How Kieron Gillen uses Buttondown

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I'm Kieron Gillen. I'm a writer, recovering critic, and game designer. I'm probably best known as a comic writer now. I've written a bunch of comics for Marvel–if you can name a character, I've probably done them. I co-created my own successful indie books like The Wicked + the Divine, DIE, Once & Future, The Power Fantasy, and Phonogram, plus unsuccessful ones like The Ludocrats. I've got a whole previous career as a moderately infamous games journalist (co-founding Rock Paper Shotgun). I also design tabletop games for giggles and sometimes money–DIE RPG is the big one. Suffice to say, I have managed not to have a real job for thirty years.

What do you write about in your newsletter?

"Please don't make me have a real job."

The basic purpose is marketing. Comics is an art form that releases a lot of things, so folks who like what I do can always turn to the newsletter to find out what's going on. Alongside that, it's my home for other extended writing I just want to do. Some of it is just absolutely prosaic "This Is What My Life Looks Like Writing" (I'm very into demystification) and a public diary. I'll quite regularly go off on a critical essay or do something tutorial-style. I do a lot of linking to other things I think are worth reading.

The other reason I started it, bar the marketing one, was that I wanted to have something which forced me to write in public regularly. Comics is a great medium, but I'm aware that it makes your prose atrophy, as you write so few words that the reader actually sees.

At the time, I looked for options, I saw what Buttondown did and what it cost for the level of newsletter I was at, and thought, "You're the one for me." I've been happy here ever since. 

Where did you first learn of Buttondown, and what made you decide to give it a try?

I was on Substack, and decided I had to leave–it was before the big waves of that, but I was having moral questions over using a service which is basically subsidized by venture capital. The internet isn't free - that companies give away so much stuff is just bread and circuses. If I can afford to pay for a service I actually need, I should actually pay for it rather than helping a company grow its market capita. 

At the time, I looked for options, I saw what Buttondown did and what it cost for the level of newsletter I was at, and thought, "You're the one for me." I've been happy here ever since. 

This is a small company you are in direct contact with, providing a service. I think that's great. I like that a lot.

What are some ways Buttondown has helped you run your email?

The thing that prompted me to participate in sharing my experience using Buttondown was that I had a problem with my last newsletter–the system for importing had changed (in the process of improving it), meaning my formatting was being distorted. I dropped a line, got instant support, and by the morning, when I went to try again, it was all working perfectly. This is a small company you are in direct contact with, providing a service. I think that's great. I like that a lot.

That's one example, but whenever I've had a problem–setting up the paid-for tier, for example–they've been prompt and helpful. I lost a whole afternoon trying to recover an Instagram account recently. I can't explain how nice it is to have such great customer support. I mean, I can. I just did.

I'm such a basic guy, I'm still discovering features. For example, I didn't know much about the extent of the attachment feature until I started sending out my premium newsletter. I learned that you can have specific premium-only sections in the normal newsletter, which is not something I plan to use as of now, but it is nice to know you have the option. Another thing that I like is that the paid subscription feature is straightforward and fair. You make a premium paid subscription on Buttondown? You keep the money. They don't take a percentage–it’s a paid flat fee.

Special words on the editor–90% of my newsletter work is done in a word processor (formatting, links, etc). When I import the files, they come in clean enough for me. I'm very lazy, so the fact that makes it easier is a good thing.