How to Write for a Living

David McIlroy
  • 5.0 (4)
  • How To
  • Updated Semiweekly

Writers should get paid for doing what they love. Let's talk about how to make that happen. thedavidmcilroy.substack.com

  1. 408: She drew cartoons through medical school - now she has over 90,000 Substack subscribers (with Laurie Marbas)

    1d ago

    408: She drew cartoons through medical school - now she has over 90,000 Substack subscribers (with Laurie Marbas)

    Season 4, episode 8 is here! Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA started her Substack on January 6th, 2025. She had three kids in medical school, served in the Air Force, built and sold a telemedicine company, and spent 25 years as a physician before any of that. This conversation went everywhere, and it was brilliant. What we covered: - How Laurie got through medical school with three small children by drawing cartoons, and why she still remembers everything she drew 25 years later. - What lifestyle medicine actually means in practice, and why Laurie thinks putting it at the centre of medical education would change everything. - The story of a patient who reversed type 2 diabetes by walking to the end of her driveway, and what it taught Laurie about where real change actually begins. - Why the biggest psychological mistake people make when trying to improve their health has nothing to do with willpower. - The one question Laurie thinks every Substack writer needs to answer before they write a single word. - How she grew a Facebook page from 9,000 to 83,000 followers in a matter of months and what that did for her Substack subscriber count. - What she thinks is coming next, including three literary agents who have already come knocking. You can find Laurie and the The Habit Healers on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 9m
  2. 407: He wanted to be an author at eight - now he writes for Penguin (with Kern Carter)

    May 24

    407: He wanted to be an author at eight - now he writes for Penguin (with Kern Carter)

    Season 4, episode 7 is here! Kern Carter knew he wanted to be an author at eight years old. What followed was about as non-linear as it gets: self-published novellas, indie publishers, Penguin, Scholastic, ghostwriting, a short film, school tours, and more books out before the year is done. This one covered a lot of ground. What we discussed: - How Kern deliberately treated becoming an author like a trade profession, and what that mindset meant for the steps he actually took. - Why he self-published his first two books before ever approaching a publisher, and what those books were really for. - The surprising reason it can be easier to sell a $15,000 ghostwriting service than a $30 novel, and what that tells you about how readers actually think. - What Kern learned about book marketing the hard way at his very first launch, and how he changed his approach for every book since. - The moment during a school tour in Manitoba that he says he will never forget for as long as he lives. - Why getting a traditional publishing deal is not what most aspiring authors think it is. - The advice he’d give specifically to first-time authors that he would not give to anyone else. You can find out more about Kern on Substack at Writers Are Superstars and on his website. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    42 min
  3. 406: Becoming a world builder (with Nathan Baugh)

    May 17

    406: Becoming a world builder (with Nathan Baugh)

    Season 4, episode 6 is here! Nathan Baugh has wanted to write fantasy his whole life. He just needed a bank account crisis in Spain to finally make him do something about it. These days he has over 100k Substack subscribers, a successful ghostwriting agency, and a novel coming out in a couple of months. We talked about all of it. What we covered: - The moment in Spain when the bank account started going in the wrong direction and writing went from something Nathan loved to something he urgently needed to figure out. - Why fiction writing and newsletter writing share a flaw that almost nobody talks about, and how cutting the beginning of your work tends to fix both. - Nathan’s take on where self-publishing is headed now that anyone can produce eight books a month with an AI tool. - What querying agents actually taught him about his first book that he couldn’t have learned any other way. - The world building advice his editor gave him that sounds almost too simple, but saved him a serious amount of pain. - Why the most attractive ways to make money from writing are often not the fastest, and what he’d tell someone starting from zero right now. - What his close rate on new clients tells him about whether his prices are set correctly. You can find Nathan and his newsletter World Builders on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    46 min
  4. 405: He deleted every social media account and built a thriving community anyway (with Seth Werkheiser)

    May 10

    405: He deleted every social media account and built a thriving community anyway (with Seth Werkheiser)

    Season 4, episode 5 is here! Seth Werkheiser has been on the internet for 25 years. He’s watched the whole thing evolve, from blogging about local bands in Pennsylvania to running email campaigns for record labels to eventually walking away from every major social platform completely. He’s not bitter about it - he’s just found a better way. What we covered: - How Seth went from third generation musician to spending 25 years helping other creative people get their work out into the world. - Why the early Zoom calls he hosted for his subscribers were full of genuine fear, and what that told him about what people actually needed. - The surprisingly simple approach he uses instead of social media to get other people talking about his work and sending him subscribers. - What he thinks happens to all that time and energy you get back when you stop trying to crack the algorithm every day. - Why he believes community has almost nothing to do with the software you choose to host it on. - The one thing he says you should be doing with your old content that almost nobody bothers to do. - Where he wants to take Social Media Escape Club next, and the very specific kind of event he’s planning that you probably won’t see coming. You can find Seth on Substack at SOCIAL MEDIA ESCAPE CLUB. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  5. 404: Telling stories about the things no-one wants to talk about (with Not Exactly Ana)

