I met a friend of a friend yesterday who asked me what my job was.

For the first time in my life, I answered, “I’m a writer.”

When he asked where he could find my online publication, an acquaintance (whom I barely know and who doesn’t even subscribe to me) said, “You have to pay for it.”

“That’s fine,” he said, before going on my Substack.

I asked the acquaintance how she knew about my paid newsletter. She said she didn’t. “I just think writing should be paid for.”

This little interaction was so validating.