What's a đŚHapitalistđŚ?
In short, a Hapitalist is someone who strives to align personal happiness, social well-being, and financial stability. They see happiness and health as valuable âcapitalâ worth investing in on par with, or even more important than, traditional indicators of wealth.
Imagine measuring your success not just by profits and accolades, but by the genuine joy it brings to you, your readers, and your community. Thatâs the essence of the Hapitalist mindset: treating your own happiness, and the well-being of others, as a worthwhile investment.
The origin of this methodology come from the below articles, which are all free resources.
Becoming a Hapitalist isnât about gatekeeping resources. Itâs about having the most powerful and transformative breakthrough possible, sustaining it consistently, developing the skills to pivot as conditions change.
Drilling Down to the Core of the Problem
For decades, creators have chased every âsure-fireâ success tactic we could find from bestseller launches to automated funnels, six-figure email lists, Facebook ads that supposedly print money, magical subscriptions that will give us unlimited recurring money every month, and dozens of others. The list is literally endless.
Each one helped a lot of creatorsâŚfor a whileâŚuntil they didnât. Once the efficacy died, we would be onto the next one. They all treated symptoms of the problem, but none cured it. At best they masked the core of the problem, making it worse with every passing year.
The problem, we believe, is capitalism, specifically our relationship with it. Creators tend to either run away from capitalism like it is Godzilla or dive full-force into it without ever coming up for air until theyâre suffocating.
Trying to âignore the moneyâ or âhustle harderâ are two sides of the same coin. Both avoid the structural tension thatâs draining us. Instead,
Hapitalist helps creators triangulate themselves inside the system so they can have a positive relationship with it. Then, we build a business that works for you in a way that lights you up and brings in the money you want.
Businesses exist to serve their owners, not the other way around.
The truth is that all these platforms and tactics still work, just not in isolation. On top of that, no strategy work the same for every business and nothing works forever. A strategy might save one business and harm another, depending on the natural tendencies, skills, and interests of the people involved in it. Something might work well at one phase of your business and turn against you in the next phase.
Hapitalist digs down to the core of the problem and helps you build the scaffolding for success from the ground upâŚ
âŚbecause you fail to the level of your systems, and weâve been building on a shaky foundation all this time. Itâs a big, audacious, hairy goal, but if you can wrap your brain around it, then it might just change everything.
The Philosophy Behind Hapitalist
At the heart of Hapitalist is a set of simple principles.
đ Everyone Comes with Locks. Everyone Comes with Keys.
Every author joins with something holding them back, whether thatâs a mindset block, a marketing problem, a confidence issue, or a missing skill. Thatâs your lock. But everyone also shows up with keys from things theyâve already solved, overcome, or mastered. You might not have the key for your own lock, but you absolutely have one that can open someone elseâs. And in doing so, you often find the clarity to open your own. The real magic happens when we use our keys and start unlocking each otherâs locks.
đ¤ Transformation is a Shared Responsibility
We donât believe we have all the answers, so we work on a concept called distributed responsibility, wherein everyone has a little bit of responsibility to open the locks of everyone else when they find it. No waiting around for somebody else to fix it. If you have a key, then itâs on you to step up. When you mover the burden from individual to distributed responsibility, the energy in the room changes. We create momentum together. In Hapitalist, youâll get the tools, guidance, and culture that empower everyone to help one another move faster and farther because when responsibility is shared, transformation scales.
âď¸ Easeful Doesnât Mean Easy
âWhy canât this be easy?â is something we hear a lot, but weâre not actually after easy, or we would do something else. Easy means âwithout difficultyâ. What we are after is easeful, which means âwithout frictionâ. Easeful is the kind of flow that happens when you remove unnecessary struggle, align with your strengths, and stop trying to brute-force your way through everything. Most people say âthis is so hardâ when what they really mean is âthis feels stuck.â We help you get unstuck not by eliminating effort, but by making your effort matter more.
𧜠The Magic Is in the Messy Intersections
Few things worth doing fit neatly into a single framework. Growth rarely follows a clean, linear path. It lives in the sticky, overlapping spaces between mindset and marketing, craft and commerce, systems and soul. Thatâs why we embrace intersectional and integrative knowledge, the kind that honors complexity and blends what actually works across disciplines, backgrounds, and lived experience. The real breakthroughs happen in the gray areas, not the checklists.
đ˛ Planned Serendipity is Our Operating System
We embrace chaos, but we donât leave it up to chance. Hapitalist is built on planned serendipity, the idea that if you set strong intentions and stay open, the right people, conversations, and opportunities will emerge at just the right time. Like at a great convention, the most meaningful breakthroughs rarely happen on the schedule. They happen in the hallway, over lunch, during an unexpected moment of connection. Here, we design the container for those collisions to happen more often. Our goal is to create permission for that serendipity to bear fruit.
