11 Comments
Jun 18Liked by Matthew Long

I love that you have always been focused on the value of your writing, Matthew, and your desire to build a community.

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Jun 18Liked by Matthew Long

This is great and really builds a sense of focus and worth of writing.

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I really loved this piece, Matthew! It's a topic that has caused my heart quite some trouble. I wish I could be the type of person who can maintain a balance with value and price, but I've never been able to achieve it in a way that has felt right. It has always leaned to the value over price which makes me feel rather good as a creative person, but terrible as a entrepreneur/business owner. It's an ongoing struggle but I do feel less lonely when I see others admit that they too would rather focus on the value of the product over the price. Thanks for sharing this with us!

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Oscar Wilde said that ‘A cynic knows the price of everything and the Value of nothing’ - so true.

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Oscar Wilde said ‘ A cynic knows the Prive of everything and the Value of nothing ‘- so true

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An excellent piece, Matthew, and a topic that I've wrestled with as well. It can be difficult to figure out the balance with value and pricing, especially since, as you mentioned, it looks different for everyone. Either way, I'm grateful for the community you've built and I always look forward to your posts.

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Isn't it strange the way we're ignorant, how we seek out bad advice

How we jigger it and figure it, mistaking value for the price

And play a game with time and love like a pair of rolling dice

So beautiful, so beautiful, so what

Paul Simon, "So Beautiful or So What"

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Jun 18·edited Jun 18Liked by Matthew Long

Matthew, your last paragraphs really resonated, and said something that I decided only a few weeks ago here on my sub stack, and that was to remove anything from behind a paywall, and offer all of my content for free. I wanted to change from a model where my writing wasn't transactional, but supported by people who want to offer something because of what they receive. And for no other reason.

I'm probably not communicating the heart of it right, but 2 days after I made that decision I got a new paid subscriber... So that was a fun surprise.

So grateful for your voice here on Substack

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So agree with one of my truly favorite Substackers. xo

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I think I found this essay at the best time possible. I’ve been juggling this dilemma myself, and while I firmly believe if I focus on value, the price I get will be on par, it’s often hard to make predictions and wait while you put writing out there. Thanks for this piece!

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