Substack Writers Salon

I sold only five books in September. Sigh! I’m telling you that up front because I said it on air yesterday, live, to an author who sold 8,131 copies in 2025. I’ve done Amazon ads, TikTok, newsletters, author networking. Everything short of dancing on camera. So I asked Marcin Pilarczyk , who writes from Warsaw and was laid off twice before building a sci-fi portfolio, what I was missing. His firs...

On the latest Substack Writers Salon , I sat down with Tim Jacobs, The Publishing Edge , author of 19 books and more than 450 articles, and owner of JWC Publishing Tim’s path looks a lot like mine. He was the kid reading under the covers with a flashlight. He wrote his first book. He learned the business from the inside, and eventually he started publishing other people’s books. What began around...

I’ve been running my podcast Read and Write with Natasha for almost four years. 123 episodes, which I’m really proud of. I’m consistent and love all the conversations, but I've always been worried about the money and investment I have been putting into it without a return. And until recently, I didn’t even ask listeners to subscribe. I record, send it to my editor, upload it to Buzzsprout, and mov...

This week on the Substack Writer Salon, I talked with Esther Harder, Book Coach , an Author Accelerator –certified book coach who helps memoir writers “with battered passports” tell their outsider stories. She writes Write Like an Outsider here on Substack. Esther and I do similar work, and we ended up comparing notes on how we coach, how we find clients, and a question I’ve been going back and fo...

Recently on the Substack Writer’s Salon , I talked shop with ghostwriter and book coach Jonathan Jordan , founder of Forward Writers and author of Start With Story . I’ve followed his work for years, and I wanted the tactical stuff: what actually moved the needle from scraping together gigs to a six-figure writing business. Full disclosure: I hit that number myself this month. It took me three or...

I recently sat down with Anjeanette Carter , a Substack bestseller, seven-figure copywriter, and agency owner. She showed up with her Fiverr “over $1 million” trophy (it currently holds up her ring light), and I showed up with the hard questions. Here’s what resonated with me: * Marketplaces still work, but not Fiverr. Anjanette built her first million on Fiverr, but she says the nail is in that c...

For writers with a tight budget, will you consider creating a book cover with AI? Listen to this conversation with the founder of BeYourCover This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natashatynes.substack.com/subscribe

When Dale L. Roberts Roberts joined me live, I told him I felt like I was talking to a celebrity. I’ve been following his YouTube channel — Self-Publishing with Dale — for years. He’s a best-selling author, a self-publishing advocate, and one of the few people online who talks about this business without trying to sell you a fantasy. So when he agreed to come on, I did what any good host does: I a...

This week on the Substack Writers Salon , I sat down with Amjad Tadros , four-time Emmy-winning investigative journalist, CBS News’ Middle East producer for over 30 years, and author of the new memoir The Fixer . I won’t give it all away. But I will tell you this: In 1993, Amjad s urvived a US cruise missile strike on his Baghdad hotel. He was covered in glass, alone, certain he was going to die....

When Jane Friedman said yes to my Substack Live invitation, I didn’t expect it. She’s been called “the most trusted voice” in publishing. She’s been reporting on this industry for 25+ years. And me? I’m a small fish swimming in a very big pond. But Jane is the kind of person who supports the underdog. And as it turns out, this was her very first Substack Live, ever. I got to be the one to break he...

Last week, I sat down with a pioneering Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab who’s been shaping conversations about media freedom in the MENA region for over four decades and has authored multiple books. Our conversation was a masterclass in how radically different the publishing landscape is depending on where in the world you happen to be sitting. And, surprisingly, it made me appreciate KDP in a...

It’s not every day you get to chat with someone who’s been doing what you do—but at a much higher level—for 15 years straight. This week on Substack Writers’ Salon , I sat down with Brad Listi novelist, founder of Deep Dive writing courses, and the creator/host of Otherppl with Brad Listi —a literary podcast that has racked up over 1,300 episodes and interviewed hundreds of leading writers, includ...

I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been putting off recording an audiobook for years. My excuses were plentiful: I don’t have a studio. I have an accent. It’s too expensive. I don’t know the technical side. Then I sat down with Gunnar Habitz , a 28-time published author, course creator, and Substack writer from Sydney, Australia, for an episode of the Substack Writer’s Salon. And within an hour, he dis...

