I am not a writer, but I am a reader, and I found your information to be quite helpful. Very detailed and you obviously put a lot of time and work into it. So thank you for that.
Thank you. This is really useful. I had no clue how to use this functions! I have an article I'm going to post later but not before I implement your advice!
Thanks for this. Coming from a 'Tech Guy' - internal user manuals, guides, that type of thing, now writing, learning this really clarified my thinking on when to use pull quotes versus block quotes, especially with APA standards kicking in at 40+ words. I’m adapting to the digital world and might just have the first writing agent that can handle this new format. I use AI differently.
Thought: Will those cookie-cutter writing GPTs catch on? Doubt it. General AI serves up general information. Possibly another way to spot AI content: if quoted text is detectable elsewhere but lacks proper pull or block formatting, how will upcoming SEO tools, the new AI agent browsers, and their built-in censorship filters respond? Did we just red-flag ourselves and break the norm - slipping outside the cookie-cutter content filters that are coming? APA needs a new version for our digital SEO intelligence age.
Hi Steve, you bring up some great points and, as a non-tech person, I admit I haven't thought much about how AI, etc. parses quoted material (a question for copyright, also) but I'd be curious about the programming that goes into such a thing and how formatting plays a role. What a crazy time to be a writer!
Hi Elliott, AI browsers are still a new concept I'm keeping tabs on. To quench your curiosity, the wave of AI chats and platforms brought with it bundled instructions (the programming you speak of), often created by humans or AI itself or what I call Intelligent Automation and not automate intelligence in some cases. These bundles of instructions can come packaged as "writing assistants," some even offering to "write for me" ('how creative'), and handle web searches and images, just tell the AI a topic, and off it goes. There are literally thousands, they do all sorts.
I'm taking a more in-depth approach, my work being stitched together from years of notes, Obsidian for now - from where I write, linking all those past and future ideas with todays trends in tech. So I needed my own custom instructions and workflows to bring in AI to proof my final work. As I learn more about writing, I simply integrate those tips and ideas into my assistants instruction set. That's the easy part, the magic happens with the madness of my methods.
Thank you for clearing this up. I write a blog on Substack and had this very question while composing my upcoming post. I was never formally taught writing skills for publications. This helps a lot. (And, I see, now, that I have been using these quote types incorrectly all along!)
BTW - You may be interested in knowing that I found your post with a Google search, as opposed to internal Substack channels. SEO is working.
Hi Dave, I'm so glad this was helpful! There's definitely not a lot of info out there on how to deploy these things. I'm hoping to do a few more posts on editing and design basics in the new year. And yay for SEO working its magic! Thanks for letting me know, and all the best with your upcoming post :-)
Most modern publishing platforms and text processing methods (e.g., Markdown or Org-mode) primarily support one standard type of quote (typically the block quote).
Pull quotes sound like a legacy from the print era, but I think there's still room for them in digital publishing. It's certainly a more tasteful alternative compared to bolding, highlighting, and using all caps for text.
Thanks so much for your comment, Jotham! It's interesting that many platforms, like Markdown, etc., only offer block quotes, and I guess that makes sense. Pull quotes are traditionally an embellishment of print media and somewhat rare in digital, but it's nice to have access to them for all the reasons you mention.
Thank you for your article. I am not a natural writer and was confused about the different type of quotes it's possible to use here on Substack. Very clearly explained. Thank you!
I've done it by accident too but I assumed Substack removed the glitch that made it possible. You got me curious so I did some more experimenting to see if I could recreate the conditions that made the first "mistake " possible. Here's how I recreated it:
In Word, I created a paragraph, then indented a second paragraph below it (with the tools at the top of the page, not tabs) then (and here seems to be the key) I added a bullet to the paragraph. Then, I copied and pasted all of this into a preexisting block quote, and the double lines appeared. I had to delete the bullet afterwards.
I don't know if this is the official way to create double lines, but this seems to work if you want to give it a try!
Hi Alan, that's an interesting question. In print there are a few options for setting off a quote within a quote besides variations in quotation marks (" and ') such as further indenting the text block and/or using a different font size or style.
I've experimented with it, and the line Substack offers to delineate a text block doesn't allow users to create subdivisions within the block of quotations. You can, however, create paragraphs and change text styles. And, of course, you can always just put the second block in quote marks. My recommendation would be to start a new paragraph, then use italics, or Heading Style 5 or 6 from the "Style" dropdown menu to differentiate a new block within a block.
It's not a perfect solution, but visually it would be distinct enough to let readers know the blocks contained unique material. I hope that helps! Good luck :-)
Very enlightening, thank you for your thoughtful advice. With a new understanding I realise for as long as I can remember I have loved Pull Quotes without truly understand what they were. The science and guidelines associated with the use of both types of quote are a relief.
Thanks for this informative article. It answered a few questions I didn't even know I had!
Thanks, TCB! That's one of the best compliments I've ever received on an article :-)
I am not a writer, but I am a reader, and I found your information to be quite helpful. Very detailed and you obviously put a lot of time and work into it. So thank you for that.
Thank you, Barbara! I'm so glad you found it helpful!
Thank you. This is really useful. I had no clue how to use this functions! I have an article I'm going to post later but not before I implement your advice!
I’m so glad you found it useful and hope it serves you well in your writing!
thank you! this is helping me a lot!
Thanks for reading! I'm so glad it's been helpful!
Thanks for this. Coming from a 'Tech Guy' - internal user manuals, guides, that type of thing, now writing, learning this really clarified my thinking on when to use pull quotes versus block quotes, especially with APA standards kicking in at 40+ words. I’m adapting to the digital world and might just have the first writing agent that can handle this new format. I use AI differently.
