✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A company is hiring a freelance community manager to develop social media strategies and manage LinkedIn and Instagram content for NGO sector clients. Pay is $3,000-$5,000/year.

• An HR software company is hiring a technical writer and AI content QA specialist to create help center documentation and evaluate AI outputs. Pay is $60-$75/hour.

• A leading digital publisher is seeking a freelance health/wellness editor to oversee branded pharmaceutical content campaigns, from writer assignments through final delivery. Pay is $80/hour.

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📝 New on the The Pitch List

• A prestigious longform digital publication is seeking narrative journalism and character-driven stories with cinematic storytelling. Pay is $6,000 baseline + 25% upfront + quarterly royalties.

• A development-focused publication is commissioning pieces exploring how projects and innovations succeed or fail in low- and middle-income countries. Pay is $2,000.

• An anthology project on video game history is accepting articles exploring gaming cultures outside North America, with rights to republish elsewhere. Pay is $300 per article.

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📚 Editor’s Note: Sarah Copeland on Sacred Spaces and Standing Up for Your Worth

This week’s GuestStack feature is a writer I’ve genuinely admired for a long time — and getting her words in your inbox feels like a real gift.

is an award-winning cookbook author, longtime contributor to the New York Times, Food & Wine, Food Network, Real Simple, and Martha Stewart Living, and the voice behind one of Substack’s most beloved food publications, Edible Living. She’s written four cookbooks, served as Food Director at Real Simple, spent seven years creating recipes at Food Network, and somehow also managed two summers as a private chef in St. Tropez. (Yes, really.) If you’re not already a subscriber to Edible Living, this is your sign — her tahini granola recipe alone is worth the subscription.

But what I love most about Sarah isn’t the résumé — it’s the way she writes about the whole life of a working creative. From her 250-year-old blacksmith’s barn studio in the Hudson Valley to her travels across Hungary, Sarah is radically honest about what it actually takes to build a writing career with longevity, intention, and joy. She writes about food the way the best writers write about anything: as a way of understanding how we live, and how we might live better.

In this interview, she gets into charging your worth without apology, carving out sacred space for your work, and why she believes the readers who need your voice will always find you. For those of you building writing careers of your own, her perspective is the kind of reminder that sticks.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Sarah Copeland

1. Where’s your desk these days — and what does it look like?

I’m writing from my second-floor studio of our 250-year-old Blacksmith’s barn, 50 yards behind our house in the Hudson Valley. My actual desk is a 7-foot black walnut table my husband built me for our tenth wedding anniversary, with an arched frame and joined together with antique brass pins; it was originally intended to be our dining room table, but I’ve since adopted it as my desk. It’s beautiful and impractical (no drawers, etc). From my desk, I can see my house, my garden, our bunny’s little house, and the stop where my children get on and off the school bus; it’s my favorite place to be.

2. As an award-winning cookbook author and longtime contributor to top publications, you’ve got a lot on your plate — what inspired you to start your Substack Edible Living? And have you always taken such gorgeous food photography?

Because I had written almost exclusively for big brands like Real Simple, Food & Wine, and Food Network for the first decade plus of my career–either as a staff editor or on contract–it was hard to wrap my mind around writing a blog or a newsletter. A fellow food writer (Jenny Rosenstrach, a Substack OG) nudged me to get started on a low-stakes, low-lift effort about 4 years ago. But once I got started, I never wanted to stop. Working on my Substack quickly became where I spend 80% of my work week.

As for the photographs, thank you for the kind words! I was a dual major in magazine and photojournalism in college. Writing has always been my first love, and photography was my longtime side hustle, dating back to at least my mid-teens. But the two have become so intertwined in my work, art directing all my own cookbooks and often my work for brands, that I can no longer imagine one without the other.

3. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now?

I’m sorry to report that I used to make a lot more money as a writer than I do now. But that’s mostly because I stepped forward as the prominent/lead parent in my household (meaning full-time parenting without any paid or outside help), since COVID times, when my then-young kids were at home. In those days, I was writing or working as a writer 5 or more days a week, with overlap into nights and weekends. I had the best in-home childcare (full and later part-time babysitters) who helped me “do it all.”

These days, I write strictly while my kids are in school, and on the occasional late-night burst of energy. It means I make less (since it’s hard to scale your writing without actually writing more), but I’m grateful to have a really nice balance between my two worlds. I’m a better writer thanks to the complexities of my private life, and I’m certainly a better parent/partners/friend on days I’ve spent at least a few hours writing at my desk.

