What Happens When Agents Say No—and You Publish Anyway?

🎙️ New episode: How Elle Griffin turned her rejected gothic novel into a Substack success

Hi Bleeders!

I’ve been on a wild string of deadlines lately, so we’re dipping into the archives this week with a juicy episode that’s absolutely worth a (re)listen: the origin story of Substack superstar,

Elle Griffin

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🔄 From rejections to reinvention

Elle Griffin did everything right. She wrote a novel. She queried over 100 agents. She workshopped, revised, and waited. And… crickets.

But instead of letting that stop her, Elle got curious.

“As I was going through that process, I was researching how to publish books and kind of what my options were and realized that there was a very obvious reason why no agent wanted my book… They didn’t know how to sell it.”

The reason? Her novel, Obscurity, is a moody, sweeping Gothic story in the vein of The Count of Monte Cristo and A Christmas Carol. Not exactly an easy comp for modern publishers.

“They wanted something they could comp to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” Elle said. “But my book is a lot more Les Misérables.”

So instead of shelving the manuscript or reshaping it to be more commercial, Elle took a sharp left turn. She ditched the traditional path and started publishing her novel on Substack.

✍️ A new kind of writing routine

Elle didn’t just self-publish her novel—she serialized it. One chapter at a time. Weekly releases. Real-time feedback. A deeper relationship with readers than she’d ever experienced before.

She also rewired her writing process to work for her. She eschewed the “shitty first draft” advice.

“I was following that advice… but the first draft was so bad and I hated it so much… it was just not worth trying to resurrect and rewrite the whole thing. So I was like, okay, I’m going to try this again… and this time I’m going to write the way I write journalism, which is just one perfect paragraph, then another perfect paragraph until you’re done.”

I asked her how long that “perfect paragraph” method took. The answer? Two years.

And she still wasn’t done. After feedback from her dad, she restructured the novel, cutting the chronological opening and starting with the juicier bits:

“He was like ‘the New Orleans part is where things get really juicy’… So we start with her arriving in New Orleans and then flashbacks to her past in Paris from time to time.”

Gotta love a literary dad who helps you solve the structural issues with your novel!

💌 Substack as a storytelling solution

Elle didn’t just find a home for Obscurity on Substack—she built a whole ecosystem around it and she was a trendsetter in the space.

“When I started on Substack, there were only like eight other fiction writers on the platform and most of them were doing short stories. Now there’s like a million.”

Ahead of the curve? Absolutely. But there’s a reason serialized fiction is making a comeback: it’s fun, it builds momentum, and it lets writers experiment in public.

Plus, Elle’s not shy about critiquing traditional publishing—especially the lack of creative control.

“Taylor Swift is rerecording all of her old albums right now because the venture capitalist firm owns her masters… Why would you want to lock your art away with somebody who could do anything that they want with it to try to make money and you have no control over it anymore and in fact, only get 15 percent of the royalties?”

Fair point!

🔎 Lessons from writing in public

Publishing on Substack changed everything for Elle—her writing process, her mindset, and her relationship to her work.

“I’m not waiting for permission anymore,” she told me.

At the time of our conversation, Elle was writing her second serialized novel, Oblivion, publishing in real-time, sharing it chapter-by-chapter with her audience.

You’ll want to hear Elle break down the numbers and what she learned from her research deep-dive into publishing—especially her articles “No one will read your book” and “Writing books isn’t a good idea.”

This episode is packed with inspiration and practical takeaways. If you’ve been flirting with the idea of self-publishing, experimenting with serialized fiction, or just want to break away from the gatekeepers, Elle’s story might give you the push you need to take publishing into your own hands.

➡️ Subscribe to Elle’s Substack, which has been rebranded to

The Elysian

since we spoke.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now.

Happy bleeding,
Courtney

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I’m teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:

• Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns

• The Multi-Passionate Writer’s Life

• How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought

• Podcasting for Writers: How to Start, Sustain & Grow Your Podcast

• Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business

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So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️

Are you team traditional publishing or team self-pub—or somewhere in between?

Do you think serialized storytelling could work for your writing? Why or why not?

If you’re publishing on Substack, drop a link—I’d love to check out your work.