Substack Live Podcast

To listen to the full episode, join us at Substack Writers at Work!https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/In today's episode:Learn how to grow your Substack with live shows, discover author success secrets from Jason Chatfield & Mikala Jamison, plus March's top engagement strategies from Substack's leading expert.00:00 Introduction and Welcome01:15 Meet the Guests: Mikayla Jamison02:26 Meet the Guests: Jason Chatfield05:09 Mikayla's Substack Journey06:07 Jason's Substack Journey09:43 Book Deals and Publishing Insights23:44 The Role of Substack in Book Deals33:35 Marketing Strategies and Long Tail Sales36:41 Promoting the Book: Strategies and Tips37:10 Event Planning and Live Streaming37:25 Drawing Book Plates: A Quick Skill38:12 Marketing and Substack Growth39:09 Engaging Readers and Building Community40:34 Live Storytelling and Fringe Festival43:27 Pre-Order Campaigns and Bestseller Lists50:21 Advanced Review Copies and Social Proof55:54 Supporting Fellow Authors and Community01:01:11 Using Substack for Book Launches01:07:19 Final Thoughts and Pet Cameos This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Live Substack Office Hours. Your Substack questions answered.Become a paid subscriber to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.Yet another way SW@W is here to help you be your amazing self on Substack.Who?* Me, you, all of us.What?* Your Substack questions answered.When?* I’ll announce the day and time of each live Substack Office Hours every Tuesday in that week’s post.* We’ll also have popup Office Hours.Where?* You’ll be notified in email and the app when we’re live.* We’ll be live in the app.Why?* Imagine: Getting to ask me instead of the bot.* Imagine: No more confusion. No more frustration. No more feeling alone.* Office Hours are for paid subscribers.What are they like?* Watch the replay above to find out! (Great to listen to in the app or on Spotify or Apple. Timestamps are below.)* Basically, come on, be with each other, connect, put your questions in the chat, and I’ll try to get to each one.How?* Join us by upgrading to paid.Substack Office Hours, 11/8/24[00:04:17] Niches vs. being a generalist—my signature Substack DNA paradigm[00:07:35] Setting up subscriber challenges/workshops[00:09:33] Understanding the activity tab & metrics[00:14:18] Posting frequency - category differences & expectations[00:29:56] Balancing posts vs. notes - social media strategy[00:33:02] Monetization & subscription value[00:39:01] Headers, footers, and banners - design elements[00:42:02] Building audience—reality vs. perception[00:44:21] Custom domains and URLs[00:48:46] Selling/marketing without losing authenticity[00:51:31] Writing calls to action effectively[00:52:26] Community building among Substack Writers at Work subscribers This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack and author of "Insane Mode," reveals the platform's vision of prioritizing readers as customers rather than products. He discusses the journey from journalism to building a thriving community for creators, emphasizing the dangers of sensationalism in media. McKenzie highlights Substack's mission to cultivate trust-based relationships between writers and audiences, and explores integrating multimedia to enhance storytelling. His insights are invaluable for anyone looking to thrive as a writer or creative.

Subscribe to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net.I’m so pleased to bring you my interview with Laurie Stone. She writes the literary Substack Everything Is Personal. In this conversation, we talk about how she grew her Substack so quickly—plus her writing process, her approach to “marketing,” Notes, publishing, the nature of narrative, and how she seduces the reader.She also shares her checklist for writing posts and Notes that resonate with her readers:* Start in the middle,* fail to arrive,* remember to love something,* make the reader hot,* make the reader laugh.She was a longtime writer for the Village Voice (1974-1999), which comes up here. She’s also the author of six books, most recently Streaming Now, Postcards from the Thing that is Happening (Dottir Press, 2022), long listed for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She writes for The Paris Review, Evergreen Review, and Galerie. You can join her monthly Zoom conversations on writing craft by contacting her at lauriestone@substack.com. Subscribe to Everything Is Personal here: https://lauriestone.substack.com/Timestamps:00:15 Laurie’s Substack success02:14 Narrative techniques04:39 Using Notes and social media05:51 Teaching and workshops09:41 Laurie’s writing process17:37 Building a sustainable Substack25:47 What’s next for Everything Is Personal This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Learn about six helpful tips for Substack writers to overcome a rut, including focusing on growth over time, exploring other platforms, appreciating current achievements, supporting the community, avoiding fixation on numbers, and being part of a supportive writer community. Also, get a sneak peek at the upcoming Substack Writers at Work Friday office party.