đ Success Requires Nurturing Two Selves and We Help Cultivate Both
Being a creator means living in tension. You need the audacity of someone who has never been hurt before and the empathy of someone whoâs been hurt too much. Most people lean into one and suppress the other, but to create anything meaningful, you have to hold both: boldness without arrogance and compassion without collapse. Inside Hapitalist, we honor both parts of you. We help you nurture the self that dares to be seen, and the self that sees others just as clearly.
đĄď¸ Building Our Margin of Safety Gives Us Freedom
Too many creators swing for the fences on an empty stomach. At Hapitalist we believe risk is essential, but only when itâs planted in a bed of slack: extra time, extra cash, extra emotional bandwidth. A margin of safety isnât a luxury; itâs a creative nutrient. When your rent is paid three months ahead, when your launch calendar includes white space, when your energy reserves arenât scraping the barrel, you make braver art, give more generously, and recover faster when experiments flop (because some always do).
How Does it Work?
Weâve covered the philosophy behind Hapitalist. Now, letâs look at how the membership is built to turn that philosophy into real, lasting transformation.
When you join, youâll get immediate access to all of our resources, but we ask you start with the Author Ecosystems workbook. This helps you identify two things: your ecosystem type and the stage of your career youâre currently in. It also helps you understand where other members are on their path. With that insight, we can align your strategy, your support, and your growth plan to match where you are with where you want to go.
Each quarter, weâll work through a strategic planning workbook together. This sets your focus for the next 90 days and helps the whole community move forward in sync, even if weâre all at different stages. One of the biggest challenges in online memberships is fragmentation. We solve that by anchoring each quarter in shared rhythm, while still personalizing the journey.
Every month we host two live sessions to work through everyoneâs blocks. These include expert-led coaching, town hall Q&As, member hot seats, and breakthrough sessions with other members designed to unlock progress through shared insight and real-time support.
Along the way, youâll have access to a growing library of tactical workbooks, organized by growth focus: crowdfunding, subscriptions, writing, direct sales, websites, and more. These pair directly with your strategic plan so you're never guessing what to do next. Instead, youâll always have a clear path and the tools to walk it.
And of course, youâll have full access to our courses, frameworks, and book library, covering everything from high-level author strategy to on-the-ground implementation.
The goal is to design a system where every piece supports and amplifies the restâso youâre never growing in isolation. You get clear direction and real autonomy, which means you can move at your own pace, make breakthroughs on your own timeline, and contribute in ways that feel natural and energizing.
Then, when you come up against blocks, you have the resources and community to break through them quickly. Itâs a structure that adapts to you, while keeping you connected to a community that moves forward together.
Triangulating Yourself in Capitalism
Where you stand changes. Thatâs the point. At its heart, being a Hapitalist is about one thing: Learning how to triangulate yourself in capitalism so you can make the money you want without feeling gross about it.
Whether we hate capitalism or not, we have to live in the system we are given even while we work to change it. Edison worked by candlelight until he developed a better lightbulb. Ford rode a horse until he built the Model T. We have to find ways to use the constraints of our situation as we work to change them.
The bottom line is that if youâre trying to make a living with your art, youâre already in the game. You donât get to opt out of capitalism just because itâs stupid. And you canât burn it all down by sheer force of will (I tried).
You can figure out how to place yourself inside the system in a way that feels rightâfor you. Thatâs what being a Hapitalist is really about at its core.
The problem is that writers expect logic, but capitalism is nonsense. They expect 1 + 1 = 2, when really it's đĽ + đżď¸ = 2. It doesn't make sense, but it is consistent.
đĽ + đżď¸ will always equal 2. Once you can read those patterns, you can make decisions that are aligned with where you stand and what you're comfortable doing at any moment in time, and keep coming back to this practice as your needs shift.
Weâre here to help you find the coordinates. It shows you how to identify your purpose and protect it. It helps you navigate between creativity and commerce. It gives you tools to assess your bandwidth, your financial reality, and your creative needs so you can build something stable inside the storm.
The goal isnât (necessarily) to escape capitalism. Itâs to stop letting it dictate your value. It's to stop contorting yourself to fit the market and start positioning yourself with clarity, purpose, and leverage.
Your triangulation point will move. Itâs supposed to. What matters is that you have a compass when it does.
Thatâs what Hapitalist offers. A way to build your own map.
The HAPI Compass
This triangulation manifests in what we call the HAPI Compass you can carry into any market shift. Point it at your work and four coordinates come into view:
H â Heart: the projects and inspiration that give you goosebumps and will resonate deeply with your readers.
A â Audience: the people orbiting those ideas, ready to champion them, amplify your reach, and fall deeply in love with what you create.
P â Prioritization: Deep focus on one high-leverage move at a time, letting it pay off, then reinvesting the space and cash it creates to widen your runway and buy yourself time for what matters.
