But maybe that’s changing
The New York Times caused a stir recently when, in an article about pandemic book sales, it disclosed that “98 percent of the books that publishers released in 2020 sold fewer than 5,000 copies.”
Though this statistic was shocking to many, it is not new information. People don’t read books — and the ones that do aren’t buying them. To make matters worse, “books that publishers released” are only the “success stories” — those books that scored a hard-won Big-Four publishing contracts — and those are already a small piece of the book publishing market.
According to Bookstat, which looks…
I started my newsletter in February of 2021 with the intention that I would spend the summer building up my newsletter subscribers so that I could publish my gothic novel for them in the fall.
As I tried to figure out the best way to publish my novel, I studied traditional publishing methods and non-traditional publishing methods — that’s when I realized my secret pipe dream of becoming a full-time novelist might actually be possible if I serialized my novels via Substack.
Substack is a platform that allows writers to send free newsletters to their readers — and also to…
I read everything on my phone.
It’s been a slow progression to this point. A few years ago I only read physical books that I purchased — then I went through a Marie Kondo phase and got rid of them all. From there I bought a Kindle and purchased ebooks until I discovered the Libby app and started reading them for free.
Now, my Kindle sits somewhere under my bed covered in the dust Marie Kondo thinks I should probably sweep away — though I admit it brings me joy the way the spider webs crawling up my mantle do…
The author Zogarth started serialzing his novel The Primal Hunter on Royal Road in September of 2020. One month later, in November of 2020, he launched his Patreon page, earned $5,000 in his first month, and quit his day job. Now he’s a full-time author earning $20,000/month from his 3,200 patrons.
As I get ready to publish my own novel as a serial, I reached out to Zogarth to ask for some advice. He agreed to join our Discord server for Substack writers and answer some questions as part of a live conversation. …
Lindsey Stirling dances while she plays the violin. If you haven’t seen her do it yet please watch this video. It is mind-blowing.
Sometimes she is a woodland creature dancing in the forest. Sometimes she faces off against guitar players in a wild west showdown. Sometimes she performs dazzling interludes while spinning in place. Live shows are a feat of performance engineering and her most recent album listens like a lo-fi utopia.
You know what else Lindsey Stirling does? Sells out 20,000 person stadiums. Collabs with artists like John Legend. Runs a very successful YouTube channel with 13 million…
Emilia Rose writes erotica — specifically werewolf erotica — for Patreon. She builds her audience by serializing chapters on Wattpad, then at the end of each chapter she directs her readers to subscribe to her Patreon if they want to read the complete book, then when the book is done she pulls it off both platforms and puts it up on Kindle.
As a result of this strategy, she is earning tens of thousands of dollars a month from her 2,897 patrons on Patreon and an equal sum from her readers on Kindle. As I try to learn more about…
I have a dream…
That one day we will be able to find and follow the writers we love — just like we do on Twitter.
That we will be able to subscribe to those writers — just like we do on Substack.
That we will be able to read their books as they come out — just like we do on Wattpad.
That we will read those books in an app on our phone — just like we do on Kindle.
That we will be able to support our favorite authors financially with subscriptions — just like we do…
I’ve been debating what I want to do with my book when it’s done serializing on Substack. Do I leave it on Substack and require a subscription to read it forever? Or do I put it on Wattpad, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, Kindle Vella, etc. to extend its reach as I start serializing my second novel on Substack?
To answer this question, I know I need to learn a lot more about those platforms and how they work for authors, so I asked around my discord server for Substack writers whether anyone had success writing on those platforms — DC Kalbach…
I recently found myself falling into a tiny cupboard of a bookshop. It was disheveled and eclectic, the very sort of thing one dreams about owning if it were possible to earn a living reading the day away on a Hogwarts set.
Within the stacks I found a small treasure, an old copy of The Three Musketeers (which, despite my obsession with Alexandre Dumas, I still haven’t read), and then behind the counter as I was checking out, I caught the twinkling gaze of an old copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Illustrated by Margaret W. Tarrant and inscribed with…
“What I would love to have is a homeostatic, isometric, self-managing greenhouse that looks into my iris and my retina, takes a blood sample and looks at my breath, checks my toilet assay, and grows the stuff I need for me.”
So says David Gobel who, as co-founder of The Methuselah Foundation, hopes to increase the healthy human lifespan.
He’s onto something, because in 2000 NASA asked him to create the very same thing―but for space colonies. …
