Discernment Session

A Substack Publishing “Gut Check”

20 minutes • $94

Time-bounded private advising to make one call clean: free vs paid, paid offer shape, pivot/launch messaging, cadence or conversion pathway.

A short, private advising session to help you make one Substack decision clean — so you can stop circling it.

When your Substack publication is at a threshold and you can feel the pressure building:

• Should this be free or paid?

• Is this offer actually coherent?

• Am I pivoting — or just drifting?

You don’t need more templates, growth hacks or “just post more” advice.

You need clear decision-making inside Substack — the kind that holds up under real stakes: revenue, reader trust, capacity and the next phase of your body of work.

This session is designed to be a pressure-release valve.

Not a full audit or a long-term commitment. Just enough outside perspective to make one call clean — especially one with second-order effects on your business, your audience or your ability to keep publishing with integrity.

What happens in the session

We listen for the structure underneath the situation:

• what you keep circling

• what you’re not naming yet

• what your audience is responding to (or quietly ignoring)

• what Substack is rewarding — without you realizing it

Then we translate that into a decision you can actually stand behind.

Bring your Substack ecosystem (not just a question)

If publishing is part of your business model, bring the whole picture:

• your publication

• paid tier(s)

• current offer(s)

• launch timing

• what you’re trying to build next

Substack isn’t a place for content churn. It’s positioning, revenue architecture and audience trust.

Small decisions about cadence, paywalls and invitations quietly determine:

• what converts

• what compounds

• what leaks opportunity over time

What we can decide in 20 minutes

This session works best for one clear decision, such as:

• Free vs paid boundaries (what belongs where right now)

• Paid offer shape (what you’re actually selling through the publication)

• Pivot strategy (how to shift without losing your core readers)

• Publishing rhythm (cadence that supports capacity and goals)

• Conversion pathway clarity (where readers are getting lost)

• Launch integration (how Substack supports a book or offer without becoming churn)

• Publication “shape” (what this publication is for in this season)

Optional: If you share links, I may also point out one or two quiet hiccups — places where the publication is signaling something you don’t intend.

What you’ll leave with

• a clear stance (yes / no / not yet)

• 1–3 next moves you can execute in the next 7–14 days

• the real hinge — the thing that’s been driving the loop

Most people leave feeling settled, not spun up.

Scope note

I can’t learn your entire ecosystem in 20 minutes.

But we can make one Substack decision confidently — especially one touching money, timing, visibility or paid structure.

For some people, one session is enough.

For others, this becomes the front door to longer-term publishing partnerships once more context is in place.

What people say about my work

Feedback from clients and subscribers across publishing strategy, editorial work and advisory support.

“Soulful and pragmatic at the same time.” — Susan Piver, bestselling author and founder of The Open Heart Project

“Helped me realign fast… to a strategy that felt more like me.” — Claire Venus, founder of Sparkle on Substack

“No cookie-cutter advice… she helps you go deeper so your ideas sing.” — Noha Beshir, author of Letters from a Muslim Woman

Logistics

This is voice-note advising in Voxer.

Choose a time and date. At checkout, share:

• your question

• a few sentences of context
  (links welcome)

On the day we connect, we’ll go back and forth in Voxer for 20 minutes (audio or text).

About Amanda

I’m Amanda Bray — a strategic publishing advisor and early Substack adopter with original reader survey data and ongoing platform intelligence.

I track patterns across leading publications and bring audience behavior, paid strategy, and positioning into the decision room — so public-facing leaders can make confident calls under real stakes, without turning their voice into content marketing.

Book your session

If your Substack publication is at an inflection point and you want a smaller first step, this is for you.