✍️ Diary of an Author: Find Your 1,000 True Community Members as a Modern Author
How to build a community around your writing as a Modern Author in the digital age!
Happy Sunday! In today’s newsletter you’ll learn…
✍️ What it means to make a living as a writer
☕️ The concept of finding your 1,000 true community members
😎 How writers can take their piece of the $104 billion Creator Economy
📖 3-Minute Story: How to Find Your 1,000 True Community Members as a Modern Author
Years ago, I read the essay 1,000 True Fans. I was inspired by the simple idea that any creator who can find their 1,000 true fans can make a living from their art.
The essay goes on to elaborate why 1,000 is key. As an artist, you just need to create enough work each year that you can make $100 from each of your true fans directly. Then, you can make enough to earn a living ($100,000 in this model) and keep doing what you love — no day job required.
While I love this concept, I think it needs a refresh:
Modern Authors need 1,000 true community members, not just fans.
These community members are readers, subscribers, and supporters of your work. But instead of being passive fans, they also participate in sharing your work with others, and create a lively community around what you’re making for them.
They’re not just fans: they’re contributors.
Creating a community is more sustainable than merely looking to amass fans. In the digital age, it’s more beneficial to see your relationship with your readers as a two way street, supported by give-and-take. Your readers get the value of a community as well as the enjoyment of your work, and you get a metaphorical garden that grows with their support.
It’s a joint effort where both sides care for an online space that represents shared interests and values.
This is what I’m hoping to do with this Substack: I have dreams of growing this newsletter into a place where all writers can come together and share ideas as we all navigate the digital age together — and nerd out over our favorite books and coffeeshops!
Communities don’t happen overnight, of course.
To create your own community, everything starts by just showing up as a writer each and every day. Saying hello! 👋 and being vulnerable with your readers. It’s something I’m practicing every time I hit send.
With that said, there are many ways to make a living as a writer. You can sell your writing in the form of a book. You can rent out your writing skill and become a freelance writer. You can do slam poetry about your cat and make money performing— the options are endless.
Creating a community around your work isn’t a strategy that will make sense for every writer, but it is a great way to build real relationships with your readers if that’s something you want to prioritize. Fostering a community will also allow you a greater stake in the Creator Economy.
If you want to join the $104 billion Creator Economy, here’s how to start building a community around your work:
Create gathering spaces for your readers. This could be on a social media platform like Twitter (sorry, X), a Substack like this one, or it could be a Discord channel or a live stream. Pick a place where you like to show up regularly, and invite your community to join you.
Get visible and build in public. Share your intentions for your community, and stay in the spotlight where new community members can find you. If you were out in the world and looking for a community like the one you’re building, where would you look? Be visible there.
Be mission-driven from the start. Why do you want to start this community? Your mission should come from a place of passion. I love the writer’s life, and I’m passionate about sharing how to live better with fellow writers. Whatever you’re building a community around, you need to place your “why” front and center so it can attract likeminded community members.
Stay consistent. I’ve been posting regularly for almost two months now on this new iteration of my newsletter, and the growth has been amazing. I’m grateful that you chose to join me on this journey — I look forward to sharing more with you!
It’s a gift to be a part of a digital era where we can connect meaningfully with new writers around the world.
Thanks for being here — I hope you have an amazing start to your week!
✨ 2 Quotes to Inspire You
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller
✍️ 1 Journal Prompt
What communities have deeply impacted you as a writer and creator? What does community mean to you? In what ways can you foster a community for others? What’s your “why” behind building a community?
Feel free to share your reflections with other Modern Authors in the comments:
💻 New Blog Posts on AmySuto.com
🎙 New Diary of an Author Podcast Episodes
6 Steps for Rewriting Your Work (5 Min)
📸 Photo of the Week: Back in the U.S. After Europe!
I just got back from my European summer! Spending a week in NYC to meet with new and potential clients for my work as a memoir ghostwriter, and catching up with friends.
Follow me on Twitter or Instagram for more!
⚡️ Upcoming Wednesday Edition: Best AI Tools for Bloggers
This Wednesday, Diary of an Author subscribers will get an exclusive issue about…
✨ How to use AI to help you speed up your blog researching and outlining
🧪 Use my favorite ChatGPT prompts and turn AI into your personal SEO consultant
📚 The power of blogging and why you should still invest time into creating great blogs!
Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,
-Amy