I â Income: Generating the money that sustains your ideal life while fueling the creative work that lights you up.
Plot those four points, and you have more than a framework. You have a living compass. When you start to drift in one of the four points, our resources are built to help you get back in alignment.
This Isnât Just a Membership. Itâs a Full-System Reset
This membership is built on a powerful (and wildly effective) learning principle: I do. You do. We do. Itâs how teachers guide learners from watching to doing, and how Iâm helping writers go from surviving to thriving. Let me walk you through how it works:
đ I Do: The Material
This is where we show you how to build a sustainable, purpose-driven writing life that doesnât suck the soul out of us. We do this through a collection of powerful books, courses, and methodologies ranging from craft to business, including material on crowdfunding, subscriptions, direct sales, webstores, and more. We show you how to walk the path and lay it out clearly so you donât have to trip over the same mistakes we did.
đ§ You Do: The Workbooks
This is where you implement. This is your space. We built a collection of strategic and tactical workbooks to help you work through the material and apply it directly to your own writing life. We've released a lot of material over the years and found that without the workbook things fail to get implemented and understood. Thereâs just something about having a space to actually do the work that changes everything.
đ We Do: The Breakthrough Sessions
This is the piece that takes it to the next level. After youâve worked through the material and started using the workbook, youâll gather for live group sessions with a bunch of like-minded creatives who are building their own version of a sustainable writing life. Weâll talk about whatâs working, whatâs confusing, and how to move forward. Youâll get clarity. Youâll get community. Youâll get unstuck. Whether youâve filled in half the workbook or youâve just scribbled one note, this is your chance to plug into a support system and leave with real momentum.
Price: $300 per year
We built our pricing to do two things:
Be premium enough that we could devote enough resources to make it transformational.
Be reasonably priced enough that renewing your subscription every year can an easy yes.
Since we believe that triangulating your place in capitalism is a lifelong pursuit, we wanted to make sure the pricing was something that made sense for the long haul. Please note, we also recommend booking a strategy call every quarter to give yourself 1:1 support.
If this is still out of your budget, you can upgrade to a paid membership for $80/yr and access many of the our resources, but not the most powerful courses, workbooks, or any live calls.
What You Get as a Hapitalist
When you join the herd, you unlock access to resources built for scale, impact, and sustainability.
The Kickstarter Launchpad ($999 value): Plan, market, and launch your most successful campaign yet.
Build a Superfandom ($497 value): Turn casual readers into lifelong superfans.
Create Profitable Facebook Ads ($497 value): Learn to craft high-performing ads that convert.
How to Run Viral Giveaways ($297 value): Add 1,000+ subscribers to your email list every week.
Direct Sales Launchpad ($999 value): Sell directly through websites, subscriptions, crowdfunding, and live events.
Secrets of Substack Bestsellers ($100 value): The masterclass Russell ran with Substack expert Claire Venus to support our book How to Build a World-Class Substack.
Building an integrated Author Ecosystem: The strategy behind Hapitalist, built from a mix of retailer and direct sales.
Monthly breakthrough calls: Tailored strategies and live problem-solving with Russell.
An extensive library filled with everything a hapitalist needs to grow. Whether it's Facebook Ads, Kickstarter, or workbooks to help you plan your career, The Author Stack has all of that and more available for premium members.
Direction: Access to workbooks that help you work through where to go and how to get there.
Thatâs over $3,000 of value for $300/yr.
Who Is This For?
Hapitalist isnât a one-size-fits-all membership. Itâs a system for real humans doing creative work in an unpredictable world. Itâs for writers who donât just want to survive the grind, but want to build something that lasts.
Most people consider a program and think "I wonder if I can make it do this specific thing", and while our digital brain can help you personalize and localize anything to any area, I think if you come into Hapitalist with one specific goal mentality, then you're going to be disappointed.
Hapitalist is more about building the operating system for your writing business, and showing you how to build the structural foundations for success in a way that won't burn you out.
Yes, if you see one specific thing that you want help with, like building an email list, Facebook ads, Kickstarter, Substack, memberships, conventions, etc, then we'll be able to help you there, too, but that's just triage.
Most programs triage the surface problem to get you stable, and then kick you out of the nest. Hapitalist does that triage work, but then it goes deeper. Our goal is to show you how to build the mindset, support, and stability to keep doing this work for 20+ years, not just get you through the year until there's another problem.
And there will always be another problem. That's when Hapitalist really shines. Our courses are meant to be structurally resiliant enough that you can set them up and succeed with them today, tomorrow, next year, or next month.
We want to be there to help you with the fifth order problem you haven't even seen yet, as much as we want to get you back on track if you've fallen down.
Our goal is to:
Triage the problem: Everyone comes in with one issue that's consuming them. Between our community, my digital brain, our workbooks, and our other resources, we want to get you back on track ASAP with so that you can move comfortably.
