Substack Live Podcast

It was so fun to talk about the importance of mindset when you're a writer and a Substack writer.It’s everything.Substack Writers at Work is the only expert guide to Substack.* We’re one of the Top 10 Substacks, globally—a bestselling Substack featured by Substack and trusted by writers and creators since 2022.In case you don’t know me, I’m the leading Substack Strategist. I’ve been on this platform for over five years and over a thousand writers and creators 1:1 and tens of thousands on Substack Writers at Work.Everything you get on Substack Writers at Work is based on real results: clients who’ve doubled, tripled, and 10x’d their subscribers; grown their revenue; produced their best work; and built deep engagement.Join us.www.substackwritersatwork.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Substack Live Podcast! Conversations with the best Substack early adopters who created amazing newsletters and continue to bring their good work to the world and make the world a better place in doing so. Plus, get updates and expert guidance on the platform as it changes and changes again and again, so you can use it to fuel your creative, professional, and financial life. Brought to you by Substack Writers at Work Founder and Director and former Paris Review interviewer, Sarah Fay.You can also listen on your favorite podcast platform →700 hundred people showed up to this live recording of the Substack Live Podcast to hear Austin Kleon give some of the best advice on how to have a newsletter/Substack that means something to you and your readers, including: * making what you want to see in the world,* taking time to process in a world that wants us to just move on and scroll, * writing the newspaper column you’ve always wanted to write, * the So what? test,and so much more…The Atlantic called Austin Kleon “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet,” which is why his Substack is so damn good. To have a Substack newsletter that people are interested in, it helps to be interesting, which typically comes when the writer of said Substack is interested in the world and specifically, the part of the world he writes about in a way no one else can. Austin was Substack before there was Substack, having started his newsletter in 2013, before Substack existed. He came to Substack in 2021 because, he said, he liked the simple interface. He’s the New York Times bestselling author of a trilogy of illustrated books about creativity in the digital age—Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going—and of Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poems made by redacting the newspaper with a permanent marker. I love how he describes his trilogy, which is a masterclass in creativity and living a creative life:* Steal Like an Artist is the book you give to somebody who’s just starting out and needs a kickstart or a boost.* Show Your Work is for the person that has found their thing but they haven’t been found themselves yet — people who need to self promote or need to get their work out there.* Keep Going is really the book for people who are trying to make a career out of creative work — people who are trying to be in it for the long haul ***About the Substack Live PodcastJoin me for conversations with Substack early adopters who created amazing newsletters and continue to bring their good work to the world and make the world a better place in doing so.I also bring you updates and expert guidance on the platform as it changes and changes again and again, so you can use it to fuel your creative, professional, and financial life.Subscribe to receive every episode»Thank you Tom Sykes, Beth Spencer, Jason Chatfield, Petya K. Grady, Emilie Friedlander, and many others for joining us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Nearly 400 people showed up to listen to Maya C. Popa and I talk about:- The realities of pitching, publishing, and rejection- Mindset, motivation, and the myth of “having it all together”- Substack strategies, authenticity, and audience growth- The dopamine loop, validation, and the writing processand more…Maya is a poet, prose writer, exceptional human, and someone I’m so lucky to call a dear friend. She’s the author of three books of poetry: Wound is the Origin of Wonder (W.W. Norton 2022; Picador 2023), named one of the Guardian’s Best Books of Poetry; American Faith (Sarabande 2019); and her third collection coming in 2026, which we’re all going to make sure it gets on the bestseller list. She’s also the Poetry Reviews Editor at Publishers Weekly. She’s been teaching for thirteen years at NYU and is just such an exceptional human. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, Granta, the Nation, and elsewhere. What I love most is Maya’s Conscious Writers Collective (CWC), her online school and writing community that offers a rigorous, MFA-level education for writers without forcing them to take on the debt an MFA program would. Having taught at NYU and elsewhere at the graduate and post-grad level, she’s created a not-to-be-missed-out-on mentorship and training for writers at all levels, those who already have an MFA, those who might go on to receive one with the training they need to make the most of it, and those who may get enough to produce a body of work ready for publication without it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

