You Are the Best Boss I Ever Had
After decades of working in traditional media, bowing to the sensitivities of advertisers (“we cannot have our ads run within 54 pages of any mention of abortion or witchcraft”) and answering to the whims of corporate backers (“he loves pugs, so put a picture of a pug on there and he will approve it!” a smart and accurate creative director once said), this new publication I’m doing feels utterly bizarre. Because the only person I have to please is you. And myself, of course. And the amazing staff. And what will make or break this baby brand new venture is whether you find value in the work we are doing here.
The other bizarre-seeming thing about this, in the days when it was just me and Charlie and some bad wifi in the lounge of my building, was the idea of charging you for it. I had gotten really used to posting free content around the clock on my last publication, xoJane, as well as every other platform where we all do that all the time. I had to go back to an old way of thinking that the work itself is (ideally) valuable and worth paying a little tiny something — as small as we could make it — for it. So to help me feel comfortable with the concept and remind me that I have indeed charged for content in the past, we went back to 1988 when my first publication, Sassy, went on sale. Then we took the cost of an issue and figured out the price as it would be in 2024 and came to our $8 monthly subscription rate. I know this is no Sassy (anyone with an album understands this syndrome about your best work coming out first and I love Sassy too and I’m not even trying to fight that perception), but I hope it’s worth it to you to pay that because it’s what will let us pay writers and eat and keep on going here.
I tried to add as many perks for you as possible, like contests where you can come into my messy storage closet and take an issue of Sassy (including that one with Kurt and Courtney on the cover that became so popular even though to get it approved by corporate at the time I had to paint a picture of Kurt as the next NKOTB) or a 1989 REM flex disc or my Prada lace jacket or something else you prefer. You could potentially take one of my dogs, too. We also offer a founding membership for a little more if you really love us (Charlie’s dad bought one!) and that will include: video gossip sessions with me at whatever hour you all choose — I work at 3 am so truly no parameters there; access to amazing merchandise that we are making right now and I can’t wait to show you because I know you will love it; raffles for even bigger items than that Prada jacket; and our undying appreciation. Actually, that last part is available in all of our subscriptions.
Speaking of Charlie, we are very, very much a team here — including Charlie, Vanessa, Esther, Ani and Corynne, whom you have not even gotten to know yet — so I’m going to let Charlie take it from here and give you a quick look at what you may have missed during Another Jane Pratt Thing’s fledgling first (it feels like 10) week in existence.
PS: I actually feel like you are making this with me and I listen to everything you say — I especially thrive on hate in the comments. So thank you and keep telling me. I live in those comment sections.
It Happened To Me: Jane Pratt Saved My Life
It was only a matter of time before Jane and Cat Marnell crossed paths and collaborated again. Cat’s first piece for Another Jane Pratt Thing is about a day when the two ran into each other out of the blue. And Jane sort of got groped.
I Tried a Shot To Heal From PTSD
For her first of many pieces on the site, Ani Ferlise wrote about the time she got a shot directly into her neck to heal from PTSD. This story has it all — shady NYC doctors, sweet nurses getting punched, out-body-experiences and more!
One Last Day at the Oakland Coliseum
I grew up going to A’s games at the Oakland Coliseum … oh, I almost forgot, my name is Charlie and I’m the one writing these recaps. I didn’t want to rip off Rickey Henderson by writing in the third person about myself … where was I? Oh yeah, my dad and I flew across the country and met in the Bay Area to go to our first A’s game together since 1994. And our last in Oakland.
Fuck It, I’m Wearing It: Too Many Animal Prints
Lions and tigers and bears and leopards and zebras, oh shit! Vanessa De Luca can’t get enough animal print. She wrote about the outfit that started that obsession and gives some tips on how to walk the fine line between fashion and overkill.
When I Tell You I Sucked at Love...
We are delighted to have Joél Leon here to help answer all your deepest and weirdest questions about relationships, love, friendship, sex, and whatever you’ve got going on. After you read his first column, which I implore you to do, send your questions for Joél to me: charlie@anotherjaneprattthing.com.
Oh! I almost forgot. We’re on Instagram! So give us a follow over there too, please. And tell your friends about us!
That’s a hell of a lot of requests for one little newsletter, I know. We’ve been cooking up this project for a long, long time, so now that it’s out in the world I just can’t help but gush about it to anybody willing to listen. Thank you for subscribing, check the site daily as we’re always posting new content, and I’ll try not to be so demanding next time. Sound like a plan? - Charlie
Jane! So excited and happy to have you here! Yaaaayyyy! ❤️
I’m thrilled to see this both because the summary is useful and because this is the first thing I’ve seen from y’all directly in my inbox, despite being a paid subscriber. I’ve been dealing with the Substack help bot, but the way this is worded makes me wonder - do y’all have it setup to not send to subscribers for fear of overloading our inbox? If so, could we have a brief daily summary? A list would do.