Get you into physical therapy: Work the problem out so that you're confident that you'll never deal with it again.
Rehab the root of the problem: Our workbooks and other materials can help you see where you went wrong and how to plan for the future.
Schedule wellness visits: Once you are happy and healthy, then you have access to all the material that can help you prevent your problems in the future, and notice issues before they arise.
Most programs are great at #1, good at #2, and then they fall off the cliff, but #3 and #4 are where you'll see the true value of Hapitalist.
I'm very confident that between our courses, our digital brain, and our community, we can help you break through any bottleneck you have, but I created Hapitalist for the people who want to build for the next five year, and that means becoming unshakeable, and having a long term growth mindset.
Maybe that is folly, but when I look at the landscape of publishing, it's also what I believe is sorely lacking. If you're looking to triage your business, then we have you covered, but the goal is to get to the root of the problem and make you indestrucible.
You might see yourself here if:
âď¸ Youâre a writer whoâs tired of burnout culture.
Youâve tried writing faster. Youâve tried jumping on trends. Youâve done the âjust post moreâ dance on social media. And youâre exhausted. You want a sustainable rhythm, not another productivity hack that melts your brain.
đ° Youâre an author who wants to make money and make meaning.
Youâre not chasing fame, but you are done treating your writing like an unpaid hobby. You want your creative work to support your life, not sit on the back burner while you juggle three side gigs.
𤚠Youâre stuck in the messy middle.
Maybe youâve started building a platform or selling your work, but it still feels like youâre throwing spaghetti at the wall. Youâre past the beginner stage, but youâre not yet where you want to be. You need a roadmap through the uncertainty.
đŻ Youâre driven by purpose, not just profit.
You want your writing to matter. You care about your readers. You care about your message. And youâre trying to figure out how to hold onto that mission while still paying your rent.
𧊠Youâve got big dreams, but life keeps interrupting.
The job. The kids. The mental health days. The unpredictable mess of being a human in 2025. You need a plan that fits around your actual life, not someone elseâs perfect routine.
đ§ Youâve read the advice. Youâve taken the courses.
What youâre still missing is the bridge between strategy and reality. Whether youâre just starting out, pivoting after years in the game, or trying to re-center your creative life after burnout, this system meets you where you are and helps you build forward, on your terms.
Why Use Unicorns as a Symbol?
In the startup world, a âunicornâ is a private company valued at over $1 billion, a nearly mythical level of success. At Hapitalist, weâve taken that idea and turned it on its head.
Here, a âunicornâ isnât just about billion-dollar valuations. A unicorn is any author who strives to have it all; financial stability, creative freedom, personal happiness, and a meaningful impact on readers.
Some unicorns already sparkle with unstoppable momentum. Others are baby unicorns, just starting to grow their horn. Wherever you are on the journey, Hapitalist is here to help you reach your next level without compromising your health or your passion.
Whether youâre a baby unicorn just starting your journey or a seasoned pro galloping toward bigger horizons, Hapitalist is your portal to a more holistic, happiness-focused approach to authorship.
Crave financial success without sacrificing personal wellness? This is your place.
Want to master proven strategies while staying true to your creative spark? Weâre here to help.
Join the herd and discover what it truly means to blend passion, profit, and joy. Step into the Hapitalist membership today, and watch how your author career and your life transforms in remarkable ways.
Access over $3,000 in Premium Resources: Courses, accelerators, and masterclasses tailored for authors ready to grow.
Unlock your biggest blocks through breakthrough calls: Exclusive sessions to help you overcome challenges and unlock growth.
An extensive library filled with everything a hapitalist needs to grow. Whether it's Facebook Ads, Kickstarter, or workbooks to help you plan your career, The Author Stack has all of that and more available for premium members.
Direction: Workbooks to show you where to go and how to get there.
Why Gather All These Resources?
We believe success is rarely found in a single tactic or strategy. Instead, it emerges from intersectional knowledge and synthesis of ideas from diverse domains like tech startups, indie authorship, traditional publishing, marketing, content creation, and more.
An Integrative Approach: We bring together the best insights from each area and show you how they connect, rather than expecting you to follow a single âsilver bullet.â
More Than a Toolbox: While we offer plenty of resources (courses, masterclasses, books, etc.), we focus on helping you see how these pieces fit together, so you can shape them into a personalized plan that aligns with your goals and well-being.
In short, nobody gathers 100% of their solutions from one source. Instead, we gather the 5% from lots of places, weaving them into a cohesive author stack that powers your unique journey.
Love crowdfunding? Weâll guide you to your best launch ever.
Curious about subscriptions? Weâll show you how to create a profitable model.
Dreaming of a thriving reader community? We have you covered.
Instead of one rigid system, we collect the best strategies from everywhere and help you tailor them to your unique needs:
Are You Ready to Become a Hapitalist?