In this episode, I tell you what no one tells you about the Substack Bestseller badge, what it really means, and why your Substack DNA is all that matters. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comAs people scramble onto Substack, it’s easy to overlook why it’s the platform to be on right now: Certain early adopters spent years creating Substack newsletters so good people would actually read and paid to read them. Which is why I’ve created an entire podcast to share them with you.My conversation with Mason Currey contains some of the best advice on how to stop feeling like you have to chase the algorithm and can set about owning your platform and doing your best work. Nearly 300 people showed up for the live recording. The feedback was incredible. Why? Becuase our conversation truly humanizes what it means to be a writer on Substack or any other platform. If you don’t know Mason, he’s the author of the Daily Rituals books and writes the Substack newsletter Subtle Maneuvers about how creative people get work done. Cal Newport called him “the undisputed master of finding, in the messy lives of great artists and thinkers throughout time, deeply human lessons about cultivating meaning in our current age.” * This is some of the best advice on how to build a Substack that people will spend their time and money reading.* + How to stop chasing the algorithm and own your platform.6 Ways to Build a Substack People Will Actually Spend Their Time and Money Reading1. Don’t call it your Substack

For the only expert guide to Substack, join Substack Writers at Work with the leading Substack Strategist Sarah Fay: https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/Substack has fundamentally changed—and that's actually the best thing that could happen to us. While everyone's panicking about algorithm changes, trolls, and platform noise, we need to see why Substack 5.0 is our opportunity to build something bigger.In this episode, we break down why treating Substack like social media will hurt your growth.We keep growing, we keep earning, but we stop being "on" Substack like it's Instagram. We use it as a launchpad for books, speaking, media opportunities—not another hamster wheel.Every single one of my 42,000 subscribers has been hard-earned through deep work, not tricks. This isn't about growing less—it's about growing smarter while everyone else burns out chasing the algorithm. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com* Substack Welcome email best practices for 2025* Your Welcome Email Audit* Your 2025 Welcome Email Template * Answers to your burning questions: * Do Welcome emails matter?* What’s the ideal length for a Welcome email? (It’s changed!)* Should you use images? * Should you ask them to upgrade?* What about deliverability issues?→ Go through the full process with me in the workshop replay above or below.Preventing people from unsubscribing and encouraging them to engage starts long before they receive your first post.It starts the moment they subscribe.And it’s sealed by your Welcome email. To keep and convert subscribers, you need to experience your Welcome email the way your subscribers do.SUBSTACK WELCOME EMAIL BEST PRACTICES FOR 2025Your welcome email is the highest-performing email you’ll ever send. But most writers overdo it, ignore it, or haven’t updated it since 2022 or 2023 or 2024.Best practices in 2025 are much different than they were even six months ago. If you haven’t updated your Welcome email lately, it’s out of date.In the replay and below, you won’t just randomly revise your Welcome email. You’ll put it in the context of what people experience when they subscribe to your email and what you want them to feel and think after reading your all-important Welcome email. Do Welcome emails matter?Yes! Welcome emails outperform everything else.* Open rates: ~60–80 percent* Click-through rates (clicking a URL): ~25 percentWhat’s the ideal length for a Welcome email in 2025? * 50–150 words!* ~200 words max if your writing is tight and easy to scanWhy short?* Average attention span = * If we’re being generous, 50 to 60 seconds per email* If not, 10 seconds* 50–125 words delivers optimal response rates of ~50 percent in studies of response-driven emails (Beehiiv Blog)* Emails around 200 words (roughly 20 lines of text) often yield highest click-through rates, while going longer drops engagement (Omnisend)* Subscribers are skimming* A long welcome email feels like a pitch* Think cell phones* Most opens are on phones* About 60 percent of readers scan vertically for ~10 seconds* You don’t have to tell them everything* You just met them at a party—less you, more themShould you use images?