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1 day 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.
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6 days ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hi, it’s John from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today, I’d like to share one of the best frameworks I’ve learned for writing personal stories that resonate with readers. I think most of us began writing because we carried a story or idea that could only be communicated through the written word. Writing lets us shape significant life moments into something others can use. But an event or memory that is narrated isn’t a story; it’s a journal entry.
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1 week ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Michael here, and welcome to episode twenty-three of The Breakdown!This week, Darius and I tackle one of the trickiest questions every writer faces:What should you give away for free, and what should you charge for?
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1 week ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Darius here from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Many writers start their online writing journey as a side project while keeping a day job or some other main occupation. This is completely understandable. Earning enough money from writing does not happen overnight. But this approach often leaves writers stuck in a “paycheck mindset.”Writers who have long relied on the steady comfort of a day job or other major occupation may find that this mindset can hold back their writing business.
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2 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux
Hey, it’s Michael and Darius here, and welcome to episode #22 of The Breakdown!This week, we tackle one of the biggest questions we hear from writers:How do you know you’re ready to write a book?
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2 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay
Heyo — it’s Michael here from the Writing to (L)earn team alongside Darius and John. Over the last few years, I’ve worked with half a dozen clients to write book proposals, land agents, and ink deals with publishing houses. After a workshop on book positioning and proposals a few weeks ago, some of our community members asked if I could put together a written guide for future reference.
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Michael and Darius here, and welcome to episode twenty-one of The Breakdown!Today, we dig into the unglamorous but essential topic of building an audience from scratch. We love talking about consistency and writing quality, but what if you’ve got zero readers?
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hey there, it’s John here, from the Writing to (L)Earn team. I want to share a comment from one of my pieces outside Substack that I believe captures a concern many writers here share:Let’s break this down. First, there is the pressure to aggressively market your work, especially when you are starting out with no real audience. If you post on Substack or your blog when you have zero audience, you are likely to get very few or no readers.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson
Hello, hello — it’s Michael here. I had a blast diving into all things book proposals and positioning this past Friday. On top of crafting my own proposal, which resulted in a deal with a publishing house, over the last few years, I’ve helped half a dozen clients land deals (half of whom were first-time authors).
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux
Hey, it’s Michael here, and welcome to episode twenty of The Breakdown!This week, Darius and I go deep on one of the most important—and underrated—skills for writers today: critical thinking. As AI takes over more of the surface-level work, the real edge comes from learning how to think clearly and solve real problems.