Resources for writers on Substack

I’m often asked by aspiring writers (or friends of aspiring writers) to talk to them about the profession. It’s hard to express how I feel about these requests without sounding like a jerk, and I will probably write about it in a future post, but in the meantime I have done the next best thing, which is to compile a list of resources available on Substack.

Unsurprisingly, people interested in writing are flocking to Substack. (It is a text-based platform, as opposed to Pinterest or YouTube, after all.) Not just writers and teachers of writing, but people in all parts of the business from literary agents to copyeditors to book cover designers to marketers. There’s more information (or maybe opinion is more accurate) here on the breadth of the publishing business than you could find in my day.

Now, you’ll also find a number of folks on Substack with little real life experience who present themselves as experts—as they do on any social media site—so caveat emptor.

(This brings me to the issue of whether you should pay to read anyone’s Substack: it’s absolutely an individual choice. I only pay for one Substack at the moment and it’s research for my work-in-progress. I find I can suss out what I need (mostly) from what’s posted before the paywall descends, but that’s me… Many of us wish Substack had the option of paying for individual posts, rather than complete subscriptions, but this option does not exist. Yet.)

But I’ve found some folks who consistently produce interesting stuff, and so here is my incomplete and unscientific list of Substack creators or articles you might want to read if you’re hoping to break into publishing or a debut author, as of this particular point in time:

Looking for an agent? Invaluable insight from a literary agent, with a list of resources in the second half.

How do you know if your manuscript is any good? Audrey Knox’s advice to screenwriters is directly applicable to aspiring novelists. It’s tough love but you will only get better by seeking outside opinion and learning what to do with that advice.

What’s it like to record the audio version of your book? Literary agent Kate McKean’s post on the subject felt very real to me. (Her Substack is a great resource for anyone trying to understand how to break into publishing.)

Understanding book tours in the current zeitgeist by Anna Sprout-Latimer, one of the founders of Neon Literary, is a great resource for any writer wondering if they’re going to get to go on tour to promote their book.

What to do if every publishers passed on your proposal by Anna Sprout-Latimer was reposted by a lot of people on Substack, meaning it was well-regarded and worth a read.

Tempted to contact a writer and ask her/him to read your manuscript or give you advice? Please read this slightly ranty post by Leah Konen first. Then read this second post by Leah filled with advice you need to consider before you query.

If you’re looking for advice on how to promote your book, Publishing Confidential by Kathleen Schmidt provides insights about how book promotion is changing, more so than anywhere else. She’s like the Cassandra of book promotion, which means sometimes she’s out of step with what other promoters say, but she’s always worth considering. I never skip her posts. Never.

Another great nuts-and-bolts newsletter on book promotion: Jeff Yamaguchi’s Book Publishing Brick by Brick. Almost like having a book promotion checklist. Invaluable.

Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal is honest talk about what to expect in the book publishing industry. And honest talk is hard to come by in this business.

You’d be smart to subscribe to my friend novelist Andrea Bartz’s Substack Get It Write. Andi, a former magazine writer, knows all about the hustle, and she frequently shares her thoughts on how to promote your book along with interviews with novelist friends, queries that worked from said novelist friends, and general writing tips.

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JUNE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Three books coming out this month by auto-buy authors (for me): MURDER TAKES A VACATION by Laura Lippman comes out June 17th. It sounds like a slight departure for her, a mystery novel with a 60-something protagonist contemplating this next, last phase of her life—could’ve been written for me. Then, a week later, EL DORADO DRIVE by Megan Abbott is released. A story about women involved in a pyramid scheme in Detroit, no one writes about the double-edged sword of female friendships like Abbott. And third is KING OF ASHES by S.A. Cosby, a tale about a family that runs a crematorium running crossways with the local crime kingpin. Shawn is a master storyteller and he never disappoints. The book comes out June 10th.