In 1948,<\/em> Vogue published its 658-page<\/em> Book of Etiquette, compiled by editor Millicent Fenwick, featuring how-tos, dos and don\u2019ts, and the proper politesse for a remarkably varied set of scenarios. But as Fenwick writes in the introduction: \u201cEtiquette is based on tradition, and yet it can change.\u201d Some 75 years later,<\/em> Oh, Behave!<\/a> is a new monthly<\/em> Vogue column in which experts sound off on today\u2019s ever-evolving social etiquette.<\/em><\/p>\n There was a time when etiquette meant knowing which fork to use. Now, it\u2019s knowing how to ask friends\u2014and complete strangers\u2014for a penny for your<\/em> thoughts\u2026 and then charge $8 a month for them. In the age of Substack\u2014where everyone has a newsletter, a niche, and a payment tier\u2014the rules are murkier. How often is too often? Must one subscribe back? And at what point does self-promotion become self-indulgent?<\/p>\n For this installment of Oh, Behave!<\/em>, Vogue<\/em> turns to two writers who know their way around both a sentence and a subscriber list. Carole Radziwill\u2014the former ABC News producer, author, and Real Housewives of New York City<\/em> alum (who approached the franchise with a journalist\u2019s detachment) and a bona fide member of the Kennedy orbit\u2014now pens The Voice of Reason<\/em>, a Substack with more than 12,000 devoted readers and plenty of opinions to match. Alongside her is Jalil Johnson, the New York\u2013based stylist behind Consider Yourself Cultured<\/em>, whose sharply observed dispatches on fashion and culture have quickly attracted a loyal following of over 15,000\u2014and who can often be spotted at fashion parties layered in jewelry, from pinky rings to chains, dressed with studied ease.<\/p>\n Together, they tackle the social minefield of modern publishing\u2014from unsolicited subscriptions to subscriber envy, inbox overload, and the delicate politics of asking your friends to promote your work. Because if Substack has taught us anything, it\u2019s that writing may be personal\u2014but the audience is very, very public.<\/p>\n Vogue:<\/em> Is it ever acceptable to subscribe someone to your Substack without their consent?<\/strong><\/p>\n Carole Radziwill:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s encouraged! I mean, I wasn\u2019t aware that you needed consent to subscribe someone to your Substack? I subscribe to so many people\u2014I give lifetime free memberships to people I meet on the street who have read anything I\u2019ve written!<\/p>\n Jalil Johnson:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s terribly gauche if you just take someone’s email and automatically subscribe them without letting them know. I have a caveat, though! If you are migrating from another platform to Substack and already have a database of follower emails, in my head, those readers have already agreed to subscribe to you. But when it happens to me, I feel violated! I feel terribly violated. It also clutters your inbox. Like, I already have over 11,000 unread emails\u2014I\u2019m very ashamed of that\u2014and this is just adding onto the number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/69fb9404a6c1b37b527d491b\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/vogue_header_drawing_1.png\"\/)
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOn Operating a Substack<\/strong><\/h2>\n