Saturday Morning Coffee ☕ #45

This guy knows.

Writers should get paid for doing what they love, which is something few people are truly capable of: entertaining, educating and inspiring others through the written word. Become a paid subscriber to How to Write for a Living for just £9 a month to unlock every benefit in our comprehensive membership package.

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Happy Saturday, friend! 👋

I hope your week has been splendiferous and you’re now all set for a relaxing weekend. Pull that coffee mug closer, put your feet up, and settle in for some hearty reading this morning.

First, I do have a question for yo, and I’d love it if you could drop your reply in the comments:

What are you struggling with right now as a writer?

That’s it. If you’re feeling up to it, share away

And then dive in to all the good stuff below.

D ♥️

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Want to advertise on How to Write for a Living? Just email hello@davidmcilroy.com.

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Some housekeeping:

My upcoming horror novel, The Substitute, is available to pre-order now!

The Substitute arrives in 5 days!

It’d be amazing if you could reserve a copy ahead of the release date - you can keep it for yourself or give it to someone as a gift this Christmas. 🎄

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And here’s the result of last week’s poll:

Thanks for voting! Don’t forget to read to the end for this week’s version. ⬇️

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ICYMI:

113: Storytelling with Daily Emails (with John Bejakovic)

Here's why you should start your own podcast as a writer

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Consider supporting How to Write for a Living

Upgrade to our paid tier to unlock every benefit in our comprehensive membership package. Become a Sustaining Member for a bit extra and book up to three 1-to-1 coaching calls with yours truly.

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Some interesting thoughts from others:

• The publishing industry is broken, but it doesn't have to break us by

  Russell Nohelty

• We're Losing the Battle Against AI by

  Brooke Warner

• Are You an Editorial Prepper? How I Plan for Survival in the Ever-Changing World of Substack by

  Amanda B. Hinton
  and
  Claire Venus (she/her) ✨

• The Biggest Problem On Substack by

  Linda Caroll

• What's the Difference Between Storytelling and Being Good at Your Job? by

  Rick Lewis

• Having The Courage To Be Seen by

  Tim Stoddart

• Want to grow an audience that loves your work (and pays for it)? by

  Write • Build • Scale

• Why Substack (still) matters for writers by

  Dan Blank

• Where to take your character (or yourself) when you feel stuck by

  TaraShea Nesbit

• From Substack Serial to Trad Novel with... by

  KJ

Contributions from our Paid Members:

• The Stunt Course Cure by

  Matt Tomporowski

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A good video:

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A good note:

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A good book(ish) recommendation:

Looking for some more spooky reads for the cold winter nights ahead?

Check out this huge list of (often discounted) horror reads! 👇

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Thanks for being here this morning, my friend! ☕

Here’s this week’s poll:

Feel free to share this post if you found it useful/interesting.

Have an amazing Saturday! ⌛

PS. You can read all previous editions of Saturday Morning Coffee here.

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What others are saying about How to Write for a Living:

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