Join a community of 30,000+ Substack Writers

Top-3 Substack, globally Bestselling, Featured Substack

Quiet the Substack noise.

Don’t waste your time and energy trying to game Substack with “tips and tricks.”

Grow your Substack with proven strategies from the Substack Growth Framework.

The Growth Framework consists of five essential components:

  • Substack DNA: Discover your unique voice and how your gifts, talents, and expertise will work best on the platform

  • Growth Strategy: Build your audience via Notes and recommendations

  • Paid Strategy: Convert free subscribers to paying supporters and make Substack part of your overall business model

  • Engagement Strategy: Keep subscribers by creating real relationships

  • Network Strategy: Connect with other Substack writers and creators to expand your reach

The Growth Framework is based on the advice Substack gave me and what has led hundreds of my private clients and tens of thousands of Substack Writers at Work to:

  • double and triple and 10x their subscribers,

  • get real engagement,

  • create incredible opportunities through their Substacks, and

  • earn an income on Substack.


✦ PAID SUBSCRIBERS GET WEEKLY INSTALLMENTS OF THE SUBSTACK STRATEGY FRAMEWORK, PLUS:

  • The complete Substack Mastery Workshop library

  • Full access to our monthly Notes Boost Challenge, where Substack Writers at Work have gotten hundreds and thousands of subscribers

  • Exclusive Lives with behind-the-scenes growth strategies from top Substack creators and the Substack team

  • My action guide: How to Avoid the Top 5 Mistakes People Make on Substack

  • Time-saving 1-minute Substack tech tutorials

  • 24/7 Substack Support in our paid community chat to get your questions answered by humans (!)

✦ THE SUBSTACK MASTERMIND INCLUDES EVERYTHING IN THE PAID MEMBERSHIP, PLUS:

  • The equivalent of working 1:1 with me in a group setting for an entire year

  • Step-by-step guidance through the entire Substack Growth Framework

  • Complimentary access to all Creators at Work workshops and masterclasses

  • Direct access to me in monthly Mastermind Calls

  • The support of a cohort of committed Substack writers, creators, and visionaries

NOTE: The Mastermind is currently sold out. You can join the waitlist here.

Get on the Substack Mastermind waitlist

✦ Free subscribers are cherished and get access to occasional posts for one week.


How do you know the Substack Growth Framework really works?

It’s based on the proven, tested strategies that have worked for hundreds of my private clients. Working with me:

Kate Hill increased her revenue from $21,000 to $26,000 in just 6 weeks.


Jeannine Ouellete’s paid subscriptions (at $50/year) increased from 560 to 953 in 70 days.

“Sarah is brilliant and knows Substack inside out. She also listens deeply and gets to know you and your goals for your newsletter, both short and long term. Sarah earned my trust in the first five minutes. Her guidance is not cookie cutter; it’s very precisely tailored based on your specific publication and vision.”

—Jeannine Ouellette, Writing in the Dark


David Roberts became a featured Substack, a Substack bestseller, and grew by 4000 subscribers in just one year.

✨ “Before I signed up with Sarah, I was clueless. The result has been an improvement in the quality of my posts and a surge in subscribers. I'm also having a lot more fun as a Substack writer. She is a superb teacher.”

David Roberts, Sparks from Culture

Book now


My private Substack clients include

  • Journalists Katie Harbath and Kirsten Powers

  • Health and wellness thought leaders Laura McKowen and Ashley Neese

  • Activists Shannon Watts and Sunni Brown

  • Organizations Five Things I’ve Learned and Resolute Square

  • Bestselling authors Sarah Knight and Jennifer Lauck

  • Creatives and influencers Ajiri Aki and Karen Bussen

  • Award-winning authors Robin Hemley and Esme Weijun Wang

  • Psychologists Sarah Swenson and Dr. Emily King

  • Life coaches Caitlin Faas and Jane Pilger

  • Poets Joy Sullivan and Maya Popa

  • Publisher and bestselling author Zibby Owens

  • and many more…

Book now


> Real Results, Real Growth

Using the Substack Growth Framework, my clients have:

  • Launched successful writing careers

  • Doubled and quadrupled their subscribers

  • Substantially increased their revenue

  • Established six-figure incomes

  • Built engaged communities of loyal readers

  • Created additional revenue streams

  • Attracted the attention of literary agents and sponsors

More importantly, they’ve:

  • Built genuine connections with their readers

  • Created sustainable systems that work for them

  • Developed skills they can use anywhere

  • Gained clarity on their unique path

  • Found their authentic voice on the platform

Book now


What qualifies me to guide you on Substack?

(You should ask this of everyone you take advice from!)

Sarah Fay of Writers at Work smiling leaning against a column

The Substack Growth Framework I give you is based on proven strategies I developed working with hundreds of Substack creators. I’m

  • the creator of two bestselling, featured Substacks

  • the founder of Substack Writers at Work, a Top 3 bestselling Substack, globally

  • a mentor to thousands of Substack writers

  • an award-winning, bestselling author at HarperCollins (Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses)

  • a freelance writer at The New York Times, The Atlantic, et al.

  • a literary scholar with an MFA, MA, PhD

  • on the faculty at Northwestern University

  • one-time advisory editor at The Paris Review

  • so fortunate to have 30,000+ active subscribers

  • the go-to Substack expert

Let’s do this.



P.S. We have two resident cats: Mr. Sweets and Baby Theo.

White cat and tabby cat on a cat tree and in baskets.White cat and tabby cat on a cat tree and in baskets.
Sweets (Birman Tabby) and Baby Theo (Bluepoint Ragdoll) are so happy you're here.


I subsidize a 3-month paid membership for anyone on a fixed income. If this is you, email me: mssarahfay1516@gmail.com.
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Where Substack writers and creators grow their platforms, produce their best work, and earn the income they deserve. Proven strategies from the Substack Growth Framework.

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Substack Strategist | Northwestern faculty | PhD, MA, MFA | HarperCollins author | Lover of all things cats and Substack