The Novelleist

There’s a better way to publish books

After I finished my first novel, I spent an inordinate amount of time researching how to publish it. What I found is that traditional publishing isn’t really working for authors. Of the 2.6 million books published in 2020, only 268 sold more than 100,000 copies and the vast majority (96 percent) sold less than 1,000 copies.

But if most books have only 1,000 fans, then charging $10 every three years when a new book comes out isn’t the right way to monetize them. A better way might be to charge those fans $10/month to subscribe to an author, earning readers behind-the-scenes access to their favorite writers, while earning authors a $100,000/year salary in the process.

That’s why I decided to run an experiment. In September of 2021, I debuted my gothic novel as a serial, releasing one chapter per week exclusively for paying newsletter subscribers. Then in December of 2021, I debuted another experiment: this time I crowdfunded a novel using cryptocurrency, writing a new chapter for every 0.25 ETH raised.

I’m still experimenting to see whether there is a world in which writers (and artists) can earn a living from their craft as part of the creator economy. As a result, my newsletter has been featured by Business Insider, Publisher’s Weekly, Means of Creation, and Morning Brew; and in 2022, I was awarded one of 10 places in Substack’s coveted fellowship program.

I’m so grateful that my work resonates with 4,000 other artists and I hope you’ll subscribe and join us on that journey!

What to expect from my newsletter

My newsletter is a community of writers figuring out how to publish our work on the internet together. I send one post every Monday:

• Articles about creating art are free for all subscribers.

• Interviews with artists are for paying subscribers.

I also send one post every Friday:

• Resources for artists are for paying subscribers.

• Literary Salon discussions are free for all subscribers.

Those at the Novelle Collector tier also receive a one-on-one with me, plus the annual collector’s edition print magazine of The Novelleist featuring select works and discussions from the year + the hardback, collector’s copy of the (very) first edition of my novels as they come out.