substack-formatter

name	substack-formatter
description	Transform plain text into Substack article format with proper HTML formatting for copy-paste into Substack editor.

Substack Article Formatter

Summary

Transform plain text into professional Substack format. Handles the technical formatting to ensure bold/italic/headers work correctly when pasted into Substack editor.

What This Skill Does

• ✅ Formats text for Substack with proper structure and spacing
• ✅ Converts to HTML format that Substack editor recognizes
• ✅ Preserves your content - only changes visual presentation
• ✅ Ensures copy-paste works with bold, italic, headers, bullets preserved

Technical Solution

Problem: Substack editor treats raw markdown as plain text
Solution: Convert to HTML and copy as text/html format

Usage

Basic Formatting

Format this for Substack:
[Your plain text content here]

With Minimal Formatting

Format for Substack (minimal):
[Your plain text content here]

Formatting Options

Standard Format

• Proper paragraph structure
• Clean HTML output
• Preserved content with better readability

Minimal Format

• Pure spacing improvements
• No emphasis changes
• Exact content preservation

Formatting Features

Structure

• Clean paragraphs for better readability
• Proper spacing between sections
• Clear visual hierarchy

HTML Output

• Bold text: <strong> tags
• Emphasis: <em> tags
• Headers: <h2>, <h3> for sections
• Lists: <ul><li> for bullets, <ol><li> for numbered
• Paragraphs: Proper <p> tag structure

Copy-Paste Process

1. Run formatter → Get HTML output
2. Use included copy script → Copies as text/html format
3. Paste into Substack → Formatting preserved perfectly
4. No manual formatting needed → Bold/italic/headers work automatically

Examples

Input (Plain Text):

I used to think being productive meant doing more things. Last week I tried something different. I did fewer things but focused completely on each one. The result was surprising. I got more done in less time and felt less stressed. Sometimes the answer isn't addition, it's subtraction.

Output (Formatted for Substack):

<p><strong>I used to think being productive meant doing more things.</strong></p>

<p>Last week I tried something different:</p>

<p>I did fewer things.<br>
But focused completely on each one.</p>

<p>The result was surprising.</p>

<p><em>I got more done in less time and felt less stressed.</em></p>

<p><strong>Sometimes the answer isn't addition, it's subtraction.</strong></p>

<p>What's one thing you could subtract from your routine?</p>

Tools Included

• formatter.py - Main formatting script
• copy_to_substack.py - Converts to HTML and copies correctly
• test_formatter.py - Test with examples
• Examples and templates for each structure type

Philosophy

Format for readability, preserve your voice. This tool improves visual presentation while keeping your message and personality intact.