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Welcome to the Author Stack. This publication sits at the intersection of craft and commerce, helping writers build more sustainable businesses that allow them to thrive while creating work that lights them up inside. We strive to give authors agency in a world that too often seems intent on stripping it away from them.

I’m USA Today bestselling author Russell Nohelty. People generally know me as a fantasy author, comic book creator, and professional speaker, but I’m also a serial creative entrepreneur. Throughout my career, I have owned a movie production company, a photography studio, a Verizon dealership, and more.

Currently, I own Wannabe Press and co-founded Writer MBA with my business partner Monica Leonelle. Together, we also co-founded the Future of Publishing Mastermind and cocreated the Author Ecosystems.

With such wide-ranging interests and skills, I tend to think about building an author career differently than most writers, integrating lessons from every industry I’ve worked in to help you build a more robust and sustainable business.

I’ve written over 40 novels, yes, but I also write non-fiction, comics, and children’s books. I have written for magazines and newspapers across the country, along with working on licensed content for many companies. I’ve created over a dozen courses and built countless websites. I have worked with hundreds of photography clients and traveled around the world to work on movies. I’ve directed television and written web series. I have produced audio dramas, narrated audiobooks, and hosted podcasts. I’ve spoken at conferences, educational institutions, and private companies around the world, and sat on advisory boards across multiple creative industries. I have licensed books to board game companies and coffee distributors. I’ve had my work optioned by studios and pitched to companies like Nickelodeon and Disney. I have been repped by literary agents and managers and worked with A-list showrunners to package projects for Hollywood. I’ve sold my books into translation and done book signings on multiple continents. I have edited and contributed to dozens of anthologies. I’ve raised close to a million dollars on my own creative projects throughout my career and helped hundreds of creatives build successful careers for themselves.

I’ve touched almost every facet of authorship and creativity and been blessed to be pretty successful with most of them. Even the ones that flamed out have taught me a lot about how to build a path for other people.

Through my work with Monica, though, I’ve come to understand the ever-changing landscape of publishing in a way I never have before.

Most people are pessimistic about the future of publishing, but I can’t tell you how excited I am about everything that is coming in the next few years. It’s a great time to be an author.

Today, more than at any time in history, I believe there is a way forward for every author to have the career of their dreams.

If you want to find clarity in your author business, stop kicking against the current while barely getting anywhere, and are ready to jump into the future with a business that can sustain you for years, then you are in the right place.

Below, you’ll find a guide to this publication and what we offer. If you find something helpful here, I highly recommend at least becoming a free subscriber, if not a paid member. Members can access our complete archives, plus over a dozen novels and all my solo non-fiction books with their membership.

The vast majority of people who subscribe are here to learn about growing an audience without selling your soul, especially on Substack. So, we created this free 55,000-word guide that will take you from Substack-curious to Substack rock start.

Here are some of our other most popular articles to help you get in the right mindset for your journey.

I also write articles about how to build a successful author business.

As somebody who suffers from multiple chronic illnesses, I’ve also written a lot about surviving creative entrepreneurship with mental health and chronic illnesses.

Plus, we bring in world-class experts to help guide you through the worlds of authorship and writing.

For our sister publication, I’ve also written extensively about our Writer MBA archetyping system, The Author Ecosystems, which helps authors understand their natural sales and marketing rhythms to build better businesses.

• What are Author Ecosystems

• Website sales for every Author Ecosystem

• Subscriptions for each Author Ecosystem

• Conventions, conferences, and book signings for every Author Ecosystem

• How to build a sales funnel and flywheel using author ecosystems

• Kickstarter for every Author Ecosystem

• Email marketing for every Author Ecosystem

• Maximizing Substack for each ecosystem

• The evolution path of each Author Ecosystem

• Building a team using Author Ecosystems

• How each Author Ecosystem thinks about and uses trends

There are even more author growth articles and tutorials in our archives, and many of them are free to read even if you aren’t a subscriber. We also have a podcast called The Six Figure Author Experiment.

• Episode 1 - A dumb, possibly brilliant idea

If you want to go deeper, I’ve also got a dozen fiction novels and a ton of additional writing resources available to paid members as well. You can find a complete rundown of all or free and paid resources below.

On top of all that, you can get a 7-day free trial to check it out before committing.

If you’re still on the fence about joining us behind the paywall, here is what other authors are saying about The Author Stack.

So what do you think? Are you ready to join us behind the paywall and get over 600 paid posts, including exclusive interviews, articles, courses, and more?

If you want to upgrade but have a hardship that prevents you from doing so, or know somebody who does, you can just reach out to help at theauthorstack dot com and I’ll try to hook you up.

Finally, if you want to update your preferences, unsubscribe from some or all of our sections, or simply change how you interact, you can find more information on how to do that here.

Thanks for stopping by.