This week on the Substack Writer’s Salon, I sat down with Carrie Loranger , a Substack strategist who helps creators and solopreneurs turn one newsletter into multiple income streams. What followed was one of the most practical conversations I’ve had about building a real business on this platform. Carrie Loranger didn’t come to Substack with a grand plan. She came to it after losing everything. A...

When I invited author David W Litwin Litwin to join me on the Substack Writers Salon , I set a very specific benchmark for our conversation: I wanted to leave inspired and liberated (well, at least that’s what he promises in his bio). Good news, I did. David is a designer, writer, speaker, and the author of multiple books, including Creative Success and The Blueprint . He runs a creative agency ca...

This interview is part of my podcast “ The Substack Writers Salon” . You can watch or listen to the complete interviews here. I met Terry Brock a couple of weeks ago at PodFest in Florida, and I knew immediately I had to get him on the Writer’s Substack Salon. Terry is the kind of person who makes you feel both excited and slightly behind. He’s a speaker, author, interviewer, coach, and founder of...

If you’ve ever wondered why posting on Substack Notes feels like shouting into the void, or why managing replies can quietly eat your entire day, this conversation was for you. I went live on The Substack Writer’s Salon with Orel , a full-time solopreneur building WriteStack , a SaaS designed specifically for busy Substack creators who want consistency without burnout . What followed felt less lik...

Happy holidays, friends. I know you’re probably in the middle of holiday chaos (wrapping, cooking, traveling, parenting, all of it). But I’m going to interrupt your festive to-do list for something that might genuinely reinvigorate you for the new year: Automation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit natashatynes.sub...

I went live on the Substack Writers Salon with someone who lives up to his nickname: Gunnar Habitz , the Busy Book Builder . Gunnar has published 28 books so far. He’s also a strategic networker, a course creator, an MC, and a public speaker based in Sydney, Australia. And yes, his latest book is (perfectly) titled Happy Habits . I wanted to know the obvious thing: how does one human publish that...

This interview is part of my podcast “ The Substack Writers Salon” . You can watch or listen to the complete interviews here. “We’re live.” That’s how it always starts. And within 20 seconds, I’m already making a joke at my own expense, because the moment David McIlroy appears on screen, people flood in . “I can’t keep up. I’m sure they’re not joining for me. They’re joining for you, David.” He la...

When Claudia Faith started on Substack last year, she had zero audience. Now she’s sitting at over 11,000 subscribers, teaching writers how to grow their newsletters, build communities, and use AI tools to 10x their output, all while running a healthcare startup. I sat down with Claudia for another episode of the Substack Writers’ Salon to unpack her journey and get practical advice for writers tr...

➡️ Before we dive in, if you want to learn the exact mindset and habits that turn aspiring writers into published authors, you can download it free: The Author’s Code: 10 Proven Mindset Shifts and Daily Habits That Transform Aspiring Writers Into Published Authors In the latest episode of the Substack Writer’s Salon , I sat down with Renee Puvvada who helps successful entrepreneurs build what she...

➡️ Before we dive in, if you want to learn the exact mindset and habits that turn aspiring writers into published authors, you can download it free: The Author’s Code: 10 Proven Mindset Shifts and Daily Habits That Transform Aspiring Writers Into Published Authors If you hang out in the online world of alternative careers and “off the beaten track” life paths, you’ve probably heard of Paul Millerd...

➡️ Before we dive in — If you want to see the exact message that landed me a $20K memoir client, you can download it free : The 5-Minute Memoir Ghostwriting Pitch A few days ago, I hosted a Substack Live with someone I have been following and learning from for a while. Maya Say , a monetization strategist who has worked one-on-one with  two thousand  solopreneurs. She has: * 10+ years of soloprene...

When a prolific creator Anfernee joind me from Singapore for a live conversation last night, I thought I’d get some tips on selling digital products. What I got instead was a complete business model overhaul and a challenge I couldn’t refuse. Anfernee is a full-time solopreneur who earns 90% of his income selling digital products on Gumroad. Let that sink in! Not through his paid newsletter. Not t...