Boy don’t I know that one—don’t we all. I tend to look for outreach that will make me feel good. Generally that is being with my “natural” audience, the people I have written for. It helps if the income from a book is not crucial to you.
I've tried Medium for 2 years, and the results were just too haphazard for me... You never know what's going to work or not, and you need to produce an insanely huge amount of content to earn money there.
Unrelated, but hiring a cover designer was such a great move -- Trailer Park looks AMAZING! I always tell my clients that hiring a pro designer is a must. You don't want years of hard work ruined because of an amateur-looking cover :')
Congrats for your success on Medium. However, there were probably millions of stories written for the one that is performing like yours. Hats down on that. However, I doubt that this is a reliable strategy. For instance, I already had 6 boosted stories (which is a proof that they are probably good), and didn't earn more than $200 on any of them.
That's surprising. My boosted stories generally do really well. Leaving aside the viral article, my other recent boosts include "Ask that guy holding up a diamond ring to be more specific": $420 and "Our expensive, opioid-fueled honeymoon" made $245. "Your Friends are not your personal trauma dumping grounds" earned $347. In general, I am unable to get many boosts. Like, the one I posted yesterday was "If Kids are so resilient, why are so many adults in therapy?" was NOT boosted even though it ought to have been. It's a good story, well-researched and well-cited, had a compelling headline and lede and contained solid personal experience. It has 1.4K claps and 28 comments -- it's a good story! But somebody at Medium decided to decline it. So even though I had one really good viral story, most of my work is much more appreciated by readers than by the Medium curators. People who want to see my work really have to subscribe.
Hi Kristina, thanks for this cool story. You never fail to inspire us. And congratulations to Michelle for such a great success. I found it from a poignant story of Dr Yildiz who closed ILLUMINATION-Curated today but he has a better and bigger vision. I am glad he also likes you and promotes your newsletter on Medium. You are lucky to get promoted by Dr Yildiz 😂 Cheers, from one of your fans! Here is his story if your notifications are turned off on Medium like mine. Maybe you can make a sensational story about it and you are welcome to join our Curated Newsletter as your writing is authentic and raw. https://medium.com/p/6cbfe5399d84
Hi Kristina, I checked and you have writer access to Substack Mastery so please send an intro of your newsletters. We will promote it. This new episode have sufficient info to get you started there. https://medium.com/illumination/substack-mastery-episode-3-introduction-to-leading-substack-newsletters-1d76d085f063 I gave you access to the Curated Newsletter which replaced the old ILLUMINTATION-Curated. The submission guidelines are not ready yet but currently we accept any type of story related to your Substack journey. You are also welcome to attach your videos, podcasts etc to attract readers from Medium. Our goal is to bridge two platform. Yes, I'd be happy to collaborate with you here. I am relatively new on Substack but really enjoying it a lot here. We chat soon. Take good care.
Thank you! I am such an old-style writer that I have read and love all the classic Russian novels like Anna Karenina. But I also love Kurt Vonnegut and the book has several Vonnegut Easter eggs in it.
Hey Emilio, nice reading from you again. Hope you had a great week. Happy it's Fri-YEAY!
So you're feeling it too.
For me it's more that I onyl have very limited time and would love to fnínish my novels and guides... selling would be the fun part for me then :) but of course it's hard
Boy don’t I know that one—don’t we all. I tend to look for outreach that will make me feel good. Generally that is being with my “natural” audience, the people I have written for. It helps if the income from a book is not crucial to you.
I've tried Medium for 2 years, and the results were just too haphazard for me... You never know what's going to work or not, and you need to produce an insanely huge amount of content to earn money there.
Unrelated, but hiring a cover designer was such a great move -- Trailer Park looks AMAZING! I always tell my clients that hiring a pro designer is a must. You don't want years of hard work ruined because of an amateur-looking cover :')
Oh, THANK YOU! I'm working on a new cover for another book tonight. It's not an easy process, as you no doubt know.
https://open.substack.com/pub/pisarev/p/a-walk-along-the-ocean-shore?r=47ypvv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Congrats for your success on Medium. However, there were probably millions of stories written for the one that is performing like yours. Hats down on that. However, I doubt that this is a reliable strategy. For instance, I already had 6 boosted stories (which is a proof that they are probably good), and didn't earn more than $200 on any of them.