    May 3

    404: Telling stories about the things no-one wants to talk about (with Not Exactly Ana)

    Season 4, episode 4 is here! Not Exactly Ana didn’t know what Substack was when she joined. She wasn’t a seasoned writer or a marketing expert. She was a 26-year-old Bulgarian woman who had just walked away from her cleaning job in Austria to chase something she’d always wanted. Eight months later, the results speak for themselves. What we covered - How Anna built close to 3,000 subscribers without a strategy, a niche playbook, or any prior knowledge of the platform. - Why she chose to write about mental health and personal stories rather than leaning on her psychology knowledge for something safer and more distant. - What she says to writers who are afraid to publish something real, and why a little fear before you post might actually be a sign you’re doing it right. - The daily Substack routine she’s built around genuine connection rather than growth metrics, and what that looks like in practice. - Her digital magazine for independent writers, where it came from, and the much bigger vision she has for where it goes next. - A book she’s currently writing about her own past, one that takes a lot of courage to put into the world. - The one piece of advice she left us with that had nothing to do with writing at all. You can find Anna on Substack, where you’ll also find a link to the first issue of her magazine. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    30 min
  6. 403: How to access your main character energy (with Olivia Wickstrom)

    Apr 26

    403: How to access your main character energy (with Olivia Wickstrom)

    Season 4, episode 3 is here! Olivia Wickstrom didn’t set out to build a Substack. She set out to make affiliate income from a cottagecore blog. What happened instead was a slow, sometimes frustrating, eventually life-changing discovery of what the platform could actually do for a writer willing to experiment. We covered a lot of ground in this one. What we discussed: - How Olivia’s Substack started as something completely different and gradually found its identity across three very distinct content pillars. - The nine months where almost nothing happened, and the specific change in her Notes strategy that finally broke the plateau. - Why she sometimes makes her best, most actionable content completely free, and what that counterintuitive decision does for her paid tier. - How she’s driving major Pinterest views to her Substack and what she’s still trying to figure out about it. - What romanticising your life actually looks like in practice. - The cultural differences between American and French attitudes to work that have subtly started to change how she thinks about her own life. - A brand new year-long series she’s announcing here for the first time, and why it might be her most personal project yet. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    39 min
  7. 402: Things that passed me by (and why you shouldn't let my next event pass YOU by)

    Apr 12

    402: Things that passed me by (and why you shouldn't let my next event pass YOU by)

    Season 4, episode 2 is here! This one’s a bit different. No big interview, no deep dive into strategy, just a Saturday morning coffee chat, a new recurring segment, and some thoughts on who the Substack Growth Sessions are actually for. What I covered - The brand new “Things That Passed Me By at the Time” segment makes its debut, starting with a TV show I somehow ignored for decades. - Why ER feels nothing like a typical hospital drama, and what it shares with a certain political series beloved for its fast-talking walk-and-talk scenes. - The Substack Growth Sessions early bird price closes on Monday, raising the $37 ticket up to $50 for the week leading up to the event. - What you actually get across the five days, including live Q&A, downloadable resources, and access to a private community space. - A straight answer on who these sessions are genuinely for and who should probably give them a miss. - Why I’m running this as a week-long event rather than another one-off webinar, and whether I’ll ever do it again. - What comes after the five days for anyone serious about putting the work in. 👉 Ready to join the Substack Growth Sessions? Grab your early bird ticket for $37 bby TOMORROW. Only 50 total spots available in total. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min
  8. 401: Welcome to Season Four (let's build it together)!

    Apr 5

    401: Welcome to Season Four (let's build it together)!

    Welcome to Season Four! This is the first episode of season four, recorded live on Substack for the first time. I explained why I’m experimenting with live podcast episodes, asked for your feedback on what you want to see this season, and broke down the two big things happening in April: the Substack Growth Sessions masterclass and the Catalyst Club accelerator cohort. In this episode: - Why I’m asking for your feedback on podcast segments and guest ideas instead of just deciding everything myself - The three reasons I’m running the Substack Growth Sessions in April - How the masterclass week will show you strategies instead of just telling you about them - The early bird pricing deadline that expires mid-April with only 50 total spots available - Why Catalyst Club members get exclusive pre-sessions before each masterclass day, plus two 60-minute one-to-one strategy calls and access to all future cohorts and events throughout the year - The five-week accelerator that starts immediately after the masterclass where you’ll put everything you learned into practice with a group supporting each other - How I’ve somehow become energised by going live despite being an introvert, and why I think the real-time interaction creates a more visceral connection than pre-recorded content ever could This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedavidmcilroy.substack.com/subscribe

    16 min
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5
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About

Writers should get paid for doing what they love. Let's talk about how to make that happen. thedavidmcilroy.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    David McIlroy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    72
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © David McIlroy
  • Show Website
    How to Write for a Living