Interview: Elle Griffin on Growth, Publishing, Criticism, and Creativity

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❡ I’m thrilled to bring you this interview with Elle Griffin. Elle talks about building a following, defying traditional publishing, handling criticism, and staying creative. She also shares her advice for aspiring Substack writers.

Elle is something of a Substack icon. In 2022, she was awarded one of 10 places in Substack’s now-defunct Grow program, which launched her Substack into the stratosphere.

(The Grow program is similar to Substack’s current Creator Studio Program, which we talked about in the “Create Connection Using Substack Video Workshop.”)

Her dogged pursuit to bring back serialized novels made mainstream media take notice of Substack as a platform for fiction. Her Substack, The Elysian, has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, Business Insider, Fast Company, The Information, Publisher’s Weekly, Means of Creation, and Morning Brew.

She describes The Elysian as a kind of living newsletter salon:

“[A] utopian garden where we can study philosophy and debate politics and rethink capitalism and enjoy contemplative leisure and be part of a new enlightenment. It’s a place where we can think through a more beautiful future through essays and literature and discourse.”

Her TEDx talk “What if we release books episodically?” has garnered 25,000 views.

Enjoy this interview with Elle Griffin.

01:33 Elle's Journey to Substack

02:20 The Challenges of Traditional Publishing

05:04 Discovering Serialization on Substack

06:52 Building a Following and Promoting Work

09:04 Pivoting to New Projects

14:44 Handling Criticism and Staying Creative

17:34 Advice for Aspiring Substack Writers

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