4. What’s one lesson you wish someone had told you earlier about the business of writing and creating recipes and food content?

To be absolutely shameless about charging for your worth. No one would dream of walking out of a salon without paying for their haircut, or walking out of a boutique with a new sweater without laying down their credit card or cash. And yet we continue, as writers, and as a culture, to undervalue the work, effort, and expertise of professional writers just because the market is saturated and the world is used to getting content (words, recipes, stories, listicles) for free.

Putting the writing aside, recipe creation and writing–and in particular the photography– is an expensive endeavor. High-quality work must be paid for, or we can’t expect quality at all.

5. What’s your writing routine like — or do you even have one?

I LOVED morning pages in my single days. That’s how I wrote my first book. Later, I did my best writing in cafes or on the subway, traveling to and from my desk jobs (usually as an editor).

Today, walking through my studio door is like jumping through a portal–I can leave family life behind and inhabit my writing brain fully. I sit and type at my desk for hours, skipping meals and bathroom breaks until I hear the brakes screech on the yellow bus, dropping my kids off from school. But then, as now, my absolute favorite time to write is on a weekend, when I notice that everyone is happily occupied and quietly tending to their own tasks/work/play. I grab my laptop and slip into the cozy chair in the corner of my bedroom–right by the window, in the late afternoon when the sun is streaming in, like a cat soaking in the sun. I love the feeling of my fingers racing across the keyboard–time slips away. It is then that I fully exhale, praying no one finds me until every thought is on the page, and yet accepting that it could be over at a moment’s notice. It’s like stolen time, one of life’s little gifts.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” when it comes to being a food writer and author?

I have always believed in my writing–that writing, mine or anyone’s, is important. That words and stories are the great human connector. Since I studied Journalism, I was taught by multiple men/women who had ”made it,” who were actively working writers and (also, now, professors). One guest professor was a Pulitzer Prize winner, another wrote fabulous feminist pieces for Ms. magazine in the 70s and 80s, and had written several books about her own life. When I moved to New York City directly after these people were the biggest influence on my life, I had zero doubts about making a living as a writer. But I still thought I needed the big brands–the magazines and the editors and the big money men–to support me, to send me that paycheck, no matter how small.

The first time I realized I could really do it on my own terms happened much later. As I was turning the corner into my thirties, my oldest sister, a deft SVP, always said “the best investments you ever make are in yourself.” She encouraged me to attend the Greenbrier Food Writers’ Symposium, with an entry fee that was a massive splurge for me at the time. Once I got there, I had dinner every night with the top working writers and editors of the era: Russ Parsons (LA Times), Andrea Nguyen (a widely published food writer), Margo True (writer for Saveur and Sunset mags), Ann Taylor Pittman (then of Cooking Light), Bill LeBlonde (from Chronicle Books), Antonia Allegra (oft called the fairy Godmother of food writing), Don Fry (reveared writing coach and scholar). Sitting among people whose daily rhythm was writing (for money!!) renewed my confidence that I could do it too.

Don Fry made us read our writing aloud back to a room full of greats and never let us back down. He said I had a real “voice” and made me promise to stop apologizing for my opinions. He put us on the spot; he taught us to get out of our own way, and that we could survive saying what we were put on this earth to say, no matter who was in the room.

Not long after, Bill LeBlonde signed me as one of his authors; I wrote my first book the next year.

7. What’s something you tried that didn’t work — and what did you learn from it?

I recently went out to market with a Hungarian Cookbook proposal that I have spent well over a decade researching and writing. The investment has been massive: dozens of trips back and forth to Hungary, years of reading and researching, and tons of writing and rewriting. I have never worked harder on anything in my life. The book didn’t sell–even after publishing four books, with accolades like James Beard-nominated, and “Best of” lists from the New York Times, Bon Appétit next to my name.

This might have felt like a giant blow. Not only did my first four books sell quickly and easily, making this a harsh contrast, but this book felt deeply important to me–something I am uniquely qualified to write, something I feel needs to be written, and full of recipes and stories I have passionately wanted to tell for many, many years. But the timing wasn’t right for the marketplace. And if I were honest with myself, the timing wasn’t right for me either.