When we set up The Author Stack, our goal was simple: provide all the resources an author needs to build a successful career in one place. Over time, we realized that author success isnât a one-size-fits-all journey. Instead, it comes in two distinct stages:
Breaking through and starting a career
Building and sustaining long-term success
Resources like How to Build Your Creative Career and How to Become a Successful Author are ideal for the first stage. Theyâre designed to help new authors establish themselves, gain traction, and set a strong foundation for their careers. These resources are included in our Paid Membership, an affordable tier packed with everything you need to get started.
However, as authors grow, they face new challenges. Advanced strategies like running profitable Facebook ads, viral giveaways, and successful crowdfunding campaigns go far beyond the needs of beginners. Courses like The Kickstarter Launchpad, which builds on our introductory Fund Your Book with Kickstarter course, are designed for authors ready to scale. These resources fall into a different category altogether: building and sustaining long-term success.
We knew we couldnât offer these top-tier resources at the same price as our entry-level Paid Membership. Many of these advanced courses are worth hundreds of dollars. Thatâs why we created Hapitalist, a premium membership tier for authors who are serious about growth.
Becoming a Hapitalist isnât just about access to resources; itâs about providing the additional support, community, and tools that authors need to thrive at the highest level. By creating this special tier, we made it possible for ambitious authors to accelerate their growth without breaking the bank to buy everything individually.
Of course, becoming a Hapitalist only makes sense if youâre both ready to grow and think weâre the right teacher to guide your journey.
Not ready to join just yet? Start with our Paid Membership, which includes an incredible library of resources, including most of Russellâs non-fiction books and many of our courses. Plus, behind the scenes glimpses on Russellâs own journey, like our script library and access to many of his fiction books so you can track his own career trajectory.
These resources are everything Russell used to build his career, and it will give you a great base of knowledge. If youâre ready to go beyond that, or want to grow even faster, then maybe youâre ready to join the herd.
Then, when youâre ready upgrade to our Hapitalist tier, where youâll get access to: â
All released Author Stack books (How to Build Your Creative Career, How to Become a Successful Author, How to Write Irresistible Books that Readers Devour, and Advanced Growth Tactics for Authors)
How to Build a World Class Substack. the definitive book on growing your Substack written with Substack legend Claire Venus.ââ
âCourses (Kickstarter Launchpad and Direct Sales Launchpad courseâs, How to set up and run an awesome anthology courseâ, âWrite a Great Novel courseâ, How to Build an Audience from Scratch minicourseâ, â10x your productivity course)
Plus, our extensive âscript library, income reports dating back to 2018, and exclusive analysis only available to Hapitalist members.â
Becoming a Hapitalist isnât for everyone. Itâs for authors ready to scale their businesses and take control of their careers without losing their soul in the process. If thatâs you, now might be a good time to act. With over $3,000 in resources, direct mentorship, and exclusive perks, this is the ultimate toolkit for ambitious authors.
Success doesnât happen by chance. It happens by design. With Hapitalist, youâre not just gaining resources; youâre joining a movement. A movement of authors who dare to dream big, work hard, and embrace their inner fire.
If youâve always believed you shouldnât have to choose between financial success and personal well-being, youâre in the right place.
By joining Hapitalist, youâll tap into:
Intersectional Knowledge: Strategies distilled from multiple industries and molded into a cohesive approach.
A Supportive Herd of Unicorns: Authors who believe in thriving both personally and professionally.
The Freedom to Integrate: Rather than locking you into a single method, we show you how each piece can amplify your unique vision.
Join Hapitalist and discover how an integrative, intersectional approach to knowledge can help you grow your business without burning out, hone your craft with advanced tools, and find genuine fulfillment in every stage of your author journey.Trade the high-pressure hustle for a balanced blend of ambition and joy.
Become a Hapitalist today, and letâs build a writing life where everything you value can thrive!
Price: $300 per year
đŚHAPITALISTđŚ RESOURCES
MY âDIGITAL BRAINâ
As a hapitalist member, you have access to my âdigital brainâ Iâve uploaded all my interviews, course transcriptions, podcast interviews, books, and just about everything Iâve ever said about building a creative career into a Delphi brain that allows you to chat with âmeâ any time day or night, in any language, about anything related to your creative blocks.
While we have regular calls, and you should think about booking a 30-minute session with me every quarter, this brain is available to you any time.
TRANSFORMATIONAL WORKBOOKS
Strategic and tactical workbooks to help you master and overcome every creative business block. We will go through one workbook per quarter together, but you have access to the lot, with more added throughout the year. Right now this includes:
Cultivate a Thriving Author Ecosystem
The Author Stack Method
Planning your Creative Career
Becoming a Successful Author
Crush it on Kickstarter
Advanced Growth Tactics for Authors
Build a World Class Subscription
Write Irresistible Books
Success at Live Events
Direct Sales Website Strategy
We recommend doing the first two in order, then decide what strategy to focus on next.
