✍️ “I was producing work that could actually help people.”
Brick on building a service-driven Substack and making the most of your farmers market hauls.
📚 Editor’s Note: Writing to Help Your Readers
Brick | farmers market girl 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
✍️ From the Desk of Brick
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
👋 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.