* One photo of you with alt text is fine–build trust—real, not a headshot.* Text only can mean better deliverability: slower to load and lower engagement, image-only emails can end up in promotions or spam.* You must have alt text! 30-50 percent of your subscribers’ email blocks images by default.Should you ask them to upgrade?* Up to you but two CTAs max.* They shouldn’t be related (e.g., upgrade and buy my novel)* One “above the fold,” i.e., in the first 75–100 words.* One in the P.S.* For both, provide two links: hyperlinked text and a button.* You just met, so asking them to upgrade should be done elegantly. Let them know about the option.What do you want people to do after reading your welcome email?* Read a post* Engage by joining the chat or some other community event* Chat* An introductions post* Upgrade to paid* Buy your book, enroll in a course, etc.How do we use it to counter future deliverability issues?Unfortunately, we don’t get stats for the open rates of our welcome emails. Total bummer. But there are two ways to help with deliverability:* Ask them to reply to your Welcome email* Whitelist / Move to Primary tabEXAMPLE: If you're using Gmail, drag this into your Primary tab—or just add me to your contacts—to be sure you get the most out of your subscription.Can you ask people to opt in or out of sections?If you use sections, you can direct them to update their preferences and subscribe to certain sections of your Substack. This can encourage trust and (especially if you post a lot) prevent people from unsubscribing.If you’re confused about sections, watch my 4-minute overview.Remember, a section is like having a separate Substack/email list within your email list.You might say something like:EXAMPLE: Choose how often you hear from me. You can manage your subscription here.YOUR SUBSTACK WELCOME EMAIL AUDITRun an audit of what it’s like to receive your Welcome email—not in a vacuum but after going through the Substack’s subscription flow (which isn’t ideal).How to run the audit (step-by-step):

** Use the Know Your Subscribers Implementation Guide PDF below to make this much easier.Too often, when we try to get subscribers or likes or conversions, we don’t even know who we’re trying to engage or upgrade to paid.The tricky part is that our person changes and we change and Substack is always changing, so we always have to be checking in.In marketing-speak, they call it your “avatar.” Sometimes it can be helpful to approach it in the usual ways. But the world has changed and people have changed and their buying habits have changed and their subscribing habits have changed. In a world where AI can spit out information, we need to connect as actual humans. That means knowing exactly whom we’re writing for.What we coverI walk you through my process for getting to know your actual readers—not some made-up avatar, but the real people reading your work. We dug into where they’re reading you, what they're Googling at 2am, what they’re sick of reading about, and more.* (00:00:50) - Forget the Substack drama. Focus energy on “you and your people” rather than getting caught up in speculation about Substack’s future changes.* (00:02:59) - Move beyond traditional “avatar” marketing speak to understand your actual readers and their real experiences.* (00:08:27) - For Writers: Ask three key questions about your readers.* (00:10:03) - For Creators/Coaches/Teachers: Use these three questions to get at the problems your audience faces* (00:18:56) - Using this guide to find ideas for your next posts.* (00:23:47) - Differentiate from AI by sharing your experiences rather than just information.* (00:29:41) - Better CTAs than “support my work.”* (00:38:29) - On Substack, you play five roles: You’re writer, editor, publisher, salesperson, and publicist. Fill this out during our live workshop. If you’re watching the replay, set a timer for each, so you keep this short.Save this document. Bring it to the paid-subscriber-only workshop on Friday, 8/1, where we’ll go through your entire subscriber flow to grow your Substack. Details to come.Thank you Rachel Botsman, Darien Gee, Petya K. Grady, Debbie Weil, Alexander Verbeek, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Use the Know Your Subscribers Implementation Guide PDF below.Word version: * https://tinyurl.com/3fz88zypPDF: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

I love getting to do this with all of you.This goal-setting session is the best 40 minutes you can spend. I’m not just saying that. I did it this morning, too.Participating in this session will transform the next three months for you.Let me guide you for 40 minutes.You’ll leave knowing what matters to you and who you want to become; where to focus; and where to spend your time, attention, energy, and (yes) money.The 4 steps to achieving your Substack goalHaving a goal is and isn’t about achieving the goal.It’s about four things: Having a ritual of appreciation, discovering what’s most important to you right now, knowing where to focus your efforts, and becoming the person you want to be.Step 1: Ritual of AppreciationHaving a goal is about having a ritual to appreciate what you’ve done during a certain period of time, regardless of the goal, and what and who helped you get there.Right now: Write down three successes in your Substack.Those could be:* Subscribers* Paid subscribers* Producing posts you’re really proud of* Making connections* Getting engagement in the comments* Getting likes* Having people restack your posts* Showing up in the Notes Boost Challenge* RevenueTake a moment. Celebrate these. Really feel them in your body.Now, who helped you achieve them?