My Breathtaking Ride on Substack Writing Train
I’m back on Substack. Here are my first impressions.

Another bird?
No, not now.
The first one is not yet within my firm grasps. This is no time for spreading out — thin. Let me go deep first.
Those were my musings shortly after I started writing on Medium two years ago.
Following my debut on Medium, other platforms like Substack, Newsmax, Vocal, and more soon came with alluring invitations. Thanks to other Medium writers who were already featured on those other platforms.
I looked over my shoulders and opted for Substack. If not for anything else, I can use it as a backup for my Medium outputs. Only novices put all their writing eggs in one basket. I won’t have any of that.
That was how I dived into Substack as a non-pro user.
I'm not telling you which platform is better than the other. If indeed there is, I do not know it. No, not yet.
Then, Medium was my first online writing platform. Why dilute my efforts when I’ve not yet mastered my game? Rather than be a “Jeck on all writing platforms and master of none”, I resolved to stick with Medium for a while. This wasn’t a hard sell as my writings were no more than a few dozens total then.
Compulsively, my Substack account was in limbo while I dug deeper into Medium. The Substack user interface was awkward for me then.
Two years later, I’m now back for a revisit. I’ve since settled down on the Substack train.
Now, knowing what I learned, that same interface is now a joy to use. My personal blog and Medium output are going up North.
Soon, the $$$ will start rushing in. Medium’s algorithmic overlords will soon be smiling at me. Just one day. Join me and let’s speed in that day. Yes.
Read, share, and clap for my articles. Come on, aren’t we all in it together? 😆
Truth is, with or without Medium $$$, I’ll keep on renewing my annual Medium subscription. And I just did it.

Experience has taught me not to dismiss an app just because it seems to be not user-friendly on the first try. Going back to Substack has re-fired my writing. It helps that I can now repurpose some articles from my old writings to populate my Substack platform.
I'm not comparing Substack with Medium. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Here are my first impressions after a few article submissions.
1. Intuitive and friendly User Interface
Some high-caliber writers pronounced Substack non-intuitive. On my second coming, I found this to be otherwise.
Substack is as intuitive as Medium. In some areas, it is even more intuitive and user-friendly.

2. Easier Editing Interface
As of this writing, Substack doesn’t have a native Android app. For non-iOS users, Substack gave the option of having Substack Reader installed on Android devices. The Reader serves as the writing, reading, and owner’s backend dashboard.
3. Your favorite writers/newsletter are handier
Some of your favorite Medium writers are already on Substack. Follow them. The snag is that you may become temporarily oblivious of other prominent writers under the same roof. Especially is this so when you’re new to the platform.
This disadvantage quickly wanes off as soon as you get used to the user interface. The learning curve is a buildup on top of what I’ve already learned in Medium. Easy.
4. Easier editor on Android phones and tablets
In my opinion, Substack’s posts page is intuitive and easier. The inbuilt Grammarly app cleans up your tardy English upfront. The app formats and displays your pages beautifully on both your smartphone and tab
Unlike Medium’s editor on Android devices, the Substack editor is consistent on all platforms. What you write on the phone displays correctly on your tab and also on your desktop. The reverse is also true.
Using Medium on Android, I must always go back to my laptop to finish up my work. Writing and publishing on Substack need no desktop resort.
The Medium app even ramps up your editing pains even further. It doesn’t permit basic editing functions like undo and backspace. I hope Medium app developers will fix this setback on the Android app.
The Substack editor doesn’t have any of these limitations — a sheer joy to use.
5. Easy Migration of posts from other platforms
Like Medium, you can migrate your posts from other platforms. Don’t just do it indiscriminately!
Why?
Posts from Medium, replicates faithfully when migrated to Substack. However, only the feature image and the first few lines of migrated Medium posts show on Substack. Substack provides a link back to the original Medium page for each story. This is perfectly OK if that is how you like it.
For me, it is better to copy and paste your articles from other platforms directly into your new Substack page. This approach is still preferable since all your past posts may not be migration worthy.
The benefit is that you preserve most of your formatting (from other platforms) when you paste them into your new Substack pages.
Done this way, the luxurious inbuilt Grammarly app instantly highlights those errors you missed out on other platforms. Yes, it’s an unbeatable bestseller from Substack.
6. Grammarly app polishes your written English
That inbuilt Grammarly app makes life even easier for you. The app instantly highlights your occasional or egregious cringe-worthy basic English errors. It also shows you suggestions on how to fix them. You will love it.
7. Favorite Medium writers already on Substack
Many of those writers that thrilled me on Medium were already on Substack. I just followed them there. Do the same.
8. You can invite new subscribers from your landing page
Substack makes it easier for first-time visitors to read your stories and even easier to subscribe to your newsletter.
Medium offers the chance for discovering new writers from the app’s home page. This function seems to be less intuitive on Substack.
Non-subscribers on Medium can read only 3 articles per month. On Substack, writers can also set their own charges for willing subscribers. And like Medium, writers get paid when paying subscribers read your stories through.
9. Pro membership is easier on Medium
This is because Android users can easily renew their Medium membership via Google Play store.
Substack similarly affords you a Partnership Program. You will harvest some cool $$$ as your stories fly.
10. Joining the partnership is a bottleneck for some writers
On both platforms, qualifying writers from some African countries find it difficult to join the paying partnership program. These hardworking African writers only become MPP partners through a convoluted, wearisome process. Others give up entirely.
Unwittingly, both platforms' — Medium and Substack — structures seem to favor only those countries who already have it while screwing out already disadvantaged ones.
Medium has been here for much longer. Please, our new CEO, Tony Stubblebine, set the pace for Substack in this area. How? By encouraging more inclusiveness for writers (from Africa and other countries) who are walled-out of the $$$ earning partnership program.
Please, help these categories of writers to set up their MPP dollar accounts.
Your Takeaways
Here are my first impressions after writing on Substack;
- Intuitive writing and editing interface give consistent results across all platforms — smartphone, tablet, or desktop.
- Inbuilt Grammarly editor displays your writing mistakes and offer suggestions for corrections. Unbeatable and outshining …
- Some of your favorite Medium writers also live on Substack. Follow them there.
- It is easier to gain potential subscribers’ attention. Those who are already masters in this game should find Substack a delight to use.
- Going pro is easier on Medium because membership renewal is via the Medium app on the Google Play store.
- Joining the paying partnership program is tough for many writers from non-Western countries.
Remember, all the opinions expressed here are mine. Do well to send in your additional insights.
Thank you for hearing me out.
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