Is this live, or can I start right now?
You can start right now. This is the complete Bootcamp,
recorded — the moment you join, all three classes and every bonus are in
your account. No waiting for the next round, no time zones to work around,
no sessions to miss. Watch it in a weekend or one class a week; the pace is
entirely yours, and it stays yours for life.
How long is each class?
Each class is a 90-minute masterclass plus Q&A — the
teaching, then real author questions answered on screen. Because we tend to
overdeliver, one of the three runs up to 120 minutes. You
can pause, rewind, and rewatch any part as often as you like.
What's in Class 1 · Set the foundation?
Build a publication you own — and set it up in the right order. Most
authors set their Substack up backwards and spend a year wondering why
nobody sticks around. Class 1 fixes the order, then gets clear on what
you're actually here to say.
Your publication, built right
- How to set up (or fix) your publication in the right order — name, tagline, About page, welcome email, free vs paid — and why the sequence matters more than any single choice
- The one thing to prioritise if you want your Substack to become a bestseller
- The biggest structural mistake most writers make on setup, and the two-minute fix
- An About page that turns visitors into subscribers
- How to bring your existing readers and list with you without losing people along the way
- What to publish in your first four weeks, so a new visitor doesn't land on an empty publication
- How to format and structure a post so it's actually readable in an inbox and on a phone — the small choices that decide whether people finish it
Your book, and your path to publishing it
- Self-publish or go traditional? The need-to-knows for deciding what's right for you
- Exactly what a publisher wants to see in your platform before they say yes to your proposal — with Kristina's own book deal as the case study
- The three author types, and why each one builds a Substack differently
- Ways to turn what you already know into a book, even if there's no manuscript yet
- How to get crystal clear on your book's message in one sentence — the exercise that ends the blank-screen staring, and how to test the sentence on real readers before you write a single post
You'll finish with: a publication name, a tagline, and a first-draft About page — done as you watch.
Plus 30 minutes of recorded Q&A, opening with live feedback on real authors' About pages.
What's in Class 2 · Grow real readers?
Find your first true readers — using Notes, your backlist, and other
authors. You don't need ads and you don't need a big list. You need a
visibility habit and a handful of authors who send readers your way.
Class 2 builds both.
Visibility that compounds
- The Substack Notes strategy that grows without ads: frequency, format, and what actually gets surfaced
- How to turn your backlist into subscriber magnets
- Your plan to the first 1,000 readers
- The three content types that sell books without feeling like marketing
- Audio, video, and podcasting: when they're worth the effort for an author, and when they're a distraction from writing the book
- How to read your subscriber dashboard like an author: which numbers tell you something and which are pure vanity, where your subscribers are actually coming from, and which posts convert
Actually writing the thing
- How to overcome writer's block and finally start — including the honest version, where Kristina doubted herself and wanted to delete the whole manuscript
- How to write your book in public: serialising chapter by chapter with readers already waiting
- Our real writing rituals: scheduling and batch-creating with kids in the house and a full life — not a fantasy one
- How to recruit beta readers and ARC readers from your own list
- The eight-week pre-launch warm-up: what to publish before you ever make the ask
Community
- Discussion threads and chat: how to turn a list of readers into a community that talks back — and how that community becomes your launch team later
Cross-promotion, in depth
- Recommendations and collaborations that compound — how the mechanics work and who to say yes to
- Which authors to approach — the size rule that gets you a yes instead of silence
- The six swap formats, from a simple recommendation to a joint launch, ranked by effort
- The three-sentence outreach message that works (write yours as you follow along)
- What a fair swap looks like, how to decline one gracefully, and the red flags to walk away from
- How to build a small launch team who all post in the same 72-hour window — and why that concentration matters so much more than the same posts spread over a month
- What not to do: the "review swap" advice going around author groups that can get your book delisted
You'll finish with: three cross-promo asks ready to send before you start Class 3.
Plus 30 minutes of recorded Q&A, with feedback on real Notes drafts and outreach messages.
What's in Class 3 · Turn readers into buyers?
Your Amazon page, your links, and your launch playbook. This is the day
the pieces connect. Your Substack and your Amazon listing are two
separate things until you wire them together — and most authors never
do. We'll do it on screen, in real accounts, so you can follow along in
yours.