Thought: Will those cookie-cutter writing GPTs catch on? Doubt it. General AI serves up general information. Possibly another way to spot AI content: if quoted text is detectable elsewhere but lacks proper pull or block formatting, how will upcoming SEO tools, the new AI agent browsers, and their built-in censorship filters respond? Did we just red-flag ourselves and break the norm - slipping outside the cookie-cutter content filters that are coming? APA needs a new version for our digital SEO intelligence age.
Hi Steve, you bring up some great points and, as a non-tech person, I admit I haven't thought much about how AI, etc. parses quoted material (a question for copyright, also) but I'd be curious about the programming that goes into such a thing and how formatting plays a role. What a crazy time to be a writer!
Hi Elliott, AI browsers are still a new concept I'm keeping tabs on. To quench your curiosity, the wave of AI chats and platforms brought with it bundled instructions (the programming you speak of), often created by humans or AI itself or what I call Intelligent Automation and not automate intelligence in some cases. These bundles of instructions can come packaged as "writing assistants," some even offering to "write for me" ('how creative'), and handle web searches and images, just tell the AI a topic, and off it goes. There are literally thousands, they do all sorts.
I'm taking a more in-depth approach, my work being stitched together from years of notes, Obsidian for now - from where I write, linking all those past and future ideas with todays trends in tech. So I needed my own custom instructions and workflows to bring in AI to proof my final work. As I learn more about writing, I simply integrate those tips and ideas into my assistants instruction set. That's the easy part, the magic happens with the madness of my methods.
Feel free to DM and get in touch.
Thank you for clearing this up. I write a blog on Substack and had this very question while composing my upcoming post. I was never formally taught writing skills for publications. This helps a lot. (And, I see, now, that I have been using these quote types incorrectly all along!)
BTW - You may be interested in knowing that I found your post with a Google search, as opposed to internal Substack channels. SEO is working.
Hi Dave, I'm so glad this was helpful! There's definitely not a lot of info out there on how to deploy these things. I'm hoping to do a few more posts on editing and design basics in the new year. And yay for SEO working its magic! Thanks for letting me know, and all the best with your upcoming post :-)
Thanks for this educational and humorous piece!
Most modern publishing platforms and text processing methods (e.g., Markdown or Org-mode) primarily support one standard type of quote (typically the block quote).
Pull quotes sound like a legacy from the print era, but I think there's still room for them in digital publishing. It's certainly a more tasteful alternative compared to bolding, highlighting, and using all caps for text.
Thanks so much for your comment, Jotham! It's interesting that many platforms, like Markdown, etc., only offer block quotes, and I guess that makes sense. Pull quotes are traditionally an embellishment of print media and somewhat rare in digital, but it's nice to have access to them for all the reasons you mention.
On a humorous note, abusing the conventions reminded me of the scene in "Flowers for Algernon" when Charlie learns punctuation.
Good post!
Thank you, Adam! I'm sad to say I haven't read that book yet, but I do have it on my reading list, and now I'm doubly curious!
It's definitely a worthy read!
Thank you for your article. I am not a natural writer and was confused about the different type of quotes it's possible to use here on Substack. Very clearly explained. Thank you!
Thanks for kind your comment, Susan! I'm so glad you found it helpful.
Thanks for the reply.
I have seen a double indent on many Substacks, though. In fact, I have done it -- but I was trying various things and I cannot recall how I did it!!!
You can see it here: https://ibb.co/BCmq7Hr
So it's possible -- but HOW?
I've done it by accident too but I assumed Substack removed the glitch that made it possible. You got me curious so I did some more experimenting to see if I could recreate the conditions that made the first "mistake " possible. Here's how I recreated it:
In Word, I created a paragraph, then indented a second paragraph below it (with the tools at the top of the page, not tabs) then (and here seems to be the key) I added a bullet to the paragraph. Then, I copied and pasted all of this into a preexisting block quote, and the double lines appeared. I had to delete the bullet afterwards.
I don't know if this is the official way to create double lines, but this seems to work if you want to give it a try!
What about if the block quote contains a quote to be blocked?
To have TWO lines on the left side, how is that done?
Hi Alan, that's an interesting question. In print there are a few options for setting off a quote within a quote besides variations in quotation marks (" and ') such as further indenting the text block and/or using a different font size or style.
I've experimented with it, and the line Substack offers to delineate a text block doesn't allow users to create subdivisions within the block of quotations. You can, however, create paragraphs and change text styles. And, of course, you can always just put the second block in quote marks. My recommendation would be to start a new paragraph, then use italics, or Heading Style 5 or 6 from the "Style" dropdown menu to differentiate a new block within a block.
It's not a perfect solution, but visually it would be distinct enough to let readers know the blocks contained unique material. I hope that helps! Good luck :-)
Thank you for clarifying the difference, and pointing out how to use them effectively. I am just starting on Substack, and this is very helpful.
Welcome, Sherry! I'm so glad you found it helpful. Congrats on starting a new Substack! I hope you're having fun with it :-)
Very enlightening, thank you for your thoughtful advice. With a new understanding I realise for as long as I can remember I have loved Pull Quotes without truly understand what they were. The science and guidelines associated with the use of both types of quote are a relief.
Hi Dean, thanks for your kind comment. I'm so glad you sound the info useful!
Thank you, this is by far the best discussion of block quotes and pull quotes I've come across, in deciding when and where to use them.
Hi Eric, thanks for reading! Knowing when and how to use block and pull quotes can be confusing. I'm so glad you found it helpful :-)
Fascinating! I love all the gorgeous typography in this post!
Hi Jillian, Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words!
Thanks for tackling this and making it clearer to me.
Hi Arlene, thanks for reading! I'm glad you found it helpful.