College teacher turned ghostwriter | Scaling founders, coaches, and consultants to $100K+ /mo | Writing to build wealth and better self | 98,000 on Twitter (X)

Taylin John Simmonds

I just want you to know, it’s possible to become a full time writer. 

It might take longer than expected. It might not happen the way you expected. But it is possible. 

Please, on the hard days, remember that.

College teacher turned Substack ghostwriter | Helping multi-passionate writers and creatives earn on the internet | 2 billion impressions | $4,000,000+ revenue generated | All in on Substack

I ghostwrote for 6 months with zero pay.

3am writing sessions to hit deadlines. Then I’d teach college classes from 8am to 6pm (exhausting).

I tracked every win. Saved the screenshots. Studied what worked.

That invisible work became my portfolio.
That portfolio landed my first paid client at $3,000 a month.

To get paid, get proof.

I’m 31, Canadian, introverted, and run a small online writing biz with my high school best friend.

Last year, we did $315,000 in revenue.

What we sell (copy us if you like):

– Social media ghostwriting: $4,700/mo + 10% commission
– Newsletter ghostwriting: $2,000 /mo
– Ghostwriting coaching: $5,700/qtr
- Ghostwriting course: $500
- Paid Substack newsletter: $99/yr

How we market:

– Post on LinkedIn 5x/week
– Post on Substack 7x/week
– Post on Twitter 14x/week
– Email my list 2-3x/week
– DM 100 people/mo on LinkedIn

Tools we use:

– Loom (SOPs and audits)
– Stripe + Whop (payment processors)
– Calendly (calendar bookings and pre-sale automation sequences)
– Heartbeat (community platform for coaching)
– Eden (all writing + my entire life in systems)
– Notion (company systems)
– Claude + ChatGPT (AI assistance)

Where I started:

4 years ago I was a college teacher who knew nothing about business, marketing, or sales. I just wanted more control over my time and to make a little more money. Today, I have exactly that.

if you do a fraction of this, you can make $100K /yr on Substack alone. You just need the right offers, strategy, and time.

I hope this gives you some direction.

—Taylin

My tiny writing biz did $315,000 last year.

If I were starting over and wanted 6 figures, I’d ghostwrite newsletters on Substack.

Go to LinkedIn, find business owners, health coaches, and tech founders. DM them. Show them how a paid newsletter will make them more per mo than they pay you.

Do this well and you’ll have more clients than you can handle.

Funny... After 31 years of exploring, my happy life turned out to the simple one.

• Reading great books
• Going on walks to think
• Writing what I’d love to read

A little breathwork. A lot of time with my gf.

That’s it. That’s happiness.

Build in public (show your process)
Think in public (share your insights)
Write in public (show your skill)

Public credibility creates private opportunities.

If you want to level up in life, you must create more than you consume.

Create art, books, content, products, and businesses. Shape your body, mind, and environment. Build your ideal life one tiny step at a time.

Most people are stuck because they only watch. Don’t be like them.

Create something. Anything.

You only need 1 client.

Not one who underpays, drains your energy, and ignores boundaries.

1 client who pays more than most corporate salaries, treats you like a professional, and builds with you long term.

That single client will permanently change what you think is possible with a one person business.

You're exhausted because you have too many open loops.

Too many books you’re reading. Articles you’re writing. Skills you’re learning. Businesses you’re building. Problems you’re solving.

Pick one thing (for now). And grieve the rest. 
Energy will follow.

Don’t write with AI. Write assisted by AI.

AI can come up with ideas. You decide which are worth writing.
AI can research. You fact-check.
AI can give feedback. You choose what to keep.

You think. You write. You lead.

You bring the perspective, taste, and truth that no machine can.

AI saves you time.

Not so you can write less, but so you can write more, write better, and write more you.

Solo building is overrated.

Find your people. Meet daily. Build cool sh*t together.

I’m creating a newsletter ghostwriting course with two close friends and it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.

Few things beat building with people who care as much as you do.

The happiest people I know are not doing more. 
They are noticing more.

They pause to celebrate small wins others ignore. Ten minutes of focused work. One uncomfortable email sent. An honest start on a low-energy day.

That habit will make you effective.

Because people who notice progress keep going.

Multi-passionate people get stuck because they over-consume and under-create.

You don’t have to give up learning. But you do need to devote yourself to producing work daily.

Create for 2-4 hours in the morning. Explore for 1-2 hours in the evenings.

That’s how you both learn and earn with multiple interests.

You don't need motivation to achieve great things.

I don't always feel like writing.
I don't always feel like working.
I don't always feel like exercising.

Honestly, MOST days I don't feel like it.

But I do it anyways.
And I never regret it.

The future won’t belong to specialists who refuse to change.

It will belong to people who can become someone new again and again.

Technology is moving too fast for fixed identities.

Agency, learning speed, and keeping cool under uncertainty are the new job security.

A lack of pressure leads to an abundance of procrastination.

New milestone: 100 paid subscribers on Substack!

Optum

Detail-oriented Senior Technical Writer with strong experience in writing, reviewing, editing, formatting, revising, and standardizing various types of technical documents possesses strong experience in a regulatory environment, thereby certifying adherence to various compliance standards.
 
Experience in healthcare a must. Microsoft Office Suite 365 (including Microsoft Visio), Adobe Technical Communication Suite (including Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat Pro, and RoboHelp), Adobe InDesign, Help Authoring using Adobe RoboHelp, Change Control Boards, Agile Software Development, Style Guides, Jira and Confluence, GitHub and ZenHub, Trello and Monday, Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Imaging Technical Writer

JohnTheWordsmith LLC

Storyteller-In-Chief

Merative

Created new documentation suites for cognitive AI solutions: Liver, Prostate, and Breast. Collaborated with leadership and internal and external stakeholders (e.g., development, QA / RA, implementation, support, training) for Merge Imaging division.
• Accountable for Radiology Imaging System (RIS), Merge Unity PACS, and Watson Health Imaging Analytics documentation suites.
• Created and edited user guides, system administration manuals, installation and upgrade instructions, and release notes utilizing Adobe FrameMaker.
• 100% perfect record meeting financial and time budgets throughout entire tenure.

Sr. Technical Writer

Created and edited user guides, system administration guides, installation and upgrade instructions, and release notes utilizing Adobe FrameMaker. Collaborated with interdisciplinary team members within the Merge Imaging division to accomplish project goals and objectives.

Information Developer

Merge Healthcare, an IBM Company

Managed and oversaw the documentation suites for Merge Dashboards, Merge Documents Management (MDM), and Merge Financials.
• Utilized Adobe FrameMaker to generate and refine user guides, system administration guides, installation and upgrade instructions, and release notes.

Senior Technical Writer

October, 2015 - Merge acquired by IBM for its Watson Health division

Responsible for documenting the Merge Cardio, Merge Dashboards, Merge Documents Management (MDM), and Merge Financials product lines.

Technical Writer

Amicas

Provided comprehensive management and oversight of the documentation suites encompassing Merge Hemo, Merge Cardio, Merge Dashboards, Merge Documents Management (MDM), and Merge Financials.
• Employed Adobe FrameMaker to create and enhance user guides, system administration guides, installation and upgrade instructions, and release notes.

Emageon

TEKsystems

Worked on contract at WEA Trust in Madison, WI from Halloween, 2005 - 2008.
Worked on contract at Metavante in Milwaukee, WI.

Contractor at WEA Trust in Madison, Wisconsin. Created documentation and online help topics for QNXT claims system. Developed online help topics and Business Process Re-engineering swim lane flowcharts.

Technical Writer / Help Author / BPR

Camtronics Medical Systems

Created CardioWorks EMR document suite in Adobe FrameMaker and Help topics using WebWorks. Collaborated with Product Development, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, Implementation and Technical Support, and Marketing departments to guarantee accuracy and comprehensiveness of IFUs. Verified that IFUs underwent review, approval, and release in accordance with quality system. Collaborated with Tech Comm team members to share knowledge and best practices.

Storyteller, wordsmith, pleasant chap

I'm a writer and storyteller for business and pleasure. I help clients learn reverse-engineer their career stories and craft their narratives for maximum impact.* 

A veteran of cohorts from Lara Acosta (Personal Branding), Taylin John Simmonds (Twitter Copywriting), I'm currently in Dakota Robertson's ghost writing cohort, and will join Michael Margolis' Narrative Influence cohort in the summer.

My background is as an experienced Senior Technical Writer working in the hospital & health care industry with a specialization in medical devices for over 20 years as a writer and editor. 

My speciality is working as a liaison between technical / Subject Matter Experts and end-users. (And my ADHD superpower of hyper-focus gives me an extra gear!)

* > I'm not currently offering a storytelling service for Inbound leads (but I'm busy creating one with an Alpha client who tracked me down and got me started thinking about what such a program / service like that might look like).

tl-dr: Stay tuned...

John Cook

This is my 765th consecutive post on the platform.
It wasn't always easy to post every day. 
Now it's harder to stop.
 
The mindset shift that broke this open for me was this—I switched the energy from "have to post" to "get to post."
 
I used to struggle at the end of the day to come up with something new for the following day.
 
I hated it.
 
I felt like I was working at cross purposes to my strengths.
 
So I started working with my brain instead of against it.
 
I'm super ADHD—my radar is always picking up things that interest me. So I just added one step—capturing a link or a snippet of a phrase and saving it as grist for the mill.
 
Now I have a deep pile of things to pull from that already captured my interest.
 
I often write two or three posts at a time now—because I'm on a roll, not because I'm behind.
 
What's one way you've learned to work with your brain instead of against it?