BREAKTHROUGH SESSIONS
This is where the real breakthroughs happen. Twice a month, youâll have the opportunity to join live group calls with other creatives building their own sustainable writing lives. These arenât big group chats where everyone introduces themselves and you sit around waiting your turn. Instead, we drop you into small groups of 3â5 people so everyone gets focused time to work on their business.
Each person brings their biggest blockâwriting, mindset, marketing, whateverâand the group works together to break through it. No judgment. Everyone is welcome, as long as theyâre constructive. Youâll learn just as much from helping others as you will from your own time in the hot seat.
Weâll send you an email every month with links to join, and reach out a couple hours before to remind you. You can come to one, both, or none depending on what you need.
GROUP CHAT
The group chat gives you direct access to other members between calls to get real-time feedback and support on your most pressing creative questions. Whether youâre stuck on a book launch, burned out from chasing algorithms, or just need someone to remind you, âNo, youâre not bonkers for trying this,â weâre here for it.
Combine that with access to my 24/7 digital brain (trained on everything Iâve ever made), bi-monthly live calls, tactical workbooks, and high-impact courses, and youâve got more than just a chat. Youâve got an entire creative ecosystem designed to help you thrive.
COURSES AND MASTERCLASSES
SECRETS OF SUBSTACK BESTSELLERS
Type of resource: Masterclass
Success on Substack is not one-size-fits-all. Whether you prioritize growth or focus on monetization, the key lies in aligning your goals with the right strategies. Define your touchpoint level, understand your audienceâs needs, and plan for a sustainable path forward. Your Substack can become a thriving ecosystemâif you approach it with clarity and purpose.
Russell Nohelty and Claire Venus share insights on navigating Substack, focusing on the balance between growth and monetization. They discuss the importance of understanding your goalsâwhether to run a low or high touchpoint publicationâand tailoring strategies for sustainable success.
BUILDING AN INTEGRATED AUTHOR ECOSYSTEM
Type of resource: Masterclass
Success isnât about picking the âbestâ platform, whether itâs Kickstarter, Substack, or direct sales, but about how they work together to amplify each other. The focus isnât on chasing the next big thing or worrying about industry collapse. Itâs about simplifying, optimizing, and integrating existing strategies to create a sustainable sales ecosystem.
If youâre tired of constantly adapting to new trends, this talk offers a practical, no-nonsense approach to making a living as an author.
BUILD YOUR SUPERFANDOM
Type of resource: Course
What would we go back and tell our past self that would take years off our own struggle and make me a successful creative without wasting time, energy, effort, and money?
This course was the answer to that question. It's a practical guide to everything needed to know in order to build a six figure creative business.
Russell spent the last decade building his creative writing business from just a few thousand dollars a year into a successful six-figure business without using fan art, licensing products, or relying on public domain characters. In that time, he has become a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter, and grown his email list to tens of thousands of superfans.
Additionally, you have access to our Build an Audience from Scratch masterclass.
THE KICKSTARTER LAUNCHPAD
Type of resource: Course
Plan, Market, and Launch Your Next Kickstarter Using the Kickstarter Launchpad Methodology that Russell Nohelty developed from running 20+ Kickstarters and raising $300,000+ on novels, anthologies, comics, and audio dramas.
The Kickstarter Launchpad is the course that broke everything open for Writer MBA, and combined with the Fund Your Book with Kickstarter and Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter books available to paid members, will make your next (or first) campaign be your best launch ever.
Additionally, you have access to our introductory Fund Your Book with Kickstarter course.
DIRECT SALES LAUNCHPAD
Type of resource: Course
In conjunction with our direct sales books, this is a self-study course filled with material on how to build a direct sales environment through your website, and at conventions. We have other courses for subscriptions (Substack specifically) and Kickstarter available to both hapitalists and paid members, so this focuses on those three other paths.
CREATE PROFITABLE FACEBOOK ADS
Type of resource: Course
Understand your customer journey, craft ads that people want to see, and make a profit off your ads. Weâve taken lots of Facebook courses in our life and spent thousands of dollars on failed Facebook ad campaigns before finally figured out how to make them work for me, and now weâre bringing that knowledge to you. This course was created years ago, but it's in general still relevant (though the interface has changed)
HOW TO RUN A VIRAL GIVEAWAY TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST
Type of resource: Course
Have you been stuck growing your email list with very little results? Do you want massive growth in your list in a very short amount of time? Your email list is the most important thing necessary to grow your business, and being able to run a group builder with 10-20 other creators means that you can add 1,000 new prospective customers to your list, every week, as often as you would like. If you can master this single concept, you can revolutionize your creative business and go from struggling to successful in no time at all.