* Family* Colleagues and friends on Substack* Friends* Substack guides/teachers* Substack—the platform* Food in your fridge that nourished you* Animals (maybe your cats :)* Sunlight and fresh air on your walks* The yoga mat you stretched on* The water in your tap that hydrated you* The bed you slept onMaybe send them a thank you.Step 2: What matters most to you (right now)Choosing a goal helps us discover what’s most important to us right now.* Choose one Substack goal for Q3 (July, August, September).One goal.The beauty of goal setting is that it also helps you determine what matters most to you right now.Start by eliminating from this list what’s non-essential:* Subscribers* Paid subscribers* Producing posts you’re really proud of* Make more connections* Get engagement in the comments* Get more likes* Have people restack your posts* Show up in the Notes Boost Challenge* RevenueThat will lead you to the one goal that’s essential to you right now.Write it down.Step 3: Become who you want to beTrying to achieve a goal is about who you want to become.If I just want money or subscribers or likes or even connection, it will likely feel empty whether I achieve it or not.* Who do you need to become to achieve your goal?* Fill in the blank:* Someone who ______.Write as many as apply.Step 4: Focus your time, attention, energy, and moneyWhere will you focus your time, attention, energy, and money in Q3 to achieve your goal in a way that going for it brings you more calm and health?* Time* Attention* Energy* MoneyFrom these, write down two small teeny action steps you can take and take them!Thank you (!) Meghan Daum, Susie Bright, Debbie Weil, Amy Gabrielle, Francesco Turrisi, and many others for tuning in.Share your goal or any part of this process with us. And then find someone to meet and say hello. Also, if you’re new or haven’t been to our paid-subscriber chat (!), please go and introduce yourself and your Substack. Our community is one of the best parts of your subscription. Don’t miss it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

So many writers want to be featured by Substack.It can bring thousands of new subscribers. Being featured signals you're producing authentic work, not AI content. It puts you in excellent company with other quality creators.Today, we're talking about the one thing that actually matters for Substack success—and it's not posting more, growing faster, or any of the surface-level tactics everyone's obsessing over.I take you inside how Substack decides who to feature.Go to www.substackwritersatwork.com and get the workflow I created to help you raise the quality of your posts to featured-Substack level. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Substack Writers at Work: www.substackwritersatwork.comToday, we talk about subvocalization and how important it is to reading and voice and how important it is to writing. Voice is one of the hardest craft skills to teach and learn. If more Substack writers and authors had it, a lot more of them would be earning an income. The most profound subvocalization-causing effects—your authentic voice, i.e., you—are rendered during the messy middle of the writing process. Past brainstorming and drafting, we get into revision and editing, where you render your voice into silent words. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comThank you Joy Sullivan, Jo Hutton, Dr Kondrot, Beth Spencer, Diana Spechler, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

To listen to the full episode, join us at Substack Writers at Work!https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/In today's episode:Learn how to grow your Substack with live shows, discover author success secrets from Jason Chatfield & Mikala Jamison, plus March's top engagement strategies from Substack's leading expert.00:00 Introduction and Welcome01:15 Meet the Guests: Mikayla Jamison02:26 Meet the Guests: Jason Chatfield05:09 Mikayla's Substack Journey06:07 Jason's Substack Journey09:43 Book Deals and Publishing Insights23:44 The Role of Substack in Book Deals33:35 Marketing Strategies and Long Tail Sales36:41 Promoting the Book: Strategies and Tips37:10 Event Planning and Live Streaming37:25 Drawing Book Plates: A Quick Skill38:12 Marketing and Substack Growth39:09 Engaging Readers and Building Community40:34 Live Storytelling and Fringe Festival43:27 Pre-Order Campaigns and Bestseller Lists50:21 Advanced Review Copies and Social Proof55:54 Supporting Fellow Authors and Community01:01:11 Using Substack for Book Launches01:07:19 Final Thoughts and Pet Cameos This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Live Substack Office Hours. Your Substack questions answered.Become a paid subscriber to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.Yet another way SW@W is here to help you be your amazing self on Substack.Who?