Spring cleaning

Taking this newsletter in a new direction

Mennonite Board of Missions Photographs, 1900-1971

I started writing Think of the Children a little bit less than two years ago. At the time, I wanted some place where I could play around with ideas, particularly things that weren’t necessarily timely, hot takes, or easy to pitch to publications. Quickly, I remembered how much I enjoy writing on a regular schedule. It reminded me of when I used to have a newspaper column — a practice that challenged and enriched me as a writer.

All these months later, I’ve deeply enjoyed writing this newsletter. Having the opportunity to interview writers and talk to other parents is an absolute delight — I never get tired of it. I challenged myself to practice recording and editing audio, and while I still have a tremendous amount to learn, it’s something that I’m excited to do more of.

But I’ve realized that it’s time to make a bit of a change. Sending out a newsletter every week has soaked up all the capacity I have left over after my full-time job, parenting, my Etsy shop, and any number of other responsibilities (I just joined the board of my local children’s museum!). Writing this every week has meant not really doing any other freelance work — and my income has taken a dent as a result.

So it’s time for a change. I really want to keep writing this newsletter; I don’t want to abandon it in favor of hustling for paying writing gigs! So I’m asking for your support to help me keep going. Starting in April, here’s what you will get with your Think of the Children subscription:

Free subscriptions

• Two free posts every month, including essays and Q&A-style interviews

• Access to 6 months’ worth of archived posts

Paid subscriptions

• Two free posts a month, plus:

  • Audio newsletters (podcasts)

  • Bonus content, including hot takes

  • Ability to comment on posts

• Access to all archives

To encourage you to become a paid subscriber, I’m offering a discount. If you subscribe between now and April 2, you can get a full year’s subscription for just $20. And if your income is precarious or if $20 is just too far outside your budget, but you want to keep reading, please just email me to request a free subscription — I will add you to the subscriber list, no questions asked.

This feels very scary! But I’ve been so honored by your support over the past couple of years, and I really want to have the space and the ability to keep doing a good job for you — to write essays and land interviews that are meaningful, impactful and exciting. I hope this new model will allow me to do that, and I hope you’ll come with me as I try to make Think of the Children better.

If you have any questions, just let me know! You can expect to see my first paywalled post in a couple of weeks — I have an interview with an author that I’m so excited to share with you.