HOW TO SET UP AND RUN AN ANTHOLOGY
Type of resource: Course
Build an amazing team of creators, hire a crazy good cover artist, and take over the world. Russell recorded this course in June of 2018 and used his upcoming anthology, Cthulhu is Hard to Spell, as a case study to test every secret he talked about in this course. He didn't know what would happen, but hoped it would do a little better than his first anthology, but when he launched the campaign it blew Monsters and Other Scary Shit out of the water!
WRITE A GREAT NOVEL
Type of resource: Course
Master character creation, structure, plot, prose, editing, and more in order to write a great book more quickly than ever before. Are you struggling to finish your novel? Does it take you years to write a book? Do you lack confidence in your writing? Then Write a Great Novel is for you. It's everything Russell learned from writing his first 20+ novels. Not only does Russell give you all his secrets to creating characters and building structure, but he gives you the tips, tricks, and hacks heâs found to write better books faster. Most authors aren't teachers, and most teachers aren't prolific authors. Russell is both.
10X YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Type of resource: Course
Are you struggling tworko be productive? Do you wish you could get more done in a day, week, month, or year? Then join USA Today bestselling author and six-figure creative entrepreneur Russell Nohelty as he shows you how to 10x your productivity starting today. Learn how to effectively make a goal that you can measure and achieve, how to tell if you have a good idea, how to stop being caught up in idea-switching, how to say no to projects, and much, much more.
BOOKS
HOW TO WRITE IRRESISTIBLE BOOKS THAT READERS DEVOUR
Type of resource: Book
Every author dreams of crafting stories that captivate readers from the first page to the last, but what makes a book truly unputdownable?
Bestselling author and publishing expert Russell Nohelty pulls back the curtain on the psychology behind compelling storytelling.
Blending insights from years of working with authors, deep research into reader behavior, and lessons from top-selling books, this guide teaches you how to craft stories that not only engage but resonate.
HOW TO BUILD A WORLD CLASS SUBSTACK
Type of resource: Book
Are you ready to start a world-class Substack? Are you interested in building your mailing list or paid subscriptions on a platform that gets great organic reach?Are you struggling to get noticed in a sea of other publications? Then How to Build a World Class Substack is perfect for you.
Written by USA Today bestselling author Russell Nohelty and Substack expert Claire Venus, this comprehensive guide dives deep into the strategies and techniques for creating a standout Substack publication. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting, this book offers valuable insights into maximizing your impact on Substack.
If you're ready to elevate your Substack, engage with your audience, and build a publication that truly shines, turn the page and start your journey to becoming a Substack rockstar. Your path to a world-class Substack begins here and it's full of joy!
HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL AUTHOR
Type of resource: Book
How to Become a Successful Author is the best book you'll ever read on building a successful author career from the ground up, packed with everything you need to know to become a successful author, starting today. It is broken up into three sections: Mindset, all about how to build focus, grit, and resilience, Writing, where Russell breaks down how to build a successful book from the ground up, and Marketing, where you'll learn how to take your book and share it with the world.
HOW TO BUILD YOUR CREATIVE CAREER
Type of resource: Book
How to Build Your Creative Career is set up in five sections: How to Make Great Content, The Basics of Sales, Building an Audience from Scratch, Making Money at Live Shows, and Launching your Product Successfully. Every creative Russell has ever met is stuck at one of those stages of their career, and this book gives you the tools to open those floodgates, overcome those blocks in your own career, and supercharge your career. This book canât guarantee you a successful career, but it can give you all the fundamental knowledge you need to set you up for success because it was written by a creative for a creative.
ADVANCED GROWTH TACTICS FOR AUTHORS
Type of resource: Book
Are you ready to unlock your full potential as an author? In Advanced Growth Tactics for Authors, Russell Nohelty offers a masterclass in building a thriving creative career. This isnât just another âhow-toâ guide. Itâs a strategic roadmap packed with real-world advice, hard-won lessons, and powerful insights that will help you navigate the challenges of publishing with confidence.
Drawing from years of experience in publishing, direct sales, and crowdfunding, Nohelty shows you how to build a career thatâs not just successful but also deeply fulfilling. With clear strategies, actionable steps, and a touch of humor, this book is your ultimate guide to thriving in the ever-changing world of publishing.
If youâre ready to stop spinning your wheels and start building momentum, Advanced Growth Tactics for Authors will show you how to turn your passion into a powerhouse career.
HOW TO CULTIVATE A THRIVING AUTHOR ECOSYSTEM
Type of resource: Book
Embrace your natural tendencies to build a sustainable author career with the power of Author Ecosystems! If you've been struggling to gain traction, stuck on the marketing treadmill, or feeling burnt out from chasing strategies that don't work for you, this book is your guide to creating a sustainable and fulfilling practice.
Packed with actionable advice, this guide helps you stop wasting time on strategies that don't deliver results. Instead, you'll create a clear, individualized plan that works for you whether you're starting from scratch or ready to level up an already successful business.
You're not doing marketing wrong, you're doing the wrong marketing. With How to Cultivate a Thriving Author Ecosystem, you'll find the clarity, confidence, and tools to take your writing to the next level. It's time to succeed as an author on your own terms.
$10K SECRETS: PROVEN STRATEGIES TO HAVE YOUR FIRST (OR NEXT) $10K MONTH
Type of resource: Book
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for building a six-figure creative business, but there are patterns. In SIX FIGURE SECRETS, fourteen successful creators pull back the curtain on the exact strategies, systems, and mindset shifts that helped them hit $10,000+ months, without burning out or selling out.
Curated and edited by Russell Nohelty, Jari Roomer, Sinem GĂźnel, and Philip Hofmacher, this book is a tactical, honest look at what it really takes to grow your income as a modern creator. From monetizing Substack communities to scaling digital offers and high-ticket services, every chapter is a lived experience from someone who made it work their way.
HOW TO THRIVE AS A WRITER IN A CAPITALIST DYSTOPIA
Type of resource: Book
How to Thrive as a Writer in a Capitalist Dystopia is your essential guide to navigating and succeeding as a creative human in the challenging world of modern capitalism. This book offers practical, actionable advice to help writers not just survive but thrive in these âinterestingâ times.
You'll discover strategies to overcome the systemic challenges imposed by capitalism, learn the rules of the game and how to manipulate them to your advantage, and build a roadmap for a sustainable creative business that brings you joy even in a world tailor-made to steal every ounce of happiness from you.
Whether you're struggling with burnout or seeking to elevate your writing career, How to Thrive as a Writer in a Capitalist Dystopia equips you with invaluable tools to navigate our current capitalist landscape, ensuring your success and fulfillment as a writer from today until this whole house of cards collapses down upon itself and we rebuild something (hopefully) better in its place.
DIRECT SALES STRATEGY FOR AUTHORS
Most authors donât have a sales problem. They have a system problem.
Direct Sales Strategy for Authors gives you proven, repeatable systems to sell more books, keep more of your revenue, and build a real business around your writing without relying on luck, platforms, or chasing the next trend.
Whether youâre looking to increase your website sales, crush your next crowdfunding campaign, build your membership, or sell better at conventions, this book will give you the results-driven approaches that helped build thousands of author careers.
Whether you're just getting started or ready to scale, Direct Sales Strategy for Authors gives you the systems, structure, and strategy to build a business that works without burnout, guesswork, or gatekeepers. Direct sales works. Here's how to make it work for you.
HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR BOOK ON KICKSTARTER
Launch your book like a pro. Get paid up front. Build readers for life.
Looking for more control over your book launches? Tired of relying on algorithms to reach your readers? Ready to turn loyal fans into your most valuable launch partners?
Kickstarter makes all that possible, and more. In this practical, no-fluff guide, USA Today bestselling author Russell Nohelty, veteran of over 50 successful campaigns, shares the exact strategies he's used to raise over $650,000 for his own projects, along with the tactics that have helped other authors raise millions more. You'll learn how to plan, price, and launch your campaign, avoid common pitfalls, and use Kickstarter to build long-term momentum for your career.
Whether you're launching your first project or leveling up your next one, this book walks you through every step. If you're ready to stop gambling on algorithms and start launching with purpose, this is the playbook you need.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
INCOME REPORTS
Type of resource: Blog posts
We reveal the numbers and strategies behind our publishing company, Wannabe Press, and ancillary endeavors going back to 2018, with data as far back as 2017.
THE COMPLETE CREATIVE ARCHIVE
Type of resource: Blog posts
When Russell was running his previous blog, The Complete Creative, he ran a lot of experiments and wrote a bunch about running a creative business that didn't fit anywhere else on The Author Stack. Thereâs even some new material in there that we archived exclusively for paid members.
SCRIPT LIBRARY
Type of resource: pdfs
A collection of scripts Russell has written for TV, movies, comics, and audio dramas, along with story bibles and pitch packets. While a lot of these have been produced, especially the comic and audio dramas, Russell decided to upload a whole collection so you could see evolution over time. A lot of these stories that werenât products, like The Facilitator, ended up becoming key components of other books, like Magic where Ollie is basically a facilitator just like in the original script.
âQUICK START GUIDEâ FOR CALIBRATING YOUR HAPI COMPASS
At its heart, being a Hapitalist is about one thing learning how to triangulate yourself in capitalism so you can make the money you want without feeling gross about it. We do this through plotting the four cardinal points of our HAPI Compass.
Plot those four points, and you have more than a framework. You have a living compass. When you start to drift in one of the four points, you can use our resources to help center yourself and get back in alignment. This is your âquick start guideâ if you ever need a tune-up or a place to get started.