(I flew too close to the sun last Sunday so here's a FB meme from my friend Nathan Lilly.)

100 points to the person who correctly identifies this film without assistance.

Let me share this out with everyone in my circles—James is the guy you want in your corner.

LinkedIn’s Most Interesting Man in a Wheelchair

View James Wogan ✝️💪🏻’s profile

He can't scale mountains or run Tough Mudders. 
He can't do bench presses or deadlifts. 
He can't operate on Red Bull and 4 hours of sleep. 
He can't buy his wife a house on the beach. 

But. 

He can overcome any obstacle. 
He can lower himself down to lift others up. 
He can operate with confidence and conviction. 
He can make his wife feel cherished above all else. 

He's the guy you want in your corner.

Procrastination isn’t a character flaw.  It’s a signal.

I sat across from Sue Campbell at lunch at the Story Grid Live conference in 2019. She's a mindset and marketing coach for writers, and she's amazing.

Sue recently asked members of her 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 why they procrastinate:

• "I procrastinate when I'm afraid."
• "When the thing feels too big."
• "When I don't know where to start."
 
Notice what's missing?
 
Laziness. A lack of willpower. Some moral failing.
 
Yet that's exactly what many writers make procrastination mean about themselves: 
"I'm just not disciplined." 
"There must be something wrong with me."
 
That judgment is what keeps the loop going.
 
Procrastination is often a misguided act of self-care. You're avoiding discomfort, but discomfort is part of growth.
 
Here's how to work 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 your mind instead of 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 it:
𝟭. 𝗗𝗼 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱. 
What are you telling yourself about the work? 
"This will take forever." 
"I'll never finish." 

Those thoughts don't cause action, they cause hopelessness. And hopelessness procrastinates beautifully.
 
𝟮. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 
We're not one unified voice. "That'll take too long" usually isn't coming from your wise inner author, it's the inner child who wants relief now.
 
𝟯. 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲. 
What does procrastinating cost you? 
> The finished manuscript. 
> The quiet pride of follow-through. 

What does it give you? 
> Comfort. 
> A quick hit of dopamine. 

That part of your brain is trying to help. 
Yelling at it only makes it double down.
 
So try this: Find the story that produces motion instead of avoidance. "Twenty minutes of writing, then something fun." 
 
Treat the signal with curiosity instead of contempt. Accountability still matters. 
But kindness is usually what gets the work done.
 
If this resonates, you're not broken. You're human.
---------------
𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧.
(𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 '𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳,' 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺.)
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧?

New year, old problem. We're consuming when we should be creating.

It's a sneaky problem—consuming writing advice hits the same dopamine button as doing the thing.
 
Here's how it looked for me. I had:
 
• 17 open browser tabs on plot structure
• a "Writing Tips" folder that contained more words than my manuscript
• a YouTube playlist on character development I was definitely going to get to one of these days
 
Meanwhile, the novel sat there, waiting.
 
I felt like I was working. I wasn't. I was just procrastinating in a way that let me feel virtuous about it.
 
You can't read your way into becoming a better writer any more than you can watch cooking videos and call yourself a chef.

And here's the cruel part—the more you consume, the less ready you feel.

Consuming builds doubt. Making builds confidence. 

So try this instead. Pick one technique you've learned recently—just one—and apply it to your current project this week.
 
Maybe it's writing a clear scene goal before you draft. 
Maybe it's giving a character a contradictory trait. 
Maybe it's writing dialogue without any tags to see if the voices are distinct.
 
Doesn't matter what you choose. 
What matters is doing something instead of bookmarking another article about doing it.

What’s one new technique you can use this week?

How many times have you thought 'I wish I knew then what I know now'?

Everyone's got a 2026 blueprint. Author Janeen Ippolito fits in one sentence—do the obvious thing.

I know. That might sound unhelpful. It did for me.

For my first two years being active on the platform, people told me that somewhere inside me I knew what was obvious, and what I should do about it. They boldly called me out, almost shaming me into action.

They meant well. They thought they were helping.* 

It was agony. What was apparent to everyone else was a complete mystery to me.

Even Linda couldn't understand why I couldn't see what was right in front of my face.

It was only when I became so sick that I could no longer think that I let go of what was working for other people and allowed myself the freedom to approach the platform from my own interests and strengths, even (or especially if those didn't clearly line up with business). 

So when I read her 5 ways to make headway as a writer in 2026, they hit differently:
 
• Do the obvious thing
• Refresh your incentives
• If there's no reason to change something, don't
• Check your milestones, not your worth
• Remember why you're doing this
 
2026 doesn't need to be a grand reinvention. 

It might just need you to finally do what's been obvious all along.

For me, it's finishing my debut novel.

What's your obvious thing for 2026?
---------------
* 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦-𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘩𝘦𝘩.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳!
https://lnkd.in/gWkARQYx

Open article: Dear Author, in 2026, Do What's Obvious by authorculture.substack.com

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The Battle

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