Do you need a writer 'brand'?
Welcome to the first episode of my new podcast exclusive to The Hyphen: Creative Coffee with Emma Gannon. This is a Substack-only podcast focusing on writers and their creative process, discussed over a laid back coffee. My first conversation is with the brilliant Farrah Storr, head of writer partnerships at Substack who runs Things Worth Knowing, a newsletter always full of interesting essays, tips and guest columns that reaches over 40k readers weekly. I wanted to interview Farrah for multiple reasons — one being that our newsletter readers have a big crossover on this platform (according to the geeky stats) so we thought our readers would enjoy this collaboration, and plus Farrah genuinely cares about writers having success on Substack. She works behind the scenes at the company and runs her own (thriving) newsletter on the side. She is also, like many of us, really over the endless onslaught of short form content. “Writing suddenly got rechristened ‘content’. And ‘content’ felt just wrong. I didn’t want listicles. I didn’t want as much ‘content’ as you my optic nerve could handle. I didn’t want another ‘hot take’. I wanted to connect. I wanted nuance. I wanted honesty and I wanted points of view that were perhaps not always reflected in the mainstream press. But more than that, I wanted a community.” — Farrah Storr From the decades working at the top in women’s media, she is really in-the-know on how to grow a writer’s brand, how to stand out and generate ideas, how to spot trends, and plus she is generous in sharing hidden gems. I am someone who is very bad at doing prior research before going anywhere so I use Farrah’s newsletter as a place for quality recommendations. For example, the most useful things to pack in your suitcase, or all the best spots to visit in Paris that haven’t yet been TikTokified, or the best UK cosy staycation places that resemble that cottage in The Holiday. She also writes in tandem with cultural moments, such as how her and husband are the real “One Day” story when the Netflix series aired, which then got picked up as a big mainstream media piece a few days later. Reminder: This new podcast is only accessible to my Hyphen members, I made it for you and your support means it will remain ad-free. The premise is super simple: coffee and chat with a guest on the topic of creativity. If you want access to all upcoming episodes, then make sure you’re signed up as a paid subscriber to The Hyphen. A housekeeping note: Most people voted for these podcast updates to be included in the Sunday Scroll emails you already receive instead of dedicated posts — so I will honour that for any new episodes! For the other half of you who wanted weekly updates instead, make sure you keep an eye on the app if you want to be notified on every new post I publish. ♡ The Creative Coffee podcast series is going to be pretty cosy and intimate for the most part (I wanted it to be something I could make from home) — however: when I was offered the wonderful chance to host a live recording of the podcast in central London (in a library room in Conway Hall no less!) I, of course, said yes! Thank you so much to everyone who attended the event, it was so lovely to see you in person and raise a glass to the magic of the Substack community. This episode is slightly different in ~vibe~ to the other episodes (because we are literally on stage; my usual set-up is me at home in a massive jumper) — but I absolutely loved it, it felt so special to bring you along with me as I recorded the first one. Enjoy! Links to a few things discussed in the episode: * Farrah’s book The Discomfort Zone * Farrah’s Substack Things Worth Knowing * Farrah’s post about how gardening helps her grow * My books A Year of Nothing and The Success Myth * Farrah on BBC Radio 5 live speaking about a lack of friendship * May Sarton’s journal: At Eighty-Two published in 1997 * My post experimenting w
