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22 hours ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hey there, it's John from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today, I'm sharing five decisions from my early writing days that completely changed my trajectory from confused beginner to earning writer. Over six years ago, I found myself lost in the sea of “find your passion” platitudes and “write every day” mantras. But then I made some decisions that went against everything the writing gurus were preaching.
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1 week ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux
Hello, it’s Michael here. Today, we’re going to be diving into the ‘story collection’ process I use for my writing as well as with my clients. But before we get into the actionable exercises, here’s a rant on how I define storytelling and the importance of betting on yourself. The simplest definition of a story is a character faces a challenge and they’re willing to sacrifice everything, even their life, to overcome it.
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2 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux |Michael Thompson
I have a confession. If you told me six years ago that I'd be making a full-time living from my writing, I would've said, “Of course I would have! So am I a millionaire now?”That guy from six years ago was delusional. He didn’t understand how book marketing or publishing actually worked. But he struggled with one major problem that most new professional writers face: self-promotion. Hey, it’s John here from the Writing to (L)Earn team.
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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay
On emotional truth vs factual truth in personal stories“You told me I looked ugly.”We met by chance. I was attending a writing retreat; she was on vacation with her husband, who’d fallen slightly ill and decided to hole up in their hotel room. We were nibbling on a relatively less expensive brunch at Sandholt, in downtown Reykjavík. This was our first time speaking, three years after our relationship ended. “I never said that,” I was confused.
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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay |Robert E. Ralph
For anyone who hates “putting yourself out there”I have a confession. If you told me six years ago that I’d be making a full-time living from my writing, I would’ve said, “Of course I would have! So am I a millionaire now?”That guy from six years ago was delusional. He didn’t understand how book marketing or publishing actually worked. But he struggled with one major problem that most new professional writers face: self-promotion.
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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay
You haven’t truly mastered your interest + skill + market overlapEvery writer faces the same frustrating reality: putting in endless hours creating content that barely anyone reads. You study the “expert” advice. You post consistently. You use the right hashtags. You engage with other writers. You optimize your headlines. And yet, your audience growth remains painfully slow. Most advice tells you to be more strategic with distribution or to focus on building your email list.
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey there, it’s Darius from the Writing to (L)Earn team. In his Masterclass, German filmmaker Werner Herzog talks about how he often gets compliments about his “first” film. Fans would come up to him and say, “I watched your first film and was really blown away!” Herzog would ask which film they were referring to. When they mention the film’s title, Herzog would reply, “Thank you, but that’s not my first. That’s my eleventh.”The thing is, Herzog created his first film much earlier.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay |Robert E. Ralph
Instead, take advantage of being unknownA writer friend of mine hit 10,000 email subscribers last year. He’d spent plenty of time guest posting, networking at conferences, and learning every marketing tactic. But when we met for coffee last week, he confessed:“I wish I’d spent that time actually writing instead.”Despite his efforts, he hasn’t landed an agent, secured a book deal, or earned meaningful income from his writing.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay |Robert E. Ralph
If you want readers to trust (and pay) you, edit these out of your writingI’ve edited everything from two-sentence ads to 80k-word books published by Big Four publishers. Interestingly, the biggest editing mistake new writers make isn’t actually on grammar and spelling. It’s the lack of “technical confidence.”New writers don’t trust themselves or their readers. This lack of confidence leads to overcompensation that weakens their writing in predictable ways. The good news?
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey, it's John here, filling in for Darius on this week's episode of The Breakdown!Michael and I dive into personal storytelling and why it remains powerful, especially in an AI-dominated world. Fresh from my writer's retreat in Iceland, we explore the "three bodies problem" framework by Syrian-Canadian author, Danny Ramadan.
