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Your favourite author likely has a newsletter that they use to connect with their audience, announce upcoming events and more. But did you know that a newsletter can turn into a book? Thanks to platforms like Substack, it's happening more and more often. And sometimes, these books really take off.
In this post, we are looking at three writers who took their mailing lists and turned them into traditionally published books, and quite successful ones at that.

Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American → Democracy Awakening

When a historian from Chicago started a newsletter in 2019 to explain the news through historical context, she likely didn’t expect it to grow into Substack's largest newsletter, with millions of subscribers.…

Over decades, fan fiction has become a widely acknowledged (and beloved) genre, providing an opportunity for fans to connect with their favourite fictional universes and likeminded people. From the writing perspective, this term was used to distinguish ‘amateurs’ from ‘professional writers’; and while some stories were read by millions of people, community recognition didn’t translate into any further opportunities for authors.
That’s changed. Thanks to unwavering support of readers and growing interest from attentive publishers, what used to be a purely passion-driven hobby is now a real path into a published author career.
In this article, we’re covering four bestselling authors, whose success in the publishing world started with writing fan fiction.…

Still think self-publishing is a second-best option to launch your book? These three authors proved that it can be the other way around.

Self-published titles have been breaking through for years, but if before it was a rare exception, today it has become a pattern. It’s enough to open any recent issue of Publishers Weekly: you'll find news about self-published authors landing six and seven-figure deals.
What was once stigmatized as a "not good enough" fallback has become increasingly popular – not only as a way to get a major publishing house’s (or a film studio’s!) attention, but as a long-term strategy to maximize revenue and maintain creative control.
In this article, we are looking at authors who did just that.

Andy Weir: from free chapters to a Matt Damon film…

What tools can I use to format my book?
How do I create a book cover?
Where should I self-publish?
These are the questions every independent author navigates before they turn their manuscript into a ready-to-sell title. With a growing number of self-publishing tools, writers have more freedom and agency over their publishing journey than ever, but they also face more decisions at every step of the way.
Choosing the right publishing platform is, arguably, the most consequential: it affects how much you earn per sale, when you get paid, what content you can publish, and how much control you keep over your own work.
This guide focuses on Written: what it offers, what kind of authors get the most out of it, and where it might not be the right fit.

What is Written?…

How do I self-publish a book, and which platform should I use?

This question is relevant not just to new authors, but to established writers and creators who are constantly navigating decisions around how to monetize their writing, add income streams, and maximize what they earn from their books.
In this article, we compare Amazon KDP and Written to help you choose the self-publishing platform that best fits your goals.

What is Written?

Written is a direct-to-reader publishing platform that allows authors to publish and monetize their writing while earning 90% on every sale. Free-to-use and currently available for ebooks, it also supports instant payouts, limited editions and resale, offering additional revenue streams for authors and creators with an audience.…

Over the past several years, the creator economy has transformed the publishing landscape, changing how writers sell books, earn income, and reach readers. With the rise of BookTok and creator platforms like Substack, self-publishing is no longer seen as a fallback for authors who “didn’t make it” in traditional publishing. More writers are successfully marketing and selling their books independently by building audiences on social media instead of relying on publishing houses.
A direct relationship with readers, combined with a growing range of creator tools, allows writers to build sustainable income from their books. That makes revenue diversification an increasingly important topic for authors.…