Hello! You are one of my free subscribers of The Hyphen and I’m so grateful you chose to subscribe in this vast ocean of Internet Things.
Some news: I’ve recently made the decision that The Hyphen is no longer operating as a free newsletter. Not only because I believe paying for Substack subscriptions means we are encouraged to appreciate/honour the value of words (in a world that often doesn’t; just look at the current writer strikes), but also because I work so hard behind-the-scenes on producing this newsletter. I’m like a little writing machine, sparks flying off my fingers. You might have noticed that you receive something in full very occasionally (like this!) or there is a preview paywall on most of my posts. Maybe you click on and then click off.
In all honesty, there’s not much point being a free subscriber anymore — and to get the most out of The Hyphen it means opting in (at just over £1.50 a week) and you receive everything — a 200-post back catalogue, long-form essays, guest columns from my favourite writers, zero adverts, giveaways and a thriving community-led comment section discussing topics that bring us joy, books, culture and wellbeing. All the good stuff.
Here is a taste of some of my popular recent posts:
If you really want to subscribe and join the community but are unable to afford the current price, please drop me an email me at hello@emmagannon.co.uk and I’ll give you a complimentary paid subscription for a month so you can have a look around.
It’s true that you could also pay £6.99 for a whole host of other things that you value more. What we each individually value is up to us. But I have to say, my subscriptions to Substack writers that I enjoy/get direct access to/want to support are personally one of my favourite things to spend money on currently.
The Hyphen is a place I created because I was feeling depleted/lost on social media as it felt further and further away from a place of connection. I also wanted to write for you outside of the (rather long) book publishing cycle. I shut down my successful podcast and felt compelled to write more. I wanted a safe and joyful place to talk about books, creativity and living a life on your own term — topics I’ve been writing about in my Sunday Times Bestselling books over the years (i.e Sabotage, Olive, Disconnected and The Success Myth.) I really care about the positive impact of online communities to talk about meaningful things in our lives and quite simply facilitating a space to make life a little easier and navigate change together. I guess that’s also why last year I also trained to be a life-coach (not that I’m a huge fan of the word itself). I learned the core skills needed to help people get unstuck and navigate the tricky bits, and it’s one of my favourite things to do (more on the course I took here if interested). I mention this because years of my writing and coaching experiences weave their way into every single post on The Hyphen. I’m also planning a few different ways we might be able to meet up in person, and ways I can offer coaching/retreats.
If you have been interested in upgrading for a while, and want a little nudge, here is a one-off code to use (today!) at 20% off. My hope is that you’ll join so we can chat/connect more (and that you’ll perhaps introduce yourself here but not compulsory), I’d love to see you there.