Substack, for all its virtues, finds itself in the midweight creation zone (if you use it right ). Writers stack posts, building up a library of words that starts to feel substantial . Even the most successful Substackers, those who’ve turned newsletters into brands and businesses, eventually want to do more than stack things.

They want to make one really, really good thing. One truly heavy thing. A book. A manifesto. A movie . A media company. A monument. — A masterpiece.