That's surprising. My boosted stories generally do really well. Leaving aside the viral article, my other recent boosts include "Ask that guy holding up a diamond ring to be more specific": $420 and "Our expensive, opioid-fueled honeymoon" made $245. "Your Friends are not your personal trauma dumping grounds" earned $347. In general, I am unable to get many boosts. Like, the one I posted yesterday was "If Kids are so resilient, why are so many adults in therapy?" was NOT boosted even though it ought to have been. It's a good story, well-researched and well-cited, had a compelling headline and lede and contained solid personal experience. It has 1.4K claps and 28 comments -- it's a good story! But somebody at Medium decided to decline it. So even though I had one really good viral story, most of my work is much more appreciated by readers than by the Medium curators. People who want to see my work really have to subscribe.
I’m always a sucker for pics of you.
Hi Kristina, thanks for this cool story. You never fail to inspire us. And congratulations to Michelle for such a great success. I found it from a poignant story of Dr Yildiz who closed ILLUMINATION-Curated today but he has a better and bigger vision. I am glad he also likes you and promotes your newsletter on Medium. You are lucky to get promoted by Dr Yildiz 😂 Cheers, from one of your fans! Here is his story if your notifications are turned off on Medium like mine. Maybe you can make a sensational story about it and you are welcome to join our Curated Newsletter as your writing is authentic and raw. https://medium.com/p/6cbfe5399d84
Hi Mike, really? Oh wow. I wanted to join Substack Mastery but didn't know how as I'm already a Illumination writer.
Could you send me a link?
I have 2000 notifications on Medium 😂
And I'm still traveling for work. Will come back tomorrow and then will be a few days away with my family.
Could you add me to the curated newsletter, Mike? Or just tell me how 😊
Would love to cooperate with you here on Substack.
I started my journey in fall 2022 after deciding not putting all eggs in one basket. Also then started my YouTube channel.
Do you still do these video introductions?
Many 🙏
Kristina
Hi Kristina, I checked and you have writer access to Substack Mastery so please send an intro of your newsletters. We will promote it. This new episode have sufficient info to get you started there. https://medium.com/illumination/substack-mastery-episode-3-introduction-to-leading-substack-newsletters-1d76d085f063 I gave you access to the Curated Newsletter which replaced the old ILLUMINTATION-Curated. The submission guidelines are not ready yet but currently we accept any type of story related to your Substack journey. You are also welcome to attach your videos, podcasts etc to attract readers from Medium. Our goal is to bridge two platform. Yes, I'd be happy to collaborate with you here. I am relatively new on Substack but really enjoying it a lot here. We chat soon. Take good care.
Super, thanks! Talk soon
Love it! Congrats Michelle!
Hey Naush, guess where I am 😆 in Denmark. Sonderborg and today Romo
Congrats on the book, Michelle! The cover is fabulous, as is the Tolstoy riff.
Thank you! I am such an old-style writer that I have read and love all the classic Russian novels like Anna Karenina. But I also love Kurt Vonnegut and the book has several Vonnegut Easter eggs in it.
Hi Kate, love it too.
I always think Michelle's stories are so relatable and I want her to win!
Love the cover could be from a NYT bestselling book 📚
Thanks for engaging means a lot for Michelle and me
Happy weekend 🎈
Writing is definitely easier than selling!!!!!!!
I’m a born writer but I struggle with marketing. Two very different skills. It’s a new world, of course, so we have to learn.
haha how many units have you sold so far, Nia?
Do you have time for a book launch club or something like this to promote it further?
Or are you writing your next book?
Think our online course webinar will be in September. Maybe Patrick can join (with our baby) too
Definitely not enough sales yet. Working full time means I have limited time to do something additional so I need to work out what has to go!
So true
Do you have a book you’re working to sell?
Hey Emilio, nice reading from you again. Hope you had a great week. Happy it's Fri-YEAY!
So you're feeling it too.
For me it's more that I onyl have very limited time and would love to fnínish my novels and guides... selling would be the fun part for me then :) but of course it's hard
Thanks God bless you and your family
And the books just go a new wishlist!
I’m always thrilled to make someone’s wish list!
Hi Maurice, that's nice to hear. Wonderful. Happ to kick-off my Hype Yourself Guest Post Summer with Michelle's mind blowing stats and insights.
It's nice buying a book from someone you like (even if you're not reading it and then giving it to another friend). We support one another this way.
I bet Michelle will be super happy.
We need to TALK about our books more often :)
> We need to TALK about our books more often :)
Definitely! :-)