Why I’m Choosing My Website Over Substack for Long-Form Content

Everyone’s on Substack right now, and everyone is telling me to get on there, too.

Writers are flocking there like it’s the promised land. A Digital Eden where community meets newsletter, and the algorithm hasn’t yet turned bitter. A place where you can write long-form, get paid, and feel seen.

I get it …

But here’s the thing:

I don’t want to build my house on rented land. I am so tired of being on other people’s platforms and sending people to other sites besides my own.


I’ve worked too hard to hand over my story, my audience, and my future to someone else’s platform.

Also, it gets exhausting jumping from one hot platform to the next and I truly do not believe we have to do that over and over again.

Do you even have the bandwidth to do all of these platforms well? I don’t.

I’m Not Just Writing. I’m Building a Legacy

I’m not here for a moment. I’m here for the long game.


And long games require roots. Foundations. Architecture that lasts longer than an algorithm wave.

That’s why I’m investing in my blog, hosted on my own website. Not because I don’t see the value in Substack, but because I see a bigger vision for myself.

A vision that includes:

  • Owning my content. No middleman, no limits, no fine print.
  • Controlling the experience. My voice, my visuals, my flow.
  • Creating a home. Not just for my writing but for my readers, students, collaborators, and future self.

I’m the Story and the System

My Boondocks dissertation has been selling like hotcakes from a few Instagram posts and Threads alone. I didn’t need Substack or an additional app for that.

I needed clarity, discipline, strategy, and truth.

I analyze comics and culture because these are the texts that shaped me. And now, I’m shaping how they’re remembered. I’m building a searchable body of work—something that lives beyond the scroll. Something evergreen. Something Google can index. Something agents, publishers, and producers can find when they search my name.

If I’m trying to become a famous writer, I can’t just show up where everyone else is. I need to be findable when they’re not even looking for me.

I Want You to Land Somewhere That Feels Like Home

When you click on my blog, you’re not being fed ads or competitor newsletters or distractions.
You’re landing in a digital home that’s been curated with care, with rhythm, with resonance. With consistency.

You get my voice.
My vision.
My vulnerability.

I don’t need your email address for you to view the content. I just need you to find my world and for the people who love it, I hope you come back here.

And yes, you’ll get links to buy my work. Because building a legacy also means funding it.

Substack Is Great. But This Is Freedom.

Let the trends be the trends. I’m just ready to let my intentionality be my strategy.

I am not saying that I will never be on Substack, but for right now, my long-term vision involves building on my blog. It just feels like a bet on myself and like an investment in me and what I am trying to build.

It feels good.

And for any writer out there feeling like you’re behind because you’re not on Substack or all of the apps out there?
Let me remind you:

You don’t have to chase platforms. You have to build presence.

That’s what I’m doing here.

And if you’re still reading this?

Welcome home.

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