How to Write for a Living

David McIlroy
  • 5.0 (4)
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  • Updated Semiweekly

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

  1. 3d ago

    416: An honest look at what literary agents actually want (with Louise Buckley)

    Season 4, episode 16 is here! Louise Buckley Literary Agent has worked just about every side of books, from the shop floor at Waterstones to commercial fiction editor at Macmillan to literary agent. She’s on a mission to demystify an industry that can feel like a locked room, and she was refreshingly honest about how the whole thing actually works. If you’re interested in pursuing the traditional publishing route, this one’s for you. What we covered: - Why Louise says being an author is harder than being an agent, and the reason your manuscript sits at the very bottom of her pile for reasons that have nothing to do with quality. - The first question she asks about every single submission, and why a book that’s merely good is no longer good enough to make it through. - What she really thinks when authors haven’t heard back in three months, and the story everyone tells online that quietly warps your expectations. - The query letter red flags that get an immediate no, including one well-meaning move authors make to stand out that backfires completely. - Whether you actually need a social media following to get a fiction deal, and how the answer changes the moment you cross into nonfiction. - The uncomfortable shift happening inside publishers right now that means editors can love your book and still not be able to buy it. - Her single golden nugget of advice for anyone hoping to land an agent, which comes down to one thing you should be able to do before you send a word. You can find Louise’s publication here. 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

    416: An honest look at what literary agents actually want (with Louise Buckley)

  2. Aug 2

    415: Scrubs, self-publishing, and making the coolest thing possible (with Shea Serrano)

    Season 4, episode 15 is here! Shea Serrano taught middle school in Houston for nine years before freelancing turned into New York Times bestsellers, TV shows, and a Substack pulling in serious numbers. Along the way he built his own fake publishing company and figured out exactly where the money in books actually goes. This one covered a lot of ground (and a fair bit of Scrubs!). What we covered: - How Shea went from freelancing for anyone who’d have him to the moment top-tier editors told him he could make a real career out of it. - The single most important lesson he took from working with Bill Simmons that still shapes everything he makes. - The royalty statement that made him realise something was very wrong with how book money gets split, and what he did about it. - Why he started selling essay collections directly through Gumroad and how that became a whole publishing operation. - His theory on why certain shows and albums imprint on us so deeply, and why nothing quite replaces them. - What he looks for in every movie, show, and book he consumes, and the horror film this year that delivered it perfectly. - His honest take on the new season of Scrubs, what it got right, and the one thing he wishes had been different. You can find Shea at Good Movie 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

    415: Scrubs, self-publishing, and making the coolest thing possible (with Shea Serrano)

  3. Jul 26

    414: How to pitch your novel in 2026 (with Karin Gillespie)

    Season 4, episode 14 is here! Karin Gillespie got her first book published by Simon & Schuster in 2004, and has spent the two decades since working across traditional publishing, small presses, and self-publishing. She’s studied publishing deals obsessively, teaches writing, and now breaks it all down on her Substack. This was packed with genuinely useful advice, especially for anyone who wants to pursue the traditional publishing route. What we covered: - Why Karin says getting published is not the finish line most authors think it is, and the sobering statistic about debut novelists that proves it. - What publishers are really doing for your book behind the scenes, and the parts of marketing that quietly fall on you. - Whether the size of your audience actually matters when a publisher decides to take you on. - The honest pros and cons of traditional publishing, small presses, and self-publishing from someone who’s done all three. - The exact structure of a query letter that works in 2026, and the one sentence that agents often read before anything else. - How many queries you should really expect to send, and why obsessively personalising each one might be a waste of your time. - The self-published book that sold 170,000 copies on its own before a publisher paid millions for it, and what made it work. You can find Karin at Pitch Your Novel 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

    414: How to pitch your novel in 2026 (with Karin Gillespie)

  4. Jul 19

    413: He built a movie site to 15 million visitors a month. Then he sold it and started over (with Vic Holtreman)

    Season 4, episode 13 is here! Vic Holtreman started Screen Rant in the early 2000s as a hobby because he liked complaining about Hollywood. Twelve years later he sold it with 15 million monthly visitors. Now he writes for men trying to rebuild their lives after divorce or midlife upheaval, and he has a fitness book with 55 drafts behind it. This was a great conversation! What we covered: - How Vic knew Screen Rant was worth quitting his day job for, and what finally pushed him to do it. - Why he sold the site at the height of its success and what he saw coming that made the timing feel right. - Why he thinks men struggle so much with vulnerability and what he believes the right way to be vulnerable actually looks like. - The specific reason he tells men going through divorce or crisis to start with fitness before anything else. - How he used 15 years of food tracking data and AI to write a fitness memoir unlike anything he’d planned to write. - The AI-guided assessment tool he built for men that several people have told him is uncomfortably good at finding the real issue. - What helped him finally stop letting anger run his day, and why he thinks an eternal perspective is more practical than it sounds. You can find Vic at The Redeemed Second Half 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

