And then 48 hours later we’re walking into a Spanish-style Airbnb in the heart of Melrose on a tree-lined street, ready to grab some coffee and hang out with our writing community.

Here’s what one of those weeks looked like:

☀️ Sunday: Sunshine, Coffee Meetups, Book Industry Mixers

I started the week by hosting a co-working coffee meetup for all of our paid subscribers for ✍️ Make Writing Your Job and 💡 Sutoscience. We’re traveling to more cities to put on a variety of events, so make sure you’re also subscribed to ✍️ Make Writing Your Job and our Luma event page to get notified of upcoming events!

Our co-working and coffee meetup landed at Bricks and Scones — one of those library-like coffeeshops that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled into your best writing life. ☕️ We claimed a sun-drenched corner of the patio, mugs in hand, trading ideas and stories while the warm Los Angeles spring air did its part to make everything feel just a little more possible. 🌸

From there, Kyle and I headed to a rooftop matcha + microbakery event put on by Bridges Bakehouse next to Larchmont. The golden, sunshine-soaked city views didn’t hurt — and neither did the matcha, which fully lived up to the hype. This one had serious demand energy too, with a 300+ person waitlist. Translation: if you’re even thinking about going next time, follow them on IG and move fast — these spots disappear the second they open.

Then we headed west to the Vegan Food Festival in Westwood Village, where I had a plate of vegan nachos that genuinely made me question everything I thought I knew about cheese.

But the real plot twist? Westwood itself. The last time I’d been there, it felt buzzy and full of life — this time, it was a different story. Empty storefronts. “For lease” signs stacked block after block. The kind of shift that makes you pause mid-bite and go, wait… what happened here?

From Westwood, Kyle and I split for the evening, and I traded food festival energy for something a little more intimate — an all-women book industry mixer at The Wellesbourne. It’s one of my favorite Westside spots for a reason — it feels like stepping into an old, slightly mischievous library, the kind where deals get made over cocktails and everyone secretly has a manuscript in their bag.

The LA book scene isn’t as built out as NYC, but I met some great women building cool stuff in the book space. I attended this to see how I could help support authors through featuring their work on our Substack Live interview series at ✍️ Make Writing Your Job and find any additional resources we can provide to our writing community.

☕️ Monday: Bodega Co-Working & Catch-Up Day

We spent Monday posted up at Bodega — the kind of writing spot that shape-shifts depending on the hour. By night, it’s a wine bar. By day, a plush little coffeeshop with just enough edge to make you feel like you’re in on something.

This time, though, the crowd skewed sharply corporate — suits, laptops, quiet urgency — a noticeable departure from the usual creative sprawl. Still, we carved out our corner, got some solid co-working in, and let the (semi) fresh ocean air drift through the open windows like a soft reset.

After Bodega, I made a quick pivot to the gym — strength training followed by a StairMaster session, because yes, I’m still deep in my 75 Hard era and there’s no negotiating with that voice in my head.

Monday, overall, was a classic catch-up day. As a writer, I need these days to zoom out, recalibrate, and tackle the things that slipped through the cracks. One of the major perks of being a full-time writer? The calendar’s a suggestion, not a rule. Weekends, weekdays — it all blurs. I work when the energy’s there, and when it’s not, I don’t force it. It’s less about the clock, more about the rhythm.

📚 Tuesday: Substack Audit and Late-Night Tea House

I started Tuesday morning with a 1:1 Substack Audit with one of my Founding Members, which was such an inspiring session.

(BTW — if you haven’t had a 1:1 Substack Audit with me, I’ve re-opened my calendar to all new Founding Members + any Founding Members who didn’t book one during the first round of sign-ups! Book your 1:1 Substack Audit here.)

Tuesday was a free-form day of exploring before we ended up at a super cozy late-night teahouse called Shiloh in the heart of DTLA.

The tea was brewed with almost ceremonial care, and live string musicians filled the space in a way that made the whole night feel a little suspended in time. If you’re craving a calm pocket inside the concrete chaos of Los Angeles, this is it — a quiet, candlelit escape from the city’s usual pace.

🌱 Wednesday: Nature & Reset Day

To kickoff our Wednesday, Kyle and I wandered through Robinson Gardens — a tucked-away, multi-acre estate in Beverly Hills that feels like you’ve slipped through a crack in time. One minute you’re in LA traffic, the next you’re strolling through manicured paths that look like they were designed for linen suits and whispered secrets.

It has this distinctly Gatsby-esque energy — old-school glamour, a little excessive in the best way, like a love letter to LA’s golden age. We drifted from garden to garden, pausing to watch birds, soak in the quiet, and remember that even in a city built on motion, there are still pockets that invite you to slow all the way down.

💻 Thursday: Coffee Meetup & Co-Working at Re/Creation

We did another edition of our ✍️ Make Writing Your Job coffee meetup + at Re/Creation cafe on Washington — one of my new favorite indoor-outdoor coffeeshops to work from in LA with some great food. They also have some good events like salsa nights and paint and sips.

Our coffee meetup stretched into a long, lingering lunch. Equal parts productive and unhurried, which, in my opinion, is the sweet spot. Social workdays are undefeated.

Kyle and I were supposed to hit a tech event later… and instead, we bailed and stayed home. No FOMO, no second-guessing — just a very clear this is the better plan energy. And honestly? It was.

🧋 Friday: Rest/Computer Day, Bookstore Browsing with Friends

On Friday I took it a bit more chill, playing some text-based video games (my recent obsession is A Dark Room) and handling some emails and client work.

Then we met up with friends at Dialog Cafe (apt for a group of writers/creatives) before catching up between the stacks at a local bookstore.

It’s nice to see creatives thriving even in a city that’s going through a difficult transformation.

🧪 Saturday: Substack Lab, Matcha Walks, Dinner with Friends

Saturday kicked off with one of my new favorite rituals — our monthly 🧪 Substack Lab here at 💡 Sutoscience. A virtual room full of writers trading feedback, sharpening ideas, and building a Substack that actually gives them autonomy and a place for creative expression. It’s part workshop, part creative ignition, and every time I leave a session like this, I’m reminded how powerful it is to not do this alone. (RSVP for the next Substack Lab here!)

From there — gym, matcha, back to writing.

We wrapped the day with dinner alongside some of our favorite creative, former-digital-nomad friends who flew in from New Zealand — which felt like the perfect full-circle moment for the week. LA has been a blur of reconnecting, meeting new people, and stepping back into a version of my creative life that feels expansive again.

And truly — thank you to everyone who came out to a co-working/coffee meetup event. Getting to meet you in real life was the highlight. Already plotting the next events!

✍️ Ready to actually grow your Substack — not just think about it?

If you’ve been reading along and thinking, okay… I want this kind of momentum too — this is your next step.

When you join as a Founding Member, you’re not just getting access to content — you’re stepping into the room where this all gets built.

Here’s what that looks like:

• ✨ Substack Lab access — join our monthly live sessions on Zoom where writers swap feedback, refine their publications, and grow together in real time

• 🧠 A 60-minute 1:1 Substack Audit with me — we’ll dig into your publication, your strategy, and exactly what to do next

• 🎓 6+ hours of the 6-Week Substack Sprint — my full system for growing, converting, and monetizing your newsletter

• 💸 Discounted rates on accountability sessions + additional audits — so you can keep the momentum going

• 📚 Full access to every article I’ve written — the strategies, breakdowns, and behind-the-scenes of how I’ve built my own Substack to over $220,000/year

This is for the writers who are done circling the idea and ready to actually make this work.

👉 Join as a Founding Member and let’s build your Substack — for real.

✍️ become a founding member

See you inside!

-Amy

Hey writers,

🌸 Want to actually grow your Substack this spring — not just think about it?

✨ Now’s a very good time to jump into my 6 Week Substack Sprint. When you become a Founding Member, you unlock 6+ hours of recorded classes plus all the bonus material — the full system, start to finish.

💡 get access to the sprint

📚 The 6 Week Substack Sprint is everything I’d hand you if you said, “I want this writing and creating career to work — for real.”

And one more thing…

📅 I’m reopening my calendar for 1:1 Substack Audits — 60-minute, high-impact sessions where we cut through the noise, pinpoint exactly what’s holding your growth back, and uncover the missed opportunities hiding in plain sight.

✨ The focus of these 1:1 sessions is simple: support your Substack growth and surface the blindspots most writers miss, including:

• Your welcome email (and whether it’s actually converting)

• About page optimization (aka your first impression)

• Category selection (so the right readers can find you)

• How you’re monetizing your Substack — or why it’s not clicking yet

💡 become a founding member

You’ll leave with sharper positioning, smarter growth levers, and a clear plan for what to focus on next — so you’re not just posting… you’re building something that actually moves.

My calendar for new Founding Members has been closed for the past two months — and I’m now opening a limited number of spots of 1:1 Substack Audits for:

• New Founding Members

• Current Founding Members who haven’t had their 1:1 Substack Audit yet

• Plus — for current Founding Members who’ve already had their 1:1 Substack Audit, I’m rolling out new discounted rates on additional sessions, including follow-up audits and weekly accountability check-ins

If you want personalized, no-BS feedback on what’s working, what’s not, and how to turn your Substack into your main thing this year — this is your window.

👇 Links to book your 1:1 session are below the paywall.

💬 Testimonials from Writers Who Have Taken the 6 Week Substack Sprint

Here are some testimonials from writers who have taken my 6 Week Substack Sprint:

“Just when I think I couldn’t learn more from Amy Suto, she does it again. The 6-week Substack Sprint was the best way to start 2026 on a high note. I’ve doubled my subscriber count in a month, converted free subscribers to paid (without feeling gross or salesy), and provided content I believe in with a newfound confidence and purpose. I didn’t think there could be a more helpful Substack than ✍️ Make Writing Your Job… until I committed to 💡 Sutoscience. If Amy tells me to jump off a bridge, I’ll have already jumped: that’s how powerful her advice and insights are.”

