What's in a Name?
On picking a title and second-guessing
Hello everyone,
I was reading a blog post a few weeks ago about how to write a successful newsletter. This might have even been on Substack, but I can’t remember. I sort of hate that I was reading this post to begin with, but I was. The post talked about how to choose a name for the newsletter and specifically advised against calling it something like “Amy’s Newsletter.” The thinking was that people will bypass it if they don’t know who Amy is and there’s no indication of, well, who Amy is. This makes sense. A title that doesn’t say anything about the content will detract readers and subscribers.
Well. This didn’t bode well for my own newsletter, the one you all are hopefully reading right now. I hadn’t even quite realized, when I started this, whether people would stop and think, “But who’s Britta?” before deciding whether to subscribe. It’s a fair question! So, after reading this blog post, I wondered whether I should alter the name. Perhaps to “Unfiltered Journalism”? That might draw more people. Or at least provide context. But the whole point of the current title was to use the pun to signal that this will be a raw account of my experience and thoughts. Plus I thought it was fun.
So I decided that I didn’t care to change the name. I began this newsletter for myself — to write every week, to build a community, to use my voice. I didn’t want to get sidetracked and distracted by the monetization of everything. Even this morning, after I logged into Substack, the first note I saw was someone promoting ways to build an audience (what to post to ramp up a book launch, how to pick the right platform, etc.). At the same time, writers should absolutely be getting paid for their work and the time it takes to publish a newsletter. For some people, publishing on Substack is a full-time job. Even if it’s not, writing is work and work should be compensated. I may, at some point, turn on paid.
I was talking with someone at an event last week who asked me whether I would ever consider publishing my journalism myself. Skip the publications altogether. This was in response to my concerns about the state of the industry — the lack of travel budgets, layoffs, the constant need for freelancers to cobble together money through grants and fellowships (work that’s unpaid). My answer to her was no. Never say never, but I think it’s important to have the backing, resources and support of a newsroom or outlet. But I did mention my newsletter (casual plug). I had started this endeavor for personal reasons, but it has, like all things, become professional. A friend even advised I add it to my resume.
So the name “Britta Unfiltered” will stay. The good news is that names can be changed. The better news is that I happen to like mine.
Thanks for being here <3
Britta Lokting
Endnote: Late last year I attended the Dart Awards ceremony at Columbia, which honors exemplary reporting on trauma. One of the winning pieces was about mercy workers — mitigation specialists for death-penalty defendants —for The Marshall Project. I particularly liked the narrative scenes and the focus on one case.
The title of your newsletter is perfect!