Breaking the Rules: Valorie Castellanos Clark Takes Us Inside "Unruly Figures"
How Clark Brings History's Rebels Back to Life Through Her Newsletter & Podcast
Hello Bleeders!
I’m proud to announce that we are nearly 1,000 subscribers strong. I’m very excited to hit that milestone and continue sharing writerly resources with y’all. If you find this newsletter valuable, please share it with a writer pal.
Today, we’re going to continue our newsletter series with tips and tricks from some of my favorite writers. I’m thrilled to introduce
, the creative force behind the fascinating newsletter and podcast . Valorie is a historian with a knack for storytelling and a passion for uncovering the lives of rebels and revolutionaries who defied societal norms and transformed their communities.Valorie launched her Substack in September 2021, and since then, she’s published a ton of content and gained a lot of hard-earned newsletter wisdom, which has led to Unruly Figures, the book!
I actually met Valorie at a Substack meetup in Los Angeles a couple of years ago—proof that this platform is awesome for expanding your network.
In this interview, Valorie takes us inside Unruly Figures’ own fascinating history, sharing insights into its creation, growth, and how the book deal came about. She also discusses the importance of community engagement and the challenges of monetizing a niche newsletter.
📣 But first, I wanted to let y’all know about an upcoming seminar I’m teaching tomorrow, Saturday, August 10th: Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network & Business.
If you're reading this, you're probably a writer who wants to start or improve your newsletter, and I want to help you. I've learned so much since launching my
Substack two and a half years ago. I've grown that email list from zero to (almost) 5K, gotten 75K downloads on the Podcast Bestie podcast, and made about $5K directly from subscriptions and ad revenue (and much more indirectly since I use it to promote my courses, threw a sponsored event, and have been solicited for well-paid freelance assignments based on my newsletter writing).As my experience illustrates, a newsletter can be the linchpin to your platform-building, networking, and entrepreneurial aspirations… not to mention an awesome creative outlet—and the process doesn’t have to suck. Like Valorie, you can build your author brand, connect with your audience, and make your publishing dreams come true with a standout Substack. In this seminar, I'm going to lay out my blueprint with everything I’ve learned about building a profitable newsletter from running
and interviewing other successful newsletter creators."Courtney Koak's Starting a Newsletter seminar exceeded my expectations. Courtney provided concrete advice and it was so nice to have someone talk about writing in a more practical, functional, and business-oriented way. The class was truly useful. Thank you!"
-Former student
💌 Join me TOMORROW, Saturday, August 10th, for a seminar that will help set you up for newsletter success!
What’s the basic premise and tagline of your newsletter?
VC: The tagline is “Stories of real people who refused to play by the rules.” The ‘stack revolves around tales of rebels, rulebreakers, and revolutionaries of all stripes. I dive deep into their lives and times to contextualize how these folks broke their society’s rules and changed their communities.
When and why did you start your newsletter?
VC: I launched in September 2021. I have a Master’s in History and Literature, but at the time, I wasn’t engaging with that part of my mind as much as I would have liked. It was a way for me to write about history without bowing to the pressure of going back to grad school and/or working in academia, where all my work would be inaccessible to the general public.
Who’s your main audience?
VC: Folks who like history! I think most of my audience are English speakers aged 25-45 who are interested in marginalized histories. I haven’t sent out a demographic survey in a while, but it seems like a lot of queer folks and allies are especially interested in tales of rebels.
How is your newsletter differentiated from the other newsletters in your niche?
VC: I tell longer stories and focus on biographies and lifetimes, not single events or subjects. I also don’t limit myself to any one time period or geographical area, which is how historians and history writers are usually taught to work.
What’s your editorial strategy?
VC: I focus on podcasting. These stories work better if they’re read out loud, but I also write and publish the full script as a long essay for people who prefer reading it. It takes me about 20 hours of work per episode, so I usually do a new episode every other week. In general, I plan an entire 10-month season of content in advance, but I’m also really flexible—for instance, I inserted my recent episode of Saint Valentine into the schedule somewhat at the last minute when I realized the story I initially wanted to cover was going to be much too difficult.
