Special Edition: Answers to FAQs
Substack takes some time to figure out. Here are some tips regarding paid subscriber posts, the chat, special edition posts, meetups, and more.
Substack by Email, on the App, or on a Desktop Computer
When you first see a post, it will land in your inbox. Here you can read and delete as you would with any other email you receive. You can also reply to me as you would any other email.
Two things to note:
First, that post will live on my Substack website page forever (unless I decide to delete it), just like a blogpost would live on a website. This means that if you delete the email you can always come back to it by visiting my page and scrolling through all of my published posts to find the one you are looking for. This is great for everyone because some of my favorite stories were sent months ago and people can still go back and read them. Here are a few of my favorites: No. 28: Museum Sketchbook Pages; No 25: The Colors of Fall; and No. 10: A Little Bit of Family History.
Second, it is really helpful for subscribers to like and comment on posts. In order to do this, click on the heart at the bottom of the email and it will take you to a space where you can comment and read the comments of others. More likes and comments mean Substack will then suggest our stories to new readers. Many of you already do this, and I am very thankful, but I figured I would mention it because many people aren’t even aware that there is a like and comment option.
The Chat
Most of the chats I start are for paid subscribers only. The chat is a great way for me to communicate without sending a whole new email. Sometimes I will send a heads-up that a new chat has been started by email (because each time I start a chat, Substack asks me if I want to send the message by email as well), if I really want to make sure you see it. The app is the easiest way to check in on the chat to make sure you are up-to-date on announcements and meetup invitations, and also to chime in and share. Click HERE to find the Draw Your World chat threads.
Please let me know if you are only aware of a new chat when an announcement lands in your inbox. If this is the case then I will always click the option to send by email when I start a new chat!
Special Edition Posts
If you head to the Substack homepage of Draw Your World on a computer and scroll down a bit, on the right side you will see all of the Special Editions that I have created for you. If you look on the smartphone, you should be able to find them if you keep scrolling down. In this group is a post that I am consistently checking and changing that shares all of my favorite art supplies, a tutorial on how I make my sketchbooks, a list of my favorite places in New York and Paris, and the prompts for the February drawing challenge. If you missed the challenge, you can check out what we worked on and establish a time to start on your own, whenever you choose. I am here to help if you decide to go for it!
Special edition shortcuts are here:
February 2024 Draw Your World Challenge
I am going to add this one to the list as well so you can easily reference it again if needed!
Meetups
Meetups happen at least once a month, usually twice. When I am freer with teaching and client work, I will definitely be hosting more! Every meetup is slightly different, but most of the time I will share an image from my camera roll and we will all interpret it in our own way using the materials we love. I am open to people following along as I work or completely changing things up and taking the image in a whole new creative direction of their choice. We all love to see the variety. There is time for show-and-tell at the end of these sessions.
Here is the recording of the last meetup so you can get an idea about how they work and how great our growing community is.
Occasionally we welcome special guests to the meetups. I try to invite friends who will inspire in new ways. So far we have had David Morales, Ohn Mar Win, France Van Stone, Nishant Jain, Richard Haines, and Gavin Snider.
Click here for the subscriber chat where you will find the links to our meetups.
Drawing Prompts
So far I have provided many different creative drawing prompts for paid subscribers; at the moment I am up to nineteen. There is a shortcut at the top of the homepage (on the computer) to access all of the prompts. Or you can click HERE.
Notes
Substack introduced Notes about a year ago and it definitely took a little time to adjust to. I love seeing what others choose to share, commenting, liking, finding new posts to read, meeting new people, and reading about all sorts of new things by scrolling through my Notes feed. I share little bits of news, special links, and some illustrations on Notes. It is like Twitter and Threads, but just a happier place to be with less toxic news and more thoughtful content. One of my most popular Notes is here. And my whole Notes thread is here if you want to scroll through everything I have shared.
And here is a post from Substack explaining how it all works much better than I can.
As you read posts, you can “re-stack” the whole thing or a single line. This is a great way to support the people you subscribe to and read.
Introduction and Questions Thread
The more time you spend reading and engaging on Substack, the easier it gets! I hope this helped a little bit.
Now I would love to invite you to ask any questions and introduce yourself! Let’s get to know each other better. I love this community, and am so thankful for all of you.
Thanks, Sam! These are good reminders. You are definitely correct that the more we use Substack the better, and easier, it gets. You have built a Learning community for artists of all levels and ages. That’s so hard to do and I salute you. No one out there is doing it as well as you do. And the way you have consistently used words as part of the art process is a big plus. We get so much from you - art skills, books, wide horizons, a caring community….just for a start. Thank you for all you do to make this work for each of us. It’s a gift.
Michele, Midway, Utah - just over the hill from Park City. I live in a nature paradise so I better keep painting.
Wow! I needed to know this information! Thank you very much!