A new subscription model
I'm overcommitted and need to change things up. Here's how.
Dear readers,
I’m writing this week from the city of Sassari, located on the island of Sardinia in Italy. I’m here for a visiting professorship at the Università degli Studi di Sassari. In case you happen to be in the region, I’ll be giving two lectures this week, with more info here:
It has been a busy past couple of weeks. I was recently in Dallas for the Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting and have some exciting new findings to share with you soon about a birch bark extract recently approved by the FDA for a rare disease indication. Upon my return to Atlanta, my husband and I celebrated the high school graduation of one of our sons and wrapped up the last weeks of school for our other three.
It was during this last week of school that the reality of how thinly stretched I’ve become became evident. My 11-year-old came home with his yearbook in hand, extremely upset. He flipped to the back of the book to show me where all of the other fifth graders in his class had a photo and a special note from their parents. His space was blank. No photo. No note. I had missed the deadline during one of my work trips. Massive mom fail. He was hurt. I was devastated. This (in)action signaled to him that he didn’t come first, that my work had, and that was so incredibly wrong.
Unfortunately, misses like this have begun to happen more frequently the busier I’ve become, with my family and my health put second to other obligations. I love my work and I love science communication, but I love my family more and they have to come first. Things need to change and I’ll have to make some hard cuts on how and where I spend my time.
Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.—Warren Buffett
I hope that folks will understand that there is only so much time in my year, and that it is divided across many platforms: research, teaching, student mentorship, leadership roles at the university, service on journal and scientific society boards, advising for my biotech companies, writing, speaking, and most important, family.
The hard part is deciding how to best commit what limited time I have beyond my core job and family responsibilities and when to say no, which will have to be much more frequent moving forward. So, here we go:
Speaking engagements: I’ll no longer be able to take on speaking engagements unless they are run through my speaker’s bureau. There will likely be sticker shock for some, but it is a necessary change to ensure that when I do, I can give the audience my all. Over the past year alone, I’ve given 26 lectures. At this pace, the cost/benefit ratio for small engagements simply isn’t sustainable and needs to change.
Writing: Thanks to my Guggenheim fellowship, I have the gift of time that allows a break from teaching. I’ll be taking the entire Spring 2025 semester away from teaching and other speaking and work travel to focus on research and writing for my next book, with very limited exceptions.
Podcast: For now, I’m continuing to develop episodes for the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, although a sustained funding model has not materialized and the show may ultimately come to an end if we can’t resolve that. Currently, I’m assessing whether we need to cut back on the number of episodes from every week to every other week. If you’d like to support the podcast production costs, you can do so here. Please note that we won’t have a new episode this week in observance of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
Substack: Since the launch of the newsletter in February 2023, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my knowledge of medicinal plants with you all! It’s been great to engage with readers and learn more about what you hope to discover on this platform. That said, writing this newsletter takes time and energy away from my other creative endeavors that can be better monetized to meet my family’s financial needs. So, like any good scientist, I’m running an experiment until the end of 2024 to see if there is a better way forward to make this form of public scholarship financially sustainable. I explain the new subscription model changes below.
Changes to Nature’s Pharmacy on Substack
1. Content will be free to all
I really detest paywalls and I understand that not everyone can afford to pay to access this content. The first major change I’m implementing is to make the full site open access to any readers wishing to read the content. This means no more paywalls on content (future or past issues). In this way, I can share beneficial health knowledge with more people who wish to access it. The comment and chat board features will remain limited to paid subscribers.
2. Monthly rate change for voluntary subscribers
The monthly rate for voluntary paid subscribers will be $8/month moving forward (just $2/week), or at a discount of $85/year ($1.63/week). Again, all of the content will be freely accessible, and we’re switching to an honor model system. If you find the content valuable and you are able to pay, I have faith that you will do so.
Thanks so much to all of my current paid or founding subscribers who are financially able support the newsletter! You are who make this whole endeavor possible!
3. Post at least twice a week
I commit to posting at least two issues per week, sometimes more, bringing you nuanced insights about the interconnections between food, nature, and health.
4. Target of 10% paid subscriptions by end of year
Currently, out of 6,211 subscribers who receive the newsletter, only 2% have opted for a paid subscription. My baseline goal is to reach a sustained commitment of at least a 10% subscription rate by December 31, 2024. If this content is valuable to at least 1 in 10 readers (and assuming that at least 1 in 10 can afford to pay between $1.63-$2/week), then I will joyously continue this work moving forward into the new year.
If not, then we had a good run! Perhaps folks like the content, but don’t see true value in it worth paying for, and that’s okay. Your vote with your support (or lack thereof) will help me make that final choice come the new year on whether to continue with the newsletter or put my time elsewhere.
What’s Coming Up Next
I’ll be sharing news on my research on longevity in the Blue Zone (longevity villages) of Sardinia in the coming weeks. Send me any questions you have about this topic or the location for my field research in the comments and I’ll do my best to address them in upcoming posts!
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription or donation to her lab research.
Posting once a week would be plenty! You need to take care of you, we appreciate that you have any time to do this at all. In 7 years your son will grown and you can't reclaim this time later. We'll be here supporting you know matter what you decide to do! Your work is more important that keeping us informed right now. Take care!
Very sensible. Children are important. Even our inner child.