    413: He built a movie site to 15 million visitors a month. Then he sold it and started over (with Vic Holtreman)

  5. Jun 28

    412: Story discovery as the pathway to success (with Michelle Ray)

    Season 4, episode 12 is here! michelle ray spent 15 years teaching abroad in Ecuador, Bahrain, and Dubai before coming back to the States, having a kid, and eventually sitting down to write a memoir. This was a warm, funny, really honest conversation about writing and what stories actually do for us. What we covered - How Michelle stumbled onto Substack just to tick a box for a writing conference and ended up building something she genuinely loves. - The technique she uses to help writers access memories they didn’t know they still had, and why people rarely remember in words. - Why going back to old journals, emails, and documents can unlock parts of a story you thought you’d forgotten completely. - What happened when Michelle found a journal from her first year in Bahrain after 15 years, and why reading it felt like reading someone else’s life. - The vulnerability sweet spot she thinks most writers miss, and why you’re probably sharing less than you think you are. - What her paid Story Discovery sessions actually involve, and why having your key story properly shaped changes everything about how you use it. - Why she thinks finding a writing community matters more than almost anything else if you actually want to finish something. You can find Michelle at states of matter 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

    412: Story discovery as the pathway to success (with Michelle Ray)

  6. Jun 21

    411: What happens when you finally stop settling (with Bobby Umar)

    Season 4, episode 11 is here! Bobby Umar has done a thousand keynotes across four continents, spoken at TEDx five times, and built half a million followers on Twitter. But it took multiple job redirections before he finally stopped waiting and figured out what he was actually all about. This was a really fun chat! What we covered: - Why Bobby thinks the difference between a personal story and a private story is the most important line any creator needs to understand. - What actually happened when he posted about his body image and binge eating disorder on LinkedIn, the last place anyone expected that kind of honesty. - The three things most people get wrong when they try to land a TEDx talk, and why the idea is usually the biggest problem. - What a TEDx talk actually does for your authority that no other single thing can replicate as quickly. - The red flag Bobby uses to know when someone is ready to pivot out of a job or a business, and why most people ignore it for years. - Why he thinks 90% of business owners are making the same two mistakes with their content right now. - What Bobby 2.0 looks like, and why he’s now working 30 hours a week instead of 60. You can find Bobby on Substack at The 1% Brand Brilliance, where he writes for small business owners. 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

    411: What happens when you finally stop settling (with Bobby Umar)

  7. Jun 14

    410: Building a bookstore for the little guys (with Fleur Hull)

    Season 4, episode 10 is here! Fleur Hull has spent years working with authors on the hardest part of writing a book (which is everything that happens after you finish it!). She built the Substack Bookstore because she kept watching good books disappear without readers, and she decided to do something about it. This was a really good one. What we covered: - How Fleur went from losing her job during COVID to launching a podcast, writing a bestselling book, and eventually building one of the most distinctive communities on Substack. - Why she believes authors should think about their audience before they write a single word, and why most of them do the complete opposite. - The cover design mistake she sees constantly that immediately signals to readers something they probably didn’t intend to signal. - What actually happens to a book’s visibility on Amazon in the weeks after launch, and why so many authors are caught completely off guard by it. - The surprisingly simple thing most authors neglect on their Amazon page that is costing them readers every single day. - Why she tells authors to delay their launch by at least a month from when they think they’re ready, preferably three. - What she’s building next and why she thinks a much bigger competitor could show up at any moment. ➡️ You can find Fleur at The Substack Bookstore. 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

    410: Building a bookstore for the little guys (with Fleur Hull)

  8. Jun 7

    409: "I've been blessed by Madonna!" (with Karen Salmansohn)

    Season 4, episode 9 is here! Karen Salmansohn has sold two million books, been blessed by Madonna, and built a career entirely on the principle of doing something a little extra every single time. This one was a lot of fun! What we covered: - Why Karen left a senior VP creative director role in her twenties and what she told her parents when they said she was crazy to do it. - The story of how she got her first novel in front of publishers in a way that got an offer within days of sending it out. - How she walked up to Madonna in a hotel restaurant, got her to read a book title, and turned the whole encounter into a press story. - What her bucket list from hell period actually was and how she turned the worst year of her life into one of her most successful books. - The writing mistake she sees constantly on Substack that she thinks most people assume they’re getting away with. - Why she believes memoir-style headlines consistently outperform advice-style headlines, and how she tested that on her own publication. - The new business she’s just launched and what the top regrets of the dying had to do with building it. You can find Karen at The Stand Up Philosopher: Weighty Musings, Lightly Served 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

    409: "I've been blessed by Madonna!" (with Karen Salmansohn)
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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
    80
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © David McIlroy
  • Show Website
    How to Write for a Living

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