Spotlight: I Spoke with Yana G. Y. to Inspire Freelance Writers
Yana shows that you don’t have to be famous or a full-time writer to be a Substack Bestseller.
I published this interview on Medium and my website, too.
Dear friends, as you may know, I have interviewed writers since 2019, reflecting on their experiences and insights in spotlight stories. It is a valuable tool and an absolute pleasure for me to introduce inspiring creators to my audience. Every writer has an interesting life story to share, which can give valuable perspectives to readers.
As I discussed in several posts in 2024, I now focus more on Substack than Medium for the reasons I mentioned recently. This decision was excellent for me, as expected. One of my contributions was writing two books about Substack, which inspired many writers to start this platform and own their audience.
However, one of the most asked questions and foremost concerns is that you can't succeed on Substack unless you are a famous person or a well-established writer. Interestingly, even well-established writers with PhD degrees told me this, and I politely disagreed with them as I met countless writers who were not celebrities but made significant progress. In fact, some of my proteges have just started with ZERO subscribers last year. I will introduce some of them in an upcoming post.
Meet Yana G Y — Bestselling Substack Author
Today, I will introduce you to
as she is one of those who started from the bottom, and in a very short time, she became a Substack Bestseller despite her full-time 9–5 job. So, I interviewed Yana to share her insights and inspire you today from her own words. I believe her words will relate to you and inspire you.
Hi Yana, thank you for your time. Please tell us a bit about your background.
Hi Dr Mehmet, thank you for this great opportunity. I will be happy to introduce myself briefly. Interestingly, I’m not a typical writer. I didn’t grow up dreaming about being a bestselling author. I didn’t study creative writing.
What I did do was spend 15+ years in big tech, building and selling subscription-based products at a multibillion global tech company.
Now I’m a senior leader, I grow high-performing teams and create new profitable business models. My background is in strategic business development, sales, and marketing.
That’s my 9–5 job.
That’s where I learned a hard truth: success isn’t about talent or hard work. It’s about mindset. It’s 20% strategy and 80% execution, and you need the right mindset to execute a good strategy. Excellence in execution — that’s what I’m good at.
I’m also into technology. I’m deep-diving into Python programming, automation, and AI.
I started writing online because I wanted to build something of my own. I don’t write to quit my job. I think that’s a huge mistake people make — starting a side to quit their job. Because if you’re not able to be happy at your job, what makes you think you’ll be happy doing your own business full-time?
I love my 9–5. It inspires me and helps me grow. It works very well with my writing business. So, I took what I knew and applied it to writing online.
In the online world, I was a newbie—with no writing experience. No audience. But because of the mindset I’ve developed, I’ve been able to grow faster than average.
I started on Medium and grew to 2000 followers and $800 of monthly earnings in 5 months. After that, I built a paid newsletter on Substack with an above-average conversion rate of 6.7%. I became a Substack Bestseller within 3 months.
It took me 11 months to build a five-figure business on the side of my 9–5 job, working just 2 hours a day and some on the weekend. But it took me 15+ years to build the skills and mindset to be able to do that. It’s not easy.
Now, I help other writers do the same. I use the same methods I use in my 9–5 to work with my team for peak performance.
Because writing is a business. And if you treat it like one, you win.
Before discussing writing, can you please tell us what health and well-being mean to you? I ask this question as without this, many freelance writers, especially ambitious ones, face burnout.
This is an excellent question. Health and wellbeing is Everything. I can’t think of one truly successful person who’s unhealthy in my business circles. Your body is a big part of the whole system, and its well-being is the fundamental you need before you can succeed in anything. Start with your body.
It’s simple if you think about it, all you need is to take care of the three:
Body: make sure you’re healthy
good nutrition that feeds the gut (not the taste)
enough deep and REM sleep
enough muscle movement
Heart: make sure you feel safe & loved
be around the right people
get rid of toxic relationships
love yourself first, positive self-talk
Mind/Spirit: make sure you stay creative & curious
practice alpha wave brain states & some deep breathing
develop a growth mindset & continuous learning
consume more from what inspires you
That’s what I try to do in a nutshell. And it’s not something you achieve and move on; it’s something you maintain.