I thought it would crush me to have to put that to the side after so much love and work went into it. But I learned that I can handle rejection. And that not all rejection is personal. I know my work is respected, and that editors trust the integrity of my work, but no one wants to go to the market right now with a book that may not sell widely. There’s too much at stake for publishing houses right now. And I know there will be a right time for that book–somewhere in the future. If it’s meant to be, I will be the one to write it. And if not, I will do other great, valued work that the world needs from me even more.

8. How do you find or create opportunities for yourself as a writer and creator?

Much of my career has been based on word of mouth, recommendations, and serendipity. I keep good and strong ties with editors and peers in our industry. I am blessed to have been recruited into some of my most foundational roles, and two of my four books were commissioned from editors I love and trust.

That said, the market is more saturated than ever, and having to pitch (or deciding to pitch) does help you get very clear on what you most want to write and go after. I’ve done several projects in the last three to four years that, in retrospect, were a detour from the work that matters most to me. I’m grateful for those projects (and paychecks), and I always learn from new assignments and new editor relationships that help me stretch and grow, but I plan for this year to be a return to my core mission–what and who I hope to impact through my work.

9. What’s the best investment you’ve made in your writing life (time, money, or energy)?

As a parent, I have to say carving out a private place to write has been my best investment. Many years ago, when my kids were very young, a dear friend, a visual artist (her medium is mostly painting), came for a visit and saw my desk crammed against the wall in our then shared den/family room/toy room. Yes, I’d put up beautiful wallpaper and a pinboard with all my favorite tokens and talismans. The desk was roomy and well organized, and I had a nice big iMac computer to write on–but why wasn’t my desk facing out the window? she asked. And why didn’t I position the couch to partition off at least ⅓ if not more of that deep room just for myself? I had never considered it (after all, I did some of my best work on the subway, and on the kitchen counter in our tiny studio apartment in the years I’d lived in NYC. I was used to working in cramped spaces).

Naturally, I moved my desk shortly after that, and that change was good for me–and for my family, defining my work and my space as much as much of focus of our family life as anything else–not an afterthought. Not something to squeeze into the margins.

Soon after, I started dreaming of my own studio and began writing down specifically how I wanted it to look and feel, in great detail (colors, light, windows, and how I would feel in that space). That same year, I took on a commissioned book project with a strong advance that paid for us to fully renovate our barn into my studio (with enormous credit to my husband, who did the whole thing himself during COVID times). Now, it is my sacred space. No one enters without permission.

I think my sister and my friend were both saying the same thing: invest in yourself. People will only treat writing like it’s your hobby or your side hustle if you treat it that way. If you want this to be your career, treat it like your career. Honor the space, the time, and the tools you need to thrive as a writer.

10. Edible Living is a bestselling publication here on Substack — what were the ways you grew it? Anything out of the ordinary, or surprising to you?

I was not an OG blogger, and never really mastered the time to learn or understand SEO, so outside of Instagram, I had never grown any kind of a following or amassed a list on my own. Most of my work from the first decade and a half of my career is owned by a big brand, which made me feel limited, at best. So coming to Substack felt like I might just be whispering into a void. At first, I think I grew, because my readers could tell that I loved it. I was consistent, came to them enthusiastically with something new every week for four solid years. I was excited every time I sat down to write, whether it got one comment or twelve or none! I think my readers could feel that genuine joy. I believed in our connection, however small, it mattered to them and to me.

My growth has always been steady and slow. But there were definitely moments each year where bigger growth happened. In 2022, we moved to Hungary for 5 months, and my writing suddenly attracted multitudes of people with either a connection to Hungary (via family, or some who had lived there or married a Hungarian) or women who dreamed of living abroad with their own families and wanted to know how we did it.

The next year, back in the US, I was missing Europe, so I did a guest post series around Christmas, sharing the lives and holiday traditions of 6 women living/working abroad. The following year, it was twelve days of Christmas cookies (also heavily European-focused) that brought new readers in. Right now, I’m doing a Repertoire series, which is a practical guide for the home and kitchen of busy families like mine.

Of course, some readers may fall away as you evolve and tweak your content, as you move through different stages of your own life, but I (and we all) have to trust that the readers who need my voice will find me.

11. What’s something you’re currently obsessed with — and how is it influencing your writing or creating?

Paris! It sounds cliché, but I lived in Paris and later in St. Tropez in my early twenties, for three consecutive springs/summers, and it’s one of the places I felt most alive and myself, and the most brave. I really let my passion for Hungary usurp what a major part of my life France, French culture, cuisine, and language was. Right now, it’s bubbling back up for me strongly–an urge to reclaim a part of myself that was lost in motherhood and family life.

Substack has also brought me to a new love of fashion–I worked in fashion/women’s magazines earlier in my career before my food deep dive, but then I have never really followed fashion writers/or influencers for many, many years. I really love the way the writers on Substack approach fashion in a fresh, non-consumerist way. It’s so refreshing. I dream of being one of those completely chic older women who wear their clothes in an unapologetically confident way.

✍️ Subscribe to Sarah's Substack

👋 About Sarah Copeland, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Sarah Copeland is a writer, cook, and author of four beloved cookbooks—Every Day Is Saturday, Feast, Instant Family Meals, and The Newlywed Cookbook. She is the voice behind Edible Living on Substack, where she writes about building a repertoire for real life. Her recipes and essays have appeared in outlets including NYT Cooking, Food & Wine, Food Network, and Martha Stewart. Her work lives at the intersection of food, family, and intentional living.

From her home in the Hudson Valley, Sarah writes about the structure and meaning of daily life—marriage, motherhood, work, travel, and the practice of gathering. Her work examines how we live, and how we might live better.

Find Sarah on…

• Substack

• Instagram

• INTRO (where readers can hire Sarah for specific career coaching on food writing or writing a cookbook proposal)

✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A tech giant is hiring a senior content strategist for a contract role developing comprehensive digital content strategies. Pay is $85.27-$133.22/hour.

• A creative agency is seeking a creative strategist to translate performance data into paid social strategy for Meta campaigns. Pay is $70-$85/hour.

• A cultural institution is hiring a web content editor for a website relaunch, editing and optimizing digital content ahead of a mid-May launch. Pay is $50-$60/hour.

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That’s what 🛋️ CozyJobs is for.

🛋️ CozyJobs is the overflow of all the amazing things our team curates that we just can’t fit on the MWYJ board — still highly vetted, still handpicked, just… more.

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When you subscribe to 🛋️ CozyJobs, you also get 📌 CozyApply — our browser extension that lets you save jobs directly from ✍️ Make Writing Your Job job pages into your personal application queue.

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-Amy, Kyle, & the 🛋️ CozyJobs Team

✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A nationally recognized think tank is hiring a senior copy editor for short-form thought leadership content on policy and technology. Pay is $45–$55/hour.

• A mobile games analysis platform is hiring an experienced writer to produce in-depth game design breakdowns and market trend reports for industry executives. Pay is $40/hour.

• A organic food brand is hiring a community management contractor for social and community platform engagement. Pay is $40/hour.

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📝 New on the The Pitch List

• A literary magazine is paying $300 for submissions for their NOISE-themed issue, inviting love poems, essays, short stories, comics, and visual artwork inspired by noise and sound from international writers and artists

• A lifestyle and culture magazine is accepting research-informed articles on gender, sexuality, relationships, and self-discovery for their advice column. Pay is $800/article (negotiable based on scope).

• A prestigious literary journal is accepting fiction and creative nonfiction up to 4,000 words for a themed issue on work and modern labor. Pay is AUD $0.75/word for print publication, or AUD $500 per piece for online.

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✍️ New Opportunities

• A prestigious international journalism fund is accepting applications for cross-border investigation grants, offering €2,000–€10,000+ per project with €280,000 available.

• A major literary publisher is running a biennial novel contest awarding a $10,000 prize plus simultaneous publication across North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to the winning work of literary fiction.

• A film foundation is awarding $35,000, a residency and a dedicated science advisor to screenwriters, directors, and producers for the Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship.

Apply to these 190+ premium grants, contests, and residencies listings below ↓

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✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A major tech company is hiring an experienced copywriter for marketing campaigns across multiple channels. Pay is $70.01-$109.91/hour.

• A federal contracting firm is seeking senior technical writers and editors for proposal work on a contract basis. Pay is $110/hour.

• A design-focused editorial platform is hiring a part-time editorial copywriter to translate complex ideas into engaging content for designers. Pay is $55-$65/hour.

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✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A fast-growing healthcare technology company is hiring an internal communications contractor to coordinate all-hands meetings and coach senior managers. Pay is $70–$80/hour.

• A pharmaceutical advertising agency is seeking an established creative team (copy + art) to develop breakthrough concepts for high-level pitch presentations. Pay is $75/hour.

• A Christian author is seeking developmental and line editors for a Christian manuscript.

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✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A tanning product company is paying $5,500-$7,000/month to build its content engine from scratch, writing briefs and scripts, and overseeing UGC content.

• A tech recruitment company is hiring a contract copywriter to design AI scenarios and build detailed personas remotely. Pay is $50-$100/hour.

• A leading e-commerce retailer is hiring a copy editor for high-volume product content review and quality assurance. Pay is $30-$35/hour.

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📝 New on the The Pitch List

• A data journalism outlet is seeking in-depth, data-driven features on green steel and industrial decarbonisation, with pitches welcome from solo writers and collaborative teams. Pay is $3,300.

• A regional humanities magazine is accepting nonfiction essays and photo essays exploring labor, culture, and place-based storytelling for themed issues. Pay is $1,500 for features.

• An independent publication covering the podcasting industry is accepting pitches and visual content exploring chemistry, collaboration, and cultural impact within the medium. Pay is $1,050 per piece.

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📚 Editor’s Note: Building an Online Home From Scratch on Substack

has built a writing-led business the way many people wish they could — from zero, on her own terms, and without a pre-existing audience. A serial entrepreneur now living between Europe and Brazil, she uses Substack not just as a publishing platform, but as the foundation of a broader ecosystem that includes paid newsletters, services, partnerships, and community-driven products.

In this conversation, Claudia talks candidly about what it actually takes to make writing your job today — from the importance of visibility and self-promotion to why Substack works best as an online home rather than a single revenue stream. She shares lessons learned from failed products, the reality of slow organic growth, and the mindset shift required to design a life that prioritizes freedom, flexibility, and sustainability.

This is a grounded, encouraging look at how showing up consistently — even when it feels like you’re writing into the void — can compound into a business, a community, and a life that fits.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Claudia Faith

1. Where’s your desk these days — and what does it look like?

Since yesterday, it’s actually an Airbnb desk in Florianópolis, Brazil. I’m writing from an outside table, looking at palm trees and sunshine, hearing the ocean — so it’s quite beautiful. Before that, it was Berlin in complete winter, so I’ve made an entire switch and I’m loving the possibility to work from both places. Europe and tropical Brazil.

A picture I took last year when I was here already on my way to the beach, which kind of gives you an idea of the vibe here. And one eating ice-cream here with my rescue doggo, Mambo.

2. You’re a serial entrepreneur who helps other writers and creatives — what’s one piece of business advice you think most creatives would benefit from knowing?

Don’t shy away from promoting yourself and being out there. In business, this is simply marketing. In the creative world, or as a solopreneur writer, it’s really about showing up, being consistent, and being authentic…letting people see you and what you have to offer without overwhelming them.

I know a lot of creators and writers are introverts. I am too, and it just doesn’t come naturally to us. But like with anything else, you need a good plan, a strategy, and a system in place that kind of forces you to do those promotional things.

3. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now in terms of the work you do on Substack and beyond?

One thing I’ve learned is that it’s actually not only about writing on Substack anymore. It can be, but then it’s a slower journey. It is about making Substack your online home, where you can write short-form content through Notes, longer blog posts, email marketing, LIVE videos and even podcasts.

In terms of how I actually make money: it’s a mix of paid subscriptions on my newsletters, 1:1 services helping people set up their Substacks, and Cozora — the live AI learning community I co-founded. I also do some brand partnerships and sponsorships. So it’s not just one income stream, it’s several smaller ones that add up.

A lesson I learned: It’s easier than you think to make your first dollar, but it’s harder than you think to make your first $10,000. It’s a long journey, but it is possible and so worth it.

4. What’s one lesson you wish someone had told you earlier about the business of writing?

Honestly, I didn’t have anybody tell me lessons on the business of writing, because I didn’t know I would go on this journey. I started on Substack from zero, really — without knowing what I was doing, without any experience. As I kept showing up, growing, and connecting with people, I learned step by step that I can make this my home, my online home, and my business. To be fair, it’s more than a writing business — it’s community, it’s product, it’s emails, it’s marketing.