* Me, you, all of us.What?* Your Substack questions answered.When?* I’ll announce the day and time of each live Substack Office Hours every Tuesday in that week’s post.* We’ll also have popup Office Hours.Where?* You’ll be notified in email and the app when we’re live.* We’ll be live in the app.Why?* Imagine: Getting to ask me instead of the bot.* Imagine: No more confusion. No more frustration. No more feeling alone.* Office Hours are for paid subscribers.What are they like?* Watch the replay above to find out! (Great to listen to in the app or on Spotify or Apple. Timestamps are below.)* Basically, come on, be with each other, connect, put your questions in the chat, and I’ll try to get to each one.How?* Join us by upgrading to paid.Substack Office Hours, 11/8/24[00:04:17] Niches vs. being a generalist—my signature Substack DNA paradigm[00:07:35] Setting up subscriber challenges/workshops[00:09:33] Understanding the activity tab & metrics[00:14:18] Posting frequency - category differences & expectations[00:29:56] Balancing posts vs. notes - social media strategy[00:33:02] Monetization & subscription value[00:39:01] Headers, footers, and banners - design elements[00:42:02] Building audience—reality vs. perception[00:44:21] Custom domains and URLs[00:48:46] Selling/marketing without losing authenticity[00:51:31] Writing calls to action effectively[00:52:26] Community building among Substack Writers at Work subscribers This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

I had the opportunity to sit down with Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack. I’m so happy to bring you our conversation. It was really illuminating and feels like the best thing I can give you as a Substack writer or creator.Many people don’t understand or know who the people behind Substack are. Hamish and all the people who work at Substack are some of the best, most idealistic people I’ve ever met. That goes across the board, everyone who works at Substack.I’m very happy to bring Hamish to you today.If you don’t know Hamish, he’s a New Zealander living in the Bay Area. He’s the co-founder of Substack and also a writer in his own right—like many people who work at Substack. He’s an incredible writer, author of Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil, which came out in 2018. Before that, he was a journalist, the former lead writer of Tesla, and a reporter for the tech blog PandoDaily. He’s written for publications around the world on technology, business, pop culture, and politics.So please enjoy my interview with Substack Co-founder Hamish Mckenzie.HIGHLIGHTS:On Substack’s origins:“The core realization [was] that you needed to make the reader the customer instead of the product…Substack’s real product is the Substack model... undergirding the entire ecosystem.”On the idealism behind Substack:“[We thought] maybe we can build something here that could be an alternative to that other system that we think is corroding trust and corroding goodwill in society.”On Substack’s current vision:“The vision is as pure as it was the day it was born.”On the power of small, engaged audiences:“Even if it’s fifty people.. it can be nourishing and rewarding where you really feel like you’re writing to real people who are really reading your stuff and engaging.”On the Substack model vs traditional social media:“This more genuine, deeper connection where the economics can be productive with lower numbers is transformative in itself.”Advice for new Substack writers with an existing platform:“Tell people that you’re doing your work over here. Consolidate your work here.”Advice for new Substack writers without an existing platform:“Don't overthink it. Just start publishing, get feedback from people. Don’t panic if you’re writing to a small audience for a while.”On the current media landscape:“This is the best time there's ever been to start a one-man or one-woman media empire, or even just like your ongoing serial publication.”03:20 Hamish’s time at Tesla and his book07:34 Substack’s origin story12:41 Substack’s vision and model25:03 Advice for aspiring Substack writersGet more expert interviews like this one from the Substack team by joining the Substack Writers at Work: www.substackwritersatwork.