What are your hobbies, or what excites or entertains you?
I have no specific hobbies. I love writing, and I do it whenever I have some time. I take it seriously — as a business, not just a creative hobby. Every word I write is intentional. Every piece of content I put out has a purpose. I don’t do passive entertainment. I don’t waste time on mindless scrolling or binge-watching. If something isn’t pushing me forward, it’s just noise.
What truly excites me? Growth. Pushing limits. Testing ideas. Seeing what’s possible and challenging what seems impossible.
I do 5km runs twice a week. I love it — not just for the physical benefits but because it’s the ultimate mindset training. Discipline. Endurance. Pushing through resistance. It’s the same mentality that applies to business and writing.
I also love traveling. Not just for the change of scenery but because it forces you to think differently. New environments, new perspectives, new cultures, and new ways of thinking. Every trip is an opportunity to learn something unexpected.
I love playing with my crazy Jack Russell dog. I also enjoy spending quality time with the people around me discussing ideas.
And I consume self-development books and stay on top of business and technology trends — not just for motivation but also for strategy. If there’s a smarter, faster way to grow, I want to know about it. If there’s something new, I’m on it.
So, no, I don’t have traditional “hobbies.” I have obsessions. And they all point in the same direction — toward building something bigger than myself.
What are the top three books that affected your life?
Contrary to the expectations, I won’t give you any business books 😆
There’s a book you can’t find online, and it’s the foundation on which the Language and Behavior Profiling (LAP) is built. It’s about identifying behavioral patterns, and it’s used very often in HR when recruiting people. At its core, it’s neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
I love to read books about NLP. It has helped me tremendously to build the right mindset and become a high performer in anything. Here are some worth reading from Richard Bandler:
The Ultimate Introduction to NLP — That’s for beginners who are not familiar with NLP.
The Structure of Magic
TransFormations
The last two are pretty advanced and are not easy to consume, as they require a lot fo thinking.
I’ll also state another book which I’m particularly inspired by:
The Silva Mind Control Method — by Hose Silva. I love consuming the content from Vishen Lakhiani on this method, who is certified to teach it.
Being able to understand how our human nature works is crucial to me, so I invest a lot of time in finding new ways to expand my capabilities as a human.
Now, let’s talk about writing a bit. Why do you write on Medium?
I started writing on Medium because I wanted to build a writing style. Medium is the best place to do this. It’s also a great place to grow an email list and get exposure to your work because it has a huge audience and excellent SEO.
Now, let’s talk about your Substack experience which will be a great interest to many freelance writers and startups.
When I found out that Medium’s business model was not future-proof, I started looking for other places. I wanted to avoid depending on just one platform. That’s how I landed on Substack.
With time, I moved the majority of my presence to Substack because, unlike Medium, it’s fit for business and it’s scalable. You can also grow a community, which is no longer valid for Medium.
I believe communities, paid subscriptions, and email marketing are the future of online businesses and Substack combines them all together nicely.
Right now, Substack and Medium work well together for me. I gain subscribers from Medium and my Substack is improving its SEO on Google. That was exactly my goal when I decided to integrate them together.
Here’s the link to my Substack:
Besides Substack, I also use Kit and social media, but Substack is the place where I spend most of my time. It’s because it allows me to grow organically faster than any other platform online.
What I like about Substack is its business model — Substack makes more money when I make more money. So, my growth is Substack’s priority. That’s rare.
The other things unique to Substack are:
I grow engaged monetizeable subscribers (not followers), without promotions, ads or lead magnets.
I own my audience. I do regular exports, so I can move to any other email service provider or software I choose.
I control my business. I don’t depend on algorithms to monetize.
I believe Substack is on its way to becoming the leading platform for content creators in the near future.
What are your values as a writer?