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.I’ve worked one-to-one with over 250 people—helping them succeed on Substack. That means I’ve been behind a lot of dashboards and mentored a lot of different people—with different interests and goals—to* double and triple and quadruple and septuple their subscribers,* substantially increase their revenue,* build a readership with real engagement, and* be Featured Substacks—the pinnacle of quality on the platform.Personalized guidance is the fastest, most efficient way to start and grow on here. I love strategizing and figuring out how a person’s talents, interests, and expertise will work best on the platform.Notice I didn’t say you can write “for yourself” and expect to be paid. You have to show up like a pro and serve your readers.) There’s nothing better than helping someone see how amazing they are and how Substack can help them have the life and career they want.I’ve learned and know a lot about Substack. Some of it also comes from building my own bestselling, Featured Substacks with over 9000 subscribers in eight months and guiding over 7000 subscribers here at Writers at Work.Here are seven things I hope will bring you growth and joy on Substack in 2024. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. Happy Tuesday!Please read the intro as I forgot to record one!This interview is a concise rundown of the realities of being an author in a publicity-driven world. Courtney Maum is quite possibly the only person who could bring it to us.You might think of there being two eras: BCM (before ) and ACM (after Courtney Maum). Before Courtney and her game-changing publishing guide, Before and After the Book Deal, authors and writers were pretty much left in the dark as to what to expect when they went to sell a book and what would happen during and after. Courtney changed that. Her book and her amazing Substack have changed writers’ lives and empowered us all.Courtney is also a stunning novelist and memoirist. She’s the author of The Year of the Horses, which was chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A nominee for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and the host of the monthly Beyond Fiction conversation series at Edith Wharton's.The Mount, Courtney's essays and articles on creativity have been widely published in outlets like The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian and her short story, “This Is Not Your Fault,” was recently turned into an Audible original.I’m so happy to be able to interview her for you and (I hope) ask her some of the questions you have about writing and publishing on Substack and beyond.Listen or read the transcript below and enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Sophia Efthimiatou, Head of Writer Relations at Substack, discusses the importance of authenticity on the platform, embracing creative freedom, and writing personally for subscribers. The conversation also explores potential growth areas on Substack, category selection strategies, and the platform's rising popularity internationally.

Learn how personal coaching can help writers succeed on Substack, with stories of subscribers doubling and tripling in numbers. Find out why Substack is the best platform for writers financially, professionally, and artistically.

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. On the go? Listen to the audio.If you aren’t a subscriber, become one (!) to master the art and business of being on Substack.On to the reason why so many writers feel bad about promoting their work and why they shouldn’t…For many creative writers, publicity is something to be avoided lest someone accuse them of “self-promotion.” (By “creative,” I mean anyone who’s not a journalist—not that journalism isn’t creative.) The tacit belief is that “real” writers shouldn’t need to promote their work. “Good” writing magically publicizes itself or is promoted by others, i.e., gatekeepers—agents, publishers, critics, the media, celebrity authors, Substack writers with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, etc.I can’t overstate how damaging this has been to writers. It’s brainwashed us into believing 1) all promotion is self-promotion and 2) publicizing our work means slumming and a lack of literary or artistic credibility. More than that, it’s created a culture of dependency and entitlement and a whole lot of professional writers who can’t make a living from their profession.Writers—especially creative writers—seem to think publicity isn’t or shouldn’t be part of our job. Guess what? It is. It’s not the reader’s responsibility to find us. And not just on Substack. You can get the best agent and a big book deal and you’re still expected to sell your own books. (Sorry to pop that fantasy bubble, but it’s true.)Yes, there’s the whole art-versus-commerce angst, which I’ve never understood. The idea that commerce taints art is one that I’d love for us all to question. Maybe it has more to do with reaching people. Art that sells speaks to the buying public; art that doesn’t, well, doesn’t. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe