Why I Created ILLUMINATION Book Club on Substack and How Book Authors & Readers Can Benefit from It

A warm invitation to book authors and book lovers on Substack to create a supportive writing and reading community

Medium friends can read this story here and engage there.

Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev from Pexels

Dear friends, I trust this post finds you well. First, let me give you a quick background for those unfamiliar with my support to book authors on Medium for years.

For years, I believed Medium could be a unique space where book authors thrive. It once championed innovation, offering writers new ways to expand their reach. For example, in 2021, the platform even attempted to acquire Glose, a platform designed to empower authors and readers with the promise of helping authors connect with readers.

Ev Williams, former CEO, envisioned a future where users could blog about books, engage in discussions, and discover new authors, as documented In a CNN article titled “Before Substack, there was Medium — and its network is about to get bigger.” But that vision never materialized. The announcement vanished. The 2021 bulletin on Medium Blog was even delisted. Now, Substack has 20 times more paying readers than Medium.

The good thing about Ev’s vision was the inspiration he gave me to create ILLUMINATION Book Chapters in 2021. My goal was to allow writers to share their books chapter by chapter and find readers from Medium’s vast reader base. The initial submission guidelines and supportive documents I created inspired many writers. ILLUMINATION Book Chapters: Submit your book chapters in story format.

Many authors joined, hoping to reach an audience. It helped some writers to find beta readers and some aspiring ones to become book authors. I interviewed many book authors and created visibility for their books. However, most book chapters got buried. The algorithm never distributed book chapters, making them invisible to paying members.

Beautifully written, carefully edited book chapters barely received a handful of views unless authors manually promoted them and our curators featured them in editorial collections. Despite years of accumulated content, not a single book chapter or book review from my publication was boosted or chosen for distribution.

I also shared at least 5 of my books on this platform until the end of 2024, and none of them got more than 100 views. However, on Substack, each book chapter got at least 100,000 views from my subscribers, the Substack website, and the app, as there were no algorithmic restrictions.

Now, the distribution situation has gotten worse here, as I articulated in a new story titled The Myth of Non-PP Readers: Where Are They Hiding?

I accept this reality. Medium is not designed for long-form book content, and its algorithm does not favor book chapters. It was disappointing, but it also gave me clarity. I now have a new plan to support book authors and readers without algorithmic barriers.

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Welcome to ILLUMINATION Book Club on Substack: A Better Space for Writers and Readers

While ILLUMINATION Book Chapters will remain on Medium as a starting point for aspiring authors, I have launched ILLUMINATION Book Club on Substack — an advanced version built for true collaboration.

Substack’s state-of-the-art technology and great tools like Notes will empower authors and readers in ways Medium cannot at this stage. But if Medium brings a new vision like Ev did and supportive tools like Substack did, I will be happy to create such a club there, too.

On Substack, every sample book chapter reaches subscribers directly in their inboxes. There is no gatekeeping, no algorithm filtering who gets to see your work. Writers can publish freely, engage with readers, and build a loyal community without restrictions.

Book lovers can connect with authors meaningfully — supporting book launches, offering feedback as beta readers, leaving reviews on Goodreads, and playing a fundamental role in an author’s success.

Unlike Medium’s isolated comment section, which has even been feared by some writers recently, Substack’s Notes feature encourages inspiring conversations between writers and readers, creating an interactive and engaged community. Engagement is not a crime on Substack; it is even welcomed and promoted by the platform to empower creators and readers.

As an author, I understand the struggles of writing a book, the long hours of research, the constant self-doubt, and the uphill battle to get it in front of readers. Publishing a book is not just about finishing a manuscript but about finding an audience that values your work. In this economic climate, authors also need to be self-editors, administrators, marketers, and booksellers.

I know what it feels like to pour your heart into a book and then watch it struggle to gain visibility. That is why I believe in building a space where authors do not have to fight an algorithm to reach the people who care about their writing. Writers deserve a platform where their effort is met with genuine engagement, and readers deserve access to new voices without artificial barriers.

I have seen firsthand that Substack is today's most powerful tool and most-creator-friendly platform for book authors. It is not designed specifically for book sales, yet it has helped me sell more books than any paid advertising platform.

I am not alone — many authors on Substack share similar success stories. For example, best-selling Substack authors like

Deni Sahaya

and

Veronica Llorca-Smith

have publicly shared their excellent achievements. You can find many more examples if you follow the books and authors on Notes.

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The Future of ILLUMINATION Book Club

I designed this book club to be more than a place to post book chapters. I will make it an engaging and pleasant virtual reading community where book lovers and authors create a synergistic space.

Authors will gain support beyond writing — through book launches, honest reviews, testimonials, and reader engagement — while readers discover new books, stay informed, and enjoy meaningful discussions.

To sustain this initiative, ILLUMINATION Book Club will be a monetized publication at an affordable fee as a value proposition of Substack Mastery Boost Pilot. I know how economically challenged writers and readers are.

So, to make it easy for everyone, I will offer five publication benefits for just $5 monthly. So, members who subscribe to just one of the Boost Pilot publications will have complimentary access to exclusive content and tier 2 benefits. Some content will still be free for our Tier 1 members. Our publications are not for profit. The fee will cover administration, marketing, editing, and delivery costs.

To make it easy for beginners, I also provided 50% off Health and Wellbeing Network and 20% off Content Marketing Strategy publication for interested subscribers by the end of this month. I gave a one-week trial to some new subscribers coming from my website and will extend it to all free subscribers soon via a newsletter so that everyone can benefit from our educational resources and become self-sufficient on Substack.

Many new subscribers to Substack publications coming through my website and LinkedIn had never heard of Substack before, but after learning about its value, they are now eager to join.

To support these readers, I have written a new book titled Substack for Avid Readers, leveraging the contents of my course materials. No one has explored this topic before, as everyone covers writing aspects.

So, I made this unique book available for early access as an audiobook and digital book on Google Play and other platforms. It is a quick, practical guide — around 16,000 words, which can be read or listened to in 2 hours. I will upload the digital and audio content to the ILLUMINATION Book Club and Content Marketing Strategy Insights to educate readers.

I also uploaded my Substack Mastery book, the Advanced Substack Newsletter book, and Aiden’s From Zero to Substack Hero training program to my publication as educational resources.

I will also integrate our Goodreads community with the new book club on Substack. Our upcoming ILLUMINATION Writing Academy will empower book authors.

My vision is to create an engaged book community where authors and readers collaborate meaningfully. ILLUMINATION Book Club will be one of the most powerful tools to make this happen and help us achieve our goals to make Substack Mastery Boost a successful program in 2026 to empower millions of freelance writers.

I am grateful and have complete confidence in my vision, my team's capabilities, and our members' support.

This club is just the beginning of education and marketing initiatives. If you are an author or a book lover, I invite you to be part of this movement. I will share more details, including submission guidelines, soon. Here is the link to subscribe to Illumination Book Club on Substack.

Now, we have three powerful networks: Health/Wellness, Freelancing, and Book Club. I will integrate them as one network to create a fusion. Health is essential to my readers and me, and I have introduced this new network lately.

Why I Created a Health and Wellness Network on Substack & How I Will Support It
Welcome to the new ILLUMINATION Health and Wellness network for healthcare professionals, business people, and health…

If you missed the featured newsletters from our curators earlier today, you can find the link below and explore them. Collaboration is essential for success on Substack.

Featured Newsletters by Substack Mastery Boost Pilot: Episode 18

Thank you for reading my introduction. I wish you a healthy and happy life.