- Alison Lau, writer of the Monkey Girl Substack

“Amy’s 6-Week SubStack Sprint was beyond helpful, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a SubStack or is interested in starting one. Each of the six classes focused on a specific element of successfully launching, running, and scaling a SubStack that is not only fulfilling for the creator but also actually gives readers something they want. All of Amy’s ideas and advice come from her own journey of building a successful publication, and she so generously shares all of the secrets she’s uncovered from years of trial and error. Without her 6-week SubStack Sprint, I don’t think I’d have the confidence or understanding to take the leap and launch my own publication-- I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.”

-Lizabeth Yandel, writer of the Songs to Save Your Day Substack

“The 6 Week Sprint with Amy was a game-changer. My mind is still swirling from all of the goodness I learned, and I’m starting to apply to my newsletter. I was nervous at first since I was rebranding and bringing over my subscribers from my previous try on Substack. With Amy’s generous sharing of her wise tricks and tips, I’ve gained 20 more subs in the month of January since I posted my first piece. I feel focused, energized, and excited to have a plan for this year. I also have new writer friends who were also in the Sprint with me. We are so supportive of each other! Amy genuinely wants writers to succeed, and that vibe was felt throughout! Best thing I’ve signed up for in a really long time!”

- Kathleen Majorsky, writer of the Love and Lit Substack

“The 6 Week Sprint exceeded my expectations by far because I not only learned how to start and grow my Substack but I so appreciate the community that was also formed with the other members of the Sprint.”

- Amy Benavides, writer of the Red Purse of Justice Substack

👩‍💻 Book Your 1:1 Substack Audit Now to Get Personalized Support

Upgrade now and become a Founding Member to get access to…

• My recorded 6 Week Substack Sprint (over 6+ hours of videos guiding you through creating and optimizing your Substack!)

• Access to our monthly Substack Lab workshop series (get live feedback on Zoom from me + our community of awesome Substack writers!)

• A 60-minute 1:1 Substack Audit with me, where I’ll dive into missed opportunities and different strategies to monetize and grow your Substack

• All of my articles on how to grow on Substack, including my most popular post on How I’d Turn a Brand New Substack Into $100,000+ in 12 Months

💡 become a founding member now!

Ready to book your 1:1 session? 👇 Links are below the paywall! Upgrade to a Founding Member now to book and start your Substack growth journey:

💻 1:1 Substack Audit Links

Read more

If you’ve been building your Substack and wishing you had a room full of brilliant, opinionated writers to think with —

This is that room.

🌱 Our April Substack Lab went great (thanks to everyone who showed up and contributed!), so here’s the invite for the next one in May!

Welcome to our monthly 🧪 Substack Lab — a live Zoom session exclusively for Founding Members of 💡 Sutoscience.

💡 become a founding member

Think open office hours meets writer’s workshop meets the best writerly conversation you had but didn’t want to end.

Show up. Ask anything. Leave more inspired than you arrived.

📅 When: Saturday, May 2nd at 10am PT / 1pm ET

💻 Where: Live on Zoom (link below the paywall, Founding Members!)

✍️ What to bring: Your Substack, your questions, your half-baked ideas, your “is this too niche?” spirals — all of it welcome.

Here’s how it works:

🔍 Bring a specific question or something you’re stuck on

💬 Get live feedback from me and the group

🔁 Come back every month and keep the momentum going

No polish required. No dumb questions. Just writers helping writers.

Not a founding member yet? ✨ The Substack Lab is just one of the perks waiting for you on the other side of an upgrade. Founding Members get exclusive access to monthly Labs, community, and everything I’m building out for the writers who are serious about making this work.

👇 Ready to join us? Upgrade to Founding Member here.

Read more

If you’ve been building your Substack and wishing you had a room full of brilliant, opinionated writers to think with —

This is that room.

Starting TODAY, I’m launching our first monthly 🧪 Substack Lab — a live Zoom session exclusively for Founding Members of 💡 Sutoscience.

Subscribe now

Think open office hours meets writer’s workshop meets the best conversation you had at a conference but didn’t want to end.

Show up. Ask anything. Leave more inspired than you arrived.

📅 When: TODAY Saturday, April 4th at 10am PT / 1pm ET

💻 Where: Live on Zoom (link below the paywall, Founding Members!)

✍️ What to bring: Your Substack, your questions, your half-baked ideas, your “is this too niche?” spirals — all of it welcome.

Here’s how it works:

🔍 Bring a specific question or something you’re stuck on

💬 Get live feedback from me and the group

🔁 Come back every month and keep the momentum going

No polish required. No dumb questions. Just writers helping writers.

Not a founding member yet? ✨ The Substack Lab is just one of the perks waiting for you on the other side of an upgrade. Founding Members get exclusive access to monthly Labs, community, and everything I’m building out for the writers who are serious about making this work.

👇 Ready to join us? Upgrade to Founding Member here.

Read more

👋 Hi from Los Angeles! If you missed my emails with my event links, I’m here buying writers coffee and asking them questions about what the creative and writing scene is like here.

