💡 A Week in the Life of a Full-Time Substack Writer & Author Traveling in Los Angeles (Travel Diary)
A week in the life as a full-time Substack writer and author traveling in Los Angeles for the week.
The benefit of being a full-time author/Substacker/freelance writer is that I’m able to turn to Kyle Cords and be like, “hey want to go to Los Angeles for two weeks?”
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.
See you inside!
-Amy