A Field Guide for Creative Writers on Substack

The art of the literary newsletter

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Austin Kleon's Substack, For Dear Life with Maggie Smith, The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad

You can’t just start a Substack. I mean, you can—and I think every novelist, memoirist, short story writer, and essayist should—but it’s more likely to succeed if you approach the literary newsletter as a genre and Substack as a very specific type of platform.

Substack is a tiny miracle—or a major one. It offers writers a subscription model pay structure that gives us agency in a way that hasn’t existed in my lifetime. (Note: I do not work for Substack and receive no compensation for saying this—though I wish I did.)

Some (if not many) creative writers mistakenly think Okay, I’ll start a Substack, post my ______ (fill in the blank: serial novel or memoir, musings, essays, short stories), get a bunch of paid subscribers, and make money. Unless you already have a huge following, that may not work. Plus, “getting subscribers” isn’t the only—or even the best—way Substack can serve creative writers.

Creative writers are presented with different challenges than journalists and mainstream (not in a bad way) nonfiction writers face. For starters, the public isn’t used to 1) fiction and literary nonfiction arriving as email in their inboxes and 2) paying for it, especially when it’s by a non-celebrity author.

You can get around this by creating a literary newsletter, which is a genre all its own. We might call it LitStack (thank you,

J.T. Ellison

for coining that! brilliant!) or Bookstack or just an amazing opportunity.

For your literary newsletter to succeed, it really (really) helps to be clear about a few things:

1. your artistic and career goals and how your Substack can help you achieve them (there’s more to life than just subscribers),

2. the topic and focus of your Substack (it can’t just be short stories or a serialized novel or “musings” or even “writing prompts”), and

3. your readers and how to connect with and/or provide a service for them (the best Substacks offer something tangible-ish, which is why people pay for them).

In the meantime, I bring you the first small step to creating your Substack.

Your perfect Substack (the first small step)

Here’s the truth: unless you define what you want, you’ll always feel like a failure. If you compulsively check your subscriber graph and numbers and likes and restacks without knowing what “success” is for you, defeat and discouragement will be your constant companion. Having a specific goal beyond “subscribers” will save you from 1) feeling frustrated, 2) doubting your work, and 3) quitting when Substack is very much a long game.

Creative writers can use Substack as a means to many ends. I encourage you to move beyond the obvious and understand that there are at least five ways to use Substack to further your monetary and artistic goals:

1. Build a Substack empire with thousands of paid subscribers that serves as your primary income source (the obvious choice)

2. Generate a large email list—free or paid subscribers—to sell past and future books (traditionally or independently published)

3. Have a side gig that gives you extra money

4. Serialize a novel or memoir to get the attention of an agent or (if your book is already with your agent) editors

5. Sandbox a potentially award-winning or bestselling work of fiction or nonfiction

(Yes, yes, all of these options fall prey to the traditional trappings of capitalist and egoistic success, but let’s just assume that artistic freedom, serving others, and excelling at your craft come first. Then what?)

Pick one.

Really. Go pick one. You can change it later. (But don’t.) Your first quick response is usually the most honest.

The one you choose will determine

• what you publish (don’t assume it should be only fiction or essays),

• the frequency you publish, and

• how you work.

Each goal demands

• a different approach,

• amount of publicity,

• skill level,

• time commitment, and

• mental and emotional outlook.

✨ Invest in yourself and your Substack! Commit to one year with my guidance and get the discounted annual subscription. You, your writing, and your career are worth it.

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Get my expert eyes on your Substack and discover how to use Substack to reach your goals—book a Single Substack Strategy Intensive or Strategic Substack Growth Package.

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