I’ve been on a Substack binge lately. I’m making this post because I’ve found that the authors I work with often don’t know what Substack is, and they’re subsequently losing out on tons of valuable resources for learning about traditional and self-publishing, writing, querying agents, and more.
First: Substack is like a blogging platform, newsletter, Patreon, and Twitter all combined into one. Writers can get paid by readers for the articles they produce, and while anyone is welcome to create a Substack, the platform has been successful in attracting best-selling authors, including Roxane Gay, Salman Rushdie, Sherman Alexie, Brandon Taylor, Catherynne Valente, and Patti Smith.
What I have personally found even more valuable, however, have been the Substacks run by publishing industry professionals, writing teachers, and literary agents. I’m constantly finding resources that I’m directing clients to, so I thought I’d compile some of the most useful ones here. Without further ado:
On the Craft of Writing
CRAFT TALK is run by a memoirist, Jami Attenberg, who discusses the writing life and hosts a summer writing challenge.
Submission Sunday compiles magazines, writing contests, and other places to submit your writing to every other Sunday.
Counter Craft discusses everything from how literature lasts to dialogue tags.
Writing instructor Jeannine Ouelette has tons of writing prompts, craft essays, and a 12-week essay-writing course for paid subscribers.
Today You Will Write contains plenty of tips and encouragement.
Erica Dayton doesn't offer advice, but she creates writing projects that can inspire others, including one where she’s writing 100-word stories for 100 days in a row.
On the Business of Writing
Fantasy writer Russell Nohelty talks about how to build a writing career.
Self-published author Simon K. Jones has a resource on writing serialized fiction.
Neon Literary Agency has a full anthology of publishing advice. I love this Substack because they're very honest about how publishers, writers, and agents all communicate with each other.
Kate McKean has been a literary agent since 2006. Here she talks about topics like writer-agent agreements and how to think about your writing career.
Writing coach Courtney Maum has tons of insights into the publishing process, including this musing on comp titles.
Sarah Fay interviews other writers on the art and business of being a Substack writer.
Kathleen Schmidt is a publishing vet with decades of publicity experience, and she writes about topics like the inner workings of publishing and Goodreads.
Anne Trubek's glossary of publishing terms.
On Reading
Joel J. Miller is a former vice president of editorial and acquisitions at a HarperCollins imprint, and he writes about publishing sometimes—but what I like best are his cozy pieces about the reading life, like this one on building a personal library and this essay on bookmarks.
Book Post features book reviews written by well-known authors.
One of the best American writers of all time (no big deal), George Saunders, shares deep analyses of short stories.
As I find more great resources on Substack, I'll keep updating this list. I find the same industry questions are asked in writers' forums all the time, always answered haphazardly by strangers on the Internet. More and more, I find myself directing writers to platforms where actual, verifiable industry professionals are offering advice and insight.
Happy learning!