200 Subscriber Special!
The Peasant Times-Dispatch By The Numbers
Dear Readers,
You’ve done it again—you, not me! Thank you for entrusting me with your time, your attention, and in a few cases—your money. Thank you for supporting the Peasant Times-Dispatch. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue my passion project here at Substack. It is my distinct honor to put words into the internet, which in some way I hope adds some value to your intellectual or spiritual life, and—if I am lucky—contributes in some way to bringing you closer to God. It is an honor, ladies and gentlemen, a true honor.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
While I opened the Peasant Times-Dispatch on 4 February 2022, I didn’t publish my first post until 15 April 2022. You can see the bones of the format I am going for—part magazine, part lifestyle, part catechesis. It’s an ambitious project, and I’ve taken a lot of time to reconfigure the whole project to try to make it just so.
were early supporters of the Peasant Times-Dispatch, and they recommended me in July of 2022. They changed my trajectory entirely, and I am exceedingly grateful for their contribution! From that point, I entered a long stretch of sporadic posting, reconfiguration, subscription drives, and major life events.I reached the 100 Subscriber milestone on 23 January 2023 after posting my collaborative article with Missio Dei, “Who is Right?”. I celebrated with a modest 100 Subscriber Special, and in which
asked ominously if I would consider twitter to aid my growth.On April 10th (or around thereabouts), Substack launched their far superior alternative to twitter, in which I have been Silly and Prolific, and gotten to know so many good and wonderful people in the Catholic, Christian, and “Christian Adjacent” community, not to mention all the good and wonderful people I have met through my fiction endeavor, Gibberish (which recently hit the milestone of 50 Subscribers! Nothin’ but Growth in the Scootiverse). Importantly, Notes skyrocketed my growth, and is responsible for launching me to this milestone of 200 Subscribers, which I’ve achieved today, 17 May 2023.
In the last year+, I have enjoyed writing for you. Here are some of my personal favorites from this time:
- ’s “A Call To (f)Arms” the title of which I was immediately jealous, and which excellently and succinctly lays out some of the ideas of the Peasant’s Life.
My essay, “The Urgency of Forgiveness,” which is crossposted from my Wordpress site. When I wrote the article, I realized both how important forgiveness is to a Christian life, and also to our salvation.
The June 2022 Edition of the Peasant Times-Dispatch called “Parables for Peasants”, which talks about the importance of parables to Christ’s ministry and why they all seem to speak the language of peasants.
What About You?
I would be loathe to get through this without giving a highlight to my wonderful subscribers and some of the friends I have made around Substack.
First—you, dear subscribers, have come to me from 34 different US States! For those keeping score at home, that is MORE THAN HALF! We will see if I can complete the grand-tour before reaching the next milestone!
More amazing than US States, you are reading me from 20 different countries!!! The Top 5 are US, Canada, UK, India, and the Philippines. I can see on the little map Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Australia, and Jordan as well. That leaves 5 countries that I cannot see because the map is too small. I would love to have a complete list. Is your country mentioned? Can I get a “Woop woop!” in the comments for your country!
Shout Out Zone
I would like to shout out some of my good friends as well on this platform. If you are looking for other worthy publications to read in the same space as the Peasant Times-Dispatch (and my Fiction writing accompaniment,
), then consider these people and publications, in no particular order!- - A Catholic Symbology newsletter which has been excellent! I found him I think in the midst of a discussion about Job, and besides excellent writing is a kind and fun and responsive individual himself!
- - A weekly EXCELLENT article on a Saint demonstrating manly virtues. Worth the read every week!
- - Jennifer Fitz writes explainers for every-day Evangelism, and makes it sound like approachable and interesting work. It is also important work, so her articles are always worth it and always filled with good information.
- - So good they’re worth mentioning twice, as I have received at this point nearly half of my subscribers from their recommendation less than a year ago. Recommendations are a powerful force! I am very grateful for them!
- - A newer publication to Substack that dives into the heavy hitting meat-and-potatoes of living a Catholic life. I would say we are two sides of the same coin, trying to process our crazy modern life with an authentically Catholic perspective.
And these are just the publications I am “officially” recommending! Here are some others:
- by S.E. Reid (And her recent Fiction endeavor, ). I encountered S.E. Reid through the office hours and her encouragement helped keep this nascent publication operating through some lean times. Her weekly trifecta of posts are always encouraging and thoughtful and it’s become one of my favorite digital haunts on Substack.
- by Walter Emerson, who writes about a spiritual journey with St. Therese and St. Joan of Arc. His work is fascinating but also he’s friendly and approachable and always has something thoughtful to say!
- , , , , ,, , and so many others. If I left anyone out it was not on purpose, it’s just that there’s so many good and wonderful people on Substack with whom I interact on a regular basis, it’s impossible to list them all.
What’s Next?
Well, simply put to keep going! There’s a lot to do and I still don’t have the Peasant Times-Dispatch down to a science. For now, I’ll be sticking to one solid essay per month, with plans to pick things up as I get the model ironed out.
One thing that I would like to target is Paid Subscriptions.
Listen, I am not offering any real paid subscriber perks right now. I am too small, and I want to keep most of the good stuff visible. So right now, a Paid subscription is a vote of confidence, and it brings me a couple bucks closer to doing this full time. I have lots I would like to do but most of my day is consumed with doing a day job that I have to do to sustain myself right now. The more I write, the more of you that can support me, to whatever extent makes sense for you, it helps a LOT.
The most immediate impact is that paid subscriptions finance my ability to pay for my own subscriptions to other people. A rising tide raises all ships!
If you like the Peasant Times-Dispatch and want to help support my work here, please consider a paid subscription!
Specific Goals?
My next major milestone will be to double to 400 Subscribers—we’re going to skip over the 300 mark, it’s OK. I like doubling.
I doubled my subscribers in less than 5 months thanks to Notes, so if I continue on this trajectory (nothing stays the same forever), I could possibly reach 400 over the next year. Let’s keep that as the goal—400 by 30 April 2024.
I would really love to get to 20 Paid subscribers (that’s 10% if 20 of you sign up right now, and 5% if you wait until I hit 400). At a monthly rate of $5, that’s $100 per month or $1,200 per year. I’m not getting fantastically wealthy from this, but $1,200 per year would make a big difference in my life.
As a Thank you for being a paid subscriber, (and for reading all the way to the end) I’ve created a discount code you can redeem before June 30th! Click this button to get 20% off a paid subscription for 1 year!
I also want to keep consistency! By the time I hit 400, I don’t want to have missed a single month with my one solid essay. I’ve had 3 stretches of no posts in my history so far, and I think it’s because I bit off more than I could chew.
And, as always, I want to keep making the Peasant Times-Dispatch better. Quality, Quality, Quality! I am always looking for ways to improve—and open to comments from YOU about how I can do that.
Thank You
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Thank you for making this last year-and-a-month wonderful. Thank you for giving me 200 friends to talk to about my passion project. Thank you for making the Peasant Times-Dispatch what it is today, and what it will be in the future.
God bless each and every one of you!
-Scoot
Ad Jesum Per Mariam
Congrats Scoot! I've been really enjoying your content and our interactions on Notes. I'm sure you'll hit 400 in no time - good luck!
Thanks so much for that shout out!! I was looking through your substack earlier and I think you must be one of the hardest working people in independent Catholic media lol. So many great articles, fantastic writing, considerate categorizing (your header menu) and even a podcast. Really impressive. I’m happy for you having such growing success. I hope you help to form an army of saints with your work. God bless you my friend! Thank you again for that shout out, that was so kind of you.