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net.I’m so pleased to bring you my interview with Laurie Stone. She writes the literary Substack Everything Is Personal. In this conversation, we talk about how she grew her Substack so quickly—plus her writing process, her approach to “marketing,” Notes, publishing, the nature of narrative, and how she seduces the reader.She also shares her checklist for writing posts and Notes that resonate with her readers:* Start in the middle,* fail to arrive,* remember to love something,* make the reader hot,* make the reader laugh.She was a longtime writer for the Village Voice (1974-1999), which comes up here. She’s also the author of six books, most recently Streaming Now, Postcards from the Thing that is Happening (Dottir Press, 2022), long listed for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She writes for The Paris Review, Evergreen Review, and Galerie. You can join her monthly Zoom conversations on writing craft by contacting her at lauriestone@substack.com. Subscribe to Everything Is Personal here: https://lauriestone.substack.com/Timestamps:00:15 Laurie’s Substack success02:14 Narrative techniques04:39 Using Notes and social media05:51 Teaching and workshops09:41 Laurie’s writing process17:37 Building a sustainable Substack25:47 What’s next for Everything Is Personal This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.Hello, Substack Writers at Work! Every once in a while we start to feel like we’re either in a holding pattern on Substack or it’s just not working. Your subscriber numbers are stagnant. They go up and go down—or they just go down. No one likes or restacks your posts. Every morning, you wake up and tell your cats, “It’s not working” (hypothetically).This, my friends, is known as the Substack rut. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. And I’m here to help. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.I’ve worked one-to-one with over 250 people—helping them succeed on Substack. That means I’ve been behind a lot of dashboards and mentored a lot of different people—with different interests and goals—to* double and triple and quadruple and septuple their subscribers,* substantially increase their revenue,* build a readership with real engagement, and* be Featured Substacks—the pinnacle of quality on the platform.Personalized guidance is the fastest, most efficient way to start and grow on here. I love strategizing and figuring out how a person’s talents, interests, and expertise will work best on the platform.Notice I didn’t say you can write “for yourself” and expect to be paid. You have to show up like a pro and serve your readers.) There’s nothing better than helping someone see how amazing they are and how Substack can help them have the life and career they want.I’ve learned and know a lot about Substack. Some of it also comes from building my own bestselling, Featured Substacks with over 9000 subscribers in eight months and guiding over 7000 subscribers here at Writers at Work.Here are seven things I hope will bring you growth and joy on Substack in 2024. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. Happy Tuesday!Please read the intro as I forgot to record one!This interview is a concise rundown of the realities of being an author in a publicity-driven world. Courtney Maum is quite possibly the only person who could bring it to us.You might think of there being two eras: BCM (before ) and ACM (after Courtney Maum). Before Courtney and her game-changing publishing guide, Before and After the Book Deal, authors and writers were pretty much left in the dark as to what to expect when they went to sell a book and what would happen during and after. Courtney changed that. Her book and her amazing Substack have changed writers’ lives and empowered us all.Courtney is also a stunning novelist and memoirist. She’s the author of The Year of the Horses, which was chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A nominee for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and the host of the monthly Beyond Fiction conversation series at Edith Wharton's.The Mount, Courtney's essays and articles on creativity have been widely published in outlets like The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian and her short story, “This Is Not Your Fault,” was recently turned into an Audible original.I’m so happy to be able to interview her for you and (I hope) ask her some of the questions you have about writing and publishing on Substack and beyond.Listen or read the transcript below and enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. On the go? Listen to this on the Substack Writers at Work podcast here!This is the best fifty-two minutes you can spend. This Q&A with the amazing Sophia Efthimiatou, Substack’s Head of Writer Relations, will fill you with inspiration, optimism, and a true appreciation for Substack and how much it’s doing for us.Sometimes it can feel like we’re just writing on a platform, but Substack is made up of real people, many of whom are writers themselves. They believe in giving us the professional opportunities we deserve. Here, we’re part of a community.Become a member of the Substack Writers at Work community. Join 11,000+ Substack writers. Annual members get everything. I encourage you to commit to your Substack with my guidance for a year and get the discounted annual subscription. You, your Substack, and your work are worth it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe