📚 Editor’s Note: Writing Yourself Into the Life You Want

’s work sits at the intersection of curiosity, courage, and reinvention.

On her Substack, Unfiltered & Fed, Anela blends personal essays, travel writing, and cultural reflection in a way that feels deeply lived-in — the kind of writing that comes from someone who has taken risks, tried things that didn’t work, and kept going anyway. What stands out to me most about Anela is how clearly writing functions as connective tissue across everything she does, from her newsletter to her travel business to the way she shows up online.

In this conversation, Anela talks candidly about her journey as a writer, the power of short, earnest pieces, and how writing underpins everything she does — from personal essays and travel guides to her book, American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States.

She reflects on using writing both as a creative practice and a business tool, offering a thoughtful look at what it means to build a writing life that’s flexible, multidimensional, and grounded in self-trust — even when the path looks different than you imagined.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Anela Malik

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

My desk is wherever I am in the world. At home, I have a big, beautiful desk in my tiny studio apartment with my big screen; it’s so comfy. There’s always a huge stack of books—some more work-related or educational, and others romantic and steamy.

But often my desk is a hotel bed, hunched over, hurting my back with my laptop, trying to get things done while I’m fighting jet lag. The one thing I always have, no matter where I’m working, is beverages. I am a 3-4 beverage for a work session type of person. Something caffeinated, something sweet, water, maybe something bubbly. You never know what you’re gonna need.

2. You publish a great blend of personal essays and travel guides on your Substack Unfiltered & Fed. What ideas or types of articles or essays are you most excited about? And what was your favorite piece you’ve written lately?

In this new year, the things that I’m most excited to write about are personal interests that I haven’t had the freedom to explore because I was busy building a business, building a writing practice, and a company that could support me. Now that I’m in my 6th year of working for myself full-time and my 6th year of being a creator, I have the space to be a little bit more intentional.

For example, for the month of February, I’m going to Oman to be selfish. I’m going to do an Arabic refresher program to study something that I haven’t looked at intentionally in a few years, and I know from that experience I’m going to be inspired to write.

And I’d say my favorite piece I’ve written recently is called “A Dusty Could Never Compare To My Kindle” and it’s part of a series I wrote on Substack last year about life, love, and divorce. In it, I talk about the role reading has played in my life and what I learned from romance novels (so much but somehow not enough). I felt like it was just such a fun way to talk about something that is in the zeitgeist right now but we often don’t take very seriously.

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

So I never really thought of myself as a writer. I was a dabbler and then in 2020 I got offered a book deal to write a book about the Black History of American Cuisine (which just published in late 2025 and is now up for two NAACP awards this year!!!). So I’ve very recently come to terms with the fact that I really am a writer and writing is a core part of my job.

There are so many different ways that I’ve cobbled together making money while in denial over the years.

First through my newsletter where I share personal reflections, travel essays, and guides. Paid newsletter subscriptions are a key source of revenue for me. But also my writing supports my business in other ways beyond subscriptions. For example, some of my most intimate and personal travel essays have been included as part of sales launches for the group trips I organize and host. Writing well and being able to move people to action has helped me drive sales, selling those experiences out often within days.

And even as someone who at my core still considers herself an influencer, when I’m working on content, it always starts with writing: writing a script, writing an outline, writing a concept. From there, I get to the kind of social content that attracts viewers and earns me partnerships.

Now, I’m at a place in my journey where I’m just trying to be a better writer. I’m doing that in 2026 by trying to read something new and write something every day, whether that’s a longer, more thoughtful piece, or by responding to a creative writing prompt in my journal. I’m trying to just sit with the practice.

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

The pieces that people often respond to the most are often short and the ones that you didn’t spend a lot of time on. And I think that’s because those are often the most earnest. So don’t be afraid to let loose with a short little piece you wrote quickly and see how it goes

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

I write everywhere all the time. I have a lot of ideas and I feel like they’re always circling in my brain. So I’m always writing notes on my phone. I’m always writing in Google Docs. I’m writing at night. I’m writing in the morning. I’m writing on the bus. Some of them are just one-liner thoughts, and then I’ll be in the middle of dinner and have an idea for a piece that I want to write. Unfortunately for my friends when that happens I try to at least try to sketch it out quickly so that when I go back to it later the concept hasn’t escaped me.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

Maybe this is the curse of being creative: I have never really felt like I have made it, right? There’s always something more to be done. There’s always another project to be tackled. But it was really in 2025 when my book debuted that I began to feel comfortable in my practice and my work. And so that’s when I said, “Oh, I can really do this. Even if it’s not what I imagined.”

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

I have tried so many things that didn’t work. In my entrepreneurship journey, I have launched products that failed. I have switched newsletter platforms three or four times because I’ve always felt like none of them really offered the tools that I need. However, I am quite enjoying Substack right now because it has more multimedia capability than others. I had a blog that I’m in the process of shutting down. The list goes on.

What I’ve learned from all of those failures is that there is value in trying. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t tried multiple of those failed ventures. From each of them I learned a skill, I learned how to use an app, or I made a connection that I then needed later on.

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

I relentlessly self-promote which I know people hate, but who else is going to talk your shit if you don’t? I regularly pitch myself for opportunities and try to put myself in rooms that I probably have no business being in. But I also want to say that there’s a good amount of luck involved in success. I think for most people, even if we don’t acknowledge it. You have to be prepared and you have to do the work, but you do have to be in the right place at the right time

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

The best investment I’ve made in my writing life is a very cheap investment. It is an NFC tag and a free app called Foqos. Many folks have probably heard about Brick, which is the physical device that you tap that blocks you out of apps on your phone. Well, you can create a brick for yourself with an NFC tag and this app, and it’s nearly free. It’s so effective and really just calms the distractions in an increasingly distracted world.

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

I have primarily grown my Substack following and my newsletter before that, through social media, because I am an influencer as well. I take snippets from my pieces that I think are provocative or emotional or just important to me, and I’ll record them talking to the camera. I’ll put a line at the end about how, if you want more of this conversation, you can find it on Substack. That’s been quite effective for me.

In some of the circles I have been engaged in, I’ve seen people scoff at social media and scoff at influencers and talk about how vapid the content creation space is. But it’s only as vapid as the content you’re engaging with. There is everything you would want to consume on social media and on the internet. You just have to find it. I’ve managed to curate an audience of people who are curious and who are readers. They love books. They probably subscribe to many Substacks. They love magazines. They love all of it.

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

I read a romance book recently by Kennedy Ryan called “This Could Be Us,” and it’s about a divorcee finding herself again. She becomes an influencer. She has to learn how to trust herself again, and it chronicles her journey after her life fell apart. I really resonate with a lot of this book because that’s essentially what happened to me a few years ago. These ideas of rebirth and reinvention and self-trust and self-love have really stuck with me since. They’ve influenced the projects I’ve decided to take on for this year. They’ve made me more introspective, and will definitely show up in my writing in 2026.

Unfiltered & Fed

Unfiltered stories, unforgettable trips, and a community built around food, culture, and real connection.

By Anela Malik

👋 About Anela Malik, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Anela Malik is a creator, speaker, and the author of American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States (National Geographic, 2025), a two-time NAACP Image Awards–nominated book and a love letter to the roots of American cuisine. On her platform, Anela explores identity, relationships, food, travel, and joy through accessible, authentic storytelling. She’s also the host of Our Block, a food and travel series she crowdfunded more than $65,000 for in 2025. A former U.S. diplomat turned creator, Anela bridges worlds, bringing cultural insight and bold perspective to the future of media.

You can find Anela on Instagram, buy her book, or subscribe to her Substack.

📚 Editor’s Note: Writing to Help Your Readers

is a great example of how service-driven writing actually works.

Through her bestselling Substack, Farmers Market Girl, Brick helps readers make the most of their farmers market hauls — turning seasonal produce into realistic weekly meal plans that reduce waste, support local farms, and make cooking feel more doable. It’s practical, repeatable, and genuinely useful, which is exactly why it resonates.

I love how clearly Brick thinks about structure and sustainability — from building repeatable formats to pairing income streams thoughtfully. This interview is a reminder that helping people solve a very specific, very real problem is still one of the strongest ways to build a writing career.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Brick

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

I have a foldable office chair and tiny desk (actually tiny, unlike NPR…) in front of a large window in my Manhattan apartment. I mean it when I say tiny: It can only fit my Bluetooth keyboard and laptop, which means I have to keep my daily planner and trusty Muji gel ink pen on the windowsill next to me.

As with any typical NYC apartment, I don’t have much room for a large workspace, so a storageable at-home office is crucial for me, whether it’s comfortable or not.

2. How did you get the idea for your Substack “Farmers Market Girl”?

I’ve been a weekly NYC farmers market shopper for the last five years. However, I never found the time to post online about it — until the summer of 2025, when I began freelancing full-time. I first started with TikTok and Instagram videos about my farmers market hauls, and a few weeks in, I began receiving more comments requesting my meal plan breakdowns. And thus, my Substack was born.

The hope is that my Substack will teach people how to utilize local, seasonal produce, thereby encouraging them to shop with local farms, support small businesses, and reduce food waste.

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

In addition to running my Substack and other social media channels, I’m also a freelance (award-winning) travel reporter and a media/brand consultant. In my opinion, the key to being a successful freelancer is to diversify your income streams, especially amid the AI boom.

When I first started, I wrote down a list of all of my monthly expenses and streams of income. I then (somewhat) paired them up to make sure I had a clear understanding of what monthly work I needed to do to pay off my baseline expenses and contribute to my savings account.

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

When it comes to reporting, establish a line of communication with editors before you cold pitch. I’ve noticed higher response rates from editors whom I preemptively introduced myself to via email.

As for Substack, serviceability and consistency are key. Find a format that is easily repeatable (in my case, weekly meal plans) to prevent yourself from burning out. And make sure it offers information that your readers can learn from and integrate into their lives, ensuring they continue to come back to your Substack.

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

The more natural light I get during the workday, the more productive I am. As such, I churn out the bulk of my writing in the morning and early afternoon. The best part: My dog’s bed is right next to where I work.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

When I got my first paid subscriber, just a few hours after I published my first Substack post. It was the moment I realized I was producing work that could actually help people — and that they’d be willing to pay for.

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

I tried cold pitching sponsored partnerships to companies before I had enough followers (as in, before I hit 10k followers on Instagram and TikTok). I rarely heard back, and it ended up being a waste of time.

In retrospect, I understand why: I was only reaching out to large companies that likely stood little to gain from working with an ultra-micro creator.

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

As a reporter, pitching editors is the best way to create your own opportunities. As a content creator, pitching sponsored content. In both fields, consistent outreach and relationship maintenance are critical.

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

Taking the time to establish and cultivate a group of freelance friends with whom I co-work with every week has been the best investment in my time and energy. Being a freelancer can be isolating — it’s important to build your own network of “coworkers” who can become a support system.

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

For better or for worse, building a social media presence was the key to becoming a bestselling publication. There is a direct correlation between the days I saw an uptick in views on Instagram and TikTok, and the days I received an influx of Substack subscribers.

My social media content generally offers a “sneak peek” of what’s available on my Substack, thereby driving a direct conversion.

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

I’ve recently become obsessed with reading cookbooks as a nightly wind-down ritual and studying the menus of various restaurants around New York. Both provide a source of inspiration for diversifying my weekly meal plans.

The more I can learn about food, the better I can serve my readers.

Brick | farmers market girl

Farmers market recipes, meal planning, hauls, and tips.

👋 About Brick, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Brick, aka "the farmers market girl,” posts weekly Union Square Greenmarket hauls and meal plans. She helps demystify seasonal produce for home cooks with the goal of supporting local farms and small businesses.

You can find her on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, or by email at brickitybrick.cooks@gmail.com.

📚 Editor’s Note: You Have the Right to Write

is a true working writer.

For more than sixteen years — long before Substack made it fashionable — Milli showed up week after week to write honestly about women’s lives, bodies, and experiences. That commitment carried her from blogging to journalism, from columns to bestselling books, and eventually to her Substack, What About Women, where she’s finally able to monetize the kind of writing she’s been doing all along.

What I love about Milli’s story is its realism. There’s no overnight success myth here. There’s persistence. There’s doubt. There’s learning when to say no, when to focus, and when to trust that one strong voice is enough. Her reflections on time, permission, and creative guilt — especially for women — feel especially resonant.

This interview is a reminder that writing careers are built in steady increments. By showing up. By paying attention. And by giving yourself permission to face the desk fully — without apology.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Milli Hill

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

I write on a laptop, either at my kitchen table or in bed, at my home in the middle of nowhere in Somerset, UK. I don’t have a designated writing space although I do fantasise about a lovely little hut in the woods at times! Or by the sea, that would be nice! On the other hand, my life with 3 kids and 2 dogs doesn’t really lend itself to isolation - if I did have a fancy cabin there would always be at least one of my entourage whining at the door to be let in. And in some ways I actually like writing under the pressure of a busy life - I find on those rare days when I finally do have acres of time for silent contemplation that I am actually capable of the most extravagant procrastination methods. I recently saw a cartoon that was advertising a Writer’s Cleaning Service with the concept that the client instructs you to write something and instead you clean their whole house from top to bottom. I’d be great at that.

2. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now, especially as it comes to making money as a writer?

Hahaha make money as a writer - oh, sorry! That was a serious question. OK! *clears throat nervously*

Well, I have been a writer for 16 years. Initially, I was a blogger, and made no money at all from it, then, I started doing freelance journalism and I’d get about £200 for an article, once or twice a month, if I was lucky. I could never figure out a way to monetise my blog, even though it had huge traffic and a great following.

One thing that I did do right - and this is basically my only piece of advice - is I kept showing up. Every week I wrote my blog. Every single week without fail. And then, once I got an ‘in’ with a newspaper - the women’s section of the Telegraph - I kept pitching and pitching, several mornings a week, until one day I noticed on their website I was listed as a columnist! I’ll never forget that moment, I was over the moon - even though it didn’t mean I was being paid more money, it still felt pretty cool. Then I did get a job as a columnist for over two years with an online magazine, and they paid me £250 a week, which was absolutely amazing. At the time I had very small children and that money was a lifeline. And that column eventually became my first book, The Positive Birth Book, and that book really WAS a game changer - it has sold over 100k copies, and I still get some royalties from it now, nearly a decade after it was published (2017).

A couple of years I got about 25k each year which, can you imagine, was the most exciting email to open, I nearly fell off my chair each time! Unfortunately, though, I think the success of that book gave me false hope, because that kind of sales / money from a book is unusual. And even though my subsequent books have all sold well, they have not got up into the same numbers. So the royalty statements for them are more like, ‘Yay we can have buns for tea”, rather than, “Yay I can pay my bills for a while”.

However, I am lucky that I have a great publisher in Harper Collins and they remain interested to hear new book ideas from me. What this means is that to keep making a living I have to keep coming up with new ideas, and pitching them, just like I do sometimes with newspaper or magazine articles. So making money as a writer means constantly keeping my finger on the pulse, listening in to the zeitgeist, and wondering if there’s an angle I can work with to bring my voice to a particular topic, whether that is for a book or an article.

This is where Substack has been a gamechanger, because finally, 16 years after starting my blog, I have found a way to monetise my blog, basically! The regular income I get from substack paid subs has completely changed my life, if I’m honest. I have about 350 paid subs now which is completely wonderful and amazing and I want to hug each and every one of them.

3. Your Substack What About Women advocates for women across a variety of issues. What inspired you to start your Substack, and what’s been the journey of writing for it so far?

Well in many ways I feel like I started my substack in 2010 on Blogger. And some readers have come with me from all the way back then, which is lovely. I think from back then to now, my blog / substack has always had a feminist element to it, advocacy for women, alongside pieces that are just really honest about what life as a woman is like. In 2010 those pieces were about early motherhood and toddlers, these days it’s more menopause and the invisibility of parenting teens - but the thread that runs through is summed up in the title, “What About Women?”. I try to centre women at all times. And what I love about blogging / Substack is the freedom to just get a fire in my belly about a topic and sit down straight away and write about it, uncensored, from the heart (and sometimes from the hip!).

4. You’re a bestselling author across multiple books on women’s health. What’s one lesson you wish someone had told you earlier about the business of writing?

That all writers doubt themselves and that doubt is a completely normal part of the writing process, whether fiction or non-fiction. If you know about the Grief Cycle (Denial - Anger - Depression - Bargaining - Acceptance) then you will already be familiar with the Writing Cycle: Inspiration (I have this great idea!) - Self-deprecation (I’m not a good enough writer to pull this off) - Procrastination (That cupboard needs organising) - Desperation (I am useless and this is doomed) - Celebration (I did it! What an absolute writing genius I am, hurrah) - and remember, it’s a cycle, so you will be going round and round this endlessly and forever if you choose writing as your job!

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

That depends what I have on my plate. When I was writing my most recent book, Ultra Processed Women, I was really up against the clock with a very tight deadline, so I literally wrote ‘every hour god sent’, from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until the moment I closed them at night. My breaks were only for essentials like the school run, and I ate most of my meals at my laptop. Once I am into a topic like that, I have to do this, because the research is extensive, and it probably takes me about a fortnight or three weeks of intensely long days to produce about 5000 words. When I don’t have such a strict deadline I tend to just write when the inspiration strikes or a little bit each day. Writing for a job does sometimes mean writing when you really don’t have time or don’t feel like it, though. A deadline is a deadline.

I have recently been trying to turn my hand to fiction and I have been attending Writer’s Hour each morning from 8 til 9am, run by the London Writer’s Salon. I find this structure really helpful in making me show up to write, even when I feel lacking in inspiration or confidence. I do this from bed with a strong coffee, once all the kids are out of the door on their way to school and college! In a 50 minute session I can get about 500 to 800 words down, which isn’t much, but one thing I know from writing non fiction is that this does eventually add up to a book. How do you eat an elephant whole? In small chunks, basically!

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

I think the lovely thing about blogging - and now Substack - is that you get immediate feedback on your writing - and you can really see when a piece has resonated. So right at the start I would obsessively check my stats on Blogger and watch the number of views on a piece rising and rising - or not! Sometimes the pieces that you feel are a work of genius go absolutely nowhere, and the ones that you dash of with a glass of wine in less than an hour absolutely fly. But I don’t think there has been a singular moment when I’ve thought, “I can do this”. It’s just been a gradual process of getting positive feedback on my writing and that giving me the confidence to keep going.

Getting a book deal with Harper Collins was definitely a good moment though (and that was after a bidding war with Bloomsbury!). Those sorts of moments do give you a massive boost. But then, well in my case certainly, you tend to gravitate back to Imposter Syndrome!

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

Well, I set up a second Substack called Unprocess to write about all of the issues exposed by my most recent book about ultra processed food, and to help people with the practicalities of making food from scratch. I had an initial flurry of subscriptions but then that dried up, and I began to realise I had bitten off more than I could chew. I also realised that, whilst I loved writing that book, I wasn’t sure I was fully invested enough in the issue of food to commit to probably a few years of showing up to that substack every week. So - I hit pause on my paid subs and sent out an apology. That substack is still ‘mothballed’ and I need to make a decision about what to do about it. My hunch is that I probably shouldn’t have started it in the first place. And I think my instinct was telling me that at the time. But then I thought, maybe I am missing a trick here, maybe this could be really successful? And I still feel slightly conflicted over that because I can visualise Unprocess as a really successful substack. I’m just not sure I’ve got the time and the passion to take it to that place! And maybe I don’t have the skills either, because I really don’t like being on camera, making video, photos, reels etc.

So, what have I learnt? Well, you can’t do EVERYTHING. You are only one person. So it’s better to do one or two things really really well than to spread yourself too thin. I think that’s what I’ve learned?! I’m good at writing, and that’s enough.

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

In terms of journalism I still try to follow news stories and pitch when I have the time. If you stop doing this for a while - as I do when working intensely on a book, for example - you come back to find a lot of your contacts have moved on and you have to start over again building up those connections and relationships with editors. In terms of books, I have a good relationship with my agent and we talk fairly frequently about possible ideas for ‘the next book’. In terms of Substack, I just keep writing!

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

Time. 100%.

One day a long time ago when I was first blogging I noticed I was sitting at my desk slightly ‘twisted’, with half my torso facing the keyboard, and the other half still turned towards the room - kids, family, partner etc. And I corrected my position - by turning my body to the right to fully face my desk and my work. And I said to myself: You have the right, to write!

It’s really important, especially as women, I think, that we give ourselves permission to fully commit to our passions, our work, our talent, without feeling guilt, without feeling like we have to keep a part of ourselves twisted away from it and focused on other people’s needs.

Show up to the desk, to the keyboard, and keep showing up, without guilt or apology. Carve out that time for yourself. And you will get good at it. Simple!

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

Well I think it’s grown partly from showing up and keeping at it here on substack for a few years, but also from the decade or so of showing up and keeping at it before that! As I’ve said, some readers have come with me to substack, or sought me out here because they’ve liked my work in the past. So, sixteen years of telling myself, ‘you have the right, to write!’, 16 years of showing up whether I felt like it or not, and then just trying to keep being creative and inventive and putting women first - and writing to the best of my ability. That’s not to say that you can’t come to substack fresh and grow something far more quickly, because that’s what originally happened with my blog. However long you have been writing, it’s simply a matter of deciding to write, making a plan and then sticking to it. Not really surprising I guess!

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

Well I guess I am currently slightly obsessed with the idea of writing fiction, and I’m working on a novel for adults, and have a completed middle grade children’s book that I need to find time to work on some more and revise. So my ‘hobby’ if you like, is thinking about fiction and learning as much as I can about how to ‘do’ it. I’ve done a few courses, read a few books, joined a few groups etc! And I think I have learned a lot in the past few years of exploring fiction, although I still have no idea if I will ever be published in this genre. The positive effect is that when I return to my day job of non-fiction and journalism, it’s quite a relief to realise I do actually know what I’m doing!

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN

But what about women? Bestselling non-fiction author Milli Hill is here to ask that question.

By Milli Hill

👋 About Milli Hill, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Milli Hill is a writer and freelance journalist with a passion for reframing the narrative around women’s bodies. She is the author of the bestselling Positive Birth Book (2017), Give Birth like a Feminist (2019) and My Period (2021, for preteen girls). Her fourth book, Ultra Processed Women, was published by Harper Collins in July 2025, with a fifth book to follow in 2026. To date, her books have been translated into seven languages.

From 2012 to 2021 she founded and ran the Positive Birth Movement, a global network of antenatal discussion groups aimed at improving birth and giving women better access to support and information. Milli has spoken nationally and internationally about positive birth, obstetric violence and female autonomy in health.

As a journalist since 2013 she has been a columnist for the Telegraph women’s section and written for many publications including Mail, Guardian, Independent, ipaper and Mother&Baby, and has appeared on BBC Breakfast news, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2, BBC 5 Live, talkradio, LBC and many leading podcasts.

She writes a bestselling substack, WHAT ABOUT WOMEN, and lives in rural Somerset with her partner, three children and two dogs.

📚 Buy Milli's Books Here

📚 Editor’s Note: From Attention to Intention

Dr. Shanté brings a depth to the internet that’s increasingly rare.

Through her bestselling Substack, Whole in Your Heart, she’s created a space grounded in emotional literacy, mental well-being, and the kind of reflective writing that asks readers to slow down and actually sit with their inner lives.

What makes this conversation especially compelling is Dr. Shanté’s clarity around ownership and intention. After years of building large audiences on social platforms, she made a deliberate shift toward a medium that allows for permanence, depth, and trust. Substack didn’t just give her a new distribution channel — it gave her a different relationship with her readers.

This interview is a masterclass in the difference between visibility and sustainability. It’s about treating writing as both service and strategy, honoring the process of becoming a writer, and understanding that attention alone is not the same thing as impact.

If you’re thinking about how to build something lasting — something that belongs to you — I think you’ll get a lot out of this.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Dr. Shanté

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

My desk lives in my living room, which is large enough that I’ve divided it into distinct “live” and “work” zones. On one side of my desk is the part of life where I unwind… a (slightly oversized) modular couch, a bar cart, wall art, a mounted flatscreen, and a pair of mid-century modern buffet cabinets that I’ve repurposed as bookcases. On the other side is where I write.

My desk is a mahogany library desk with shelving on both sides. One set of shelves holds my collection of Funko Pop, Star Wars figurines (Grogu definitely appears more than once); the other shelves highlight my addiction to pocket journals, Post-it notes, index cards and highlighters. I’m fanatical about writing stuff down. Whatever makes it onto the screen has usually passed through my hands first.

During writing hours, my flat screen is my jukebox; I usually have YouTube playing Vince Guaraldi in the background. Jazz or Gershwin is my go-to for background noise. You’d be surprised what you can create with Rhapsody in Blue cranking in the background.

2. Your Substack readers get in touch with ways to better approach mental health. How did you get the idea to start it? What was that moment like?

My publication is called “Whole in Your Heart” and it is grounded in mental well-being and emotional literacy. I’ve been doing this work for over a decade. It started as a podcast, expanded into coaching, and grew into short form content. This work began because I noticed a disconnect between people’s intention to achieve goals and their subsequent inability to do so. My research led me to discover that the disconnect is often rooted in unhealed wounds, limiting beliefs, and unresolved trauma.

Two years ago, a video I posted went viral and my platform exploded with thousands of new followers. Then last year, a “funny” thing happened. TikTok went dark. It was a calculated, political move, and it reminded me how precarious it is to build on land you don’t own. In two years time, my social media following has gained over 200K followers, and in the blink of eye, a flip of a switch, it could all disappear… without warning, without any consideration of the work I’ve done to build that following.

That’s when I knew I needed to pivot. I started researching Medium and Substack and came across some solid YouTube reviews of the platform (thank you, Amy Suto). Substack offered three things I was actively seeking: portability, security, and credibility. My subscriber list belongs to me. I have a direct line to my readers. And it positioned my work in a different light, not as something to scroll past, but to sit with. It gave my audience a way to discover the depth of my work in written form. TikTok came back the next day, but by the following week, I had found a new home on Substack.

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

Writing isn’t my main profession, but I’m on my way. I’ve had book writing in my sights for a long time. I self-published a decade ago, but I’ve evolved so much since then. That experience taught me valuable lessons like how much it actually costs to get your work out there, and the sheer volume of marketing and selling required just to break even.

These days, writing as a job is two-fold.

First, I write as an act of service. It’s my “job” to show up even when it doesn’t pay the rent, because my work gives voice, language, and support to people who struggle to name their experiences, their hardships, and their truths.

Second, having paid subscribers is a completely novel experience for me. When the first few subscriptions came in, I felt like Sally Field: “You like me! You really like me!” But beyond that emotional validation, it serves a practical purpose; it’s proof of concept.

This year, I’ll be querying literary agents, and having a paying audience shows publishers that readers are invested in my work. I’d like to spend the balance of the year finishing the manuscript and securing my first traditional book deal.

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

Followers are not dollars, and readers aren’t necessarily buyers.

I have people come to me all the time like, “OMG! You have almost 300K followers!” And I guess I’m supposed to feel proud of that, but I’m actually intimidated by it. I’m an introvert. I don’t make viral content. I make content, and sometimes it goes viral, which is an unintended byproduct of consistently showing up and speaking truth.

Having a large following is as a vanity metric for many, but for me, it’s humbling. “Wow... you could have been anywhere in the world, and you chose to be here with me.” The world is incredibly noisy. There’s no shortage of content, voices, or opinions. To create something that cuts through and finds purchase is both incredible and improbable.

But having a message that lands is not the same as having a message that sells.

I’ve had to learn to gently weave in calls to action when I’m promoting something. You have to invite people to take the next step with you. I’ve seen writers complain that their publisher didn’t “push” their work hard enough, and I’ve seen publishers push back that the writer also has a role as a seller. Both are right.

Attention doesn’t automatically convert to action. Building an audience is one skill. Turning that audience into customers, subscribers, or book buyers? That’s a completely different muscle.

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

I am a scribbler, a jotter, a brainstormer. When I have a scrap of a thought, a word, a phrase, a fragment… I have to write it down. I keep a pocket journal. If you flipped through it, it would look completely nonsensical. There’s no key. No codex. It’s a physical representation of how my brain works: a cacophony of thought, everything, everywhere, all at once.

But when I sit with it, I start to make sense of it. Where was I going with this?

Having a routine is actually what intimidated me about launching a publication on Substack. A universal truth about content creation is that once you have an audience, you have to keep feeding the meter. I didn’t know if I had it in me to sit down every week and crank something out. But once I started, I realized I had a LOT to say, much more than I could express in the limited space of a 2-minute reel or YouTube short.

I schedule my writing around my teaching schedule at my college. I do my best work between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. That’s when I have peak energy and creativity. And I do my best writing away from home. Even though I’m an empty nester, my desk at home isn’t just for writing; it’s also for my work as an educator and a coach. I need physical separation to shift into writer mode.

My favorite place to write is the library. There are some BEAUTIFUL libraries and Athenaeums in this country: Boston, Cincinnati, Providence. And I love to write in the rain. I’m a pluviophile. Rain begs for creation. After securing a book deal, I plan to schedule one weekend away per month to write in a beautiful space, ideally with a window, a storm, and nowhere else to be.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

There’s a difference between viewers and readers. Just because I had a significant social media following, didn’t mean people wanted to read my work. Scrolling is passive and low stakes. Reading is an investment of time and focused attention. There was no guarantee that my followers would want to take that leap.

I posted my first Substack, on a Sunday night, January 26^th with no launch plan, no fanfare and nary a subscriber. Five days later, I had 300. I felt like Gerard Butler: This is Sparta!

I had zero frame of reference for how long it takes to grow on this platform. I didn’t know if my experience was typical or an anomaly, but it made me feel like, wait a minute… I might be on to something here. When I earned the bestseller badge eight months later, it felt like a fever dream. Oprah says, “your life is always speaking to you.” I feel like Substack is life’s way of saying that I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to do and I’m right where I need to be.

7. What’s something you tried that didn’t work in your journey as a writer and educator — and what did you learn from it?

Two things stand out.

First, I can’t write prescriptively. I’d love to be that writer who has a content strategy with all my topics laid out on the calendar and scheduled for publication. But 2025 was a tough year for many people, for many reasons. My platform is about mental health, the bedrock of which is empathy. My work requires me to read the room. And I can’t show up like, “Hey! Let’s talk neuroscience...” when people are reeling from civil unrest, massive layoffs, and social discord. So, many times this year, I went “off script” and wrote what I knew many people were feeling. It may have cost me some subscribers. It may have gained me some. But it’s hard for me to stay “neutral” when I know there are elephants in the room.

Second, I’ve had to confront my own discomfort around charging for my writing. I’m still learning how to balance what’s offered freely with what lives behind a paywall. What additional benefits do I offer that won’t exhaust me, will add value, and are worth the investment?

I tried creating a podcast for paid subscribers using Substack’s podcast feature. The listening numbers weren’t great. It was a lot of extra work, and while valuable, I don’t think it was the best use of my time if people weren’t engaging with it. Listening is a different dynamic than reading; what works in one medium doesn’t automatically translate to another.

I also struggle with promoting my writing on social media. I’m still working on a seamless way to translate my long-form work into the short-form content I create. I wrestle with striking the balance between Shanté the Content Creator and Shanté the Writer, and how to best serve both audiences without burning out. But what’s absolutely working is authenticity; it is far more appreciated by my subscribers than a canned post that I scheduled two weeks ago.

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

I’ve been a solo act for a really long time. And what that’s cost me is time to think strategically about alliances, partnerships, communities, or where I’d like my work to live. Writing as a vocation is a bit like entrepreneurship; you can spend so much time working in the business that you forget to work on the business. I’ve been building the plane while flying it, which has led to some great invitations like podcasts, sponsorships, speaking opportunities, but not always with intention. This year, I’m moving differently.

Instead of setting goals, I created a set of questions to guide my thinking. One of them is, “What connections would I like to make?” It prompts me to think about who I want to be in community with and who I want to learn from. This year, I’m being intentional about surrounding myself with other writers and thinkers, both as a consumer of their work and as a contributor to the conversation.

I’ve learned that opportunity doesn’t always have to be monetary. Sometimes it’s being invited into rooms or asked to sit at tables. Those invitations can pay dividends down the road: in relationships, in visibility, in doors that open because someone remembered your name at the right time.

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

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott was a great read. Not only is she hilarious, but that book does a brilliant job of unpacking the difference between being a writer and being a published author. Some people are chasing the outcome and are less invested in the process of becoming a good writer. I’ve been teaching English composition for almost 20 years, and I know all too well the value and the arduousness of drafting. But there’s real value in that work.

1000 Words by Jami Attenberg was also transformative for me. I love processes and systems, and Jami’s approach, 1,000 words a day for two weeks, seemed challenging but doable. It put a framework around carving out the time and hitting the output needed to actually get a draft completed.

Beyond books, last year, I invested in a course from Luvvie Ajayi on how to write and structure your book proposal. I never thought of a book proposal as a business plan for your book, but that’s exactly what it is, and it was invaluable to see what that process looks like and how to present myself and my work to agents. This year, I signed up for a querying workshop with Eric Smith, author and founder of Neighborhood Literary. His workshop includes feedback on the first 10 pages of my query which is insanely valuable at this stage in my career.

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

Consistency is my superpower. Getting motivated to do something and staying motivated to do it are two separate things. When I was researching Substack, I saw a writer say, “Treat it like it’s your job.” And that shifted something for me. I’d never pull a “no call-no show” at work because I have a responsibility to the college. Likewise, I have a responsibility to the readers.

When relationships are new, they need the most attention because we’re establishing our rhythm, our chemistry, our ebb and flow—all the things that make us, us. And that’s how I treat my Substack, like it’s a new community.

Also, the Notes feature on Substack is my jam. It’s perfect for people like me who already have a ton of short-form content. It’s a way of introducing people to my work and giving them just enough to be curious. I’ve gotten hundreds of subscribers from posting a 2-minute video of me reading an excerpt of a recently published article or sharing a video on a socially relevant topic.

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

I am falling back in love with analog. I spent last year building my library, reading physical books. This year, I subscribed to the print version of The New Yorker, to reacquaint myself with sitting down and enjoying the tactile pleasure of turning pages and spending longer periods of time away from a screen.

Whenever I visit a new city, I make a point to visit their libraries and independent bookstores. I always find inspiration there. Last year, I visited Toronto, and their public library has an entire dedicated room to the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have always loved Sherlock Holmes, and I got to hold an original copy of A Study in Scarlet. Are you kidding me?!

Being in community with books and readers reminds me that my ideas have a place on the shelf. Every time I visit a bookstore, I take a selfie in front of the section where I know my book will live. It’s a manifestation of sorts and a motivator to get back to it… to keep writing, to keep thinking, to keep being curious.

My favorite reads last year were:

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

• Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

• The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Recently, I introduced the idea of SLOWBOARDING into the New Year. Slowboarding is resisting the pressure to set goals and metrics at the top of the year and instead focus on who we’re becoming instead of what we’re producing… an invitation to focus on feeling better instead of doing more.

I created a guided workbook to help people move with intention rather than urgency, and to cultivate practices that help them come back to themselves through six practices: Talking, Hobbies, Experiences, Body Movement, Arts, and Reading. It’s called THE BAR. People can download it here.

Use the Code: RAISETHEBAR for a discount

👋 About Dr. Shanté, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Dr. Shanté Holley is an English professor, writer, and cultural commentator whose work sits at the intersection of literature, mental health, and social change. With over 20 years of experience teaching literature, psychology, and sociology, she brings a rare ability to connect big ideas to everyday lives and spark conversations that transform.

A bestselling writer on Substack and a dynamic presence on social media with more than 350K followers, Dr. Shanté is known for turning complex topics like resilience, trauma, and healing into powerful storytelling. Her accessible, engaging insights have reached millions and resonate across diverse audiences.

She has partnered with national organizations including the American Red Cross, AARP, SAMHSA, the Ad Council, and the Immigrant Justice Corps on campaigns promoting mental wellness and community connection. Her commentary has been featured in Essence Magazine and by the NAACP, and she serves on the Board for Belonging Through Art, an organization dedicated to reducing loneliness and fostering positive social connections through art.

Dr. Shanté is also a prolific podcaster with three successful shows that collectively boast hundreds of thousands of downloads, offering valuable resources for individuals seeking guidance on personal growth, mindset, and healing. A sought-after speaker, she delivers high-value content on emotional resilience, trauma recovery, and self-care at engagements across the country.

Her commitment to mental wellness extends to her academic work, where she was a Fulbright Scholarship Finalist for her research on Blaxit: The Interconnectedness of Racial Trauma, Healing, and Black Immigration to Portugal; a groundbreaking project exploring the intersections of cultural identity, trauma, and healing.

Whether in the classroom, behind the mic, or on stage, Dr. Shanté brings intellectual depth, cultural fluency, and warmth to every dialogue. She is committed to helping individuals heal, grow, and thrive.

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📚 Editor’s Note: When Reading Becomes Resistance

Through her bestselling Substack Heavy Meta, has created a space where reading isn’t just a pastime — it’s a practice, a discipline, and a form of resistance. Grounded in her work as an English teacher and Writing Center Director at a girls’ school, her Girls’ School Book Club brings feminist theory, banned books, conceptual metaphor, and lived experience into conversation with the world as it is now.

What I love about Tarra’s work is how she’s not afraid to dig deep. Nothing in her work is rushed or shallow. Each month’s reading is part of a larger ecosystem — essays, resources, discussions — designed to help readers think more deeply and read more deliberately. There’s a care to the way she builds community, protects it, and asks people to value both the labor and the learning involved.

This interview is a reminder that making writing your job doesn’t always look loud or linear. Sometimes it looks like teaching, reading closely, showing up consistently, and trusting that depth will find its audience — because it always does.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Tarra Stevenson

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

I live and work in the Stars Hollow of the San Gabriel Mountains, in a little town outside of Pasadena, CA. I have two work spaces: one, my desk at work, where I’m a full time English teacher and Writing Center Director at an all girls’ school, and my second, my desk/vanity at home, where the vanity light serves well for making TikTok videos on paired reading and book club topics. My chair at home is a pink, overstuffed chair leftover from my Covid work-at-home days. Both desks are full of bookstacks (both vertical and horizontal), pens, post-it notes, student-made ceramic vessels that are vaguely anatomical, coffee cups, and big rings – I love a big ring but have to take them off when I write, so they’re inevitably forgotten and accumulate. I can’t stand a messy house but a messy desk doesn’t bother me.

2. On your Substack Heavy Meta, you run the Girls’ School Book Club. Would you tell us about the book club and what inspired you to start it?

Like all intellectual endeavors, it started on TikTok (haha). I joke but social media in general, as harmful as it can be, allows for such democratization of ideas that I can’t fault it entirely, and it was where I turned after the 2025 presidential inauguration. I joined and started creating on January 23, due to a confluence of events: the Eaton Fire which directly impacted my community, the aforementioned inauguration, and a girls’ education research project I was completing for a fellowship. I already had a Substack account that I posted on about twice a year, but I certainly wasn’t writing or reading on it regularly.

In January my students were scheduled to read Fahrenheit 451, but after the fire, in my position as Department Chair, I chose to postpone the text. I wanted to divorce the possibility of retraumatizing students and attaching a grade to it, but I also recognized that some students were still up for it, and in the face of the inauguration, would want to discuss the concept of banned books and authoritarianism. I asked my Writing Center students if they wanted to start/host a banned books club–of course they did–and so we got that up and going. And that planted the seed.

Of course, I wanted something similar for myself. I started discussing banned books specifically through the lens of girls’ schools and feminism on my new TikTok account, and around the summer, after layering my content the way I do my classes, with conceptual metaphor theory, feminist and post-colonial theory, non-fiction, other literary fiction, etc., I went for it, and thus on July 1, 2025, Girls’ School Book Club was born.

Girls’ schools are inherently political, inherently about resistance. They existed outside the realm of the acceptable for a long time, calling themselves finishing schools because the idea of real, true, education was reserved for boys. For men. Even the term, finishing! Once girls learn etiquette, we’re done (for). The confluence of my work in a girls’ school, the state of the country, and my own convictions, made me realize the radical nature of such a book club, and so “reading is resistance” became the mission and my compass rose.

3. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now when it comes to the work you put out on your Substack, any projects you’re doing as a writer yourself, and the coordination of your book club?

When it comes to the work I put out on my Substack, I want to create a cohesive experience for my readers. Every month we read two specific books/texts, and everything I write about that month is thematically connected to those texts. My creation of resources is often connected to a need I find in my book club community.

I have never considered myself a business person, so I went into this whole process completely blind, but over the course of the past 6 months since the book club has been up and running, I’m finally learning. I have 3 primary methods of making money:

Substack paid subscriptions–I paywall the book club for a couple of reasons. One, I want to protect the live zoom meeting at the end of the month from zoombombers, and psychologically, people who pay for something tend to take it more seriously. The second reason is something I discuss in my About Page, connected back to girls’ schools and feminist education: women tend to undervalue their work. So I’ve tried to negotiate between making it incredibly valuable for the price, while also financially accessible.

Gumroad resources: I am trying to create an ecosystem wherein all my products connect to/support the work I’m doing with the book club. It’s where I need to be braver about charging more, but because I believe in democratizing education, it’s where I have the hardest time charging. I provide discounts on these products for my subscribers, and for my founding members, all resources in my gumroad are free. I provide reading guides and connected services: foundational steps of close reading, guidance on how to create a personal curriculum, guides on how to read in pairs, a service where I create reading pairs for you, based on your preferences, as well as an entire curriculum if that’s what you’re looking for.

TikTok: minimal payments based on the success of 1+ minute videos from the Creator Rewards Program.

What I wasn’t anticipating about the book club is that it would ever leave the confines of the page, and that there would be financial profit there as well. I have been invited to interview authors, to lecture at events and non-profits, to bring these ideas into the community outside of the book club. People are hungry for depth, for education, and it’s extending beyond social media.

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

Stop procrastinating. Take yourself seriously but not too seriously. That success takes so many forms, and that writing itself is a business, something I think a lot of young writers forget. I was fortunate enough to attend an MFA program that openly discusses the behind the scenes work of writing (specifically novels). Before my MFA program, I had one idea of what it meant to be a successful writer, and her name was Toni Morrison. But then, by meeting and working with other writers in my program who I view as completely successful – Natashia Deón, author of Grace, and a lawyer; Francesca Lia Block, author of Weetzie Bat, and a professor/editor; as well as literally every single professor in the program – I’ve learned that success comes in many guises. The other lesson from attending a low-residency MFA program is basically don’t quit your day job – not only/solely because of financial reasons, but because good ideas come from living life, and a job can be part of that.

Also, Tod Goldberg, the director of that program, has always said, “Don’t be an asshole,” and those are also words of wisdom for the business of writing.

I look around Substack and I see brilliant writers leading book clubs of all kinds, and instead of choosing to see them as competition, I am just appreciating what each of us do. I think we’re taught to be in such a scarcity mindset that business means we all have to compete against each other, that there isn’t enough room for everyone, but what I have learned is that we’re all just making space for each other. Some people do year-long slow reads, some of us read poetry, some of us are exploring Russian texts, and some of us are reading in paired texts of fiction and non-fiction (me!). We’re as varied as the literature itself. And not only is there room on the bookshelf for all, a diverse bookshelf is the best bookshelf.

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

At this point in my life, as a single mom with kids ten years apart who have a demanding sports schedule, my writing routine is where I can squeeze it in; luckily I run a Writing Center at school, and because I like to model a writing ethic, I get a lot of writing done at work. Otherwise, it’s after my kids go to bed. Once in a while I can get my older kid to watch the younger one for an hour or two, and that feels super indulgent–I even light a candle.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” when it comes to your creative endeavors?

I was at my best friend’s house when I launched the book club and I joked, “I think I accidentally started a business” when people started signing up for it. But also in that moment, because people were taking me seriously, I started to take myself seriously.

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

Just trying to cover everything. There are so many aspects of reading and writing I want to talk about, but I can overcomplicate things pretty easily. No one needs that. This process has taught me to focus on a few things really well, instead of a bunch of things with mediocre success. I would love to write about writing, but I have chosen to write about reading. I absolutely believe that writing is a vital tool to any reading practice, but that’s its own Substack.

I’ve also learned that I don’t have the lifestyle (yet) to support a daily publishing practice. I tried to do that and failed after like 3 days. I have so many ideas but I have to pick and choose, because it’s such a gift to show up in people’s email – it needs to be high quality every time.

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

I try to say yes to as much as possible, often (usually) before I feel ready. I know I’ll get there. And if I fail – I’ll learn something.

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

Always more education. I’ve happily gone into debt for both master’s programs, though I did get my school to help me pay for my MFA. I’m hoping to pay it all off before I retire. The structure of this MFA program (Premier Low-Residency MFA | UC Riverside Palm Desert Creative Writing | Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA) is really set up to continue to support its students forever.

Beyond formal programs though, I apply to speak at conferences annually, and my work is usually accepted. Having the deadlines and expectations is a constraint I enjoy.

I recently completed Edan Lepucki’s writing accountability program for my fiction, called “Fuck You, Write Your Pages” here on Substack, and with weekly deadlines in place, and Edan’s tough love, I accomplished more than I was expecting.

Basically, prioritizing myself differently. I had to take myself seriously and part of doing that was taking my writing seriously – not as an extension of myself, but as part of myself.

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

It’s not a sexy response but I just regularly have to invest in both platforms, Substack and TikTok. I think a lot of readers on TikTok haven’t yet heard of Substack, or realized its potential, so I’m happy to move them onto the Substack platform. I have realized that a lot of serious readers and thinkers are on TikTok and they’re hungry for the depth and connection that simply isn’t present in the same way on TikTok.

I will admit I have been surprised at the hunger for classic literature. As someone who teaches it daily, I tend to want to read contemporary texts that were just published yesterday, but I understand the desire to revisit them or read them for the first time. Because I have a love/hate relationship with the canon, I love the challenge of introducing and reading classical texts through a non-canonical lens, which is one of the ways I believe we can use literature as a means to challenge dominant culture. Part of my growth has been listening to my readers and following where they lead, and surprisingly, they have led me to my expertise!

The other thing is consistency. I am someone who thrives on a deadline and so having self-imposed deadlines is a bit of a thrill.

Finally, as someone who likes to be in control, I have found accepting that there are things that are out of my control to be incredibly fulfilling. Remaining open to possibility had definitely led to growth here.

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

I have been obsessed with conceptual metaphor theory since grad school, and it influences so much of how I see the world, what/how I read, and what I write. Metaphor, and monsters. I’m not someone who appreciates a jump scare, but I will spend hours thinking about what societal fear a monster represents – and then of course I see it everywhere.

Heavy Meta

Reading between the lines is my magical power. ✨Home of Girls' School Book Club -- where reading is resistance.

By Tarra

👋 About Tarra Stevenson, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Tarra Stevenson writes fairy tales and horror all wrapped up in a bloody feminist motherhood bow. She has poetry and short stories published in Vinyl, Shirley Magazine, the LA Miscellany, and Writer's Resist. She was the Book Reviews editor for The Coachella Review and also had a column there titled “Food for Thought: Hard to Swallow,” exploring her passion, conceptual metaphor theory. She worked on MALCS: The Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (Women Active in Letters and Social Change) at Loyola Marymount University and was an editorial intern at Taschen. She attended UC Riverside’s low-residency MFA program, where she studied fiction and screenwriting. She currently teaches at and is the Writing Center Director at an all-girls’ school, and writes the bestselling Substack Heavy Meta, where reading is resistance.

📚 Editor’s Note: What it Means to Be a Multi-Hyphenate

I’d known ’s work long before I ever saw her on stage — but catching her live at SF Sketchfest made something click in a new way. Watching her move effortlessly through a stand-up set, it was impossible not to notice how naturally that same sharpness carries across her writing, criticism, and stand-up comedy.

Ashley is one of those rare creatives who can jump between mediums without losing her voice. Comedy, TV criticism, podcasts, scripts, her Substack Deep Trouble — none of it feels forced or performative. It all feels like different expressions of the same clear point of view, refined over years of showing up and doing the work.

What I admire most is her intentionality. Ashley doesn’t chase every format just because it’s there. She steps back when something no longer fits, trusts her instincts when a direction feels wrong, and lets her archive do what strong work does — keep circulating and opening doors over time.

This conversation is a reminder that versatility isn’t a lack of focus. In the right hands, it’s a creative advantage.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Ashley Ray

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

I somehow found my perfect apartment in Los Angeles and I’ve created my dream office space. I have mid-century modern wall shelves with a desk built-in. I’m surrounded by all my books. I have a little fake fireplace. It’s very cozy. I like a lived-in library vibe. I also have a mini-standing desk that moves so I can go from my desk to the couch. I also love a bluetooth keyboard so I can write in all kinds of weird positions. I usually open all my shades, make a huge pot of coffee and sit in front of my planner, calendars, markers and pens.

2. You’ve got a lot going on between your podcast/video show TV I Say and your Substack Deep Trouble. Can you tell readers a bit about how you’ve crafted a space for clever entertainment criticism and comedy under one roof?

It hasn’t been easy! 2025 was definitely a year where I had to slow down and really focus on what I want my writing career to look like. I’ve always been known as someone who “does too much.” I really do love doing it all - comedy, criticism, scripts, podcasts, interviews - and I’ve always tried to bring that all together for people. It’s why Deep Trouble can cover such a wide range of topics. I wrote too much. I posted too much.

I wanted to bring TV I Say to a close so I could focus on more non-TV things and define my lane, but there was a huge response to bring it back. That’s what Courier Media wanted to do. People just love my TV takes too much, I guess. We decided to change the format to a podcast/video show. Figuring out that new dynamic meant I had to step away from Deep Trouble for a while. But one thing about doing “too much” for so many years is that I had this huge archive most of my readers knew nothing about. Articles I wrote three years ago still get actively shared and commented on. I could afford to take a break and focus on something else. I think I crafted a space where my readers trust me even if I have to take a break because I have this decade-old archive now. They know it probably means I’m just working on something else, whether that’s a youtube show or comedy album. This year, I’m ready to get back to writing and Deep Trouble.

3. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now? Your work spans mediums across Substack and YouTube, so would love to hear about how you make everything happen in your world as a talented multi-hyphenate.

To me, “make writing your job” means being flexible. I have personal writing projects that are fun, but I also write for clients doing sponsored content and technical writing. It isn’t “sexy” or fun, but writing for different mediums allows you to make it a job while you wait for that next big project. I think the biggest surprise is how often people reach out to hire me because of something I wrote years ago. It’s easy to feel like your work is ignored or forgotten, but someone is paying attention so keep going.

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

You don’t have to do one thing, actually! Early in my career, I was so worried about finding my lane because so many people told me I did too much. I was terrified of being seen as a jack of all trades/master of none. I thought I had to simplify my voice so I could be easily branded as “the tv person” or “comedian.” I’d avoid writing a more serious piece or talking about a non-TV thing because I didn’t want to confuse people or complicate my “brand.” Good audiences are smarter than that. I think people are tired of engaging with people who feel like they need to “live” their brand 24/7. Be authentic. Do what you care about. Write about what interests you. There are no lanes anymore. People under 20 don’t know what a legacy publication even is now. There used to be a set way to “become” a writer or comedian, but those things don’t matter anymore. If you’re finding your audience, you’re already doing it.

5. What’s your creative routine like if you have one? If not, what are other ways you feed your creative or artistic process?

Morning coffee, sort through emails, write morning pages. I try to go to three open mics a week to work on new jokes. Sometimes I’ll do a “joke a day” thing where I make myself write a new topical joke every day for a month. I usually need to work completely alone. I’m easily distracted. If I have friends around, I want to talk to them. If I’m in a cafe, I’ll chat with strangers before I write a word. I’ve written to the same playlist since 8th grade, but it’s just songs from different movie soundtracks.

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

When I sold TV I Say to Earwolf back in 2022. I started that podcast independently during the first year of the pandemic. It was just me, talking into a microphone under my bed. Also when Maria Bamford hired me to edit her audiobook and memoir. She is my comedy mentor and hero. Working with her was incredible and she gave me the nicest shout out.

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

YouTubing a podcast! I think a lot of networks think they can take something that worked in podcast format and just put it in front of cameras. When we moved TV I Say to YouTube, I wanted to completely change how we did the show. You have to give people a reason to look at the screen. It didn’t feel like the show I wanted to make. I had to decide if I wanted to keep doing something that felt wrong because it’s what other people wanted. I decided to end it and focus on the show I want to make. Haha, I guess this is fairly new news since we just dropped the final episode last Thursday. I learned to trust my instincts. I felt so new in this industry that I took any advice or guidance I could get. I figured if other people had an instinct to do something a certain way, why not do it? I had to waste a lot of time to realize everything isn’t for me and spreading myself so thin impacts the things that are for me.

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

Yapping. Yapping all the time, everywhere. I got my first byline at the A.V. Club because I was non-stop posting my thoughts on Beyonce’s Lemonade on Facebook. An editor happened to follow me and reached out. Back in the day, tweeting a thought could turn into someone reaching out for a pitch. When I go out to events, I yap. There was an open mic at my favorite bar in Chicago. I’d go, chat with people and eventually some comics were like “hey, you’re funny, you should try it.” If you’re comfortable approaching people cold, sending pitch emails is easy.

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

You gotta invest in your workspace. I spend a lot of time writing alone so I made a space that doesn’t drive me crazy. Once every two years or so, I call 1-800-GOT-JUNK and get rid of tons of stuff I don’t use anymore. If my space feels cluttered, it’s hard for me to focus. It’s worth it and sometimes they tell you stories about being on Hoarders.

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

You never know what’s going to catch on with people. My most read pieces are about true crime and gangbangs. I guess those are fairly scandalous topics, but I try to create content that remains relevant. Guides I wrote two years ago are still shared as best practice. A lot of those pieces started as jokes or half-thoughts. Also, I try not to follow hot topics and trends. Of course there are big things I’ll respond to, but I don’t want to give people something they can get from social media. People really are eager to go deeper than TikTok!

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

I’m currently obsessed with Rob Rausch from Love Island on Traitors. I’m already obsessed with Traitors, but he’s a top tier TV crush. I also watched all of Shahs of Sunset and Vanderpump Rules. I’m writing some new scripts and I like to step away from narrative TV when I do that. I’m also crafting a lot. Relearning how to knit, getting into heat transfer vinyl and sublimation. I got a Cricut and that’s another great thing I spent money on. I am motivated by stickers and nice organizers. I make all the stickers I want now and get them when I hit writing goals.

deep trouble

deep dives, guides and the trouble with culture, media and me today

By ashley ray

👋 About Ashley Ray, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Ashley is a Los Angeles-based writer and comedian. She is currently producing an audiobook with KeyTV and Audible, premiering in 2026. She’s been featured in Bust and Paste Magazine for her “whip smart TV criticism.” And yes, she’s also famous for smoking pot.

In 2022, Ashley wrote on Adult Swim’s, Alabama Jackson created by Donald Faison. Before becoming a TV writer, Ashley was a culture critic who wrote for Vulture, the A.V. Club, NY Mag, The Cut, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.

Ashley was selected as an HBO Queer Comics to Watch for 2021 and filmed a digital special for the platform. That same year she did a sold out hour at Union Hall in NY. Her debut album, Ice Cream Money, debuted on Blonde Medicine in 2024. That same year she was a BET Black Woman Comic to Watch.

From 2020 to 2026, Ashley hosted ‘TV I Say with Ashley Ray’ which was featured in the New York Times as a 2021 Podcast Worth Checking Out.” An independent podcast she started, it focused on all things TV. It was later bought by SiriusXM. It was nominated for a 2022 iHeartMedia Podcast Breakthrough award. She’s been a guest on a number of your favorite podcasts including NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, Lovett or Leave It, and Seth Rogen’s Storytime.

While the four of us were eating great food in China, we had some great conversations about why we love to travel, the benefits of financial independence, and how to live a great life while aligning your spending with your values.

Nicole and Tylor are bloggers in the Financial Independence community (often abbreviated to FI or FIRE — Financial Independence Retire Early) and they’ve hit an impressive goal of 7-figures in their investment accounts while being semi-retired in their 30s.

In this Substack Live, I had Nicole and Tylor on to chat with me about…

• What Financial Independence really is and why it’s important for writers and freelancers to think about.

• They also shared the other pieces of advice (and inspiration!) that writers and creatives need to hear when it comes to finding more stability and better frameworks about money.

• In the past, I’ve talked to writers like Lane Scott Jones about how writers can plan to take a creative sabbatical, and in this interview Nicole and Tylor build on those concepts by sharing the financial scaffolding needed by writers and creatives to be able to take more time off or have “career optionality.”

Learn More About Nicole & Tylor and Not Your Ordinary Plan

• Read their blog here.

  • Here’s their blog post about Coast FI

  • Their post about Different Types of FI

  • And their post about Order of Investing

• And you can find them on Substack here!

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with !

📚 Editor’s Note: Creating a Cozy Book Club for Gilmore Fans

’s story will feel deeply familiar to anyone who built something real on the internet — and then watched the ground shift beneath it.

After years of growing a successful SEO-driven blog, Jules faced what so many creators did when the algorithms changed. Instead of forcing herself to keep fighting a system that no longer rewarded her work, she chose a smart pivot: starting fresh around the part of her business that still brought joy, connection, and meaning.

This conversation is a masterclass in creative resilience. Jules talks candidly about rebuilding income, redefining her identity beyond “blogger,” and leaning into consistency, community, and craft as she launched Friday Night Readers, her Gilmore Girls-inspired cozy book club.

There’s also a quiet confidence running through her answers — the kind that comes from doing the work day after day, even when the path changes.

If you’re navigating a pivot, questioning platforms, or wondering how to build something sustainable in a noisy online world, this one’s for you.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Julianne (“Jules”) Buonocore

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

I am a cozy homebody with a very traditional home office in the Philly suburbs. It’s at the front of the home and has tons of natural light. It was actually one of the reasons we bought the home during the pandemic, after I had been working on a laptop at the dining room table in our Philly rowhouse. I had worked in a law office for over a decade prior and craved a dedicated workspace!

Once in a while, especially if I’m editing social media posts on my phone, I’ll also take to my reading corner to work – another reason we bought this home.

2. You run the incredible community for readers, Friday Night Readers here on Substack. What gave you the inspiration to start it, and what has been your journey with it so far?

I’ve got to go back a bit in time to explain how I got here, as the road is long and winding. I wanted to be both a lawyer and a writer since I was a child. I fulfilled the first career goal, but I was always trying to find a way to dip my toe into the second. Usually, this meant personal blogs that were just for me.

By 2019, though, I was reading more heavily and writing book reviews on a personal notes app. I was also planning my honeymoon in Italy and weaving literary travel into it. When we returned, I felt a creative void and started a blog based on this work called The Literary Lifestyle. I figured that if it could make any money on the side, I would pay off my student loans.

I had a head start in understanding search engine optimization (SEO) through my husband, so I focused on writing long-form informational articles for search engines like Google and Pinterest. A few examples of my work include book reviews, book club guides, and chapter summaries.

Over two years, my blog grew substantially, and through display ads and affiliate income, I was able to both pay off my student loans and quit my law firm job to focus on it full-time.

Meanwhile, in fall 2020, I was craving comforting, escapist TV and better books. Book communities on social media were growing, but heavily hyped books weren’t doing it for me. I craved both older and newer classics I missed during my busy school and early career days. I realized that the TV show Gilmore Girls scratched both of these itches– 500+ books are mentioned on this early aughts family show.

I casually mentioned it on social media and got a huge response, so I created a separate Instagram account for this reading challenge, called The Rory Gilmore Book Club.

Both thrived and grew over the next few years, until late 2023, when Google made algorithm changes that virtually removed professional bloggers like me from the algorithm and focused more heavily on displaying AI overviews at the top of search results instead of links. Without these page views from search, my income dropped substantially.

I worked full-time for nearly two years to win back Google’s favor, but it became increasingly clear that it was an impossible task that no amount of effort could fix. It was also challenging to be part of the SEO blogging community at this time. Everyone was sad, scared, frustrated– all the negative things.

So, I really wanted a fresh start by mid 2025. That said, I still felt the same comfort, joy, and escapism from watching Gilmore Girls and reading the books based on it as I did five years earlier. Likewise, my readers still loved it, and we kept finding new fans of the show who wanted to participate in our reading challenge. So, I decided to shift my focus just to this aspect of my business.

That said, I also wanted the brand to be a bit more open-ended. For example, Gilmore Girls is a very seasonal show, and I love writing about seasonal reading. I landed on the name Friday Night Readers. It’s a play on the famed “Friday night dinners” the characters have on the show, and it also defines who we are as people – cozy homebodies who are happiest reading on the weekend.

I decided to move most of my work to Substack because I enjoyed it as a user and loved the interactive community experience it offered. I was able to easily add multimedia such as podcast episodes, polls, and chats, which engage my audience much better than social media or a blog. The platform is also so much easier and less time-consuming to manage on the back end than a self-hosted blog.

I avoided moving to Substack for so long because it’s always hard to start over, and you never know what will become of a platform, but right now I only wish I had done it sooner. As many say, it feels like the “old” days of social media – inspiring, connected, collaborative– which is so refreshing both as a creator and a user. And it’s filled with bookworms!

In summer 2025, I imported my email subscribers from my previous platform and set a goal to become a bestseller by the end of the year, which I did!

3. What does “making writing (or reading!) your job” look like in your world right now?

I used to call myself a blogger, but I’ve shifted to saying I have a portfolio career. I still earn some passive ad and affiliate revenue from The Literary Lifestyle, though I’m no longer working on it. Substack subscriptions are now a piece of the pie, and I also earn some affiliate revenue and brand sponsorships on Substack and social media. I also took on some marketing consulting in 2025, which I love. Strategizing on how to improve other people’s businesses is so gratifying.

As I rebranded, I also worked to cut unnecessary business and personal expenses.

And I have a few more monetization goals for 2026 and beyond: podcast monetization, digital products, merch, and maybe even a book or two!

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

The biggest lesson I try to instill in anyone building a business around writing and creating is the importance of learning to manage the financial side, from preparing to pay estimated taxes and sales taxes to navigating your legal status and taking appropriate deductions. It’s boring, but it can make or break your business at any given time. And it’s totally unlike being a salaried employee.

5. What’s your writing/creating routine like — or do you even have one? What sort of rituals, routines, or habits do you swear by?

   

I spent so many years in a highly structured office job that I have been able to easily maintain this discipline in my writing and creative routine. I’m generally at my desktop 9 am-5 pm, Monday through Friday. Of course, like most creators, I spend a lot of time on my phone in my off hours, too.

This schedule is the habit I swear by, as I’ve completed so much work and gotten so many opportunities simply by being so consistent.

I’m also a firm believer that great writing comes from rewriting, so I spend a lot of time editing.

And I love a good candle, a relaxing playlist, and a warm beverage!

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” when creating your cozy reading community or with your creative work in general?

I have had a few moments like this. Both SEO and Substack always felt very natural for me to work on, which is a great feeling for a creator, as it can keep you motivated.

But the moment I decided to quit my job at the law firm was the biggest “you got this” moment I’ve had. I was having a big birthday and considering a legal opportunity that I was leaning against, when I realized I had earned enough through my creative work to pay off my student loans and have a cushion to live off of if I pursued writing full-time. The timing of my birthday just helped me think about both the past and the future in an especially serendipitous way.

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

I’ve tried countless things that didn’t work, including continuing to work on my blog, The Literary Lifestyle, when the field as a whole was in such sharp decline.

I’m actually a huge sports fan and take most of my inspiration from professional athletes, whose physical and mental fortitude astounds me. Their work is generally about failure more than success. The key is navigating those moments of failure and constantly picking yourself up and getting in the ring, so to speak, again and again.

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

I’ve found that most of my opportunities came naturally through networking. I speak openly about creating, marketing, and business strategy both in real life and online, which can naturally lead to paid opportunities.

I have also found that my disciplined schedule has made me available at a moment’s notice for opportunities, such as a journalist seeking a quote on a tight deadline. In the words of the title of Ina Garten’s memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens!

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

My husband is my partner through all my highs and lows. He owned a small business before I did, and he’s also a skilled manager, both of which have been invaluable resources to me as a solo entrepreneur. In all aspects of life, including my writing life, we’ve been able to celebrate wins together, navigate lows, and make decisions as a team.

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

One of the first ways I grew on Substack was by becoming a very active member of the platform, which has been easy for me because I love making new internet friends. You’ll always find me connecting and collaborating on all the things: chats, DMs, notes, comments, interviews, etc.

A few surprising ways I’ve grown have been through SEO (some of my posts show up in Google search results) and Instagram. Instagram is actually my best converter, and I keep telling Substackers not to sleep on it. I usually create carousels for my Substack posts using link automation and share them in stories as well. It’s been working so well that I’ve started adding Substack calls to action to most of my social media posts now.

Lastly, I draft my Substack posts with the intention of breaking them into as many social media posts as possible after posting: quotes, images, videos, audio, Pinterest pins, etc. The internet is so crowded these days that reach is important, and you just never know what’s going to hit where.

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

Right now, I’m obsessed with Stephen King. I’m not a sci-fi/horror/paranormal gal, so I never expected this, but his work goes so far beyond that and is so thought-provoking. I read Misery as part of our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge last month, followed it up with the movie adaptation, then rewatched Stand By Me (based on The Body), for the first time in decades. Each of these stories follows the psyches of writers and those around them, which is what has drawn me into his storytelling craft. Next up is his nonfiction book, On Writing. It’s influencing me most to focus on the practice of my writing craft. He is such a master of the written word that even just reading it is like taking a masterclass.

Friday Night Readers

Our virtual book club is for Gilmore Girls fans who want to be well-read like Rory without the overwhelm. Subscribe to get a free checklist of the show's 450+ books.

By Julianne Buonocore

👋 About Julianne (“Jules”) Buonocore, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Julianne Buonocore is the founder and president of Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club community dedicated to helping you embrace a cozy and literary way of life inspired by Gilmore Girls.

She’s a reader of 100+ books per year, studied English literature, and has been on The Today Show’s Read with Jenna Book Club, Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, Reader’s Digest, Women’s Health, The Everygirl, Glamour, Parents, and more. Her essay about her book club was published in the book But I’m a Gilmore!

📚 Editor’s Note: Letting Go of Metrics — and Grudges

has spent decades inside legacy media — newspapers, radio, national sports coverage — and what makes this conversation compelling isn’t just the résumé. It’s the honesty.

In this interview, Danny walks us through what it looks like to untangle your identity from the systems that once validated you. He’s candid about what worked, what stalled, and where the real work is happening now — especially when it comes to Substack, audience building, and resisting the urge to chase numbers instead of connection.

What stood out most to me is Danny’s clarity around metrics. The moment they become the goal, they stop being useful. That insight alone will land for a lot of writers who feel discouraged by slow growth or trapped by external benchmarks that don’t actually reflect the health of their work.

This is a conversation about reinvention, creative patience, and choosing sustainability over approval — with plenty of hard-won wisdom along the way.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Danny O'Neil

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

I live on the 10th floor of a pre-war building in Manhattan, and my desk is situated in the southwest corner of our living room, though Simba, our Shar-Pei, would say that I’m actually sitting in his bedroom. The desk is made of mango wood, which was surprisingly tough to drill through when I mounted a microphone arm. The desk has two drawers and two overhead cabinets. If I look to the right, I can see the Hudson River and New Jersey. If I look straight ahead, I see the album cover for Ice Cube’s “Death Certificate” which he signed “2 Danny, Stay Cool, Ice Cube.”

2. My favorite part of your bio is that you describe yourself as a “veteran journalist, an accidental radio host and a bona fide expert in grudges who recently experienced the blissful relief that comes from letting go.” I know this is part of the inspiration for your Substack Grudgery, which has a great essay about letting go of a 20-year Grudge. What’s been your journey creating Grudgery as well as your podcast The Dang Apostrophe?

My background is almost entirely in legacy media. Legacy sports media to be more specific. I started out as a newspaper reporter and worked my way up the food chain from covering high-school sports to the NBA and ultimately the NFL. Radio was a side gig at first, a way to broaden my skills and earn a little more money. Turns out, I’m also more of a ham than I thought and in 2013 I was hired as a radio host by the ESPN affiliate station in Seattle. I spent 14 years as a newspaper reporter in Seattle, eight as a radio host.

I started my first Substack “The Dang Apostrophe” in September 2021 which is when I left the radio station. By that time I was living in New York, having relocated after my wife took a job at the New York Times. I started the newsletter to stay connected to the audience I’d developed. I thought I’d test out stories and link to the various freelance pieces I was certain I’d be placing. Turns out, the freelance market for sports writing was (and still is) fairly dry, and selling subscriptions to my Substack has been a far better business plan than pitching freelance stories. I turned on paid subscriptions three months after I started the newsletter. In retrospect, I should have done that immediately. Today, the newsletter has 3,100 subscribers, just under 300 of whom are on one of the premium tiers. Currently, I run that newsletter through Beehiiv, but I’m considering moving back to Substack.

“Grudgery” is my second Substack and it’s part of my effort to write non-sports stuff. It’s related to the memoir I’m working on about the hostility I harbored against my stepfather for a good 20 years and (more importantly) how I finally processed those emotions. I actually interviewed him in December 2023, which was the first time I’d seen him in 18 years. (Spoiler: The resolution of the grudge had absolutely nothing to do with anything he said. In fact, my sense of closure came in spite of talking to him.)

If I’m being optimistic, I’d say “I’m still trying to figure out how to make ‘Grudgery’ work as a part of my writing business.” If I’m being more honest, I’d say, “I’m discouraged because it hasn’t been going as well as I hoped.” I need to re-establish a regular cadence, turn on paid subscriptions, rethink my content strategy and find ways to repurpose content as social-media marketing. Other than that, I’ve got it totally wired!

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

Right now, 80 percent of my income comes from coverage of Seattle sports. The sources of this income:

• The Dang Apostrophe, newsletter published 2-3 times per week;

• Three weekly podcast/radio segments that are paid appearances;

• Bi-weekly column for the Tacoma newspaper;

• A one-hour weekly college football podcast I co-host;

On the one hand, I’m very fortunate people in Seattle are still interested in what I have to say. On the other hand, I’ve been trying to write more non-sports content for a few years now and yet most of my income is still tied to the sports being played in a city where I no longer live. It’s been exciting to have a chance to re-invent what I do and I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity to do that. It has also been quite challenging.

In addition to “Grudgery” I’ve had a series of personal essays published in Seattle Magazine. I’ve also done some non-journalism copy writing for clients. My goal in 2026 is to make “Grudgery” part of my writing income and to explore the possibility of ghost writing.

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

Trying to write your way into a traditional book publishing deal in this economy is prohibitively difficult, especially a memoir. The number of gatekeepers in publishing has diminished while the number of aspiring authors has increased to the point that not getting ghosted is a huge win. Seriously. Someone taking the time to tell you “No thanks,” is a W. If the goal is publishing a book that will be part of an independent writing business – which is exactly what it is for me – then pursuing a traditional publishing deal is not a rational economic decision. It’s more about seeking acceptance and validation, which is a totally fine goal by the way. It’s just not my goal. At least not any more.

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

I’m a morning pages person. Three pages, hand-written though there are days when this is more like three-quarters of a page. When it comes to drafting columns/newsletter/book copy, I’m most efficient between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. As an alternate-side parker here in New York (if you know, you know) I have three hours each week where I’m sitting in my car, typing on a Freewrite, while I wait for the street cleaner to come. Turns out, I’m very productive in this little writing cocoon especially now that the heater in our Subaru is fixed.

I schedule all of my “talking work” (i.e. podcasts, radio hits) in the afternoon. That’s also when I do what I think of as my “marketing work” i.e. social-media posts. A goal of mine in 2026 is to develop more concrete systems for social media as opposed to my seat-of-the-pants approach where I post what I’m thinking. Finally, I’ve found that between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. is a good time for me to hand write outlines for what I plan/hope to write the next day. I try to be off any screen but the television by 9.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

My first year covering high school sports at The Seattle Times in 1999. I was 25 and sent out to a small town in Washington – Moses Lake – where there was a high-school baseball player who was about to be a high pick in the MLB draft. Most of what I knew about writing at this point was intuitive. I didn’t understand the first thing about narrative structure. I spent 12 hours with this high-school baseball player and his family one Sunday and then went to a Travelodge and wrote a story that started with a scene about this 18-year-old kid – who was weeks away from receiving a signing bonus of $2.75 million – ordering a glass of milk with breakfast at the local country club. In retrospect, I wouldn’t say the story was good. However, it was my first glimpse of how much I enjoyed taking an experience and using literary tools to try and imbue it with meaning.

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

I would actually put “Grudgery” in this category right now. My goal was to use this newsletter as an author platform to help sell my memoir to a publisher. My rationale went something like this:

• The No. 1 reason publishers pass on non-fiction books is author platform;

• I’ll make Grudgery a platform that shows I have an audience that will buy this memoir even though I’m not a famous person.

I knew I needed thousands of subscribers to register on a publisher’s radar. After a couple of months of (fairly) consistent posting, I didn’t have thousands of subscribers. I had a couple hundred. Instead of focusing on building from that base, I wound up feeling defeated because the goal felt too far away.

Here’s what I learned: When a metric becomes a goal, it ceases to be a useful measurement.

My goal was a large number of subscribers. I thought achieving this would unlock the path to publishing for me and because I was using this as a means to an end, I got discouraged and felt defeated when it wasn’t growing.

I’ve re-thought my approach, and in 2026, I’m going to focus on building “Grudgery” not as a way to hack traditional publishing, but to connect with readers about a subject that I am very interested in and have experience with. I’m going to see what types of content work. By focusing on what creates and deepens connection, I’ll understand what the audience is looking for and how to structure my content in a way that is engaging. While I hope to be able to (eventually) publish a book on the subject, I’m not trying to skip steps.

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

Keep putting yourself out there not just in what you write, but where you place it and then pay close attention to how people react. Writing is no longer a one-way communication. We get to see – in real time – both what people respond to and how they respond to it. Use those reactions like a fisherman uses a fish finder: “Oh, some readers are here. I’m going to stay here for a bit and maybe even try some different bait to see what they like to nibble on.” If there’s no reaction after a couple casts, move to a different spot or change your bait. I’m going to stop with this metaphor otherwise the idea of hooks is going to become too literal.

Also, find people who are doing the kinds of things you want to do. Reach out to them not because they’ll have a job for you (they won’t), but because they’ve walked the path you’re hoping to travel. Ask them about the steps they took. I have yet to meet a writer or creator who doesn’t light up upon receiving a note from someone who says, “I really like the work you do. I think it’s inspiring. I’m trying to build my own writing practice/business and was wondering if you had just a couple of minutes to answer a couple of questions I had.” This helps writing feel a little less lonely, and it also gives you a chance to learn from the experience of others.

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

You mean, “What’s the best investment you’ve made in your writing life other than becoming a founding member of Suto Science?” right?

Here are a few:

Dan Blank’s Substack “The Creative Shift” and his book “Be The Gateway,” which is all about using connection as the most important metric for your success as opposed to fixating on sales, clicks or followers.

I love Austin Kleon’s perspective on creativity and how to go about making things in our current world. I recommend “Show Your Work” to anyone working as a creator.

Finally, writing classes have been invaluable to me, specifically the creative non-fiction classes I’ve taken through Hugo House in Seattle and Sackett Street here in New York. Not only did I learn skills as I sought to branch out from sports journalism, but it also provided me with a chance to understand how an audience reacted to what I’d written. This part is essential because while writing is a solitary activity, writing as a job requires you to learn how a reader’s reaction can be affected by everything from tone to pacing to structure. You have to learn how to make your words have a specific effect on readers, which is exactly what the feedback in writing classes provides.

10. You’ve landed a bestselling badge for the work you do here on Substack — what were the ways you grew your Substacks? Anything out of the ordinary, or surprising to you when it comes to translating your journalism experience to this platform as you have over 4 years of experience working in newsletters?

The majority of my growth on Substack came in my first three months when people who were familiar with my work as radio host at 710 ESPN Seattle and writer migrated to my newsletter. The primary way I migrated this audience to “The Dang Apostrophe” was through my Twitter account (at the time, Twitter wasn’t quite so hostile to Substack links). I also did a variety of radio shows and podcasts to promote my newsletter.

Here’s the graph over time:

This graph shows that I have had limited success expanding my following after starting the Substack. I think this reflects two things:

1. My subscriber count is tied to my profile as a Seattle sports writer, which hasn’t vanished but isn’t growing, either, as my role in the market has shrunk;

2. I’m hesitant to commit too much time growing this publication because I don’t want my writing business to become more tied to Seattle sports. I’d prefer to build out other aspects now that I’m living in New York.

“Grudgery” does have room for growth, and that’s where I want to be spending (much) more of my time in 2026.

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

Two things, one of which is very practical, the other is painfully niche.

1. “Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less” is a how-to guide providing specific tactics for making your writing more accessible and more memorable to digital readers. Everything from formatting to word choice. It’s awesome.

2. “Prince Among Thieves” by Prince Paul. This is a slightly obscure hip-hop concept album from 1999. It’s billed as a soundtrack, but there wasn’t actually a movie ever made. I bought the album when it came out, but recently repurchased it on vinyl. When I listened to it again, I came to a realization: The whole thing is structured as a single uninterrupted narrative. It starts at the end, with a skit where the narrator explains he has been shot. He then says he has to go back three weeks earlier to explain what happened. The story then commences with each song serving as a scene told in present tense then the narrator comes back to walk you to the next scene (exposition). For whatever reason, this has helped me to “see” a story laid out and for about two months now, I’ve been listening to the album a few times a week while taking a break from writing.

Grudgery

A newsletter dedicated to the dark art of staying mad and the relief that comes when you learn to let go.

By Danny O'Neil

👋 About Danny O’Neil, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Danny O’Neil was born in Oregon and is the son of a logger. He covered Seattle sports for 20 years writing for two different newspapers, one glossy magazine and then hosting a daily radio show for eight years at ESPN 710 AM. He now lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he continues to write about sports while also working on a book about revenge, resentment and how he got over what had been a life-defining grudge. You can subscribe to his work at dannyoneil.com or grudgery.com or email him at danny@dannyoneil.com.

📚 Editor’s Note: Making a Living From a Slower Creative Life

Louise Tilbrook is the creator of The Everyday Knitter, a bestselling Substack built around slow living, knitting, and the kind of creative work that’s meant to be savored rather than rushed.

In this interview, Louise shares how she’s built a sustainable creative business by combining Substack writing with digital pattern sales — without chasing trends, social platforms she doesn’t enjoy, or business models that didn’t actually fit her life. She talks openly about perfectionism, the quiet power of community, and why “done is better than perfect” has been one of the most important lessons of her creative career.

This interview is a reminder that making writing your job doesn’t have to look loud, frantic, or optimized for every algorithm. Sometimes it looks like knitting in the afternoon, writing in the morning, and building something steady, human, and enduring over time.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Louise Tilbrook

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

In my dreams I have a cosy shed in my garden, stuffed with yarn, journals and snuggly blankets. In reality my days find me on my laptop at the kitchen table or working in our tiny spare room. More likely I haunt a couple of local coffee shops and feed my caffeine addiction at the same time as catching up on emails.

2. Your Substack The Everyday Knitter is such a cozy space for people who want to learn how to knit. How did you come up with the idea?

I learned to knit as a child and came back to it in my 30s. As a mum to two very lively toddlers I needed something creative to call my own — and something that I could stash on a high shelf out of reach. I started blogging at about the same time and then for many years ran a busy Facebook group for knitters as I loved the community aspect of the craft and the way it genuinely brought people of all backgrounds together. My Substack work came about as a natural extension of my that and I have been thrilled to find so many like-minded people here who appreciate all things to do with slow living and yarn.

3. What does “making writing your job” look like in your world right now? Is writing a vehicle for you to share your knitting with the world, or are there other writing projects you want to embark on?

I make half of my income right now from writing on Substack and half from selling digital knitting patterns online. I have always preferred to communicate via the written word, supplemented by photography and while I have huge admiration for those who churn out effortless Instagram reels that’s definitely not my natural medium. For years I have been saying I am going to write a book — based on my 10 years of running online crafting communities — and this is my year. Part diary, part anecdote based it is a gently humorous look at being a knitter in the wild.

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

That done is better than perfect. It is far better to get something published and out into the world that you are 80% happy with, rather than having a folder stuffed full of drafts that you spend years trying to polish to perfection.

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

I’m a morning person so most of my writing happens before lunchtime. I always start my day with a huge cup of coffee in bed and it’s a standing joke that no one will get any sense out of me until I’ve drunk it. Both my sons are now away at Uni so my days are largely my own but even so I struggle to stick to any kind of routine. My mornings generally involve a walk outside in nature, a coffee shop and writing — although not necessarily in that order. My afternoons are usually reserved for knitting where I work on designs in progress or that need getting ready for publication.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” when it comes to putting your creative passions out there?

It started ironically enough shortly after my dad died suddenly. I had taken the step a few years ago of walking away from my previous career as an NHS healthcare scientist in pursuit of something with less stress and was working part-time while developing my online business. I was struggling to find the courage to ditch the paid work completely though. Then my dad died and I had a moment of ‘if not now, when?’ I had to leave my part-time job in order to support my mum and I never went back.

7. What’s something you tried that didn’t work in your creative or personal life — and what did you learn from it?

I spent a lot of time (and money) in the early days developing an online ‘signature course’ as that was advised by a lot of the business gurus out there. I soon learned that it was just a huge time sink and that without taking on additional staff to deal with the admin it was unlikely to help me turn a profit. Definitely a lesson learned in that what works for one type of business won’t necessarily work for yours. And that just because some Instagram gurus say something — it doesn’t make it true.

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

I’d love to say that I have a plan but it’s pure serendipity. Most of my opportunities and collaborations have come about by chatting to people in the comments of Substack posts or on Instagram with fellow creatives.

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

Setting up my website to take direct pattern sales was an investment in time and money — but it’s been so helpful in diversifying my income and ensuring that I’m not reliant on a single platform.

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

Over my 10 years of blogging I was fortunate in that I had built a sizable email list. I brought that list across to Substack — at the time that was around 6,000 people and it has doubled in size over the last 2 years organically. Substack really does help with discoverability and the algorithm seems to be very good at showing people more of the kind of content they are likely to subscribe to. Interestingly I assumed that most of my paid subscribers would be those who had been on my email list for a long time. But I’m increasingly surprised (pleasantly so) at how many new readers jump relatively quickly into a paid membership. Partly I think because the audience on Substack is more accustomed to a paid model — perhaps more so than those who are used to more of a Facebook style community.

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

I’m currently obsessed with how society views cosy crafts and hobbies — and how people’s perceptions are gradually changing over time. Whenever the mainstream media writes about knitting it is normally in the context of it being ‘not just for grannies’ or ‘the new yoga’ — both trite lines that have been trotted out many times over the years and that do little to reflect the real-life diversity of the craft. I love seeing people’s perceptions turned on their head and helping them to see that knitting is for everyone. And that acquiring a few post-apocalyptic life skills is always a good idea!

👋 About Louise Tilbrook, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Louise is a knitter, designer and writer who prefers the slow life. Powered by caffeine and bossed about by cats she shares tales of every day knitting life from her home in a rural village near Cambridge in the UK.

Everyday Knitter

A cosy, creative community for yarn lovers, celebrating all things warm & handmade. A space to chat about what makes you happy, brings you comfort & what’s on your needles. Join us for weekly chats & inspiration. Grab a coffee, cosy up & tap to subscribe!

By Louise Tilbrook

📚 Editor’s Note: Building a Writing Life That Actually Fits

Olivia Wickstrom writes Petal + Hearth, a bestselling Substack about French living, building a creative business, and designing a life you can fall in love with — and that intention shows up in every part of her work.

In this interview, Olivia talks candidly about living and writing in the south of France, the cultural whiplash between American and French approaches to work, and the systems that quietly made her freelance career sustainable. There’s no posturing here. Just real insight into what actually worked — from agency partnerships to Substack Notes to letting go of platforms that didn’t respect her time or talent.

If you’ve ever wondered what “making writing your job” looks like beyond hustle culture and empty advice, Olivia’s answers are thoughtful, grounded, and refreshingly honest. This is one of those conversations you bookmark and come back to.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Olivia Wickstrom

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

My desk is in Nice, France. I’m originally from California, but I’ve been calling the south of France home for a little over two years now.

We live in an apartment on the fifth floor of a 1920s building, and I work from a corner of the living room. From my window, I can see our small terrace and the courtyard below — all the neighbors with their laundry hanging out. As I’m writing this, my cat is meowing to go outside, but it’s a bit too cold right now.

I love my desk. When I first met my partner, this was his apartment. Then it became ours. I honestly don’t remember what this corner was before I moved in. But our desks now face each other across the living room.

He’s doing a PhD, and on days he doesn’t go to the lab, we sit together, have lunch together. It’s chill. Sometimes we’re bad influences on each other, and I get no writing done. But for the most part, it works.

The space feels cozy — like home. A bit crafty, a bit Mod Podge, if that makes sense. It feels like me. I have photos of family, little affirmation sticky notes. If I draw a tarot card in the morning, I stick it somewhere close so I can look at it throughout the day.

That’s my desk!

2. At your Substack Petal + Hearth, you write about being an American living abroad in the South of France. What’s the most surprising thing about this change?

The most surprising thing is definitely my relationship with work versus the French relationship with work. I’m a workaholic compared to the French people I know.

The French value quality of life differently than Americans do. For them, being wealthy doesn’t equate to having a lot of money — it equates to having a good life. There’s a part of me that’s so grateful to live in this culture where I’m learning to slow down and live more intentionally.

At the same time, I’m grateful for my upbringing in America. I think it’s what made me so entrepreneurial, what gave me such big goals. The American dream, the culture of “work hard and you can achieve anything” — I’m so lucky I have that in me.

There’s huge differences between the two cultures, and I value both. Embracing the duality is something I’m continuously learning to navigate as I live here.

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

I love this question, because I think it changes throughout a writer’s career.

Writing full-time has been my job for six years now. I’ve been a freelance writer, and while I’ve absolutely loved it, I’m now trying to make Substack writing my full-time job. That’s my 2026 goal.

I love freelancing, and I think I’ll always take on select clients. But since discovering Substack, I’ve just fallen in love with it — the community, the type of writing I get to do.

My freelance career is very technical. I mainly work with AI clients. So it’s fun to write about such drastically different topics on my Substack — things like building a creative business, what I’ve dubbed “main character energy,” and my journey as an American living in France.

Leaning fully into that creative work is what “making writing your job” looks like for me in 2026.

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

Partner with agencies.

If you want to get into freelance writing, but don’t want to deal with the hustle of finding new clients every week, content agencies are the answer. A lot of them bring on contractors to handle overflow work or as a core part of their team.

Agency clients have been my main source of work since 2022, and it totally changed the game. I rarely have to hustle for new clients anymore. There have been slow periods where I’ve had to rebuild my roster, but typically my agency partnerships last a year or more.

Bonus tip: if you want to work with agencies, try applying to their full-time job listings. If an agency is hiring a copywriter, reach out and say, “Hey, I see you’re hiring. Would you be interested in an interim solution who can start right away while you look for someone full-time?”

That approach has led me to a few big contracts.

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

I typically work on client work first thing in the morning. As I said, it’s pretty technical, so I like to get it off my plate early.

Then I move on to my Substack writing — notes, posts, whatever’s on the schedule for the day.

I recently started going through The Artist’s Way. I have a founding membership here on Substack where, among other things, we read a book together every quarter. It’s our current pick, so I’ve been doing morning pages.

I have a feeling that morning pages are going to bring me back to more fiction and creative writing. Long term, I’d love to play around with that more — I even have a dream of doing an MFA someday.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

I’m going to go back to the agency comment I made earlier — because yes, that was the moment.

Before I partnered with my first agency, I had a couple of clients. I was working five hours a week here, a $1,000 retainer there. It was great, I was getting by, but I was still working part-time at a co-working space as a community host to supplement my income.

When I landed my first agency partnership, it was consistent enough — and I was making enough money — that I could go full-time. That’s when I realized, wow, I can actually do this.

That was the big moment for me. It’s why I talk about agencies so much, and why I call them the best-kept secret in freelance writing.

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

Upwork.

I was a very early user — I started an account back in 2015 I think when I was still in college, just trying to pick up a few side gigs. When I started freelancing full-time, I still had a profile, so I tried to find work there again.

I found that the clients typically don’t value freelancers at all on Upwork. There was no relationship. I felt like I was expected to turn things around 24/7, with no boundaries.

I decided to completely walk away from those kinds of platforms. The quality of work and the value they place on freelancers just wasn’t there.

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

My first couple of years, I got every single client through cold outreach. I pitched to over 1,500 agencies, business owners, influencers — anyone. My partner and I did the math: for every 200 pitches, I got one project.

Then I turned to LinkedIn. At the beginning of 2024, I started being really active there, and over the last couple of years, all of my clients have come from the platform — either through people posting that they were hiring, or people seeing my work and reaching out directly.

I like to call LinkedIn a living portfolio — potential clients can look at your posts and think, “Okay, this is what I could expect if I worked with them.” Every writer should be on there in some capacity!

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

I went to college and studied writing and English literature, but I haven’t done any retreats or taken any courses since then. I’ve just learned through trial and error.

When I started freelancing, I was an okay writer, I think. But I’ve improved so much — and I’m still improving — because I just keep doing it. It takes time and practice. The more projects you complete, the more people you work with, the better you become.

One last plug for agencies: you typically work with editors, and working with editors has made me a much better writer. They challenge me, push me, and encourage me to question my ideas. That’s one of the things I’m most grateful for.

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

In the beginning, I got lucky. I recommended a writer I liked who happened to have a huge Instagram following, and she recommended me back. As she started gaining subscribers (she was new to the platform) I was getting subscribers too because she was recommending me. So at first, I thought recommendations were the secret to growth.

Then it completely plateaued.

I started leaning into Notes, posting twice a day. That’s when things started to blow up. Not right away — it took a couple of months — but I had one viral note, and after that, I consistently started getting more engagement.

I rotate between three content pillars in my notes: my life as an American living in France, building a creative business, and what I call “main character energy” — the idea that living your dream life is accessible and possible for anyone. My own life is proof: a history of addiction, getting sober five years ago, and now living my dream life in France (you can read more about that here).

As for what actually works on Notes: the most casual, impromptu, least polished posts tend to do the best for me. Sometimes I’m giving tips, sometimes a behind-the-scenes look at my life, sometimes just a short, quippy thought.

Photos always do well too — of yourself, or little moments from your day.

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

Substack. I’m obsessed with Substack.

I’ve talked about this in my notes and in a recent live I did, but my quality of life has improved so much since I joined this platform. I’m so inspired by the writers here, and I’m continuously blown away by the creativity I see.

Being on Substack isn’t just about writing — it’s about reading and enjoying other people’s work, too. Since becoming an active member (key word, active!), my reading life has improved so much. There are incredible writers here covering everything from book recommendations to seasonal living to the craft of writing itself.

Actually engaging with this community — not just posting, but reading, subscribing, participating — has made my life a lot better.

Petal + Hearth

Stories, guides, and rituals from an American living in France. Here to help you romanticize the everyday and step into your 💫 main character energy 💫

By Olivia Wickstrom

👋 About , This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Olivia Wickstrom is a freelance copywriter from California, now living in the south of France. She writes Petal + Hearth, a Substack about French living, building a creative business, and designing a life you can fall in love with, wherever you happen to be.

📚 Editor’s Note: One Healing Habit at a Time

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by health advice — too much information, too many rules, too much pressure to overhaul your entire life — this week’s GuestStack interview will feel like a sigh of relief.

Dr. Laurie Marbas writes about health the way the best teachers do: grounded, humane, and deeply practical. A double board-certified physician and the creator of the bestselling Substack The Habit Healers, Dr. Marbas is less interested in dramatic transformations and more fascinated by the quiet power of consistency. Her work centers on a deceptively simple idea: healing doesn’t come from intensity or perfection, but from small, repeatable habits that compound over time.

In this conversation, Dr. Marbas shares the patient story that reshaped her entire philosophy of care, how she learned to teach complex medical concepts through drawings in medical school, and why Substack became the natural home for her work.

We also dig into how The Habit Healers grew, what surprised her about reader behavior, and why clarity and trust matter more than urgency — both in medicine and online writing. If you care about building something sustainable, whether that’s your health, your creative practice, or your community, this interview is required reading.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

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

My desk is wherever my body and brain can work together. Sometimes I’m on the floor with my laptop, sometimes at a standing desk, and sometimes in our RV as we travel around the country. I write on my MacBook, always near sunlight. That part is non-negotiable. I don’t drink coffee, but I almost always have Earl Grey tea nearby. I need light, space, and a little freedom of movement to think clearly. The setup is simple, flexible, and intentionally a bit unconventional, much like the way I approach health and habits.

2. In one of your recent Substack Live interviews on How to Increase HRV (great tips in this, by the way!) you talked about small habits add up to big healing. What was the inspiration for starting your community on Substack, The Habit Healers?

The inspiration came from a patient I worked with years ago who changed the way I thought about health forever. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, and convinced she couldn’t do anything “big” to take care of herself. The only thing I could convince her to do was walk to the end of her driveway the moment she got home from work. She pinky-promised me in clinic she would do it.

That tiny walk became a walk around the block. Then it became a mile. Over time, other small changes followed. She added more vegetables to her meals. She started paying attention to her sleep. Her relationships improved. Before long, she lost 60 pounds and reversed her type 2 diabetes. Nothing about her healing was dramatic or extreme. It was cumulative. That patient sealed the deal for me on the power of habits.

I’ve always loved teaching and making health education accessible. Long before Substack, I was writing for Livestrong, local newspapers, running my own newsletter, and sharing on YouTube and social media. The throughline has always been the same: translating complex health information into something people can actually use.

I had heard about Substack for years and loved the idea of a thoughtful, reader-driven community, but I didn’t launch my own until January 6, 2025. It started as The Healing Mindset, but it quickly became clear that habits were the real foundation of everything I was writing about. That’s when it became The Habit Healers. I wanted people to see that healing isn’t something reserved for the lucky or the disciplined. It’s something built, quietly and steadily, from the inside out, one healing habit at a time. That is why my mantra is, “You are one healing habit away.”

3. What made you decide to share your professional knowledge with online communities here on Substack?

I decided to share my professional knowledge on Substack because it allows for depth and nuance in a way most platforms don’t. Medicine is often reduced to soundbites and rigid rules online, and that rarely reflects how health actually works in real life.

That instinct to teach started in medical school in the late 1990s. I was in a dual MD/MBA program while raising three young children, caring for a sick grandmother, and managing a household with very little time. When a professor handed us a two-inch pharmacology packet and said it covered the next two weeks, I knew traditional studying wouldn’t work. I started drawing cartoons to encode the information so it would stick. I ended up teaching my classmates using those drawings, and once I saw it help them, I was hooked. That approach eventually led me to publish seven books, including the Visual Mnemonics series, while still in medical school.

I’ve also written many ebooks for patients over the years, so writing on Substack feels like a natural continuation of work I’ve been doing for more than 25 years. In clinic, I translate complex medical information into something patients can actually use. On Substack, I do the same thing at a larger scale. Teaching and medicine have always gone hand in hand for me.

4. What’s one lesson you wish someone had told you earlier about staying healthy?

I wish someone had told me earlier that consistency matters far more than intensity. Most people think health improves through big efforts, strict rules, or bursts of motivation. In reality, the body responds best to small, steady signals repeated over time. The counterintuitive part is that doing less, but doing it more reliably, leads to better outcomes than pushing hard and burning out.

Health doesn’t require perfection or constant self-discipline. It requires designing your environment and routines so the healthy choice is the easy one. Once I understood that, both personally and professionally, everything shifted.

5. When it comes to sitting down to write or plan your Substack content, what does your writing/creative routine like if you have one?

I don’t have a rigid writing routine, but I do have a few non-negotiables. I always write after walking my dog early in the morning. That walk clears my head, and when I sit down afterward, I can enter a flow state almost daily. At this point, writing itself has become a habit.

Most ideas come from listening to patients, readers, or noticing patterns in my own life. I focus on getting the first draft down without polishing. Editing comes later, once the thinking is already on the page.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” when it came to sharing your health knowledge with a wider audience?

There wasn’t one dramatic moment, but there was a quiet realization that kept repeating. Every time a patient understood something complex and said, “No one has ever explained it to me that way,” it reinforced that clarity itself is powerful. When people began writing back on Substack saying they made a small change, stuck with it, and saw real improvement, it felt familiar in the best way. It was the same feedback I’d heard in clinic, just coming from people I’d never met.

The dream started to feel real when I realized this wasn’t about building a platform. It was about scaling good teaching. The same approach that worked one-on-one could work for thousands, without losing its integrity.

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

Early on, I tried to package health advice the way the internet often rewards it: tighter, flashier, and more prescriptive. It didn’t feel right, and it didn’t work. People either felt overwhelmed or dismissed it as just another set of rules.

What I learned is that clarity beats cleverness, and trust beats urgency. When I slowed down, explained the reasoning, and gave people permission to start small, engagement improved and, more importantly, people actually applied what they were learning. The mistake taught me that sustainable impact comes from respecting the reader’s intelligence and real life, not trying to out-shout the algorithm.

8. What’s your favorite interview or article you’ve published on The Habit Healers?

I can’t pick just one, but three stand out for different reasons.

The first is “Want to Be the 80-Year-Old Who Still Hikes? Start Here.” because it centers on a reader’s story, not mine. She shared how The Habit Healers inspired her to start making small changes, including using medicine ball slams as a way to release stress and feel stronger. Writing about her experience was a reminder that this community works when people see themselves reflected in it and realize change doesn’t have to be complicated.

The Habit Healers

Want to Be the 80-Year-Old Who Still Hikes? Start Here.

Sometimes a reader sends a message that stops you in your tracks…

Read more

9 months ago · 870 likes · 19 comments · Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

The second is “Nine Tiny Healing Habits That Lower Your Blood Sugar, Most Under 2 Minutes” which is popular right now because it embodies the very principles I teach. Tiny habits really do swing open big metabolic health doors. When people see how small, repeatable actions can meaningfully affect blood sugar, it shifts both their confidence and their willingness to start.

The Habit Healers

Nine Tiny Healing Habits That Lower Your Blood Sugar (most under two minutes)

A quick video summary of 9 tiny healing habits to improve blood sugars…

Read more

3 months ago · 111 likes · 12 comments · Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

The third is “The Science Shows Four Minutes Is the Perfect Dose to Heal the Heart.” This one highlights a very specific type of exercise, the Norwegian 4×4, and how it delivers outsized health benefits. What I love most is how many readers are actually doing it now and reporting back that they enjoy it. That combination of solid science and real-world adoption is incredibly rewarding.

The Habit Healers

The Science Shows Four Minutes Is the Perfect Dose to Heal the Heart.

A patient walks into a cardiac rehab center in Norway, scared to take a flight of stairs. Twelve weeks later, the same patient is exercising harder than many healthy people half his age…

Read more

5 months ago · 605 likes · 34 comments · Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

Together, those three pieces capture what I care about most: real people, good science, and small actions that lead to lasting change.

9. The Habit Healers is a bestselling publication here on Substack — what were the ways you grew it? Anything out of the ordinary, or surprising to you?

I grew The Habit Healers by focusing first on the work itself. Before worrying about growth, I got clear on what I wanted to write about. Even if you only have an inkling, start there. My focus didn’t arrive fully formed. It narrowed over time as I noticed patterns in what I was writing and how readers responded. That feedback loop created a win for both me and the community.

The next step was being honest about my objectives. Are you writing to teach, to build community, to support your professional work, or to build a business? Different goals require different strategies. Along the way, there will be wins and losses, bursts of momentum and long plateaus. That happens to everyone on Substack.

Consistency is absolutely essential. Readers come to expect you in their inbox at specific times, and that trust matters. Don’t be discouraged if people don’t comment or click “like.” Some of my posts with the fewest visible reactions ended up being my biggest drivers of paid subscriptions.

I also pay close attention to open rates. They tell you which titles resonate and which don’t. One surprising lesson for me was that my readers do not respond well to scary or urgent-sounding health headlines. Those titles caused real stress, and I even lost subscribers because of them. That was the opposite of my intention, and it taught me to align my tone with the emotional experience I want readers to have.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask your readers what they want. I regularly float ideas in The Habit Healers chat before committing to them. If something falls flat, I let it go. If there’s energy behind it, I build on it and watch the metrics closely. That’s how my current recurring series came to life: Mini Medical School and The Habit Healers Live Lab.

On Saturdays, The Habit Healers Live Lab follows a monthly theme where we build a habit together week by week, and paid subscribers receive a full protocol at the end of the month. On Sundays, Mini Medical School breaks down a single body system or function and rebuilds it into a practical operating manual, with the first week free and the rest available to paid subscribers. Both grew directly from reader feedback, and both continue to evolve because of it.

10. What’s something you’re currently obsessed with — and how is it influencing your creative practice?

Right now, I’m obsessed with stripping things down to their smallest useful unit. Not just simplifying for simplicity’s sake, but asking what is the tiny, actionable step that actually moves someone forward today. That curiosity is what led me to start a second Substack, One Tiny Healing Habit, where each day focuses on a single, doable action and Sundays include a short healing meditation. Writing it has been pure joy. It feels playful, focused, and surprisingly powerful.

That obsession is influencing my creative practice by pushing me to respect how real people live. Most of us don’t need more information. We need less friction. Whether it’s The Habit Healers, Mini Medical School, Live Lab, or One Tiny Healing Habit, I’m constantly refining how to teach in a way that fits into real mornings, real stress, and real attention spans. I’m far more interested now in what people can practice than what they can consume.

The Habit Healers

There’s no shortage of health advice. What’s missing is translation. Here, research becomes clear protocols and tiny actions you can implement immediately. Need a place to start? Begin with One Tiny Healing Habit on Substack.

By Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

👋 About Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA is a double board-certified physician in family medicine and lifestyle medicine. She is the founder of The Habit Healers, a bestselling Substack publication exploring the intersection of behavior change, metabolic health, and healing habits through deeply researched, accessible writing. She is also the co-founder of the Culinary Healing community with Chef Martin Oswald, where healing begins with nutritious, delicious food.

Dr. Marbas holds medical licenses in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and runs a concierge medical practice at drmarbas.com, providing personalized, evidence-based care rooted in lifestyle medicine. She currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for Metabite, and previously helped launch the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention and served as its first Managing Editor.

She hosts The Habit Healers Podcast, where she interviews experts and shares practical, habit-based strategies to help people reclaim their health. Dr. Marbas earned both her MD and MBA from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where she received the prestigious Gold Headed Cane Award for excellence in the art of medicine. While raising three young children during medical school, she authored seven books, including the widely used Visual Mnemonics series, which simplifies complex medical concepts through cartoons designed for real-world learners.

A U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the Middle East and South America, Dr. Marbas continues her work as a physician, author, educator, and speaker dedicated to healing through habits. Outside of medicine and writing, she finds her greatest joy in family, travel, and hiking the outdoors around the world.

The Habit Healers Substack:

The Habit Healers

There’s no shortage of health advice. What’s missing is translation. Here, research becomes clear protocols and tiny actions you can implement immediately. Need a place to start? Begin with One Tiny Healing Habit on Substack.

By Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

One Tiny Healing Habit Substack:

One Tiny Healing Habit

One Tiny Healing Habit is your daily 60-second habit: simple, science-backed actions that look small but compound into real transformation.

By Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA

Join the Culinary Healing Community.

Thank you to Carly Ries and Joe Rando for having me on their show The Aspiring Solopreneur to talk about my new book WRITE FOR MONEY AND POWER! Be sure to go and subscribe to them and check out their great work highlighting solopreneurs.

In this interview we talked about…

• How to manage both your time and your energy

• How to grow your Substack (and what I did to grow mine to over $200,000+/year in annual recurring revenue)

• Why so many freelancers undercharge — and how to actually get paid what you’re worth

If you prefer to listen to this episode instead, you can listen here.

📕 Get My New Book Write for Money and Power Now

AMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR, TOP 30 BESTSELLING SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER CREATOR, AND 7-FIGURE WRITER AMY SUTO SPILLS HER SECRETS

📕 get the book now

Still buying the starving artist myth? Burn it — and get paid.

The gatekeepers told you poverty was noble so that you’d shut up and stay cheap. Ready to write your way out of the lie designed to keep you small, obedient, and broke?

If you’ve ever felt trapped in a writing career that pays in “exposure” or pocket change, this is your permission slip to demand more. Much more.

Amy Suto went from broke in the Hollywood trenches to becoming booked out as a seven-figure writer, bestselling author, and creator of a top 30 Substack newsletter. In Write for Money and Power, she shows you exactly how she did it — and how you can too, even if you’ve never made a dollar from your writing before.

Whether you’re a freelancer, a ghostwriter, a novelist, or any kind of writer with bills to pay and a vision to realize, this isn’t another “believe in yourself” pep talk. It’s a real, grown-up plan to make money and grow your personal power with your writing.

If you’d rather make history than excuses — keep reading.

In Write for Money and Power, You’ll Learn How To…

• Crush the lie that artists should be broke with history’s real examples (Michelangelo invoiced like a boss, Shakespeare co-owned the damn theater.)

• Follow Amy’s 12-month roadmap to build your writing empire. This is the exact plan she’d use to go from $0 to building a seven-figure writing empire from scratch.

• Rewire your brain for seven figures. Learn the pricing scripts, positioning plays, and simple mental models that allow you to generate money and power from your words and your laptop.

• Build a ghostwriting business that screams luxury. Trade cheap words for six- and seven-figure projects — and what film schools and gatekeepers are scared for you to find out.

• Grow a paid newsletter empire. Own your audience, write on your terms, and unlock the freedom of predictable, reader-funded income.

• Self-publish like a tycoon. Who needs permission to publish? It’s time to own your work. Consider: Taylor Swift bought back her masters. Brandon Sanderson pocketed $41 million on his self-published book launch on Kickstarter. Now? It’s your turn.

• Scale without burning out. Learn the systems, daily rituals, and non-negotiable boundaries that turn chaos into cash flow.

• Write from anywhere — on the couch, a coast, or a café in Rome.

📕 get the book

Why is this book different?

Because this isn’t “wait your turn” advice — it’s how to skip the line.

Amy shares the exact systems she used to turn her writing into a seven-figure, work-from-anywhere biz.

Still skeptical?

“But I’m a total beginner.” Great. This book exists to make sure you don’t stay one. All you need is the willingness to bet on yourself.

“But no one will pay that much for writing.” Amy’s clients do — and so do so many other clients and readers. This book is here to build your confidence and smash your limiting beliefs so you can step into your power and charge more than you ever thought was possible.

“How do I know this is what I need?” It’s 99 cents. If a dollar feels like too much of a risk to change your writing life, you need this book more than you think.

Add. To. Cart.

If you want your words to fund your life and your dreams — not starve them — Write for Money and Power is your next essential read.

Own your story. Build your empire. Make your writing your job.

Because power isn’t a dirty word: it’s your ticket to freedom.

📕 Get the Book Now!

📚 Editor’s Note: Creative Reinvention with TV Writer Michael Jamin

Michael Jamin has written for some of the most iconic shows on television — from King of the Hill to Beavis & Butt-Head.

But what happens when a seasoned writer decides to self-publish a critically acclaimed book of personal essays, start touring with his solo show, and build an audience on his own terms?

This GuestStack interview is a masterclass in creative reinvention, filled with hard-earned insights on the writing life, the entertainment industry, and what it really takes to get your work in front of readers today.

What struck me most about Michael’s story is how much of it is fueled not by ego, but by a deep desire for ownership and authenticity. He didn’t self-publish A Paper Orchestra because he couldn’t get a deal. He did it because he wanted complete control over the creative process — from the title to the cover to the audiobook’s custom scoring. He set out to prove to himself (and the world) that he could make something great without gatekeepers. And he did.

Whether you’re a screenwriter, an essayist, or just a writer trying to find your voice, this interview is packed with wisdom and permission. Permission to go it alone. Permission to be cringe before you’re great. Permission to call yourself a writer — before anyone else does.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

Subscribe now

✍️ From the Desk of Michael Jamin

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

I’m a TV writer, so my desk changes. If I’m on staff of a TV show, I get an office at the studio. If I’m the showrunner, I might have to do revisions on set, which I don’t enjoy. (It’s usually loud and uncomfortable and you’re under the pressure of doing it quickly.)

When I’m developing a pilot, I’m at my writing partner’s home. He has a small guest house that we use. At the moment, I’m writing from the desk in my house which is ideal because there aren’t a lot of distractions… although I’m conveniently using this interview as a distraction.

2. You’ve had great success in self-publishing your book A Paper Orchestra, an essay collection Vulture called one of the best comedy books of the year. You’ve had an impressive career as a TV writer on some top tier shows, but would love to hear what inspired you to bypass gatekeepers and independently publish your book.

A Paper Orchestra was my passion project. I wanted to show myself and the world what I could write, free from all the studio notes and constraints. Pure creative freedom. I’m a huge fan of David Sedaris and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at what he does: writing humorous essays that have heart and depth.

When I completed the manuscript, I gave it to my agent and he loved it. But he warned me that publishers aren’t looking for the next David Sedaris. Even worse, in this genre (personal essay/memoir/creative nonfiction), “platform drives acquisition.” That meant I needed a large social media following. I told him to give me a year, and I’d get a half-million followers. Of course I was talking out of my ass, but that’s par for the course in any conversation with an agent.

I figured I could get people to follow me by sharing my experience as a Hollywood screenwriter, and it worked. My hope was that if I could come off sounding like a good writer, maybe some of those followers would give my book a chance.

In the meantime, I was learning more and more about traditional publishing from author friends. The things I learned, concerned me. Aside from getting your book sold in brick & mortars (where many readers aren’t even shopping), publishers don’t do much in the way of marketing new authors.

I also learned that I’d probably have limited input on my title and book cover. Covers are so important to me. So many of them use the same color palette and artistic style. Everything starts to look the same. By self-publishing, my designer and I were able to create a book cover we absolutely loved. I gave it a title that elevates the collection, instead of dumbing it down.

I get it. Those creative decisions help sell books, and publishers know what works. But this wasn’t about money to me. I make plenty of money as a TV writer.. I wanted my work to be judged on its own merit. And I wanted a final product that I could be proud of.

Not to mention the audiobook! As a TV writer/producer, I knew exactly how I wanted to produce the audiobook. I also knew a big publishing house would give me a tiny budget. It took a year, but we produced an audiobook exactly the way I wanted. I hired the composer on one of the shows I produced, and together, we created something really special. I gave him only one note: Listen to each story and tell me exactly how it would sound if it were music. And he hit it out of the park. It really turned the audiobook into something unique.

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

In retrospect this is terribly naive, but I thought the world of literature would be different from Hollywood. More elevated somehow. Turns out, they’re very similar. Publishers are businesses just like the studios. They’re looking for books that aren’t necessarily well written, but are easy to market. It’s why celebrities and athletes get book deals, when they probably didn’t even write the thing. What truly surprised me, however, is how low the bar is for success. Most traditionally published books barely sell any copies.

4. What’s your writing routine like if you have one? How does it differ from TV writing to writing something like your book?

I’m most creative in the morning, so I generally use that time to work on my next book. TV writing is a different animal. The hours are notoriously brutal, but because it’s a group activity, it’s ok to let another writer carry the load when you’re creatively exhausted. But that’s the trade-off. Sometimes a writer will take my draft and make it better. Sometimes they’ll make it worse. But 100% of the time they’ll make it less “mine” and more “ours.” This is another reason why, after 28 years of being a TV writer, I wanted to write a book all by myself.

5. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this” and realized writing was something you were truly gifted at?

There’s a story in A Paper Orchestra that’s particularly popular among emerging writers. It’s called “The House on Witherspoon Street” and it recounts my days as a student at Princeton University, where the creative writing program rejected my application not once, but twice. Truthfully, I wasn’t a good writer, but that’s why I wanted to get accepted – so that someone could teach me how to take the loneliest thoughts in my head and express them in a way so that other people could feel what I feel. So that I would feel seen and heard and less alone in the world. (Isn’t that what all writers want?)

I wound up getting an internship at a local radio station where I befriended a 60 year old socialite named Helen. She hosted a call-in show, and somehow convinced me that I was already a successful writer. I played along with her charade because I wanted it to be true. But one day, everything came crashing down. Writers love this story because it’s so relatable and cringy. And yet, it offers hope, because eventually, I became a successful screenwriter.

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

One of the advantages that TV writers have over authors and even feature writers, is the amount of stories we work on. Coming up, I’d often work on shows that produced 24 episodes per year. That’s a lot of stories to come up with! A feature writer or author might only do 1 or 2 stories per year. This is how new writers get their reps in. It’s this repetition that really teaches you how to tell stories. You learn how to identify problems in stories and how to fix them. I always tell emerging writers not to spend too long on one project. Just finish it, then start another. And another. By the time you finish your fifth project, you’ll see how far your writing has advanced. It’ll be so much better than if you had just polished that first project over and over.

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

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to write and perform my stories in front of audiences… just like David Sedaris. (Why does he get to have all the fun?) This is why I took to social media to share my experiences as a TV writer.

In the beginning, I felt like a giant fraud. Yes, I’ve written on a lot of hit shows, but I’m not nearly as successful as Shonda Rhymes or Greg Daniels or Chuck Lorre. I didn’t want people to think I was Mr. Hollywood. To some degree, I felt like an imposter. And when I started selling tickets to my solo show based on my book, I truly felt like an imposter. “Who am I to be doing any of this?!”

After every show, people would ask me for an autograph and photo. Some of them actually flew to see me perform. It was hugely flattering, but part of me wanted to scream, “I’m not who you think I am. I’m just a TV writer!” My point is, it takes a lot to get over this hump of feeling worthy. You have to invent yourself. You have to give yourself permission to be where you want to be. That’s a lot to wrap your head around.

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

If you’re truly serious about writing, my advice is to study writing. Not necessarily from a professional teacher, but from a professional writer. Someone who has the job you want.

Emerging writers sometimes fail to realize they’re not just competing against other emerging writers. They’re competing against people like me. People with lots of experience. Even if your goal isn’t to sell a screenplay. Even if you just want to self-publish a book or stage a play in community theater, we’re still competing for the same eyeballs. Audiences only have so much free time. If you want to compete with people like me, you have to know what we know.

9. “What the Hell is Michael Jamin Talking About?” is your bestselling publication here on Substack — what were the ways you grew it? Anything out of the ordinary, or surprising to you when it came to attracting readers to your work?

I try to post 4-5 times a week on social media. Some of my followers are just curious about my profession, but many aspire to turn pro. For those people, I always mention that I have a Substack on the business and craft of writing. Of the people who say they want my career, only a small fraction of them actually subscribe to my Substack. And even a smaller percentage sign up for the paid tier. They say they want to be a professional writer, but they don’t take the necessary steps to actually make it happen.

This should give you hope. It means that if you’re serious about making a living with words, your odds aren’t as bleak as they might appear.

Here’s something that surprises me even more. When people unsubscribe from my paid Substack tier, they can give a reason. The most common reason people give isn’t price and it isn’t content. It’s time. I post once or twice a week, yet they can’t find the time to read an article or two?!

I think what they’re really experiencing is guilt. Seeing my emails pile up, without taking action on them, makes them feel bad. It’s just easier to unsubscribe. I say this all the time: you can have excuses or you can have results. But you can’t have both.

All of this is tons of work. It just is. But if someone with my experience has to do the work, then newbies have to do it too. Again, off this knowledge that I share on my Substack… all of it began with the intention to do one thing: sell copies of my book, A Paper Orchestra. I’ve spent three years giving away the farm, just so that my book can move up the charts. I’ve sold a lot of books by doing all this. But I can tell you this, if I hadn’t done any of it, I would’ve sold only a dozen copies… all of them to my mother.

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

We’ve been touring with my solo show, A Paper Orchestra which my wife, Cynthia, produces and directs. We’ve done shows in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. We also performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where we took home a Fringe Award. It’s been such an amazing experience and doing these shows has influenced my next book because I’m constantly asking myself, “How can I make this more fun to perform?” That, in turn, helps the writing come alive.

👋 About Michael Jamin, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Michael Jamin has been a professional TV writer since 1996. His many credits include King of the Hill, Beavis & Butt-Head, Just Shoot Me, Wilfred, Maron, Rules of Engagement, Out of Practice, Brickleberry, Tacoma FD and more.

A Paper Orchestra is his bestselling collection of personal essays, which Vulture named “Best Comedy Books of 2024.” He lives in Los Angeles.

✍️ subscribe to Michael on Substack

📚 Editor’s Note: Meet Adam Ming

One of my favorite things about running GuestStack is getting to feature creators who treat writing like a practice — not a personality trait, not a vague dream, and not a lottery ticket.

is one of those people.

Adam is an illustrator, writer, and the creator of Ten Minute Artist, a bestselling Substack built around creative discipline, daily practice, and the long game of making art without burning out or waiting for permission. Before turning his focus fully toward illustration and writing, Adam spent years in the startup world — and what makes his perspective so compelling is how deliberately he applies those frameworks to creative life.

He doesn’t romanticize the struggle.

He doesn’t rely on chaos.

And he doesn’t confuse “being creative” with being scattered.

Instead, Adam treats writing and illustration like something you show up for — consistently, methodically, and with belief that compounds over time.

In this interview, Adam talks candidly about:

• Why he thinks of writing a paid Substack as running a small startup

• How committing a decade to a creative idea changes everything

• What it actually looks like to make writing part of your income — sustainably

• And why clarity about what you’re offering matters just as much as the work itself

If you’re someone who believes creativity deserves structure — and that belief plus consistency beats talent alone — you’re going to get a lot out of this conversation.

Let’s get into it.

– Amy Suto

Editor & Curator of GuestStack

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✍️ From the Desk of Adam Ming

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

I work on a small antique wooden desk that used to belong to my mom. I work mostly on my iPad Pro. It’s where I illustrate my books, and it’s where I write my Substack. I have MacBook Pro on the desk, which these day’s function as a second screen.

Right now, my desk surrounds me with a pile of books on one side, comp titles I’ll be showing a publisher when we speak in a couple of days, and sketches and notebooks on the other. Outside my window, I have the view of a sprawling golf course and a tree where two eagles live – in sunny Malaysia.

2. How did you find your way from the startup world into the art world, and what was the inspiration behind starting your Substack Ten Minute Artist?

In the 7 and 8 years I worked in startups, I had come to realize that the most valuable thing in life was the ability to control your schedule. Reading how Tim Ferriss, Ben Franklin, and Stephen King structured their day, and comparing that to the 18-hour grind of running a startup, it became the life I aspired to.

As I turned 40, I had come to see life as a series of decades. I was coming out of my startup decade and remembered that as an 11-year-old, I had declared out of some divine wisdom that I would be an author and illustrator. I sensed that if I didn’t commit myself to this task in my 40’s, I would regret it in my 50’s. I also realized that a writer means someone who writes, and an illustrator means someone who illustrates. And so I decided I would spend 4 hours a day turning the declaration of the 11-year-old me into a reality. I reasoned that if I did that for a decade, whatever the outcome, I would reach 50 without regret.

For a bit of context, I stumbled into the startup world via the door to the creative department rather than tech. Then, in my pursuit of an illustration career, I applied many of the startup frameworks to building a portfolio, reaching out to agents and publishers, and guiding a peer lead critique group to work in sprints.

The Substack started out as a documentation of this journey. I suppose what made it interesting was my startup approach to illustration life.

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

I write this at the start of 2026. My goals for the year are fresh in my mind. I divide my goals into 3 categories: What, Why and How. The why being the most important part. And the why for my Substacks (I have 3) is to ‘hire myself to do something I love.

Ten Minute Artist is me hiring myself to read and write about the creative practice, and by that I mean the part where we connect with what Julia Cameron calls the Great Creator, in The Artist’s Way.

🎨 Check out Adam's Portfolio

I make half my annual income writing on Substack, and this year, I’m in talks with publishers to turn them into books. How do I make money from the newsletters? – I treat them as products.

My newsletter started as a documentation of my journey, but after 18 months on Substack, I saw that just about every other illustrator with a Substack was documenting their journey, and while so many of them are interesting, there is little that makes any of them stand out.

So I ask myself who the product is for, and what outcome am I able to create for them. Every year (I started writing on Substack in 2021), I get closer and closer to the specific outcome I am able to help readers achieve. And right now, that outcome is to help readers start and maintain what I call an ‘Artist Diary’. A tool that helps you bottle up that daily ‘manna’ of creativity that forms like dew drops each day before it evaporates. I deliver that outcome by automatically enrolling new readers into a 5-day email course about creating an artist diary, then offering them daily ideas and prompts to keep the habit going.

Do I want to write about other things, sure I do, that’s why I co-founded two other Substacks (Art Gym and Art Quest), each designed to give a specific reader a specific outcome.

My readers have been so patient with me through the years as I tried different ways of packaging this same idea. Writing a Substack is like a collaboration with the readers, and the task has been to refine and define an offering that is unique from a competitive perspective, but also delivering some value that comes from a unique space creatively. Writing a paid Substack newsletter is like running a small startup; many of the best practices apply.

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

Invest in yourself. Finding the right ‘teacher’ is a bit of an art form, and there is a lot of free information on the internet, but saving a little bit of money is not worth it compared to the upside of getting expert advice on the exact bottleneck that is holding you back. The one thing you learn in Stanford and Silicon Valley is that almost any problem you might have has already been solved, and so it takes courage and humility to admit your shortcomings and reach out or invest in someone who has the solution. This might mean taking a course, subscribing to a Substack, joining a group, or just cold emailing somebody.

I realize this sounds self-serving, but every high level up in my life has come from collecting good teachers AND implementing what they teach. That and typos are okay (or at least, don’t wait to be a perfect writer before starting)!

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

I get into the studio early. Some days that means 2 am (and I take a nap afterward), today it’s 5:30 am. I do this because writing in the morning for me just comes 1000 times more easily than writing in the evening.

Most days, I make a coffee and get into my armchair, with 6 blackwing pencils and one red pencil. I keep a little trolley nearby with index cards and a few books. I start with morning pages. After the morning pages, I try to write 3 ideas down on index cards. If I can’t find 3 ideas, I dip into the books on the trolley.

Then I write and draw in my artist diary.

This is how I get and develop my ideas.

Then at some point, I sit down at the desk to write and draw. I pull an index card with an idea on it and build it up into a post. Then schedule it for the future. I schedule posts at least one day in advance, and sometimes can have a backlog of 20 posts.

There is another aspect to the writing, which is constantly refining for clarity and consistency, clarity of what’s being offered, and this is in the Bio, the About page, the Pricing page. It feels like a never-ending task. On one hand, delivering a good and consistent ‘writing product’ is important; on the other hand, explaining what that product is, is equally important.

6. Was there a moment you realized, “Wait… I can actually do this”?

Being in a startup has taught me that with enough energy and iteration based on feedback, ideas can become a reality. I believe the dream has to feel real at the beginning. My dream was to have the Substack cover all my expenses in a decade after starting. The first couple of years were about learning. And the next couple of years got us halfway there.

People come to me with their ideas all the time. I ask them, do you want to invest 10 years of your life into the idea, and if the answer is no, I change the subject. If you have an idea and are willing to back it up with a decade of your life, I believe you can make it happen.

I think you need the belief from the outset, or it’s not going to happen. The belief is what makes you do the work to make the dream happen. The moment this became real was writing down the number of subscribers and dollars I wanted to make from my Substack, and then it’s all about methodically making it happen.

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

What I tried that didn’t work was to offer a ridiculous amount of value in an effort to increase conversion rates. It worked in that people did sign up, but what I had done was over-committed on my ability to deliver consistently, and so I needed to dial it back.

What I aimed to do was to deliver something like a 5-day course each month with live videos and worksheets, and I did it for like 3 months, and readers loved it, but I couldn’t keep it up. So what I’m learning is to price accordingly and increase my capacity.

One way I increase my capacity is by partnering with other writers who have strengths that I don’t. And for Ten Minute Artist, I’m focusing on creating a compounding value for a very specific audience to get a specific outcome.

I had to understand my capacity and package that, rather than create an amazing offer and force myself to grow to fill the capacity. Both methods work, but the second method works only for a certain kind of person at a certain phase in life, and that’s not me. I chose this career because it allows me to take afternoons off to spend with my family.

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

I live in Malaysia, and the opportunity to do what I want to do locally is extremely limited. I’ve illustrated 15 books in the past 4 years for publishers in London and New York, and the success of my Substack is founded on my success as an illustrator. There are two ways I have managed to create opportunities in my situation.

I make myself available at virtually any hour of the day, not all hours, but any hour. This lets me appear on podcasts and ‘meet’ potential clients at 12 am or connect with my international peer group at 3 and 4 am.

The other thing that helps is social media as a means to broadcast services and connect with potential clients and readers. The most important aspect of this is to have clarity in communication and respect for the people ‘consuming’ your content, which is not obvious in the beginning.

There is a difference between joking with friends and showing up as a professional and fun to work with.

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

Founding a peer group, and I suppose taking the Make Art the Sells course, where I met the members of the group. The biggest investment was meeting with the group twice a month for years. And from there you learn and adopt the best practices of several motivated and driven artists.

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

Being early, it’s not repeatable, but it paid dividends. Another way to think about it is be around for a long time. Another important thing is to see the other Substacks, especially in your category, as peers and not competitors. The goal is to have 0 competitors. Or be in a category of 1. So differentiate by any means possible.

Understand Substack from the perspective of Substack. Here is the open secret of Substack: the most important thing to Substack is how successfully you convert a free reader into a paid reader.

I think it’s important to start there. Once you know how one reader converts, some of the best minds in Silicon Valley are working on how to get those readers to your Substack. So start there and use the features they create, like notes and recommendations, and whatever other genius thing they think of.

Many writers just write and struggle with what to give for free and what to put behind the paywall. And I think that is really a craft and a skill. It’s not something that can be overcome with more writing or better writing; it’s a business and strategic decision.

And the reason people don’t commit is that they want to keep their options open.

People can’t buy if they don’t know what you’re selling. So you need to know what you’re selling. If your goal is to make money writing on Substack, Substack’s goals are aligned to yours, that’s what I love about the platform.

It starts by thinking of writing as a service and an outcome that you are offering. People have a bandwidth for another Substack subscription, they just don’t have the bandwidth for another Substack subscription that does the same thing as all the others.

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

Right now I’m interested in the idea of an image as described by Lynda Barry as something like a ghost. Simultaneously, I’m becoming increasingly interested in the meaning of symbols and icons as discussed by people like Jonathan Pageau.

As far as I can tell, the creative process is one of beholding images (ghosts) and trying to document the encounter. It’s just a new language for describing a process that I believe we are all already intimately familiar with. As a writer, I’m pleased to expand my vocabulary of speaking about the process like this.

👋 About Adam Ming, This Week’s Featured GuestStack Writer

Adam Ming is a Malaysian illustrator and author who approaches illustration and writing as a daily creative practice. His work blends wit, energy, and a comic sensibility, creating images with a tactile quality that feel alive on the page.

He is the illustrator of multiple award-nominated books, including titles recognized as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard, and has worked with publishers such as HarperCollins, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Hardie Grant, and Andersen Press.

Adam writes three Substack publications: Ten Minute Artist, focused on creative practice and sustaining an artistic life; Art Gym, co-run with Katie Stack; and Art Quest, co-run with Jen Gubicza. He lives in Kuala Lumpur with his wife and daughter, and grew up on Penang Island, where some of the world’s best food hides in back alleys and heritage buildings.

Learn more at adamming.com.

🖋️ Subscribe to Ten Minute Artist

runs the excellent Substack Second Rodeo, and is an author and personal essayist.

In this Substack Live conversation, Lane and I talked about:

• The moment everything changed. How simply saying “I want a creative sabbatical” out loud started a commitment clock Lane couldn’t ignore.

• Identity before permission. Why calling yourself a writer before you feel ready actually changes what becomes possible.

• Leaving a stable job without panic. How Lane built a financial and emotional runway before quitting a decade-long tech career.

• What surprised her most after quitting. The relief, the certainty, and then the harder work of unlearning corporate productivity.

• Creative routines that actually work. Morning writing from bed, daily word counts, and why “output first” matters

• Community beyond the screen. Why live readings, residencies, and writerly spaces fuel long-term creative work.

If you’re standing on the edge of a change when it comes to your writing life — or even just circling it — this replay will help you name what you want and trust yourself enough to take the next step.

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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💡 In our conversation, Ali shared…

• Her writing process for her thriller novel The Raise

• The surprising findings and behind-the-scenes process of marketing a self-published book, and how she elevated her approach to self-publishing

• How to use real life inspiration to write a work of fiction

👀 You can find Ali at:

• Her Substack New Motives

• Her Instagram

• Buy a copy of The Raise here on Amazon

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Amy Suto in the Substack app

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Grace was generous enough to share recommendations for copywriters and how they can earn more in 2026 by adding “content strategist” to their portfolio as well as how to keep freelancing sustainable for you in 2026.

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app:

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If you want to work with Renee on your self-published book, you can contact her at: renee@smokin-hotbooks.com

You can also subscribe to Renee here on her Substack.

Also, you can pre-order Write for Money and Power, my upcoming book Renee has been helping me launch. It comes out January 12, 2026 ✍️

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Amy Suto in the Substack app

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Want to work with Haley? Check out her website or email her at haley@haleyraymond.com and let her know you found her through this Substack live/through me as she’s offering something special to ✍️ Make Writing Your Job readers who are in need of PR help 😊

Want to see Haley’s PR work in action? Follow my personal Substack at Sutoscience.com to get more about the BTS of my book launch, and pre-order my new book Write for Money and Power — which Haley’s doing an amazing job helping me share with writers who want to get more from their writing career.

Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app:

Get more from Amy Suto in the Substack app

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Happy writing!

-Amy