The Craft of Writing on Substack

Only 25 spots available

Sarah Fay, PhD

Oct 13, 2025

It feels like everyone has a Substack.

People’s inboxes are full.

What would make someone read yours, engage with it, and pay for it?

Not just open and delete.

The answer has nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with craft.

I’ve seen tens of thousands of Substacks launch.

Most fail, not because the writer lacks ideas or a vision, but because they don’t understand that writing on Substack is its own genre.

The mistakes most writers make:

They either write like it’s a literary journal (beautiful, but nobody finishes) or wing it without any craft at all (forgettable, instantly deleted).

Other people will tell you to “optimize” your “content” or teach you how to “write online” or use AI or feed you growth “hacks” after growth hack.

None of that works on Substack.

After 20 years teaching creative writing in MFA programs and working 1:1 with 700+ Substack writers—helping them become bestsellers, get featured, launch businesses, land speaking engagements, get agents and book deals—I’ve found the five craft elements every successful Substack writer needs:

Voice
Storytelling
Humor
Edge
Processes

Substack has been and always will be “the home for great writing” (the platform’s original tagline).

Great writing on Substack isn’t what you think, but it is what makes a Substack grow and be profitable.

✨ “Sarah is a superb teacher. Before, I was clueless about how my posts were landing on Substack. She taught me how to organize my posts to correspond with how people read on Substack. The result has been an improvement in the quality of my posts and a surge in subscribers.” —David Roberts

✨ “Sarah has been my secret weapon for my writing—both on and off Substack. And I had so much fun doing it. I feel more confident in my writing. I can honestly say she sped up my learning curve by years.” —Latham Turner

The Craft of Writing on Substack:

Write a Substack people actually read, engage with, and pay for

Over six sessions, you’ll master the five craft elements of successful Substack writing with me, two expert guest teachers, and a panel of agents and editors:

Voice:
- Find your unique voice—the difference between readers deleting and unsubscribing and I need to read everything this person writes.
Storytelling:
- Share your life and experience in a way that converts scrollers into subscribers and subscribers into paid supporters—with guest teacher Micaela Blei, co-founder of The Moth’s education program (!).
Humor:
- Use humor to pull subscribers in and keep them—not jokes, human writing that makes readers feel like they know you (and know it’s not AI because AI is never, ever funny, clever, or charming).
Edge:
- Discover what makes posts shareable, memorable, and impossible to ignore—including:
  - Writing short and powerful with guest teacher Nadine Kenney Johnstone (she’s mentored dozens of students published in The New York Times Modern Love)
  - How to write subject lines that get opens instead of deleted and headlines that get your posts shared.
  - Q&A with a panel of agents and editors about what they look for in a Substack
Processes:
- Establish a creative process and publishing calendar that makes Substack sustainable instead of exhausting—with templates for repeatable formats you can adapt

Plus:

Weekly feedback on your actual posts from fellow Substack writers with my editorial guidance
Guided readings from my curated anthology of Substack writers, plus pivotal authors in essay, blog, and newsletter writing
Access to all recordings 24/7
An Excel spreadsheet to track your posts, so you know what’s working and what’s not

Your professor, guest teachers, and panel of experts

I’ve taught creative writing for 20 years in MFA programs—including Northwestern University, where I currently teach, and the University of Iowa. I’m a former advisory editor at The Paris Review, recipient of the Hopwood Award for Literature, and a fellow of Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Mellon Foundation.

My memoir, Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses, was published by HarperCollins, became a national bestseller, and has been featured in The New York Times, on NPR, and in The Atlantic, Time, Forbes, and more. I’ve freelanced for major publications and built two featured, bestselling Substacks.

What makes this course different is that I’ve also worked 1:1 with over 700 Substack writers—helping them become bestsellers, get featured by Substack, launch businesses, land speaking engagements, and build sustainable writing careers.

I’m the founder and director of Substack Writers at Work, a membership with 36,000 subscribers.

I know what works in literary writing. And I know what works on Substack. This course teaches you both.

Your guest teachers:

Micaela Blei, co-founder of The Moth’s education program, will teach you how to use storytelling to create genuine engagement

Nadine Kenney Johnstone, who has mentored dozens of students to publication in The New York Times Modern Love column, will show you how to write short and powerful

Plus a panel of literary agents and editors who’ll answer your questions about what they look for when they discover writers on Substack—even if you’re not “a writer,” it will give you a very clear view of the kind of writing people pay for

October 24 - December 6

Fridays, 12-3 PM CT

Only 25 spots available to ensure meaningful feedback and discussion

Replays available
No class the week of Thanksgiving (U.S. holiday)

» » » Doors just officially opened. If you’re interested, I recommend enrolling now.

Investment

Pay in full: $1,485 (save $90) Pay in full | $1485

Pay in full : Save $90

Pay in installments: $525/mo Pay in 3 installments | $1575

Pay in installments $1575

Doors close 10/17 at midnight CT

✨ “Sarah is the best teacher I’ve had in a long time. She has a warm personality and genuinely cares about writers and helping them get paid. Her passion is teaching and it shows.” —Leon Macfayden, Policing Mental Health

✨ “As an entrepreneur in the online space, I have taken many expensive courses that make promises they cannot keep. Sarah is ALL substance, NO fluff. It’s like learning from a much wiser, been-there-done-that friend—whether you are dabbling in writing AND if you are an experienced writer.” —Lizzie Assa

✨ “The perfect combination of practical and validating. She never made me feel like an amateur and for that I am really grateful.” —Petya Grady

✨ “I was working very hard to provide quality every week, but I wasn’t sure what people would come back for. Now that I have clarity about what I’m doing, and thanks to Sarah, a practical hands-on plan to execute it, I know exactly how to focus my energy every week.” —Shaina Read

✨ “Sarah helped me understand the importance of the unique perspective I can provide for readers. She helped me figure out how to focus my array of writing interests into a coherent message.” —Michael Degen

Hope to have you!

All my best,

Sarah

P.S. FAQs are below and if you have any questions, reply to this email. I’m here to answer them.

FAQs

Who is this for?

Substack writers and creators at all stages, those with no experience and those who’ve been on the platform for years.

Will replays be available?

Yes, and we’ll have our own private Substack for feedback if you miss a session.

Can I get a refund if I don’t feel like it was helpful?

If you do the work and don’t see a transformation, I’ll make it right.

Will I get personal feedback from you?

No, but you will get feedback based on my customized direction. You can also schedule a 1:1 session focused on writing.