From Beginner to Substack Expert | Interview with Sarah Fay
Learn more about Sarah's struggles and her journey that has made her the expert who is in constant contact with Substack, and get some of Sarah's best advice.
When
launched her Substack newsletter in 2019, she couldn't catch on.She only heard crickets, even though she was a professional writer, professor, and award winning author.
One day, she sat down with the Head of Substack Writer Relations
, who told her what to change.Fast forward to today, Sarah Fay is…
a member of the Substack “Product Lab”.
the creator of two Substack bestsellers.
a private Substack consultant.
She was kind enough to give us a peek into her backend and share these WOW-worthy graphics with me:
12,211 subscribers and 1,362 with $160,000 ARR (annual recurring revenue) is huge!
But that's not what today's post is about.
It's not about money.
It's about getting excited about writing on Substack and the future of the platform!
It's about freedom.
I bet you dream of the freedom that a growing and healthy email list with hundreds of paid subscribers would give you. (A word I feel in my body: slow mornings!)
As a part-time creator, I definitely dream about it!
I was honored to chat with Sarah about her growth at Substack, tips and tricks for (new) writers, and why authors should join Substack.
A few minutes ago, Sarah shared this via Notes:
I also see it in the backend of my YouTube video.
People are interested in Sarah’s “from zero to hero” story and watch our 28-minute interview for an average of 6 minutes.
Here are 5 highlights from this week’s YouTube interview:
#1 Every agent and traditional publisher in America is telling their writers to get on Substack.
I asked Sarah why she decided to write on Substack and she told me:
“The reason why I got on there is why many authors get on there, which is my publishing house HarperCollins said, get on Substack. Pretty much every agent and traditional publisher are telling their writers to get on Substack.”
For Sarah it’s a place where you can sell “backlisted books”.
Meaning any book that's been out for longer than a year.
“My memoir, Pathological, continues to sell only because of Substack. It's just such a wonderful opportunity for writers who are traditionally published.”
#2 Books don’t spark social movement. Substack can.
That's what Sarah's agent told her when she decided to publish her second book, Cured, with Substack.
“It’s called Cured and it's about my full recovery from mental illness and I wanted to really change the way we talk about mental health in the world and in the U.S.”
So her agent said to her: “Get on Substack!”
“And so that's why I wanted to serialize it on there.”
#3 What makes a Substack succeed is the network.
Over the course of her journey, Sarah realized that the network you build on Substack is the key to your success.
“You can't be writing for yourself. You have to write to connect with other people.”
From her perspective as an author, Sarah has learned that writing on Substack is excellent training for making and maintaining contacts:
“We seem to think that writers can just sit in a room and and write, and someone's gonna come discover them. It doesn't work like that. It doesn't work like that anywhere. It's better to get used to speaking to your subscribers. (…) So if you are a thought leader or a business person or a life coach, whatever you might be doing, and you're coming to Substack, the same thing holds true.”
#4 Creatives don't have to scream for attention, like on social media.
One of the reasons so many writers and creatives come to Substack is because it's an opportunity they've never had before.
“To have the kind of internal discoverability that Substack has, to have such a self respecting environment where all writers support each other, the philosophy. There's plenty to go around.”
While authors on Medium (myself included) have the feeling that they have to deliver one story after another, writing on Substack is different.
“The way that we don't have to scream for attention, like on social media. The fact that the algorithm doesn't reward frequency, like on Medium, so you are just churning out whatever you can. That's not writing, that's just churning words out. So to have this opportunity to create a home for ourselves.”
#5 Substack has become a platform for creators.
We can all see and feel it.
Substack has changed from a platform for very good writing to a platform for creatives.
Influencers from TikTok or Instagram are flocking to Substack.
Recently, Substack has also added videos to Notes, Substack's social network, making it more interactive and engaging.
“It's just tremendous how many different types of people are coming over and all the different ways that they're really capitalizing on the features that Substack offers. (…) There's just a lot to explore and people are using the platform in so many exciting ways.”
Wow!
I bet these highlights have already piqued your interest and you want to find out more, because our interview has it all.
✅Wait! Want to win a membership and coaching session?
As you may know, I love to gamify your newsletter experience. So if you leave a comment on YouTube, you could win a 2-month paid membership to my “Online Writing School” (with The Substack School and Medium School) or a 20-minute coaching session!
New VIDEO: From Beginner to Substack Expert🥳 🚀
✅Table of Contents
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:41 Who is Sarah Fay
00:01:38 Why did Sarah Start Writing on Substack?
00:04:02 What Separates Substack from other Platforms?
00:04:28 How did Sarah’s Agent Help Her?
00:06:30 How Sarah became a Hero on Substack
00:08:20 What Makes a Hero?
00:09:08 How did Sarah Refocus Her Newsletter?
00:11:17 Does Sarah Recommend Having 2 Substacks?
00:11:50 What is Sarah’s Business Model?
00:15:32 What’s the Criteria to become a Featured Substack?
00:18:16 What are the Three Tiers of Bestselling?
00:18:26 Sarah's Response to Becoming an Overnight Success
00:18:55 Response to Becoming an Overnight Success
00:19:45 Difference Between Writing a Novel vs Newsletter
00:21:55 What Sarah Thinks of Substack being a Marketing Tool
00:22:23 What does a Private Substack Consultant do?
00:23:51 Sarah’s Advice for Newsletters
00:23:52 Substack Being the Literary Center of the Universe
00:26:00 Personal Questions for Sarah
P.S. Sweets and Baby Theo are also part of our interview! 😻😸
I always say:
“There are two types of newsletter writers. Those who are curious and those who are serious!”
If you say:
“I want to start and grow my writing business and email list healthily and sustainably, in a community with like-minded writers to never feel alone or working in a silo and to connect with Sarah Fay LIVE…”
… then my “Online Writing School” is for you.
It opened its doors about 70 days ago and is already filled with 29 hours of video tutorials, interviews, recordings from our LIVE sessions with
and .You also get access to free resources and ebooks all about making money with your words.
You create this community together with me. Based on your feedback, I create videos and invite guest speakers.
Plus, you can chat with me and aks your questions.
You want this?
It’s super easy.
Just upgrade and become a paid subscriber to join our exclusive community such as
did a few hours ago 🙏🏻:🙏🏻Your support means the world to me as I juggle the roles of a busy working devoted mom, and a passionate solopreneur. Every bit of encouragement fuels my journey as a part-time creator, making a meaningful impact on my daily hustle. 🙏🏻
Many thanks to all paid members! I appreciate you
Upcoming LIVE event - the best is yet to come
LIVE: Award-Winning Author and Substack Expert Sarah Fay - with Q&A
Monday, May 13
Join us at 10:00am PT/ 1:00pm ET / 5:00pm GMT / 6:00pm BST / 3:00am AET
Replay will be available. I’ll share it via email and inside our community.
Wait, please, could you do me a favor? 😘Re-stack and/or share this post, so more people can engage!😘 Thanks!
I get you and I got you! 💖
This post makes me feel good about being on Substack! I question leaving it from time to time, not for any good reason, maybe just from the urge to not be on too many platforms, but thank you Kristina!
Love this! Super encouraging as I’m moving to go deeper in Substack. I love hearing the stories of what people are doing and how they get there!