☕️ I’m buying coffee for writers today in Hollywood from 10am-noon and tomorrow (Monday) morning in the westside of LA from 11am-1pm — if you want to join RSVP here and check out the details. Right now the coffee and co-working meetups are open to paid subscribers of 💡 Sutoscience or ✍️ Make Writing Your Job.

👇 Be sure you’re following our Luma event calendar for upcoming events in LA, SF, and more cities coming soon.

✍️ subscribe to our luma page for events

Here’s my dispatch from my creative lab for you this week:

💬 Links I Sent My Fiancée

My fiancée (!!!) Kyle Cords is my co-founder which means DMing him links counts as productive work 💕

• AI fruit slop videos are going viral on the internet, and it’s an inevitability that AI video is going to proliferate more widely on the internet.

  • As a sidebar, I’ve been hearing a lot about “vertical video” here in Los Angeles from writers and creators who talk about content “made for social media” — mostly referring to poorly produced soap-opera style romance videos pushed to mobile apps that consumers spend too much money on. One writer I talked to said that “everything is collapsing into itself.” Meaning: Hollywood and the world of content creators/social media is merging into one. Celebrities want to become entrepreneurs and start podcasts — entrepreneurs are having to become content creators and influencers and grow their brand. Seems like the future will be really rewarding to generalists.

🌁 Dispatches From the Bay

What to do and where to eat in San Francisco.

• 👋 I just launched the creatives ONLY social club — and our first event in San Francisco will be a picnic in the Presidio. I’ll be bringing light bites and non-alcoholic drinks — bring your desire to make new creative friends in the Bay Area! It’s $15, but you can use the code SUBSTACK50OFF to get 50% off 🎟️

☕️ Content Trends

Trends in social media, content creation, and what’s going on here on Substack.

• Will social media companies be held responsible for their impact on the mental health of individuals? A recent ruling said yes. Silicon Valley has always built their social media apps like slot machines (quite literally even hiring slot machine designers to help make them addictive) so I’m curious to see how this plays out.

• I’m kicking off my new Monthly Substack Lab live series on Zoom this upcoming Saturday! Join if you want to put your Substack under a microscope and figure out the alchemy required to help it grow. 🪴

💰 What to Watch & Read If You Want to Make Money Online

Resources to make you smarter and richer in the Creator Economy.

• Unethical advertising is something that has been on the rise — especially in the world of shady affiliate marketing on social media. This great video by Hannah Alonzo breaks down a crazy trend. You won’t believe the rabbit hole she went down based on the videos that kept surfacing to her feed:

🛍️ Add to Cart

Things that have made my life better or products I have my eye on.

• My best purchase lately has been tickets to events I’m finding on Luma and Partiful! I’ve been meeting some incredible creatives, writers, and interesting people in both LA and SF by putting myself out there and just showing up.

  • One trend I’ve been seeing in the Bay Area is that huge companies have been paying multi-six-figure salaries to “event coordinators” whose entire job is to just throw cool events in order to bring awareness to products and companies. As the Internet grows more noisy, IRL is cool again — which is also why I’ve been diving deeper into the world of throwing events again. (More on this soon!)

Questions? Thoughts? Would love to hear what you’re thinking, reading, or making in the comments.

Happy creating,

-Amy

If you’ve been building your Substack and wishing you had a room full of brilliant, opinionated writers to think with —

This is that room.

Starting this upcoming Saturday, I’m launching our first monthly 🧪 Substack Lab — a live Zoom session exclusively for Founding Members of 💡 Sutoscience.

Subscribe now

Think open office hours meets writer’s workshop meets the best conversation you had at a conference but didn’t want to end.

Show up. Ask anything. Leave more inspired than you arrived.

📅 When: Saturday, April 4th at 10am PT / 1pm ET

💻 Where: Live on Zoom (link below the paywall, Founding Members!)

✍️ What to bring: Your Substack, your questions, your half-baked ideas, your “is this too niche?” spirals — all of it welcome.

Here’s how it works:

🔍 Bring a specific question or something you’re stuck on

💬 Get live feedback from me and the group

🔁 Come back every month and keep the momentum going

No polish required. No dumb questions. Just writers helping writers.

Not a founding member yet? ✨ The Substack Lab is just one of the perks waiting for you on the other side of an upgrade. Founding Members get exclusive access to monthly Labs, community, and everything I’m building out for the writers who are serious about making this work.

👇 Ready to join us? Upgrade to Founding Member here.

Read more

I’ve been a bit of a bed princess since my book launch in January — lots of slow mornings and afternoons sprawled out in bed, sipping homemade hot chocolate bobbing with fat vegan marshmallows while I devour a good book.

Occasionally Kyle lures me out of my cozy cocoon with a new Australian survivor episode, or a promise of a wooded hike underneath the clear skies of San Francisco.

About twenty days ago I started 75 Hard, a fitness challenge where I’ve returned to my strict diet (vegan, no bread, no sugar, no coffee) and 2+ hours of workouts per day (10,000 steps per day and two 45-minute workouts and one of those workouts must be outside) in addition to daily journaling and reading. It’s been a fun reset so far, and I enjoy the contrast of transitioning from a period of leisure back into the daily routine of creation and discipline.

I’m currently reading Our Infinite Fates, which I’m really enjoying and is the rare book I can recommend to you (I’ve been very picky lately!) It follows two soulmates who are bound by a strange curse to kill each other in every lifetime they meet despite being deeply in love.

Here are some other things I wanted to share with you:

👩‍💻 San Francisco Event for Women in AI

I was just announced as a panelist for Women+AI’s Spring Table event here in San Francisco:

Women + AI

The Women+AI Spring Table is here 💐

We’re back, baby…

Read more

15 days ago · Kylee (Lessard) Hayden

This is a “Girl Dinner” event series featuring talks about AI, and if you’re interested feel free to RSVP at the link above. I went to the last event in this series, and it was a great group of people sharing how they use AI for both creative and mundane tasks.

Hope to see you there if you’re based in San Francisco :)

❤️ How I Put My Autoimmune Condition Into Remission With Holistic Health Changes

When I was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I would told that I would be on medication for the rest of my life.

But it turns out I’m a pretty stubborn person, and instead I decided to rewrite the narrative.

Instead of accepting my diagnosis, I got help from Dr. Micah Yu, personal trainers, nutritionists, acupuncturists, and other holistic health practitioners and am happily fully recovered, in remission, and off all medication :)

I shared my story on my doctor’s podcast below:

I don’t talk about my past illness much on here, but it used to be a huge part of my life. Health truly is wealth, and I don’t take it for granted.

✍️ Join Our Writing Mastermind Group over on Make Writing Your Job via Zoom

If you do any freelance writing or professional writing of any kind, consider joining our virtual mastermind group that meets every quarter over at ✍️ Make Writing Your Job. I’m leading this Saturday’s session:

✍️ Make Writing Your Job

✍️ Invite: Mastermind Group for Writers [Founding Members]

✍️ Our quarterly Founding Member Mastermind Group for writers is this Saturday on Zoom — and you’re going to want to be there…

Read more

15 days ago · Amy Suto

💡 And If You’re Based in Los Angeles — Come to Our In-Person Events This Week!

I’m going to be in Los Angeles for the next two weeks with , and we’re throwing lots of in-person events for our writing community!

• For anyone who writes on Substack (so I know a lot of those of you reading this!) we are doing a Runyon Canyon Hike for Substack writers! RSVP here.

• For paid subscribers of ✍️ Make Writing Your Job, we’re buying you coffee and getting to know you better while co-working this Friday at one of my favorite coffeeshops — RSVP here!

More soon,

-Amy

Or, maybe you discovered the book and realized — “hey, I think it’s time for me to make writing my job!” and that’s why you’re here.

No matter how you found the book (or this Substack!) I’m in your inbox today to give away a free ebook version to you!

🎁 Get Your Free Copy of My Book, Write for Money and Power: The Anti-Starving Artist’s Guide to Becoming a Seven-Figure Writer

📕 About the book:

AMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR, TOP 30 BESTSELLING SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER CREATOR, AND 7-FIGURE WRITER AMY SUTO SPILLS HER SECRETS

Still buying the starving artist myth? Burn it — and get paid.

The gatekeepers told you poverty was noble so that you’d shut up and stay cheap. Ready to write your way out of the lie designed to keep you small, obedient, and broke?

If you’ve ever felt trapped in a writing career that pays in “exposure” or pocket change, this is your permission slip to demand more. Much more.

Amy Suto went from broke in the Hollywood trenches to becoming booked out as a seven-figure writer, bestselling author, and creator of a top 30 Substack newsletter. In Write for Money and Power, she shows you exactly how she did it — and how you can too, even if you’ve never made a dollar from your writing before.

Whether you’re a freelancer, a ghostwriter, a novelist, or any kind of writer with bills to pay and a vision to realize, this isn’t another “believe in yourself” pep talk. It’s a real, grown-up plan to make money and grow your personal power with your writing.

If you’d rather make history than excuses — keep reading.

👇 Get your free copy below:

📕 download your free copy!

📕 Like the book? Want to help get it in the hands of more writers?

If you dig the book and want to help me on my mission to help writers live a profitable and joyful life, then it would mean the world to me if you could leave an Amazon review.

📕 leave an amazon review of the book!

If you want to go above and beyond, you could also purchase the e-book for $0.99 to get a “verified” badge by your review, and include a photo or video of the book as well!

If you don’t have Amazon, you can also leave a review on Goodreads or wherever else you review books.

Every time you share the book or review it, you’re helping another writer discover a path towards their dreams.

I hope you enjoy and thanks for your support,

-Amy

Hey creators,

I’ve been busy overhauling my healthy habits with the 75 Hard Challenge, working on some secret projects, keeping my client projects moving forward, and enjoying weather so beautiful here in San Francisco it feels illegal to be inside at my desk.

Here’s my dispatch from my creative lab for you this week:

💬 Links I Sent My Fiancée

My fiancée (!!!) Kyle Cords is my co-founder which means DMing him links counts as productive work 💕

• Some of the people talking trash about AI in Hollywood are those making money from it — in part because they don’t want other creatives to beat them to it.

• Just because you’re a bestselling New York Times author with over 800,000 social media followers doesn’t mean you make more money than a coffee cart owner. Status does not equal stability — and this is part of the reason why I wrote my book Write for Money and Power.

🌁 Dispatches From the Bay

What to do and where to eat in San Francisco.

• Kyle and I caught the most recent Tech Roast Show, easily one of the best comedy events in SF where former-tech-bros-turned-comedians roast their audience of techies. They also travel to other cities, so highly recommend seeing a show if you haven’t already.

☕️ Content Trends

Trends in social media, content creation, and what’s going on here on Substack.

• Substack is doubling down on video and recently announced their Substack Recording Studio. It’s worth considering in which ways you might want to add more video to your content!

💰 What to Watch & Read If You Want to Make Money Online

Resources to make you smarter and richer in the Creator Economy.

• Vercel was kind enough to give our community $30 off v0 credits to build their website with as part of our writing website class! Watch the class replay here:

  ✍️ Make Writing Your Job

  ✍️ Build Your Writing Portfolio Website in One Click with v0 [ClassStack in Collaboration with Vercel]

  Hey writers…

  Listen now

  24 days ago · 1 like · Amy Suto

🛍️ Add to Cart

Things that have made my life better or products I have my eye on.

• In a continued effort to replace my polyester/plastic-based workout gear with natural fibers, I’m returning again to Pact! I got their bootcut cotton leggings and have been loving those. If you’ve got a favorite cotton-based company you like buying athletic wear from, let me know in the comments :)

Questions? Thoughts? Would love to hear what you’re thinking, reading, or making in the comments.

Happy creating,

-Amy

Hey creators,

I started 75 Hard earlier this past week — a health and fitness challenge done for 75 days that seeks to rewire habits, and includes daily rules like completing two workouts per day, one indoors and one outdoors.

I’m 5 days in and it’s a tough one, but I think physical challenges like this actually benefit creativity in a big way as they get us out of our heads and back into our bodies. Highly recommend giving something like this a try!

Here’s my dispatch from my creative lab for you this week:

💬 Links I Sent My Fiancée

My fiancée (!!!) Kyle Cords is my co-founder which means DMing him links counts as productive work 💕

• There’s a huge demand for in-person events and programming, and companies are spending big on them. If you like hosting events, there’s a lot of opportunity for you — especially if you’re in a big city!

🌁 Dispatches From the Bay

What to do and where to eat in San Francisco.

• The weather has been gorgeous here in SF lately! If you want to take advantage of it, you can join free pick-up pickleball games during the week in the historic Presidio Park.

☕️ Content Trends

Trends in social media, content creation, and what’s going on here on Substack.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, there’s been a 69% increase in people putting “Founder” as a title in their LinkedIn from a year ago and a 37% increase in new business applications. I believe we’re on the cusp of seeing a flourishing not just of founders, but of Creator CEOs: creatives who are learning to turn

💰 What to Watch & Read If You Want to Make Money Online

Resources to make you smarter and richer in the Creator Economy.

• Just a reminder that I’m doing a class on how to generate your website in partnership with Vercel — they’ve got a really cool tool for non-technical creatives, and I hope to see you there.

• Book clubs are very profitable on Substack! I just interviewed Tarra of Heavy Meta today about her feminist book club, and a few weeks ago I interviewed Jules who runs a Gilmore Girls-themed book club. Both writers are bestsellers here on Substack (meaning they have over 100+ paid subscribers) so if you’re considering starting a book club, now is the time!

• The Sarah J. Maas interview on Call Her Daddy was a fun watch not only because I’m a diehard ACOTAR fan, but I really appreciate the way that Sarah J. Maas talks about her writing as an author and creative. While she’s still being vague about the next books she’s got coming out, I appreciate how she’s bucking the norms of the publishing industry in favor of giving her fans the story that they’ll love the most. I’m all for non-traditional formats in publishing, so looking forward to this! (Also there are spoilers for her series in this interview, so watch at your own risk!)

🛍️ Add to Cart

Things that have made my life better or products I have my eye on.

• I finally got rid of the last of my nonstick cookware in my house (RIP!) and now I only have cast iron and stainless steel pots and pans. There’s a tiny bit of a learning curve, but especially if you’re a woman with an iron deficiency the cast iron pan is a gamechanger. Also, learning how to pre-heat a stainless steel pan has been helpful to get it to have that “nonstick” effect.

  • Tip: when heating your stainless steel pan, toss a little water in the pan. If the water just evaporates, it’s not ready to use. But if the water droplets bounce around, it’s ready to use!

• I’ve been loving the Just Tea I’ve been getting from my local grocery store. It’s been hard to find loose leaf tea brands (if you have a favorite, please let me know in the comments!) I’ve been using their fruity and aromatic Earl Grey tea in my morning London Fog lattes and it’s been a nice way to start the morning.

  • To make a London Fog, just combine two parts Earl Grey tea with one part frothed soy milk. I like a little maple syrup in mine as well!

Questions? Thoughts? Would love to hear what you’re thinking, reading, or making in the comments.

Happy creating,

-Amy

Hey creators,

I’ve been working on a secret project for the last few months with and Founding Members get a first look.

February was a bit of a fever dream — I picked out my wedding dress (!!!) and have been taking my health goals more seriously. I ate this lentil bowl for both dinner and breakfast this week and am starting 75 Hard on March 9th and am really enjoying increasing my step count and getting in more workouts.

As a gemini, I feel excited when I’m working across a number of different projects, and February has been that in spades. From my memoir ghostwriting work to this new project I’ve been teasing, a lots been changing!

If you’re a creative or writer, there’s a lot of opportunity for you.

💬 Links I Sent My Fiancée

My fiancée (!!!) Kyle Cords is my co-founder which means DMing him links counts as productive work 💕

• Anthropic’s Claude model is now writing on Substack.

🌁 Dispatches From the Bay

What to do and where to eat in San Francisco.

• Want a real “under-the-radar” place to grab a bite to eat by the ocean here in SF? Cafe RX is nestled in an office building in the historic Presidio National Park, and their tuna melt sandwiches + morning scrambles are insanely good. Ask Melanie (who runs the joint!) for her spicy chai or homemade lemonade before going on a walk through the Presidio or by the ocean.

• Kyle recently discovered Sandy’s Muffulettas, an Italian-style sandwich known for it’s tangy olive-tapenade/capers toppings. They have both a meat and vegetarian option. This week was a great week for sandwiches.

☕️ Content Trends

Trends in social media, content creation, and what’s going on here on Substack.

• Conversations around who owns what when it comes to use of AI are heating up with ByteDance’s new SeedDance model being able to generate copyrighted characters.

• Creators are taking the stage on Broadway, and more great news regarding trends that Gen Alpha/Gen Z are following on the great Substack After School.

💰 What to Watch & Read If You Want to Make Money Online

Resources to make you smarter and richer in the Creator Economy.

• I recently did a Substack Live on ✍️ Make Writing Your Job with Nicole and Tylor of . They are Financial Independence bloggers, and in this interview they gave our community of writers + creatives tips on how to be financially free and “work optional” so writers can pursue their art.

• I’m doing a class on how to generate your website in partnership with Vercel — they’ve got a really cool tool for non-technical creatives, and I hope to see you there.

• I ran into Ashley Ray at SF’s SketchFest after having her on my 12-hour Substack Live book launch, and today my written interview with her came out on ✍️ Make Writing Your Job, which you can read here.

🛍️ Add to Cart

Things that have made my life better or products I have my eye on.

• Did you know that some of the tension you carry around in your jaw can be relieved by rolling out your feet? I’m obsessed with these yoga balls and I’ve taken several classes on rolling out tight muscles with these things and they’re magic. YouTube is a great place to learn if you don’t know about this already!

• My hikes have gotten a bit too easy lately, and I just picked up this weighted vest to add some intensity.

Questions? Thoughts? Would love to hear what you’re thinking, reading, or making in the comments.

Happy creating,

-Amy

🎁 Forgive me for being secretive, but I’m going to have to put the rest of this gift for Founding Members below the paywall as we’re not ready to announce this to our wider community yet:

Read more

In the writing world, it’s often taboo to talk about money.

And in my new book Write for Money and Power — that’s exactly what I argue keeps writers trapped!

That’s why I’m pulling back the curtain for my paid subscribers and sharing exactly what I spent on my new book launch and what it costs to get your self-published book out there.

I’ll also share what really worked — and what barely moved the needle. Every book is an experiment of some sort, and here in my mad scientist lab I love to test hypotheses and see what creative sparks pan out — and which die on the burners.

I’ll break this book launch up into a few parts:

📓 Part I: The Pre-Book Launch Prep and PR Podcast Tour

• What I spent on service providers (publicist, book marketer, virtual assistant) to help with the prep of the launch

• What I spent on some key services (like NetGalley) to help distribute ARC copies

📙 Part II: The Book Launch Itself

• What I spent on the launch

• What I spent on Amazon ads (plus: results of said ads!)

📘 Part III: Maintaining the Book’s Momentum

• What I’m planning on spending (and doing!) to keep the book’s momentum going

📕 Part IV: Was it Worth It?

• Plus: whether or not the book launch was “worth it” from a business perspective — or, “what’s the ROI of a book?” as I’m often asked by some of my more entrepreneurial memoir ghostwriting clients

Let’s go!

📓 Part I: The Pre-Book Launch Prep and PR Podcast Tour

Read more

It’s been almost a month since my book Write for Money and Power launched — and I’m still processing what just happened.

From hitting the Amazon bestseller list in business books to having a book reviewer paint a watercolor of the book (yes, really), this self-published launch has been the most meaningful project of my writing career.

In this post, I’m sharing the emotional side of what it’s like to launch a book — especially when you’ve done it all yourself. No gatekeepers. Just grit, a six-month plan, and a whole lot of heart.

Read it below on my blog:

💡 read the full post on my blog

P.S. a full breakdown of the cost of self-publishing your own book is coming soon here to 💡 Sutoscience!

-Amy

Congrats on finishing the 6 Week Substack Sprint!

Just in case you missed a class or a resource, I’m linking them all below:

Week 1: Architecture: How to Build the Foundation of a Successful Substack

Bonus Tutorial: Your Substack Settings Walkthrough

Bonus Tutorial: How to Go Live on Substack Live

Week 2: Building Your Content Engine

Bonus Article: Substack Notes 101

Week 3: Creating Your Growth Engine

Bonus Tutorial: How to Repurpose Your Substacks to Social Media Posts

Bonus Article: How to Get Millions of Google Impressions and Grow Your Substack

Week 4: Conversion and Monetization

Week 5: Community and Retention

Bonus Event: Substack Growth Office Hours Session

Week 6: Scale Your 12 Month Roadmap

Bonus Resource: High-Converting Templates for Your Substack’s About Page and Welcome Emails

You can continue to dive into Substack how-to advice in my Make Substack Your Job article category here as well.

Even though the 6 Week Substack Sprint is over, more is coming to the community here at 💡 Sutoscience!

Happy writing,

-Amy

It’s been amazing to work with you so far in the 6 Week Substack Sprint, and I’m excited to keep building resources to help you grow on Substack.

If you enjoyed the sprint, would you mind leaving a short testimonial through the form below?

💡 share your testimonial

Thanks! Your feedback helps other writers find what we’re building here.

-Amy

P.S. Missed a clas…

Read more

As we wrap up the 6 Week Substack Sprint, I wanted to send one more bundle of practical resources your way.

Below, you’ll find templates you can use to strengthen your About page, refine your welcome emails, or email your existing subscribers when you’re ready to turn on a paywall and start charging for your work.

These are the highest-converting formats I’ve seen work — both for my own publications and across the Substacks I’ve audited — but think of them as scaffolding, not scripts. Please customize them to fit your voice, your tone, and the world you’re building.

My hope is that this makes the “okay, now what?” phase feel clearer, calmer, and a lot more doable.

Here they are:

1. Welcome Email — Free Subscribers

Goal: Make people feel seen, grounded, and curious — then invite them into a 7-day free trial.

Subject: Welcome — I’m glad you’re here

Hi there —

I’m really glad you’re here.

I’m [Your Name], and this is [Publication Name] — a space I built for [who this is for] who are tired of [core pain point] and ready for [desired outcome].

Here’s the short version of why this newsletter exists:

You’re probably here because you’re feeling [frustrated / stuck / overwhelmed / curious / ambitious] about [topic or situation].

I’ve been there. I built this publication to help you [solve that problem] — without gatekeeping, posturing, or pretending there’s one “right” path.

What you’ll find here:

In your inbox, you can expect:

- [Type of content #1] that helps you [result]

- [Type of content #2] that breaks down [thing that feels confusing]

- [Type of content #3] that’s honest, practical, and actually usable

The transformation I’m aiming for is simple:

You start here feeling [before] — and over time, you feel [after].

Start with these reader favorites

If you want a good feel for the work, these are some of the most-loved posts:

- [Popular Post #1]

- [Popular Post #2]

- [Popular Post #3]

Want to go deeper?

Paid subscribers get:

- [Benefit #1 — tangible]

- [Benefit #2 — access or depth]

- [Benefit #3 — community / archive / support]

If you’re curious, you can try the paid experience free for 7 days — no pressure, no weird tricks.

👉 Start your 7-day free trial here [button]

Thanks for being here. Truly.

And if this helps you even a little — I’m doing my job.

-[Your Name]

P.S. If you ever upgrade to the Founding tier, that’s where things get especially personal — early access, deeper conversations, and helping keep this whole thing alive. Totally optional. Always appreciated.

2. Welcome Email — Paid Subscribers

Goal: Celebrate the upgrade, orient them quickly, then introduce the Founding tier as a natural next step — not a hard sell

Read more

I shared…

• How to plan your Substack content to take advantage of seasonal spikes

• How to troubleshoot when you’re not getting the results you’re looking for

• Strategies for growth without burnout

Share

Read more

Here is the replay of yesterday’s office hours — keeping it all below the paywall and with no free preview to keep it cozy for Founding Members only!

💡 upgrade to founding

In addition to brainstorming ideas for each others’ publications, we talked about the mechanics of Substack growth today.

Welcome emails, Start Here pages, About pages, video walk-throughs, content cadence, and all the subtle ways you can turn a curious passerby into someone who actually sticks around.

👇 More behind the paywall for Founding Members:

Read more

Wow! What a whirlwind it’s been.

First — thank you. I so appreciate you buying and sharing my new book Write for Money and Power.

My goal with this book was to motivate, inspire, and encourage writers to make writing their job at scale. That’s why I priced the ebook at $0.99 and gave away hundreds of copies leading up to launch.

Second — it would be so cool if this self-published book could get into the hands of even more writers!

To help, it would be amazing if you could leave an Amazon review. Each review helps immensely with the algorithm side of things and helps new writers find it.

📕 leave an amazon review!

🙏 Thank you again! Writing and sharing this book has been such a dream.

I appreciate you and all of your support.

Happy writing!

-Amy