What I’d tell people on the journey is: trust the process. I know that sounds vague, but what I mean is — you won’t see results for a while, and that’s normal. The strategy reveals itself as you go. You just have to keep showing up long enough to see what works for you. I recently saw this image that captures exactly how it feels though.

5. What’s your writing or creative routine like if you have one?

I love writing in cafés. But really, mostly in mornings — I’m not an evening person at all. I like to work a lot in the morning hours and then keep the afternoon free for a round of beach tennis, or just walking along the beach with my dog.

But I also like to keep it flexible and change things up. I feel like that’s the beauty of this work, you can be as flexible as you like. If you feel like writing on a couch in some random Airbnb, you can do that. Or if you want to go to the café around the corner, you can do that too. Whenever you feel like you can be creative.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” in your career as a writer and entrepreneur?

I think a few months into my journey, I hit $1,000 a month for the first time, and that felt surreal. It wasn’t one specific thing I did — I just kept showing up.

There’s something to it, though. I’ve built companies, I’ve raised capital, I’ve had co-founders. But this is something I’ve done for the first time completely on my own, and it just feels different.

The first dollar wasn’t that spectacular — it came from a Medium article. But $1,000 showed me: hey, you can scale this. It really comes down to the strategies you have, the ideas you have. You don’t have to talk about them with anybody else if you don’t want to. You can just try things out and do whatever feels right to you.

7. What’s something you tried that didn’t work — and what did you learn from it?

I created a digital product completely from A to Z — an 80-page PDF document — without having any market demand. I was so convinced it was great that I spent a lot of time and effort on it. Then it sold maybe twice, and I realized: okay, this is a complete failure.

It taught me to really test the waters first. Does this solve a problem? Is it something people actually want? Also, build your audience and distribution channels first. Because even if you have the best product in the world, if nobody knows about it, it will also fail.

8. How do you find or create opportunities for yourself as a writer?

A lot of it comes through visibility and partnerships. I put CTAs in my newsletters, I collaborate with other creators, and I make it really easy for people to understand what I do and what I offer right away. If that’s clear and people believe in the value you provide, then opportunities start coming to you — the pitching becomes secondary.

For example, I found my two Cozora co-founders through my newsletter Level Up with AI. We connected on Substack and ended up building a live AI learning community together. That wasn’t something I pitched — it happened because I was visible and clear about what I was working on.

9. What’s the best investment you’ve made in your writing life (time, money, or energy)?

The best investment I’ve made is giving myself permission to be free — to live wherever I want while building my business. That might sound abstract, but it took real effort to break the mindset that I had to be in an office, that I had to do 9-to-5, that I had to follow a traditional path.

It’s funny — I actually took a certification in designing your life. And while I was doing the certification, I realized: I’m not even designing my own life. I was still following old rules that didn’t serve me anymore.

So the investment was less about money and more about energy — the energy it took to let go of limiting beliefs and actually build a life that fits how I want to work. That shift is what made everything else possible.

10. Wander Wealth is a bestselling publication here on Substack — what were the ways you grew it? Anything out of the ordinary, or surprising to you?

I 100% just grew it organically on Substack. I started here from zero in May 2024. I don’t have any other social media presence or funnels, I really started from nothing.

The way I grew it is just the normal ways: Substack Notes, Substack Lives, recommendations, and consistency. I think that’s the thing people would like to skip, because it really just means showing up every single day for months and months. Often you’re writing into the complete void — nobody is responding. That’s just something you have to go through.

One thing I wish I’d started earlier is the chat feature on Substack. I still write a DM to every new subscriber (I even developed my own tool for this that people can access). But the community chat is something I started too late, and now it’s actually one of my most loved features. People constantly tell me they’re so thankful to be part of my community because that’s how they find other great people on Substack. It’s really helping my audience find their own tribes. That’s something I didn’t expect, and it’s actually a really pleasant feeling — giving back to people who read my words.

11. What’s something you’re currently obsessed with — and how is it influencing your writing or creating?
    A book, show, Substack, city, idea — show us what’s lighting your brain up.

My obsession right now has nothing to do with writing — it’s beach tennis. It’s a little bit like padel, but on the beach, on a volleyball court setup. It’s so fun. Very easy to learn, you don’t need any special skills. You play with four people, and here in Florianópolis it’s absolutely magical because it’s also a way to meet great people, be outside, be active.

