14 Comments
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Sarah Allen's avatar

I do see more of this type of stuff here on Substack, but I still think more than anywhere else there is ALSO the good stuff. The writers doing great things.

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Michelle Schusterman's avatar

There’s tons of good stuff, absolutely! The algorithm doesn’t reward it so it’s a little harder to find, but it’s totally there.

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Ah yes. Those algorithms 🙃

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CherylSec's avatar

I really appreciated this post. Thank you!

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Michelle Schusterman's avatar

Thanks for reading!

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Avionne's avatar

Can I tell you, I belly-laughed at that last "ironic tag" line! Hundred percent agree with everything stated here. I've seen pricey courses with great teachers who have credentials and tons of published books. I've also seen pricey courses by randos who have yet to publish a single book! And the latter does tend to target newbies in some weird MLM (multilevel marketing) type of way. If it's any consolation, I'd pay anything for your expertise and wisdom. Your Skillshare courses were the only ones I paid for and I learned SO much, no regrets. I'm looking into Wise so I can level up my writing with one-on-one Michelle time (PayPal and other overseas payment options work iffy in Trinidad). In addition to your awesome Substack help of course! This was great and yes, you will find your students - Great teachers always do 😀.

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Michelle Schusterman's avatar

There’s a lot of money to be made in telling people how to make money doing something you’ve never actually made money doing! LOL And thanks very much! Those Skillshare courses were fun to make, and I like that people can watch them for free (if Skillshare still offers two weeks free, which I think they do). Some of the writing courses out there…those price tags are pretty eye-popping!

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Jordan's avatar

I started following you on YT because you were a published author and had insights that the rest of us didn't have. I like your deep dives, your critiques and that's why I continue to follow you. You also seem genuine and cool! I hope to contact you over the summer for some critiques of my query package. This spring is a busy season for me.

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Michelle Schusterman's avatar

Thanks so much, Jordan! I’d love to check out your query this summer - look forward to hearing from you!

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Avionne's avatar

Agree! Michelle is genuine and cool 😎.

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Opal's avatar

This is so insightful!!

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Michelle Schusterman's avatar

Thanks so much!

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Jeevani Charika (Rhoda Baxter)'s avatar

Yeah. I did one of those courses (silly me). I have two courses that are actually pretty good (I wrote them because a writer's organisation asked me to provide the training). The thing that stymied me is marketing my little $99 course because I hate the hustle. So ... yeah. I never put the up anywhere.

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Ada's avatar

It's such a easy trap to fall into.

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