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Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Feb 14

When I feel stuck with my writing, I've found inspirational quotes rarely help – they subtly make me feel like struggling is rare.

I've started to compile a list of anti-inspirational quotes to remind myself I'm in good company when things suck.

Here are a few favorites:

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

– George Orwell

“I write the way women have babies. You don’t know it’s going to be like that. If you did, there’s no way you would go through with it.”

– Toni Morrison

Read 10 tweets

Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Feb 6

@every

Over the past two years, I've subscribed to 100+ newsletters.

I'm going to start sharing the best of them here.

First up is a long-time favorite: @every.

A mini-thread with a few pieces I love:

@itsearmstrong

"You probably shouldn't work at a startup" –@itsearmstrong

I am a fanboy of @itsearmstrong's hot takes, especially the ones I disagree with.

This was a humbling, funny one.

every.to/napkin-math/yo…

@nbashaw

"Why I love working at startups" –@nbashaw

Every is a writer collective, which means there's no single perspective on a topic.

I.e. @nbashaw can debate @itsearmstrong and defend us startup people ;)

Cognitive dissonance levels: 7/10

Fun levels: 10/10

every.to/divinations/wh…

Read 8 tweets

Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Jan 28

I've now asked 30+ successful newsletter writers how they got their first 1,000 subscribers.

Their answers are all similar.

Here's how to go from 0 to 1K subscribers (thread):

First, the high-level lessons:

1. You have to write good stuff for people to subscribe & stick around.

2. Most growth tactics are simple, not easy.

3. It's easier to succeed with a clear niche, but you can succeed without one.

4. Different wins – make your writing distinct!

Now, the tactics.

Here's what most people did to go from zero subscribers to 1,000+...

Read 20 tweets

Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Jan 19

Last year, I met the guy who discovered and advised Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and just about every other famous comedian.

He utterly blew my mind with how he guided them early on in their careers to find their “signature move.”

Here’s everything he shared 👇

First, the backstory:

In the ‘80s, every comedy club in NYC treated comedians horribly.

They barely paid them. They made them order food off a separate, cheaper menu. They’d let in drunk hecklers to every show.

One of these underpaid, exhausted comics was Bill Grundfest.

Bill thought the whole thing was corrupt.

These clubs were building their businesses off the backs of these comedians.

He decided he’d start a new comedy club that treated comics with respect.

There was just one obvious problem: he was completely broke.

Read 18 tweets

Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Jan 16

I find it hard to believe 9 out of every 10 startups fail.

That stat is either a relic of a bygone era, or it includes every LLC somebody spins up on a whim and shuts down.

Here’s some non-exhaustive data on why failure rates are likely lower:

None of these are a smoking gun on their own. I think they mostly point to an overall ecosystem that's less risky than we're led to believe.

First, here's the 🐐 himself on venture returns:

"50% of the companies make money, 50% of the companies lose money."

(he's admittedly highlighting the returns for top firms)

Read 11 tweets

Stew Fortier

@stewfortier

Jan 5

What's cooler than a big community?

A high-affinity one.

How we built a high-affinity community:

@FosterCoWriting

Quick backstory...

In 2020, I co-founded @FosterCoWriting.

We're a community of writers who edit & contribute to each others' work.

Since launch, we've helped 100's of writers collaborate on thousands of pieces of writing.

These are the community principles we've followed:

1. Define a clear purpose

A purpose is the core reason a community gathers.

But most communities never define this. They only pick a category.

• Category: “We're a community of designers”

• Purpose: “...who help each other find better clients.”

Purpose guides everything.

Read 13 tweets

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