Starting At $0: Welcome to Commercial Fiction Club!
Watch me build a self-publishing fiction empire from $0 to $1,000,000/year—step by step.
Dear Fiction Writer,
How do you make money from your art? From your stories? From your fiction?
Well, I think it would be better to show you—rather than just tell you.
If you’re new to my little corner of the Internet, my name is Nicolas Cole. I am one of the most-read writers in the world, have accumulated over a billion views on my digital writing, have written 10 books, and co-founded two of the leading writing programs online: Ship 30 for 30, and Premium Ghostwriting Academy.
But unlike most writers who “find success” in 1 niche, usually with 1 type of business model, I have generated millions of dollars as a writer, over and over again, across 8 different business models:
Non-Fiction Books: My library of self-published non-fiction books has generated over $1,000,000 in sales.
Paid Newsletters: I have built 2 of Substack’s fastest-growing paid newsletters, Category Pirates and Write With AI. Both generate multiple 6-figures in annual recurring revenue and have generated over $1,000,000 in sales.
SaaS: I co-founded Typeshare, the leading platform for digital writing templates, which has generated over $1,000,000 in software subscription sales.
Cohort-Based Courses: I co-founded Ship 30 for 30, the largest cohort-based writing program for beginner digital writers. This program has generated over $5,000,000 in sales.
Low-Ticket Digital Products: I have built a dozen different ~$350 digital education products, including Full-Stack Writer, Low-Ticket Launchpad, and Category Newsletter Creator. These products have generated over $3,000,000 in sales.
High-Ticket Group Coaching: I co-founded the largest training program for ghostwriters, called Premium Ghostwriting Academy. This program has generated over $10,000,000 in sales.
Services: I co-founded the first ghostwriting agency for founders & executives, called Digital Press. This business has generated over $3,500,000 in sales.
Consulting: I have advised companies on their messaging ranging from Silicon Valley startups to publicly traded companies, and have generated over $2,000,000 in consulting sales.
One of the only business models I haven’t crossed the $1,000,000 mark with is fiction.
Which is actually what I studied in college. I have a degree from Columbia College Chicago in Fiction Writing.
And so, that’s the purpose of this paid newsletter: Commercial Fiction Club!
I am going to document the entire process of stepping into a brand new writing vertical, and growing it from $0 to $1,000,000/year.
The steps I take.
The decisions I make.
The way I solve bottlenecks.
The techniques I use to build efficiencies.
The strategies I use to market & monetize.
I am going to share exactly what I’m doing, and why I’m doing it, so that you can “see” the process for not just making money from your fiction… but making money as a writer, period.
Because the truth is, all the same fundamental business principles apply.
And making money in non-fiction, or with selling courses, or services, or even consulting, is no different.
It’s all the same rules, just applied in different contexts.
And I’m going to prove it, in the 1 vertical where everybody says “nobody makes a living as a writer” the most.
Fiction.