Why I'm Starting a Substack and Not a Cult
(or: Why I Can’t Shut Up)
I thought about making a podcast. Then I thought about starting a Substack.
I seriously considered inviting my friends to start a commune in the woods, where we scream into the void and poke the dirt with a stick. This felt like the easiest option.
Welcome to Girl With a Byline.
It’s part column, part diary, part pop-culture-postmortem typed in all lowercase (or all caps — who knows) at 2am.
Think pen pals, but I overshare and you don’t have to respond.
Every week, you’ll get:
– ✏️ The news (as I know it)
– 💡 Special topics no one asked for but I had to unpack
– 📱 Notes app confessions — with citations
– 📂 Digital dispatches from The Vault (coming soon for paid subscribers)
– 💌 a free weekly series on coming of age while spiraling about aging, death, and the inevitables of life
If you’re into existential tangents, calling people out and in, and and stories that fall somewhere between “aw” and “oh no…” — I think you’ll like it here.
So… why now?
Because I’ve been writing unsent messages in my notes app like I was gunning for a Pulitzer in heartbreak since I was 12.
Now I’m just doing it with a little formatting, slightly better fonts, and the chance to maybe make a living.
This mini-newsletter about being real, being weird, and documenting girlhood, grief, pop culture, and whatever tabs I left open last night.
Not a cult. Just a newsletter.
(Though it is for the girls who would totally start a witch coven if it meant free iced coffee, emotional closure, and a group chat that replies fast.)
See you in your inbox.
— Kaylirose <3