How many subscribers do you have?
VC: 4,000 on Substack, last I checked, and about 5,000 on Instagram. But I try not to pay too much attention to that part, honestly.
[Editor’s note: This series of interviews was conducted earlier this year. Unruly Figures now has over 4.6K subscribers.]
Do you offer paid memberships? If so, explain when and why you turned that on, what your subscription offering includes, the cost, how many subscribers are part of your paid community, and any takeaways from going paid.
VC: I do. I turned it on when I launched. Research is really expensive—I’m frequently paying for access to research papers that are behind paywalls or books that are out of print and unavailable at the library. Paying subscribers know that’s what they’re supporting when they subscribe.
Paid subscribers receive exclusive bonus episodes and behind-the-scenes content. I also gave them first access to updates about my debut book, which is based on the Substack.
Subscriptions cost $6/month or $60/year. Out of 4,000 subscribers, I have 30 paid subscribers. It’s not enough to live on—or even offset the cost of making the podcast, frankly. If I were starting over today, I would wait to launch paid subscriptions because I think I could have made a bigger drive out of it if I’d done it differently.
Have you tried any other methods of monetization?
VC: The podcast is hosted on other platforms, like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. On those platforms, it has ads.
Tell us about your newsletter’s growth trajectory. What have been the most effective ways for you to promote your newsletter? Did you have any growth spurts, and what did you learn from those?
VC: I have steadily gained about 150 followers a month for about a year now. Before that, there would be big spikes, like when I did my What To Read interview or participated in Substack Grow. I placed a few ads for Unruly Figures early on, but none gained much traction until one single ad in LitHub gained about 500 followers in a single day. From that I learned to only place ads somewhere with an audience with similar values to yours.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that to achieve organic growth, participating in the community is the most important part—no one likes someone who drops in only to promote their work. That’s why I gave up on Twitter. It was so toxic that I didn’t enjoy being there, so I didn’t participate in conversations and I drove almost zero conversions from the platform. It was a huge waste of energy for me.
What’s been your most popular content, and your guess as to why?
VC: By far, it’s been my episode on the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. I think there are a few factors at play: The episode went modestly viral probably because Basquiat’s work is surging in popularity right now. His artwork has been all over brands like Target and Coach in the last five years. Back in 2020, I had the privilege of working with the curatorial team at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles, which houses the biggest collection of Basquiat’s work in the U.S., so I had a lot of insider information that made it into that episode. I think that makes it a particularly interesting episode for folks who are interested in Basquiat.
How has your newsletter served your career as an author?
VC: My debut book, Unruly Figures, is based on the Substack and podcast. My editor heard the Basquiat episode and reached out, so it has really made my career. Together, the ‘stack and the upcoming book have helped me land bylines in bigger publications like the LA Times. In many ways, it feels like it’s just getting started.
What’s your #1 tip for writers who want to start a newsletter?
VC: Pick a topic or subject field that you could talk about for 30 minutes without preparing. Anything that you’re that interested in is going to be a wonderfully sustainable topic for you because your interest will shine through in your words. Plus, writing a newsletter is not all fun and games, and there are going to be days when the last thing you want to do is write another dang issue—making it something that you’re really passionate about will make those days fewer and further between.
What’s your #1 tip for writers trying to grow their existing newsletter?
VC: Engage, engage, engage! It’s the internet—to paraphrase a slightly raunchier phrase, if you can imagine it, there’s a community based around it. Go find those people and start talking to them. Don’t just tell them about your newsletter; actually engage with them!
Shout out another writer-newsletter that you admire and enjoy consuming.
VC: There are so many excellent writers on Substack! I’m subscribed to about 90, so it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few, but I particularly love
by , by , and by a writer who seems intent on remaining anonymous, but I sure do appreciate their work.Thank you, Valorie!
➡️ Subscribe to .
➡️ Follow Valorie on Instagram @thevalorieclark and @unrulyfigures and on TikTok @thevalorieclark.
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So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️
Smash that like button and give Valorie some love in the comments below.
Let’s connect on social media! I’m @courtneykocak on Twitter/X and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.
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