I love this and your brain. I think it's actually pretty unique for a writer to have both the passion/motivation to write but also the business acumen to see where the holes are in the way of getting readers. You show us though how to be both. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Invaluable information! Every point you covered is a point I have barely taken into consideration, much less worked on for the benefit of my Substack. Great job!
I so appreciate the transparency here! I think it's one of Elle's greatest strengths as a journalist AND a fiction writer. As someone who spent many years working on the creative side of writing books but having no idea about the business, this kind of information is invaluable to those of us who need the little extra push to think of building our audience authentically but also in a professional way.
Hey Elle! Thanks so much for openly sharing your plan, process and advice. I too have the dream of writing full time and have just made the decision to start working on that through Substack, so I’m still in that first phase of just getting into consistently writing and building up my free subscribers. I’m curious to know how you got those first 4000 subscribers? Have you perhaps written on that previously?
I’m also looking forward to reading more about your Utopian future - sounds like we have a few things in common!
Great tips. I've only recently started my Substack and not ready to consider adding a paid option yet, but I've wondered about how and when to do that (or if). Thanks for this. Oh, and I'm now a subscriber to your 'stack (free for now).
Yeah--agreed: love the honesty and upfront transparency! And also: thanks for breaking that all down. Very interesting and as a fellow SS writer I’m taking it all in! I thoroughly enjoy your writing, I must say. Clear, succinct, to the point.
Really great to know that Substack offers those resources to writers hoping to improve their business strategy (when the time comes...) Will definitely peruse those links later for some tips on improving my own presentation. Thanks and best of luck with your projects!
Thank you for sharing so generously Elle (as always)! I am such a fan of applying intentional strategy to creative pursuits. It's so empowering and takes away that throw-a-fistful-of-spaghetti-against-the-wall-and-cross-your-fingers-something-sticks feeling. Breaking it down into small, tactical steps makes it feel so much more possible.
Fascinating!! I’m relatively new here but decided to move my mailchimp monthly newsletter here and try out podcasting - it’s all just so available and exciting!
Glad to see the discussion regarding souping up your About Page. We talked about the importance of that at length during the September Fictionistas Zoom, so good to know we were on the right track!
Fascinating peek into the business of writing. Ive been thinking about this but didnt realize substack offers so much!! Thank you for this!
I love this and your brain. I think it's actually pretty unique for a writer to have both the passion/motivation to write but also the business acumen to see where the holes are in the way of getting readers. You show us though how to be both. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Invaluable information! Every point you covered is a point I have barely taken into consideration, much less worked on for the benefit of my Substack. Great job!
I so appreciate the transparency here! I think it's one of Elle's greatest strengths as a journalist AND a fiction writer. As someone who spent many years working on the creative side of writing books but having no idea about the business, this kind of information is invaluable to those of us who need the little extra push to think of building our audience authentically but also in a professional way.
Hey Elle! Thanks so much for openly sharing your plan, process and advice. I too have the dream of writing full time and have just made the decision to start working on that through Substack, so I’m still in that first phase of just getting into consistently writing and building up my free subscribers. I’m curious to know how you got those first 4000 subscribers? Have you perhaps written on that previously?
I’m also looking forward to reading more about your Utopian future - sounds like we have a few things in common!
I love that you’re pairing non-fiction with fiction.
Elle, stop melting my brain.
Great tips. I've only recently started my Substack and not ready to consider adding a paid option yet, but I've wondered about how and when to do that (or if). Thanks for this. Oh, and I'm now a subscriber to your 'stack (free for now).
Yeah--agreed: love the honesty and upfront transparency! And also: thanks for breaking that all down. Very interesting and as a fellow SS writer I’m taking it all in! I thoroughly enjoy your writing, I must say. Clear, succinct, to the point.
Really great to know that Substack offers those resources to writers hoping to improve their business strategy (when the time comes...) Will definitely peruse those links later for some tips on improving my own presentation. Thanks and best of luck with your projects!
Oh I wish I had a more strategic mind! Thanks so much for sharing these insights. So so helpful.
Thank you for sharing so generously Elle (as always)! I am such a fan of applying intentional strategy to creative pursuits. It's so empowering and takes away that throw-a-fistful-of-spaghetti-against-the-wall-and-cross-your-fingers-something-sticks feeling. Breaking it down into small, tactical steps makes it feel so much more possible.
Fascinating!! I’m relatively new here but decided to move my mailchimp monthly newsletter here and try out podcasting - it’s all just so available and exciting!
Glad to see the discussion regarding souping up your About Page. We talked about the importance of that at length during the September Fictionistas Zoom, so good to know we were on the right track!
Thanks for sharing with Fictionistas, Elle. Enlightening, as always!
Go get ‘em, tiger. 🤓