Public Affairs Press

A Note to Readers

Recently I came across a list of Substack’s bestsellers, counting subscriptions by categories: news, politics, business, culture, etc. So where does Public Affairs Press fit?

Looking back at the 181 posts I have published since February 2022,, I have concluded that they are, to use an old-fashioned term, essays. I have written about the news, politics, publishing, journalism, and culture, among other things, mostly reflecting decades of experience as a reporter, writer, editor, publisher, husband, father, grandfather, relative, and friend.

In an interview about his new memoir, the great Dave Barry said that, although he stopped writing newspaper columns twenty years ago to concentrate on books, he was now on Substack because it was a conversation with his readers, a personal relationship that he valued, and so do I. There is no corporate entity regulating what and when you write, just Substack’s efficient distribution system.

Substack’s data says there are now Public Affairs Press readers in all fifty states and in eighty-six countries. Wow. About 5 percent of the subscribers have paid and those revenues are shared with two NGOs, the Barth Syndrome Foundation and Center for Civilians in Conflict. Every piece gets a thorough edit by Paul Golob, whose bona fides are exemplary.

In the spring, Substack leadership invited me to a gathering of “Bestsellers” in a New York City bar. What does that mean? I wondered. It turns out that anyone with more than one hundred paying subscribers qualifies. But at the high end of the spectrum are Substacks with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, mostly free, but enough are paid to provide a healthy return for the authors.

When you subscribe, Substack will encourage you to pay for your subscription. That’s where it gets its revenues. But as I say, free is the overwhelming choice.

When asked about my readership, I say, proudly, there are thousands — about five thousand subscribers, to be more precise. I started with zero. Every post gets a small number of unsubscribes and some additions. I was told at the outset that every new subscriber is a mental boost and that is definitely the case, for each and every one.

To help in soliciting subscriptions, an author can recommend other Substacks to read and ask for a recommendation in return. The last time I looked, twenty-eight Substack newsletters were recommending Public Affairs Press and my number of recommendations was similar.

Authors also share their pieces on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, which are the modern version of encouraging word-of-mouth.

On the “welcome” page for new subscribers, I say that my first real job in journalism was as an assistant to I. F. Stone, whose newsletter had a devoted following and was a significant and influential voice in the 1960s. Izzy had thousands of subscribers, who received the generally four-page publication weekly in the mail. He believed that the subsidized mailing of news was one of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest contributions to our democracy.

Izzy did not know that newsletters would become so popular in the twenty-first century, no postage necessary.

Last summer, I posted a serial of eighteen pieces from the book LBJ and McNamara: The Vietnam Partnership Destined to Fail. The book version is available for sale, as is the audiobook, which includes bonus recordings of me working with McNamara as his editor.

Later today (July 22), I will put up the first of seven posts about the book In the Garden of Memory: A Family Memoir. I am calling this piece the “Overture” because it explains the book and what to expect in the upcoming pieces, which will alternate weekly with other topics of interest.

Thank you, again, for reading Public Affairs Press.