Hi! It’s me - managing editor of The Subtext 👋🏾
With one year under my belt, I can honestly say that seeing the site coalesce from a nascent idea mentioned during my job interview, to a fully-formed publication with over a thousand fans and followers is something that I’m immensely humbled and grateful to be a part of. At the risk of sounding trite, every month as submissions roll in, I’m inspired by the incredibly talented people who are willing to share their time and writing with us. It really is cool.
We want to keep that same energy as The Subtext gets into year two. This is mentioned a lot in the newsletter, but truly - we love a full inbox. Please, don’t stop sending us stuff.
If you’ve been meaning to submit, but haven’t found the time, I feel you. If you’ve written something already but haven’t felt good about it, I say send us a rough draft. We’ll help you get it across the finish line. If you really want to write but just don’t know where to start, I jotted down a few thought starters that might guide your pen, fingertips, voice-to-text, whatever you use to get the ideas out.
Speak freely.
While your day job may keep you hemmed in with brand voice attributes and tonal guardrails, over here at The Subtext, you can use your real voice. No reference is too obscure. No opinion is too unhinged. Like ODB, we like it raw (and fresh, and weird). Contributing writer Dan Steiner is a stellar example proving that great writing doesn’t have to fit a formula, it just has to be distinct. Also, shoutout to crossword fiend Katherine Fischer – that was a fun read. If you’ve been kicking around an idea, but have been telling yourself “nah, that’s too out there,” do us a solid and send it our way.
Stir the pot.
No, we’re not turning The Subtext into a snark site. But a hot take every now and then is well, the spice of (writing) life. Us writers are an exacting bunch. We’re surrounded by words — pizza boxes, bus shelters, app notifications — and we make a living choosing precisely the right ones. So it’s hard to turn off the “Here’s how I would’ve written that,” inner monologue. And honestly, why should we? Never mind not being on the project team — if you saw some copy that struck you as odd, questionable or straight up confusing — allow us to give you a soapbox. I really liked what Kris Moore wrote in this outsider's opinion on the low-alc brand Loah.
Get really real.
There’s a lot to love about our line of work, and there’s also a lot of quirks and crazy-making that only a fellow writer can truly understand. Let’s talk about it! We’d love to show more of the good, bad and not-so-great aspects of what is a pretty cool career path, all things considered. That’s precisely why this recent piece from Porsha Thomas is one of my all-time favorite submissions. It flips the more unpleasant aspects of the job (lame client feedback) into a super-relatable nudge to suck it up, buttercup.
On that note.
The Subtext was started for a few reasons — as a space to show off the best of brand writing, and a community that shows up for and celebrates fellow writers. Like your local PBS station, this publication is made possible by writers like you.
Every submission isn’t guaranteed immediate publication, but if you took the time to put something together, we’ll take the time to respond. And if your piece isn’t published, you’ll get constructive feedback on what’s not working, and an invitation to give it another go.
Whether it’s a half-baked idea or fully-formed writeup, everything starts from somewhere. So make this year the year you finally do it. Your fellow writers (and The Subtext team) will thank you.
Pamela Henman is managing editor at The Subtext and Senior Brand Writer at Nimble. She's pretty bad at being online, but does have a LinkedIn.
Hi! It’s me - managing editor of The Subtext 👋🏾
With one year under my belt, I can honestly say that seeing the site coalesce from a nascent idea mentioned during my job interview, to a fully-formed publication with over a thousand fans and followers is something that I’m immensely humbled and grateful to be a part of. At the risk of sounding trite, every month as submissions roll in, I’m inspired by the incredibly talented people who are willing to share their time and writing with us. It really is cool.
We want to keep that same energy as The Subtext gets into year two. This is mentioned a lot in the newsletter, but truly - we love a full inbox. Please, don’t stop sending us stuff.
If you’ve been meaning to submit, but haven’t found the time, I feel you. If you’ve written something already but haven’t felt good about it, I say send us a rough draft. We’ll help you get it across the finish line. If you really want to write but just don’t know where to start, I jotted down a few thought starters that might guide your pen, fingertips, voice-to-text, whatever you use to get the ideas out.
Speak freely.
While your day job may keep you hemmed in with brand voice attributes and tonal guardrails, over here at The Subtext, you can use your real voice. No reference is too obscure. No opinion is too unhinged. Like ODB, we like it raw (and fresh, and weird). Contributing writer Dan Steiner is a stellar example proving that great writing doesn’t have to fit a formula, it just has to be distinct. Also, shoutout to crossword fiend Katherine Fischer – that was a fun read. If you’ve been kicking around an idea, but have been telling yourself “nah, that’s too out there,” do us a solid and send it our way.
Stir the pot.
No, we’re not turning The Subtext into a snark site. But a hot take every now and then is well, the spice of (writing) life. Us writers are an exacting bunch. We’re surrounded by words — pizza boxes, bus shelters, app notifications — and we make a living choosing precisely the right ones. So it’s hard to turn off the “Here’s how I would’ve written that,” inner monologue. And honestly, why should we? Never mind not being on the project team — if you saw some copy that struck you as odd, questionable or straight up confusing — allow us to give you a soapbox. I really liked what Kris Moore wrote in this outsider's opinion on the low-alc brand Loah.
Get really real.
There’s a lot to love about our line of work, and there’s also a lot of quirks and crazy-making that only a fellow writer can truly understand. Let’s talk about it! We’d love to show more of the good, bad and not-so-great aspects of what is a pretty cool career path, all things considered. That’s precisely why this recent piece from Porsha Thomas is one of my all-time favorite submissions. It flips the more unpleasant aspects of the job (lame client feedback) into a super-relatable nudge to suck it up, buttercup.
On that note.
The Subtext was started for a few reasons — as a space to show off the best of brand writing, and a community that shows up for and celebrates fellow writers. Like your local PBS station, this publication is made possible by writers like you.
Every submission isn’t guaranteed immediate publication, but if you took the time to put something together, we’ll take the time to respond. And if your piece isn’t published, you’ll get constructive feedback on what’s not working, and an invitation to give it another go.
Whether it’s a half-baked idea or fully-formed writeup, everything starts from somewhere. So make this year the year you finally do it. Your fellow writers (and The Subtext team) will thank you.
Pamela Henman is managing editor at The Subtext and Senior Brand Writer at Nimble. She's pretty bad at being online, but does have a LinkedIn.
Further Reading
