To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. I’m so excited to have Matt Kirkland here today for you. Matt is the creator of Dracula Daily, the serialization of Bram Stoker’s Dracula on Substack. Most people know the story of the vampire and his move from Transylvania to London in search of victims. It’s primarily an epistolary novel made up of letters, diaries, telegrams, and newspaper clippings. It takes place from May to November, c. 1890. Most chapters of the novel occur on a particular date.Matt didn’t serialize Dracula by simply dividing it according to word count or chapters. He broke up the novel according to date. All subscribers get a post or an installment of what’s happening in the novel on that date. You receive the parts of the novel that take place on May 3 in your inbox on May 3.In our interview, we talk about how he ended up serializing Dracula. 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

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

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

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. A bonus for you for the weekend! If you’re serializing or thinking about serializing your book (or possible book), I go through the entire process and what to consider on the Become a Writer Today podcast with Bryan Collins. Bryan is great.We talk about all things serialization and “becoming an author,” including my trajectory from* interviewer at The Paris Review to* MFA-in-creative-writing grad to* PhD-in-English grad to* HarperCollins author to* devoted Substacker serializing my new memoir Cured and helping creative writers everywhere come into their own and make a living as a writer.I hope it inspires you and gets you thinking about serialization on Substack. Listen 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

Substack’s design features are limited, which is a beautiful thing. You don't have to spend time branding and can get to building your Substack and achieving your goals instead. What’s here…* 00:00 Introduction to Substack's Ever-Changing Design Features* 00:14 Design Philosophy: Prioritizing Writing Over Aesthetics* 00:25 Personal Experience: Transforming Substack into a Website* 01:02 Exploring Substack's Design Options* 01:36 Homepage Layouts: Customizing Your Look* 02:17 Advanced Layouts and Grouping Content* 03:03 Setting Up Tags and Groups* 03:46 Conclusion: Basic Design Features RecapNote: This is part of the Substack Accelerator Course offered off Substack: Build your platform, grow your audience, unlock your potential on SubstackGet the full Substack Accelerator Course:If you’re tired of DIY-ing your Substack, getting overwhelmed, and trying to figure out the platform, the Substack Accelerator Course gives you a full overview and a step-by-step foundation for your Substack.In 4 concise sessions, you will:* Design a Substack that truly represents you* Craft content that turns readers into devoted fans* Master growth strategies that actually work* Transform your passion into income 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

A quick overview of your Substack dashboard. You don't need to know everything about Substack's tech. This is expert guidance in all you need to know and nothing you don't. In this session:* Home (00:03)* Posts (01:04)* Podcasts (01:59)* Subscriber Insights (02:38)* Stats (03:29)* Network Benefits (04:02)* Subscribers (04:52) 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

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/subscribeSubstack and SEO. On Substack, your SEO title and SEO description talk directly to search engines and suggest how they might display your post in search results.There's internal versus external discoverability.Substack has internal discoverability. That's Notes. I've mentioned this, but this is like the early days of YouTube and podcasting. You can get discovered on here. You can grow. Most of our growth is happening internally. It's not true for everybody, but your focus doesn't need to be fully on SEO and Google.In this session:* Understand Internal vs External Discoverability on Substack (00:27)* SEO Best Practices for Substack Posts (01:50)* The Keyword Conundrum in SEO (03:04)* Should You Change Your Substack URL? (03:34)* Recap of Growth Strategies on Substack (03:46)* Understanding the Purpose of Each Post (05:05)

To upgrade to listen on Apple, go to www.writersatwork.net/subscribe. * 2-minute overview of Substack audio and how to navigate it* 2-minute recap of my quick-and-easy method for recording and editing audio like a pro (for those who don’t have time to watch the deep-dive audio workshop)00:00 Introduction to Substack Audio00:25 Setting Up Your Podcast00:49 Creating and Uploading Audio Posts01:09 Using Audio Embeds and Voiceovers02:06 Recording Tips and Techniques02:44 Editing with Descript03:30 Creating Free PreviewsAudio is one of the best ways to connect with subscribers and expand our reach on Substack and beyond. 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. I love Wikipedia’s definition of writer’s block:“Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.”So melodramatic: The author is unable to produce new work. Practically an illness: a condition.I also love the image Wikipedia chose to accompany the entry: 19th- and 20th-century impressionist painter Leonid Pasternak’s “The Passion of Creation.” High drama. Total despair. (Google the phrase writer’s block, and that image will come up a lot.)You have to understand that Leonid was friends with Leo Tolstoy, perhaps the most melodramatic author to set foot on this earth. (That’s not a dig at Tolsoy’s writing—come on, War and Peace, Anna Karenina—but Tolstoy had a way of creating drama in his life. He was a serious philanderer, made his wife Sophia a slave to him and then left her at the age of 82, and started what was basically a cult that got him excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church.) (Yes, Leonid was also the father of Boris, author of Dr. Zhivago, and about a gazillion poems. No writer’s block there.)Writer’s block can be applied to visual artists, but usually, it’s just us. Surgeons don’t get surgeon’s block. Electricians don’t get electrician’s block.Writers like drama. That’s our bread and butter. And sometimes, our love of drama seeps into our lives in ways that aren’t productive. 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