Start here!
Your definitive guide to Substack growth from leading the Substack Strategist Sarah Fay
You’re in very good hands…
✨ “Sarah knows Substack inside and out, and combines her knowledge plus intuition, smart strategy, and incredibly generous vision to help Substackers reach more readers with less struggle! Super helpful!”
—Jeannine Ouellette, Writing in the Dark
Welcome, paid subscribers!
Quick overview of all that you get:
🔸 Weekly access to the most cutting-edge, expert guidance on WHAT'S ACTUALLY WORKING ON SUBSTACK in 2025 and WHAT’S TO COME in 2026
🔸 The Original Notes Boost Challenge to go viral on Notes
🔸 24/7 SW@W chat for COMMUNITY SUPPORT
🔸 NEWBIE PATHWAY + SUBSTACK CORE 4 to get you started on my proprietary Substack Growth Framework
🔸 SUBSTACK LIVES where we talk with the most successful Substack writers and creators and those just starting about how to stand out in the crowded Substack landscape and use your Substack to fuel your career and creative work
* Free subscribers get select lives and occasional posts.
Where to start
Introduce yourself in our amazing paid-subscriber-only community chat!
Choose your lane:
Substack Newbie Pathway—8 tutorials, templates, and quick guides to get you started on Substack and in Substack Writers at Work
Substack Core 4 for those with a bit more Substack experience—4 of my core strategies to grow authentically
Be on the lookout for Tuesday’s post and community events.
Go to and bookmark our homepage to find this month’s calendar of events.
Most of all, remember, Substack is a long game.
You don’t need to do everything all at once. I’ve designed the paid subscription and Premier Membership to help you build a Substack that grows long term.
About me
I’m Sarah Fay (MFA, MA, PhD). I’m best known around here as the world’s leading Substack Growth Strategist and founder of Substack Writers at Work—a featured, bestselling Substack with over 36,000 members.
I’ve helped thousands of writers and creators—from award-winning journalists to bestselling authors to those just starting out—substantially increase their revenue, double and triple and 10x their subscribers, build an engaged audience, and produce their best work.
I also teach creative nonfiction at Northwestern University and am a solopreneur, PR consultant, mental health advocate, and author of the national bestselling memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins). My work has appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review, where I was an advisory editor. I write the bestselling, featured Substack Beyond Pathological.
I live in Chicago with my two beloved cats—Sweets and Baby Theo. More than anything, I want a t-shirt that says, Ask me about my cats. (All typos in all posts are Baby Theo’s fault.)
If you aren’t yet a paid subscriber or Premier Member, here are your subscription options:
Paid vs. Premier
Paid = DIY — resources, weekly guidance, and live sessions on 2025 Substack trends, plus all community Notes Boost Challenges.
Premier = Guided — the paid PLUS monthly growth planS with feedback, accountability, group coaching with me, and live cohort connection with committed Substack writers
Paid
→ DIY Substack Growth — access to resources you can implement on your own
$110/year (1 month free with annual)
Weekly Substack briefings and strategies
Exclusive community networking events — Substack Meetups + Notes Boosts
24/7 chat — connect and get support
Substack Lives — strategies to thrive on a crowded platform
Substack Newbie Pathway — eight quick tutorials, cheat sheets, and expert guidance
The Substack Core 4 — four proven strategies and templates for long-term growth
Premier
Premier
→ Guided Substack Growth — direct access, accountability, and feedback to grow faster
$985/year
Everything in Paid, plus:
Premier Monthly Spotlight — get your Substack featured in Substack Writers at Work and in front of tens of thousands of people
30-Day Growth Blueprints — monthly step-by-step guides with custom templates
Monthly Premier Calls with me — the only group setting where I work with you directly
Hot seats + personalized feedback — get my eyes on your Substack
Small-group breakout rooms — connect with other committed Substack creators
Mid-month Premier Meetups — stay on track and connect with other Premier Members
End-of-month check-ins — capture wins, troubleshoot challenges, and set next steps
BONUS: Substack Strategy Handbook (Premier Exclusive) — my complete A–Z guide for navigating the platform and building a profitable Substack
Free
→ 1 monthly post and 1 Substack live
P.S. I see a select number of private clients. Book a 1:1 here.
*I subsidize a 3-month paid membership for anyone on a fixed income. If this is you, email me: sarah@substackwritersatwork.com.
What paid subscribers are saying:
“Sarah is a remarkable expert on Substack. If you’re interested in growing your Substack and/or learning more about this platform, she’s your woman.” —Esmé Weijun Wang, The Unexpected Shape
“Sarah’s Substack workshops are BRILLIANT—her Substack knowledge is deep, considered and so generous. Join her community—don’t pause, just get in there, I’ll meet you there!” —Claire Venus, Sparkle on Substack
“Sarah Fay knows pretty much everything there is to know about Substack, including how to use it to develop your writing skills, and advice on publishing.” —Linnhe Harrison, Sails on the Horizon
“Sarah Fay’s teaching style is top-notch! Even if you have a strong writing background, it’s easy to get lost on Substack. Following Substack Writers at Work gives me guidance each month on how to boost my newsletter.” —The Naked Page
“Sarah Fay has the ability to make everything clear. She provides the greatest value for a paid subscription of anyone on Substack.” —Donna McArthur, The Bright Life
You're so right. I know little about manga except that my niece loves it, but Dickens's novels were all illustrated by his loyal illustrator who went by "Philz." Boz and Philz. The drawings are great. There will be a whole newsletter dedicated to that: How illustrations can work with serialized novels and memoirs (that aren't comics).
Love this!
When we getting started??