156 #WhenFansPay
It's hard enough to start a subscriber email. But what if--like freelance writer Lyz Lenz, who has two books coming out in the next twelve months--you asked your fans to pay for it? It's so crazy, it might just work.
Hello from the Mom 2.0 conference, where Jess and I just did a panel on Launching a Speaking Career. More on that in an upcoming episode--but meanwhile, this one's a real thought-provoker. Most of us struggle with what's a good use of our time in our writing careers. We've talked a lot about the value of an email subscriber list when it comes to selling books and sharing your work--but what if the email is your work, or becomes a way to share your work?
Journalist Lyz Lenz uses Substack to share a largely subscriber-only email with a group of readers/fans whose financial support has helped to carry her through the ups and downs of a freelance career.
Other links mentioned in the episode:
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Roxane Gay
#AmReading
Heavy: An American Memoir, Kiese Laymon
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love, Dani Shapiro
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Mark Bowden
The Last Stone: A Masterpiece of Criminal Interrogation, Mark Bowden
#FaveIndieBookstore
Lyz Lenz's fave is Next Page Books in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "Bart knows all the local gossip and has always been a great supporter of my work."
Find out more about our guest, Lyz Lenz, here—and check out the first of the TWO books she's working on this year, God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss and Renewal in Middle America on IndieBound.
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwritingfor details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template (the one KJ swears by).
Find more about Jess here, and about KJ here.
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship.