Behind the Substack with Courtney

Read the full interview with Courtney, author of The Thursday list.

Welcome to "Behind the Substack," where we roll aside the curtain and reveal the unpolished world of newsletter writing.

If you've ever sat in front of a blank screen late at night, questioning whether your next idea will resonate, this series is for you. 

We'll explore how writers manage their creative routines, growth strategies, time management, and self-care.

Think of “Behind the Substack” as your cheat sheet for navigating through the highs and lows of newsletter writing. It's part support circle, part skill-building class, and the shared experiences that make the journey a little easier.

I see this as an opportunity for us Substack writers to share what we've learned. After all, we're all figuring things out as we go. And if you’d like to share what you know and invite us Behind the scenes of your publication, DM me.

With all that said, let me introduce today’s writer who bravely agreed to spill the tea coffee on their Substack journey…

Courtney is documenting how she's trying to build a life that actually feels good, you know? She shares all these tiny shifts in how she thinks and what she does that slowly but surely help her get there. And honestly? Help us get there too. 

My favourite post of hers reminds us: FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING, DO LESS, GIRL! 👏🏻 I want to post it on my notice board, mirror, phone wallpaper… Here’s the link if you’d like to read more. 

And with that said, let's move into the interview.

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1. What’s your favourite coffee?

 I love all things honey and cinnamon, so my go-to order is a café miel.

 2. Can you tell me about the moment you decided to start writing? Where were you, and what inspired you?

I started noticing Substack in the periphery of my social media scrolling. Around the same time, I was thinking about starting a blog to go with my Instagram account. I never quite got it off the ground, likely because a. I was uninterested in running a website or learning a potentially complicated platform and b. writing exclusively about home decor (my IG niche) was not something that was thrilling me. Still, I was a bit disenchanted with Instagram and thought I might enjoy creativity and self-expression through words rather than images. Once I realized how user-friendly Substack was, I started dreaming about writing. I endlessly jotted down ideas for posts, and from here, fine-tuned my overall ethos and purpose.

3. How has using Substack changed or influenced your writing style or topics?

I’ve learned a lot about blogging, writing, and self-expression through Substack. I’ve learned what topics I’m drawn to, what topics I enjoy reading, and what I enjoy writing about. I have also welcomed this truth: it’s all a process. I think at first, I wanted to have every facet of my Substack polished and ready to go before starting. What I have since learned is that my voice and focus as a writer is constantly changing. Who I am and how I show up on Substack now is different than it was in January and it will be different a year from now. That’s just life.

 4. What strategies or efforts have been the most successful in growing your readership on Substack?

Publishing weekly, posting Notes regularly, and commenting/replying just as frequently. This is it!

5. Can you share an example of something you tried that worked better than expected?

I have had a few Notes perform well that didn’t seem all that special. On the flip side, I have written notes that I felt were super insightful and meaningful, and they have flopped. This just goes to show: post regularly. Keep showing up. This is the key. (I have not gained 1,000 subscribers in just 3 months, okay? So I’m not a guru or anything, but I have built a small readership through these methods.)

6. Since you’ve started your publication, what do you consider your biggest learning so far? 

Most of my subscribers come from within the Substack platform itself. I feel no need to “advertise” (which I hate doing) on my Instagram. There are plenty of readers on Substack alone, which is really cool. Similarly, Substack moves at a slower pace than other social media. I love this. Sometimes, a post won’t receive many likes or comments until a week after it has been published. I find myself saving my favorite posts for moments when I can slow down and really read it, and I imagine other Substack readers do the same.

7. Can you walk us through how you plan and organise your content for your Substack publication?

I have 4 buckets of “post styles” that I pull from that support the overall ethos of my publication: small shifts in perspective or habit for a more balanced life, all from my everyday, millennial mom POV. I have a loose content calendar where I plan out a month’s worth of posts at a time, so I have a general road map to follow. I also have a document where I brain-dump ideas, so if I’m lacking inspiration, I will pull a half-baked idea from there and run with it.

8. What tools or methods do you use to stay on top of your writing schedule?

My content calendar helps. I am often writing my posts on the evening that I post them (Thursday, of course). This isn’t my favorite habit, but it’s the season of life that I’m currently in! I set a goal in January to post one a week for a year, and I’ve held fast to that goal until just recently, when I decided to listen to my intuition to ease up just a bit. I want to spend more time developing my writing, and it is my hope that scaling back to posting every other week will open up that creative space for me.

9. On average, how much time do you spend working on your Substack each day or week?

Probably 1-2 hours a week. I wonder how this will shift with my new posting schedule–we shall see!

10. How do you juggle your Substack with other commitments in your life?

I make time for it because I enjoy it–the creative outlet, the challenge, the community, and the personal growth that comes from it all. I don’t have nearly as much time for it as I would like, but I will take creativity in the margins vs. no creativity at all.

11.   How do you care for yourself? 

I think posting on Substack is part of my self-care. Otherwise, I try to listen to my instincts. When I feel overwhelmed, I know I’m pushing myself a bit too hard (as perfectionists tend to do), so I need to slow down and rest. I’m getting better and better at this.

12.  What’s a book you’ve read recently that had a big impact on you?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The themes are modern, yet timeless and thought-provoking. The writing is beautiful. (Similarly: Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman and Florida by Lauren Groff)

13.  Where are you finding joy when things don’t go to plan? 

My family and my children ground me in times of overwhelm or disappointment. Similarly–I find a lot of solace in fictional stories. Having a good book to escape into or a favorite TV show to watch does wonders for resetting my mindset.

14.  What are you working on right now?

I’m thinking about leadership–specifically, how women show up in leadership roles. Motherhood, after all, is perhaps one of the most prolific and important leadership roles of them all.

Here’s one of Courtney’s posts that stood out to me—as someone who gets labelled as “direct,” I say yes to being direct yet warm at the same time!

In defense of the exclamation point!

Thank you for your attention, reading, and support. It means more than you know.

** Photo by mk. s on Unsplash