A whimsical weekly pick-me-up for people who need that kind of thing.
This is a newsletter by a cartoonist who has a lot of feelings. That cartoonist is me. My feelings are bigger than normal people’s feelings. I have to buy all my feelings-related products in the Plus-Sized section.
The thing is, as an adult, I would like to be able to have my feelings without beating myself up for it.
If you’re like me, you might benefit from a weekly letter from a compassionate friend (me, the aforementioned cartoonist) encouraging you to keep going, because (I promise!) you’re doing a good enough job. This newsletter is that. It is the pep talk I would want to receive. Except, I have written it in second person, for you.
I also have a baby, and I write one paragraph about what it is like to have this baby every week. It’s clearly labeled, and so you can easily skip it.
Sophie, Who Are You And Why Should I Care?
Sure, sure. I am a New Yorker cartoonist (mostly with my friend Sammi Skolmoski, but sometimes solo). I’ve written three books: Many Love: A Memoir of Polyamory and Finding Love(s), Love Without Sex: Stories on the Spectrum of Modern Relationships, and Dear Sophie, Love Sophie: A Graphic Memoir in Diaries, Letters, and Lists. One is illustrated, one is an audio book, and the other is a graphic novel-type book. If you still think I am unworthy of writing and drawing a newsletter, but you might still be convinced, here’s my website.
Paid Subscriber Benefits
They are many. Here’s a bulleted list:
Every Friday, you’ll get a list of ten things I recommend, including articles, songs, recipes (that I wrote!), products, and free activities. I spend a lot of time curating these, and I’ll bet you can benefit from such a list.
Every Monday, I post a forum with a guiding question, and a community of readers respond. YOU can respond! This has included questions about recommendations, about struggles, about life, about memories… it runs the gamut.
Through this Monday post, you will gain access to an incredible community of other supportive people (who are lovingly called The Erins), who respond to comments and help each other. It’s like you suddenly got A HUNDRED MORE compassionate friends who will always show up for you!
Monday post comments have turned into things like: a collaborative playlist, a printable recipe ‘zine, penpal lists, and a book club.
About that book club: we meet monthly to discuss a book and talk about stuff on Zoom. I am there, and I get pretty excited about meeting you in person.
You will be supporting me as a writer, and I’ll be honest: I need the support in order to keep this going! Babies are expensive, and writing doesn’t pay very well. I like writing — especially when it feels like it can be helpful to people (you!). I want to be able to keep doing it. Without paid subscribers, I can’t. Without paid subscribers, I would have to become a cleaner of bird cages. (This is the job I assume I would get if I had to pick a non-teaching non-writing job, because it doesn’t seem that bad to me, because I like birds.)
On a larger level, you’ll be saying, “Hey, I believe in independent writing and in journalists and writers of all kinds, and I want to make sure people can keep doing those jobs in the future!” Because that’s what Substack is all about.