Making money from the platform itself
- Paid subscriptions: when to switch them on, how to price them, what paying subscribers expect from an author
- Multiple income streams from one newsletter — paid subscriptions, courses, workshops, coaching
- Kristina's secret (introverted!) method for marketing a book so it's widely read, without sounding salesy
- Where the paywall goes — and how to grow a paid list without hiding your best work behind one
- The free vs paid content split that keeps new readers arriving while paying readers feel looked after
- Why Substack is a compound-interest asset, not a campaign
- Treating the publication like a business without losing the writing: what to track monthly, and the three numbers worth acting on
Amazon KDP — the seven things that decide whether your book gets found
- Your title and subtitle: what belongs there, and what gets your book quietly suppressed
- Categories — where those #1 badges actually come from, how to choose by competition rather than pride, and how to get extra categories added
- Keywords: seven slots, and how to fill them with what readers really type
- The book description that converts browsers into buyers — structure, hook, and formatting that survives on a phone
- Price and royalty: the 70% band and its edges, when 35% is still the right call, and the delivery-fee trap
- KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited: what exclusivity really costs you, and the specific cases where it's worth it anyway
- Amazon Author Central: claiming your author page and linking your editions
- The review rules, said plainly: what you can ask for, and what gets accounts closed
Pre-orders: building speed before launch day
- Why the pre-order window is the single biggest lever on your launch-day ranking
- How long to leave pre-orders open — and the cost of leaving them open too long
- What to publish to your list during the pre-order window so sales climb week on week instead of flatlining
- The pre-order ask that doesn't feel like begging, and how often you're allowed to repeat it
- Turning pre-order buyers into your review team on day one
Linking — getting readers from your Substack to your book
- The six places your buy link belongs, in priority order (we build the first three on screen)
- Why one link outsells three competing links in the same post
- The regional-link problem: how a plain Amazon link quietly loses your UK and Australian readers — and the fix. This is the most common leak we see on author Substacks.
- Tracking your links, so you know which post, which Note, and which cross-promo actually sold books
- Your Substack Bookstore listing, and how it feeds the same loop
Cross-linking — getting readers from your book back to your Substack
- Your back matter: the highest-converting page you own, and exactly what to put on it
- Reader magnets and QR codes for print readers
- The one line of front matter for readers who never finish (most don't)
- Your Author Central bio and A+ content as subscriber sources
- The whole loop on one slide — and where everything you've built this week fits on it
Your launch playbook
- The launch timeline: 12 weeks, 8 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 weeks, and launch week itself
- The five-email launch arc — teaser, story, social proof, ask, gratitude — with a real launch on screen
- Building your advance review team from your own readers
- The Substack Bookstore as a launchpad: what it is, how it works, and the #1 bestsellers born in it
- Post-launch: the going-quiet mistake, and the plan that keeps sales moving
You'll finish with: your categories and keywords chosen, your buy link live, and a launch date on the calendar.
Plus 30 minutes of recorded Q&A — real book descriptions and Amazon pages, fixed on screen.
Can I really write my book with Substack?
A blank page is intimidating — and knowing page zero has to become page 300
keeps a lot of writers from ever starting (or finishing). Substack changes
that: you write chapter by chapter, serialize your novel, test your ideas,
and attract readers with your stories while you write. Your book
grows in public, with an audience already waiting for it.
Will the Bootcamp help me write my book?
Well, we can't do the writing for you — but if you're interested in the path
to your first book, or just getting started with writing chapters,
serializing your novel, or attracting readers through your stories on
Substack: get ready to find out allllll of our insights, so you can
begin today… and keep going every day after that until you're done.
What if I'm not sure I want to be an author — I just want to write on Substack?
Whether book writing has been on your mind for a while or you're not sure
it's the path you want to take — this Bootcamp is the pathway to help you
take the leap and put pen to paper. Even if it's just a short post on
Substack Notes right now.
I don't know what stories I should tell!
You've been through some things — and we know you have stories to tell.
Putting that knowledge into a Substack publication (and later, a book) and
out into the world is a great way to do exactly that.
I don't think I can write a book.
Right about the time you're ready to tell your stories, imposter syndrome
sets in. It happened to Kristina too. Her writing process hasn't been all
rainbows and butterflies: she's doubted herself, cried, avoided her
computer, and wanted to delete the entire manuscript. Book writing is a
journey — and you don't have to walk it alone.
Should I wait until I'm ready?
Skip the waiting game. Get the support you need to turn your knowledge and
your big A-HA idea into a publication — and into book form — sooner rather
than later. It's the right time. Trust us, and yourself, just a little bit
more than you don't. The confidence comes with the writing.
Can I trust Fleur to teach me how to build my author newsletter?
Kristina says: "I met Fleur back in summer 2025 and
honestly, when I had her on the phone, I gushed a little bit. Ok, a lot.
Fleur is the real deal — she says it like it is, she doesn't hold back, and
she's honest and true to her word. I feel super supported every time I talk
and work with her."
Can I trust Kristina to help me become a Substack bestseller?
Fleur says: "When you want to become an expert at
something, you study the experts. I had no idea what I was doing when I got
started on Substack — so I got to experience Kristina's magic personally.
Weeks later, I became a bestseller myself, and after one year of publishing
I have more than 150 paid subscribers. Join us, and experience the same
magic I did."