Unhinged first drafts, open submissions, and your ideal writing setup

Reads & inspo for writers who aren't writing

Jul 18, 2025

Happy Friday, writers! Here’s your weekly roundup of reads and inspo to keep you motivated actually write.

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We crossed 10k subscribers this week!

We are in awe of how this little community has blossomed over the last eight months and are so grateful for each of you!

As a special thank you, if you’ve been thinking about joining Writing Club, for the next week you can get $20 off an annual subscription!

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New podcast episode

We’re baaaaack with with a new 4-part series: Substack 101 📝

In episode 2, we get into why a newsletter is the ultimate low-stakes creative practice for weirdos who have a million interests… sound like anyone you know??

In episode 3, we get into the fool-proof (and annoying!) secret to being consistent on Substack, how being cringed out by your blocks can be a good thing, the metaphor that will cure your craving for a niche once and for all.

👉 Or listen on Apple Podcasts

Writing Worth Reading

🧰 The Substack Safety Kit (Made After Watching a Friend’s Substack Vanish) by

Danusia Malina-Derben

This kit wasn’t born out of curiosity. It was born in the wreckage.
This week, my friend […] lost her entire Substack in a single, brutal glitch.
So I made this Substack Kit as a safety net, not as some thought experiment. Lucy read it, endorsed it, and urged me to share it widely. If it helps protect even one more creator, she said, it’ll have been worth it.

💌 The Bare Minimum Guide to Starting Your Substack Newsletter by

Internet People

Overthinkers, this one’s for you — the bare minimum setup to get your Substack off the ground!

Substack can be confusing and overwhelming if you let it. But, respectfully, you have no business spiraling about the niche, the cheeky name of your newsletter, the logo, and the brand strategy before you’ve published a few articles.

📒 how to start self-studying by

Rana

If you are like me and enjoy the sweet, sweet pleasures of learning, or if you’d like to incorporate learning more into your life this year, here are a few tips to help you get started and commit to a life of self-learning.

We came across this call for submissions — if you have any writing on perseverance, community or lost dreams, you’re up!

Some love from the club this week! We absolutely love when you tag us and share how Writing Club is helping you get focused and put words on the page.

Still spiraling about your Substack?

We recently asked what’s stopping you from starting your Substack… and here are some of the answers:

I feel like I’m not qualified and my ideas are not worth putting out
Other people have already said what I want to say (and they did it 10x better)
I have LITERALLY no idea what to write
I’m too nervous about people misunderstanding me
I lose motivation when the writing gets messy or the process is unclear
Who am I to share my ideas when my life feels like such a mess?

Well, you gorgeous little angel, if you relate to ANY OF THIS, that’s why we made Substack School for Creative Overthinkers 🥳

This class is is part newsletter strategy, part creative confidence boost, part business clarity, and part part yap with your friends who are really good at the Internet.

If Substack is the party you kinda want to go to but you’re standing outside overthinking your outfit, your vibe, and your entire personality, this class is your stylish, extraverted best friend who is dragging you in and reminding you that you’re one of the most interesting people here.

Inside Substack School, we'll show you the ropes on how to design a thriving personal newsletter without losing yourself in a niche!

Grab it for $89