Does Anyone Make Money Anymore?

Creating value, month by month.

This edition of Monetizing Joy is free for everyone.

Monetizing Joy #3

The Value Proposition

An Indecent Proposal, that 1993 film starring Demi Moore, Robert Redford, and Woody Harrelson—the dramatic version of the comedic Honeymoon in Vegas—that’s what comes to mind when I hear the words Value Proposition.

What do you have that others want?

We’re all asking ourselves that on Substack, whether we ever intend to make money with it or not. There has to be value for someone to subscribe, even for free, and that value needs to be communicated.

It’s why I say your introduction is 1) The Promise of your Newsletter, and 2) Your Story—as it relates to that promise.

Selling Fiction

How do you make your fiction something worth buying into? Yesterday, I was helping a writer with his profile. He has a book coming out with a publisher and is trying to gain some traction for his Substack ahead of its release—and at no point does he mention any of that on his profile. He said he was a writer and what genre, but that does nothing to set you apart from the crowd. An upcoming book release and a publisher are bonafide credentials, and he needs to place them front and center.

I made other suggestions to another new Substacker with similar questions. He isn’t an author, but

Anthony Bennett

’s profile does an excellent job of presenting his credentials. Take a look.

Now, you might be saying that you don’t have credentials, but you do. They're your story as it relates to the promise. Those are your credentials. It doesn’t have to be a published book or a sparkling resume, but look for that part of the story of who you are that ties you into the promise your newsletter is making.

Monetizing Joy

Monetizing Joy is a series I created for my Founding Members and which will track my efforts to turn Substack into… something… that supplements my income. It’s called Monetizing Joy, because I’m only willing to do what makes me happy, and I love Substack.

Do what you love.

I love writing fiction, and you know what? I love this kind of writing, too. Before the Right-Reader Method, I was writing meta pieces, and I kept telling myself to stop. I didn’t want to be known as that kind of writer. In other words, I was afraid of what people would think.

How foolish.

Do what you love, and if you find a way to make money from it, wonderful. Either way, it’s not time wasted pursuing what makes you miserable.

In 2025, I intend to start making money here. I’m exploring ideas of how to make that happen and tossing out the ones I can’t make viable. The ones that have promise, I’ll try. Some efforts will succeed. Some will fail.

My goal right now is in a new effort every month. In June, I introduced the Right-Reader Method, and I launched a couple of newsletters in accordance with that plan. (Usually, you would only make one.) In July, I began creating the mini courses, and I held the subscriber drive. In August, I’m launching the first of the non-fiction book promotions, and I’ve launched this lovely series (and without starting a new Substack to do it—I’m so proud of my restraint.)

I am crafting my value position, and I’ve given myself until February 2025 to do it. By then I will know what I can offer my subscribers, be they free, paid, or founding.

Right now, you can watch me learn, if that interests you. If you want to follow Monetizing Joy, subscribe to Literary Salon and reach out to me. Let me know. I’ll give you a temporary upgrade to Founding Level.

One day, that’ll be worth something.

Until then,

I’m Thaddeus Thomas