I find joy in helping other people grow. One of the first lessons I learned as a leader is that we rise by lifting others and not the other way around. You have to give before you can receive. That’s how the Universe works. Many people don’t get that. You also keep saying this for many years.
I love to think and do things differently. I love to test new things, challenge the status quo, and introduce new models. That’s what I do in my 9–5, and that’s what I do with my writing.
Growth happens outside of the comfort zone, so it’s supposed to suck. But when you see progress, your motivation grows. I try to show how this happens to my readers.
Change is the only stable thing in nature. Aim to stay outside of your comfort zone and make that become your “comfort zone.” That’s what drives my growth in any area of my life.
How do you connect with your readers?
I use all community features on Substack like email. I believe every writer needs to have an email list because direct contact is best for building long-term relationships.
Business is done by humans, so relationships are what drives your business growth. People keep telling me I’m different because I care. I love hearing that because I actually do care. My goal is to see how people grow because of my help, and that happens through meaningful connections based on trust and care.
A lot of people try to stay invisible but aim to build an online business. I find this very difficult to achieve because if you don’t connect with people, how can you make them trust you?
Why did you join ILLUMINATION, and how do you find it so far?
ILLUMINATION was the first publication I joined on Medium. I remember I was so happy I found a place that accepts new people with crappy writing and doesn’t require some fancy online presence to even consider your existence. That’s huge for new writers.
I immediately fell in love with its energy because it was so aligned with my values. The community is great, and I’ll continue to contribute on Substack, Slack, and every other platform you choose.
Who are some writers you follow on Medium?
Here are a few coming to my mind now:
, , , Alex Mathers, Nicolas Cole, , , Matt Giaro, andWhat are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience.
I’d love to do that, here they are:
21 of The Best Mistakes I Ever Made Writing Online (That Turned Me Into a Better Writer)
How I Turn My Articles Into Videos in 1.5 Hours with AI
I Became a Substack Bestseller in Just 3 Months
My Note went viral — got more than 10,000 likes and hundreds of new subscribers in just a few days
Why I’m back writing on Medium consistently (even if I don’t make the money anymore)
What are the success factors for you as a writer?
First and foremost, it’s mindset. Growth mindset, to be specific. I think if you set yourself right, you can overcome anything and also achieve anything (in anything you decide to do).
What do you recommend to the new writers?
Get the right mindset first, then start doing things. Otherwise, the “test and learn” spiral leads to discouragement and giving up. And that’s the one thing you shouldn’t do. Once you start, you keep it up. Good, bad, whatever. The point is to make progress. That’s what fuels motivation.
What are your plans as a writer or as a professional?
In the near future, I’m launching something better than a course for writers on Substack because a lot of new people are coming to the platform, and they keep asking me for a structured course. I’m launching something better soon.
In the long run?
I’m building the CREATIVETECH HUB. It is a place for writers and creators to grow faster in their online businesses. I plan to have a lot of interesting tools, apps, a community, and also access to me personally because I love helping people grow. It will be the center of my online business.
That’s from me today. Thank you for the opportunity, Dr Mehmet. It is a great pleasure to be part of the ILLUMINATION community.
Many thanks to
for allocating her precious time to give us these valuable insights. Yana also interviews other high achievers. Here is a great example she has done with who is another insightful writer on Subtack who was also spotlighted by , a leadership expert.Apart from Substack, you can connect with Yana on YouTube, Facebook, X: BlueSky, Quora, and LinkedIn.
Yana is also part of the Substack Mastery Boost Pilot and she can be contacted on the ILLUMINATION Slack Workspace, which is a free, secure, and moderated service. If you want to join Slack, please contact me via this form.
I uploaded my new book for Substack readers and beginners. We also have a new book club on Substack. I designed it to empower book authors and avid readers. So, you are welcome to join this great community.
I loved this interview showing that anyone putting effort can be recognized on Substack. Thanks Dr Yildiz for introducing us another high achiever. I liked Yana's approach to writing as a business very much.
I like what Yana said in this conversation. Thanks you for introducing her insights. I will follow her closely. She is a role model in our community.