Optimize for joy and make money doing it.

The Firestarter led me through the woods south of Seattle. We were deep in the thicket with only the sounds of nature for company, and she wasn’t much of a talker.

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How to get paid for writing stories about pop culture's most beloved worlds, from the New York Times bestselling author of DAMSEL

It's not about money. It's about playing a bigger and better game.

How creating your own podcasts, events, and publishing ventures can rapidly grow your audience and supercharge your creative career.

There was only one person who I knew had hired the Firestarter before, and I’d sworn the next time I saw that smarmy rat, I’d kill him.

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How to get the best out of Substack without falling into compulsion

In praise of Maria Bamford's Sure, I'll Join Your Cult's use of tropes to develop an effective message around your memoir and bring your readers into the story quickly.

The point of a roundup is to create community and highlight other people on Substack that your readers should also read to help you grow your network and your publication.

I waited out front of the bar until the next morning, watching angelic and demonic pairs leaving the bar together like old friends.

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My 2024 goal is to better manage my negative dialogue. Here are some strategies to amplify your inner critic and quiet the doubts

How I stopped fighting and learned to fall in love with spending money on ads for my publication.

Dad stumbled down the streets of Plockton, using the lamp posts and edges of houses to steady himself.

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Beast & Snow has been an absolute roller coaster ride of a campaign, and the creators break down how they raised over $80,000 for the first issue.

Today I’m thrilled to bring you the first of what I hope are many columns by my friend, publisher,

I didn’t make it to small towns very often. Most of my work centered on major cities and their surrounding suburbs.

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Making sense of branding is helpful for anyone aspiring to establish a meaningful and memorable online and offline presence.

I do wrapups of all my campaigns, and usually they are positive, but the last one kind of cratered. So, what happened?

My grandmother was a writer. She never went to college, never got an English degree or a BFA or a fellowship at a major university, but she was still a writer.

Working with Stat Significant, we were able to break down the history of the Kickstarter publishing category between 2013 and 2021.