Author Amanda Montei on Her Substack 'Mad Woman' and How It Boosted Her Book Promotion
Bonus Material for Launch & Grow a Newsletter to Boost Your Writing Career
Happy Friday, writers!
I have a special bonus treat for you. I recently took a memoir class from author
, and, not only did she give fabulous feedback, but it was awesome to familiarize myself with her work. I stan a feminist who scribbles outside the lines, as Montei does through her Substack and her new book Touched Out.Today, she’s taking us behind the scenes of Mad Woman and teaching us some newsletter tricks of the trade (I love how she uses her founding tier!). Enjoy.
What’s the basic premise and tagline of your newsletter?
AM: Mad Woman looks at literature and culture with a feminist lens. We also have a new writing group for madwomen!
When and why did you start your newsletter?
AM: I started my newsletter during the pandemic as a column about feminism and motherhood. It was an urgent time in terms of thinking about the cultural discourse and representation of parenting and labor. As an academic, this had been a major corner of my research for years. As a mother, it was happening to me. I just wanted to write without pitching pieces into oblivion. I wanted to be in conversation. I wanted to experiment. Over time, I expanded the column to give me more freedom to write about broader feminist issues.
Who’s your main audience?
AM: Feminists, writers, thinkers, people interested in madness, emotion, gender, pop culture, and literary things.
How is your newsletter differentiated from the other newsletters in your niche?
AM: Because of my academic background in theories of emotion, psychoanalysis, and feminist theory, I have a unique entry point into thinking about madness, misogyny, and feelings. I’m not really a Person Who Has Previously Worked in Media™ like a lot of my fellow (brilliant!) colleagues and friends who write newsletters. I’m a memoirist and literary writer at heart, so that affects the shape of my essays and my thinking. I like theory that’s infused with subjectivity and memoir that’s philosophical. We keep things personal and dial into the stories we all live with about gender and power.
What’s your editorial strategy? Including: What kind of content are you focused on offering? What’s your publishing cadence? How far in advance do you plan your content calendar?
AM: I do a weekly free essay. There are weeks when I just can’t (because I do so many forms of labor to support myself!), but I’m pretty consistent about those. They’re either criticism, essays exploring a bigger question or issue, or a timely piece on the culture I’m consuming. I also send little treats to paid subscribers on Fridays, and I publish essays and threads for the craft wing of the newsletter (for founding tier subscribers) on Mondays. I have not always done this much or been this consistent, but the more the newsletter has grown in terms of paid subscriptions, the more regularly I’ve been able to show up. I mostly plan week-by-week, depending on what I’m inspired to write about. Sometimes I get ambitious and plan ahead, but I really need to be moved to write.
How many subscribers do you have?
AM: We’re at about 6500.
Do you offer paid memberships? If so, explain when and why you turned that on, what your subscription offering includes, the cost, how many subscribers are part of your paid community, and any takeaways from going paid.
AM: I do. I’ve always had paid subscriptions turned on because I value my writing as work — it’s my income — and it’s the only reason the newsletter has gone from an experiment to something I can do sustainably. We have almost 400 paid subscribers, and a good chunk of these are in the writing group, which is different from the regular paid subscription.
I send little treats to regular paid subscribers, including recs and roundups on Fridays, but paid subscribers make all the work possible because the bulk of my time obviously goes into the longer free pieces that I write. I paywall personal essays, too, because I’ve learned that it’s helpful to have a smaller audience for these, given the subjects I write about and given that I am a woman!
Have you tried any other methods of monetization?
AM: We have a really active “founding tier,” which is a writing group I launched in January. The way I think of it is: regular paid subscriptions are for readers, the writing group is for writers — they have weekly discussions, two virtual retreats a year, and a craft essay and syllabus every month. I’ve been teaching writing at universities and creative writing programs for over a decade, so I created this program to integrate that work into the newsletter — it’s more informal but also longer-term than a writing class. It’s been amazing to see the community grow so fast, and everyone is so supportive and brilliant.
Tell us about your newsletter’s growth trajectory.
AM: My readership has grown almost entirely from readers and fellow writers connecting with and sharing the writing. I used to spend a lot of time sharing the newsletter on Instagram, but after my recent book launch, I’m really focusing on writing. I’ve learned that being in conversation and in community with other writers in authentic ways not only helps readers find me; it helps my writing and thinking.
What’s been your most popular content, and your guess as to why?
AM: I wrote about the banality of white male rage recently after the Super Bowl and the Kansas City shooting, and that had a huge response. My essays on Britney Spears’s memoir and another on Barbie were also big. I think people like essays that are timely and tap into the moment in surprising ways. But one of my most popular essays is on time, as was another on quitting adjuncting, so it’s not all pop culture buzz.
My interviews are also my favorite, and this one with Rebecca Woolf was loved by many — because it’s so good!
How has your newsletter served your career as an author?
AM: It’s definitely helped me not only find readers but connect with them. It’s taught me a lot about myself as a writer, too. And when my recent book came out, I owe a lot of the success to my subscribers and to all the friends and colleagues I’ve found writing my column.
What’s your #1 tip for writers who want to start a newsletter?
AM: Same advice I give to all writers: Have a sense of your voice or use the writing to hone it. Read a lot.
What’s your #1 tip for writers trying to grow their existing newsletter?
AM: Don’t get wrapped up in the hustle. Put the writing first. Take the time you need to do that. There will always be readers who think you should give them more of your time and energy for $5/month, but there will be plenty more who understand you are a working writer moving within an impossible economy and that your work is valuable even if you take your time. Writing a regular column is a sustained effort in being a public thinker, which has its ups and downs, fits and starts, fallow and prolific periods.
Shout out another writer-newsletter that you admire and enjoy consuming.
AM: There are so many! Two growing newsletters by amazing writers I’d love to see more people recognize:
’s and ’s
Thank you, Amanda! Make sure to check out her Mad Woman Substack and her new book Touched Out.
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What great insights! Thanks to both of you, and thanks for the Body Type shout-out :)
Love this inside look and of course everything Amanda does! Thanks for this interview!