I feel like that’s what keeps my mind free so I can be more creative when it’s time to write. If you haven’t tried it, give it a try.

Wander Wealth

The exact playbook I used to build a $5K+/mo newsletter in 12 months. Every Tuesday, I share actionable strategies to grow your subscribers, build your community, and create income that scales. You won't be doing it alone 🚀

By Claudia Faith

👋 About Claudia Faith, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Claudia Faith is a serial entrepreneur. She started her Substack with 0 audience, scaled it 10K+ in 1 year. She helps writers and creators grow their audience, earn online, and build smarter with AI.

Her debut novel, Salomé, is out May 19th from Penguin Random House — a gothic, feminist reimagining of one of history’s most mythologized women.

I’m so thrilled to have her here today — especially because Leslie actually found her way to us through the ✍️ Make Writing Your Job job board, where she was hired for a freelance developmental editor role by a previous guest of ours, author and documentary producer Kristin Fellows.

• Order Salomé here

• Leslie’s website

Thanks for supporting our guests!

-Amy

✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A major online travel platform is hiring a senior communications manager for a 5-month contract managing global consumer campaigns and experiential activations. Pay is $62–$73/hour.

• A news organization is hiring a freelance senior reporter to train and evaluate AI-generated journalism content, refining outputs based on investigative reporting expertise and news writing best practices. Pay is $75/hour.

• An online retail marketplace is hiring a contract copy editor for high-volume product content editing, reviewing 50–70 pieces daily. Pay is $35–$42/hour.

Scroll for today’s 50+ hand-picked remote writing jobs ↓

Read more

Born in Italy and now based in Austin, Texas, Teo launched anana alongside co-founder Blake Takushi after recognizing that some of the most extraordinary food traditions in the world were quietly disappearing with the people who held them.

The platform has already documented 100+ recipes from 40+ grandmothers and grandfathers across Italy, and recently launched paid subscriptions on Substack — which we'll be talking about today. I've had the privilege of taking cooking lessons from older generations during my own travels in Italy, and I know firsthand how irreplaceable that experience is.

• Subscribe to anana on Substack

• Check out the anana platform

• Watch the anana documentary series on YouTube

Thanks for supporting our guests with all of the great work they’re doing!

-Amy

✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A workplace technology company is hiring a freelance content entry specialist to manage content across digital platforms for 10 hours/week over 3 months. Pay is $50–$100/hour.

• A financial services client is seeking a senior copywriter to lead creative strategy and copy development across digital, social, video, and print channels for a 3-month contract (20 hours/week). Pay is $78/hour.

• A B2B and B2C product company is hiring a full-time contract editor to review, edit, and improve copy for US and European markets. Pay is $1,000–$3,000/month.

Scroll for today’s 40+ hand-picked remote writing jobs ↓

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📝 New on the The Pitch List

• A prestigious science publication is seeking narrative essays exploring peptides, biotech, and wellness from researchers, journalists, and subject-matter experts. Essays of 1,000–1,500 words pay $750.

• A foundation is accepting poetry submissions for its special edition honoring the great literary city of Chicago and paying $500/poem.

• An independent publisher focused on emerging and historically marginalized voices is accepting poetry for an upcoming series, offering $1,000 advance against royalties plus publication

Scroll for today’s 60+ hand-picked opportunities ↓

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✍️ New Opportunities

• A prestigious visual arts foundation is awarding grants to writers who write about contemporary art, with $15,000 for a single feature-length essay, $30,000 for short-form writing series or translations, and $50,000 for book-length projects.

• A major international creative writing organization is distributing £25,000 in total cash and development prizes shared among 15 winners, with the current submission deadline in May 2026.

• A trust is offering $78,000 to an American-born poet, funding one year of living and writing outside North America, with no age requirement and open to both published and unpublished poets.

Apply to these 175+ premium grants, contests, and residencies listings below ↓

Read more

✍️ New on the Writing Job Board

• A pharmaceutical agency is hiring a freelance copy supervisor/associate creative director for HCP-facing neurology brand materials. Pay is $75/hour.

• A healthcare marketing firm is hiring a freelance associate creative director, copy to lead creative projects across pharmaceutical and medical device brands. Pay is $100-$125/hour.

• An author is seeking a developmental editor for a 500-page dark gothic fantasy manuscript with queer themes and adult content.

Scroll for today’s 60+ hand-picked remote writing jobs ↓

Read more