, etc.

• Extra deep dives into relevant themes and concepts

✦ Private mini–book clubs.

Quarterly, we’ll do a group read of an essay or short story that has the power to transform our understanding of art, our world, and ourselves. These mini–book clubs will be in two parts: an introduction to the piece, which will be freely available to all subscribers; and a later private thread for paid members featuring guided discussion questions.

I’ve decided to host these reading groups in text form, as opposed to the more common live video chat, in order to make them accessible regardless of your schedule. Take all the time you need and pop in whenever you please!

✦ Subscriber writing showcases.

And now for the perk I’m most excited for—the subscriber showcase! Every writer/artist/creative person knows that finding an audience for your work is no easy task. That’s why paid subscribers will have a quarterly¹ opportunity to get their writing, painting, music, or what have you in front of around 9,000 faces—which, though a humble number on social media, is a larger readership than most literary magazines. And you’ll never get a rejection letter from me!

I’m still working out the details of how to format this, but everyone who submits their work will be featured in a roundup that’ll get sent to all newsletter subscribers. I sincerely hope this can be an opportunity for you to find new readers, make strong connections, or simply get comfortable sharing your art in a supportive community that wants to see you succeed.

✦ An uninterrupted viewing experience

Given that Substack supports video uploads, paid subscribers will also get ad-free access to my YouTube videos as an added bonus. No sponsored segments or algorithms either—just a quiet space for a little entertainment (edutainment?). I’ll let you know when they’re all uploaded!

“The Writer” by Mary Bradish Titcomb, c. 1912

The Price of Entry ✨

And now for the juicy details you’re probably wondering about. The standard subscription rates will be:

1. The Common Reader, $0/month—Thought Couture exactly as it’s always been. Regular essays, exercises, and reviews with open comment sections.

2. The Room of Our Own, $8/month—The regular posts, plus extra hand-picked resources; access to the book club discussion thread, subscriber writing showcase, and ad-free videos.

   1. The Patron of the Arts $80/year—everything above, plus two months free.

3. The Founding Members, $120/year—Everything above, plus a special shout-out in the book clubs, priority positions in the subscriber showcases, and early access to future offers. Not to mention, my ineffable gratitude for believing in what I’m building.

🎉OPENING CEREMONY SALE 🎉The first 100 paid subscribers will receive an early-bird discount that’s locked in for life:

• The Room of Our Own, $6/month

• The Patron of the Arts, $60/year

• The Founding Members, $100/year

Your early support will help build the stage of what this space becomes and guide fellow aspiring writers back to the page, so your rate should reflect that. 💜💜💜

The Next Steps 🐾

Paid subscriptions will officially go live on Friday, May 15. If you’ve already pledged a subscription, or if you upgrade between now and then (which will appear as a pledge), that’s when your card will be charged. And after that, the fun begins!

🚨A note for pledgers! If you pledged a subscription prior to this announcement, the rate you pledged at is locked in and will not be raised when the paid tier is live. If you’d like to cancel, please do so before May 15 to avoid being charged (no hard feelings). Thank you for supporting the ‘stack in its nascent days!

If you have any questions or need anything clarified, please feel free to ask in the comments, or send me a message.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read and consider this announcement! Your support allows me to keep this space running and strengthen it into something that might add a little net good to the world. For that, I am profoundly grateful.

Until next time!

1. The showcase and mini book clubs may be changed to bimonthly in the future, depending on demand.