“I am a miser,” is Fudge’s answer to others asking about his new obsession with money.
One of the most brilliant characters ever invented is Judy Blume’s “Fudge.”
In her final book five of the series, “Double Fudge,” the five-year-old boy:
created his own currency: “Fudge Bucks”
experimented with charging for basic favors like passing the salt
shamelessly interrogates neighbors in the elevator about how much money they have
All the while, proudly explaining to them: “I am a miser”
So much fun to read to my girls. Still a popular request on vacation, and they are teenagers.
But miser-writers are anything but obnoxiously entertaining.
You recognize them instantly with miser-esque headlines:
“How to make your first 1000$ on substack”
“How to earn 5K/month writing online”
“Sell your writing-soul and swim in it like Scrooge McDuck”
Here are 5 reasons why I avoid miser-writers:
#1 Motivation matters to Christians
Miser-writers leverage to the fleshly desire for money. They are constantly triggering this base desire to get the click. Deliver yourself from the temptation. Unsubscribe and don’t purchase their work.
#2 Self-referential invalidation
The money they are making is from writers who want to learn to make money with writing. Scroll through their posts. Their audience is other miser-writers who want to print money and are themselves the prey.
#3 They encourage deception
Miser-writers love secret templates, formulas, and hacks. Find-and-replace your content in their template, and you will be staring at a fat lie. Then you will spend more time editing it than if you had written it yourself.
#4 Total depravity of your voice
Misers by nature distance themselves from being human. Loving money does that. It’s an idol worship on steroids that distorts your writing voice among other things. E.g., Miser-writer headlines all have the same icky sound.
#5 Contributing to a kingdom of cards
Every click your make, the algorithm will be watching you. That goes for buying their books, too. It boosts their visibility and creates more miser-writer disciples.
So maybe you ask:
“Got it Blair, but who would you learn from when it comes to writing emails?”
Short answer:
master-writers of email and direct response
Blair
P.S. I am no where near master myself. But I guess that’s what masters would say, right Mr. Bigglesworth?