How Publishing on Substack Can Change the Definition of Success

And the writers we need to pave the way

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Just some of the writers I'd love to see serialize a novel and/or memoir on Substack: (top row) Carmen Maria Machado, Haruki Murakami, Scott Smith; (middle row) Jean Hanff Korelitz, Kiley Reid, Leslie Jamison; (bottom row) Anthony Swofford, Joyce Carol Oates

People in every profession measure success in different ways. For some, it’s their salary. For others, it’s making a difference. For still others, it’s being appreciated by their coworkers and boss.

Success taps into the six primal human needs:

• certainty,

• significance,

• variety,

• connection,

• growth, and

• contribution.

Let me explain:

• money or a tenure-track job = certainty (safety)

• a “bestseller” label and winning awards = significance (feeling like you matter)

• media attention = variety (the thrill of being interviewed, featured, invited to read/speak, etc.)

• hearing from readers = contribution and connection

• writing full-time = growth (writing six to eight hours five days a week or every day will push you to the limit as a human being; it’s like being a performance athlete, except at a desk)

There’s nothing wrong with any of these.

But here’s the truth about traditional publishing and why it often doesn’t lead to success.

What Makes a Book a Bestseller, Prize-Worthy, etc.

Fame and Media Attention

1.     The author is already famous and/or has a massive readership

2.     The author or the work gets a whole lot of publicity, deserved or otherwise

Timely Novels and Memoirs

These usually tap into some sort of zeitgeist moment, e.g., the Black Lives Matter movement created an overdue interest in books and writing by black authors and journalists—and rightfully so.

Brilliant Novels and Memoirs

A rare specious, indeed. These are those surprising novels and memoirs that are so well-written and compelling that we can’t help but read them.

Without these, it’s tough to have blockbuster success.

How Substack Can Offer Success and Perhaps Meet Our Core Needs

Substack’s pay structure and design offer unprecedented opportunities for writers to fill these core needs.

(**Note: I do not work for Substack or have any affiliation with them other than enjoying the experience of publishing here for the past year and a half, and I now see enormous potential for my colleagues and fellow writers. Promise.)

On Substack, we

• control our work,

• can attract a devoted fan base without going through the gatekeepers first,

• have more agency in our careers,

• influence traditional publishing, and

• can potentially make a good living.

Making Substack Work for Us

It will come quicker and to greater effect if we create two shifts in the literary landscape:

1. Get our best writers to serialize on Substack, and

2. rethink the stereotypes of authorial success.

1. Get Our Best Writers to Serialize on Substack

When our best writers start serializing on Substack, an even larger community will support each other and give readers great literature. I’m amazed by how supportive the writing community is on Substack. Imagine how established authors could support writers early in their careers if we’re all on here together.

Serializing on Substack doesn’t exclude traditional publishing as an option afterward—far from it. On Substack, you own the rights to your work and can take your serialization off the platform anytime. It’s not the same as publishing portions in media outlets, e.g., magazines and newspapers.

2. Rethink Success

Rethinking what we consider authorial success will arise from a cultural shift that sees serialization on par with traditional book publishing, which it was during serialization’s heyday in nineteenth-century England.

Successfully Serializing on Substack

Here are the three ways we, as a collective of writers, can be successful on Substack—none of which is being talked about as much as it should.

1. Understand the Genre You’re Writing In

If you don’t study how the best writers approach literary fiction or memoir or fantasy or even fan fiction, it’s unlikely you’ll succeed long-term. We have to respect those around us and who’ve come before us by reading them and paying close attention to the magic they create and have created.

This is particularly important when it comes to serialization:

• Currently, the term “serial fiction” is being incorrectly equated with the serialization of longer works. Posting unrelated short pieces—nothing wrong with that or doing so—isn’t serialization; it’s posting short stories, flash fiction, or essays.

• Many of what are being called serial novels aren’t—some are 10,000 to 20,000 words. A novel is, by definition, long—more than 80,000 words.

2. Take Advantage of the Zeitgeist

In this case, serializing is a tremendous opportunity. With a traditionally published book, you’re looking at one-to-two years from the final deposit of the manuscript to the publication date. It’s impossible to know what will be topical or of interest in the future. But serialization has speed on its side. I don’t recommend drumming up a novel or memoir (or any other book) to cash in on a movement or moment, but if you already have something in the works and it’s timely, well, now’s the time, and serializing is your way of doing it.

3. Become a Good Writer

Yes, you have to be a good writer. You shouldn’t need to manipulate readers into subscribing. If you know the tools (including punctuation and grammar) and how to use them, readers will be interested in your serialization.

Three Mistakes to Avoid While Serializing on Substack

1. Sloppy writing

Writing is sloppy when writers don’t know 1) the craft and 2) how to revise and edit.

2. Plotless serials

As the critic Adam Kirsch said when asked about the potential for serialization to attract readers, “Since the loss of compelling plot is one of the things that readers most often complain of in the modern novel. It might be a salutary discipline for novelists to have to go back to Dickens, or even James, to learn how it’s done.” I’m not sure Henry James was a master at plot, but I agree that we have to return to the masters to learn how it’s done, which is what we do here at Serialize.

Unless you already have a captive reader base, a character-driven novel may not work in serialized form. Character-driven novels typically aren’t gripping. They do, however, suck you in and make you feel like you’re with someone real, which is a transcendent experience. But they often work best when you have the full book in your hand or on your tablet.

3. Novels and memoirs without a character arc

Characters have to change. That’s what readers want from every narrative, fiction or nonfiction: human transformation. We want to see characters and memoirists grapple with the core needs and come out different on the other side. (More on this in a later post.)

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Of course, Substack isn’t perfect, but I even like what others see as drawbacks. For example, I love that there’s nothing to design and we’re given only the most rudimentary style options. Then we can focus on the content and our writing. That’s what counts.

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I can save you years of flailing around on Substack, trying to figure out the platform, and not getting any traction. I’ve seen the most amazing results in the people I’ve worked with: journalists, psychologists, people in tech, culture writers, creative writers of every genre, healthcare practitioners, scientists, those just starting out, and those that have been on Substack for years.

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I share with you the advice the folks at Substack gave me and all my experience as an author at HarperCollins; the creator of two bestselling, featured Substack publications; a former advisory editor at The Paris Review; and a creative writing professor at Northwestern University.