8 Publishing Principles for a Sustainable, Strategic Substack Publication

What an editorial strategist wants you to know about sustainable, strategic publishing

Mastering the basics of publishing take time, but once you have a rhythm, you may find yourself wondering: What’s next? When do I push beyond consistency and into something more intentional?

For many Substack creators, the answer comes when they start craving more depth — more impact, more connection, more strategic momentum.

That’s when the shift happens: from thinking like a blogger to embracing a publisher’s mindset.

A publisher’s mindset in the Substack space isn’t about rigid rules. It’s about crafting with strategy and sustainability, all while staying true to your creative North Star. Structure, when used well, doesn’t restrict creativity — it strengthens it. It gives you the foundation to experiment, evolve and grow with confidence.

This month in The Editing Spectrum, we’ll be exploring which publishing tools can help you bring structure to your publication — without feeling pushed to normalize or clamp down your creativity, of course.

Publishing principles for your Substack publication

This month, I want to start our discussion by sharing some foundational guidance on the practical side of publishing month after month.

These are the publishing principles I’ve repeated in different ways over the years, and now they’re all gathered in one place. My hope is that they give you a solid foundation to shape your publication into something sustainable and meaningful.

• Send your posts about once a week, if that feels creatively sustainable. Reader data suggests that this cadence is effective for staying top of mind without overwhelming your audience.

• Don’t overcomplicate your publishing tools. When you’re first starting to publish on Substack, prioritize creative energy by using simple, intuitive tools that work with your natural rhythms.

• Give readers some variety. Alternate between personal stories, practical advice or insights, an inspiring poem (perhaps?) and engaging community questions. Variety keeps things fresh for both you and your audience.

• For every essay you publish, budget a few hours to promote and share it (on and off Substack). It’s easy to hop from essay to essay in our minds (because writing them is the best part, of course). But every essay you publish has promotional and nurturing needs to meet.

• Don’t pigeonhole yourself into a niche too soon. If you’ve been a longtime writer for brands or other organizations, let yourself have a free-range writing season. Substack is a great space to play and discover what you might really want to say, produce and give to the world. You never know what you might uncover if you resist the urge to prematurely “product-ize” yourself.

• Readers are more flexible and forgiving than you might think. This is something that most creators sorely underestimate. You have a chance to build a relationship with your readers — they are, generally speaking, not the same as a curmudgeonly boss who is ready to fire you for a misplaced comma. So just remember: the dynamics are much different; you can relax, explore and uncover new things here.

• Don’t forget about the pictures. Some of the best writing has visual components that help bring it to life. It’s easy to forget this, but photography has an important place in publishing. Give us some visuals, folks!

• Format your essays for online audiences. Break up text with bolded phrases, subheadings and shorter paragraphs. A well-structured layout makes your publication easier — and more enjoyable — to read.

Stepping into a publisher’s mindset

Embracing a publisher’s mindset doesn’t mean abandoning creativity — it means giving your ideas the structure and support they need to thrive. It’s about balancing inspiration with intention, so your publication isn’t just something you write, but something you build.

If that shift resonates with you, stay tuned (or sign up to keep reading!).

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you: How does a publisher’s mindset feel to you? Where do you already see it showing up in your work? What are you most curious about as you move further in this direction?

This resource is part of The Editing Spectrum’s “Start Here” Guide

As you work through these materials, you might have questions or ideas you want to explore further.

💬 Bring your thoughts to the Newsletter Check-In — a space to ask questions, get feedback and connect with others who are building their Substack publications.