When I look for new interviewees, I search first for wicked writers—I hope this is obvious—and then I mine their successes and struggles for evidence of adaptation. By what twisted means did they achieve their success? Sometimes it’s plain fortune. Often it’s a veteran cleverness empowered from years of dusting phoenix ash off oneself. These writers stand against the impossible, persevere and revel in reward.

And what greater reward can a writer possibly possess than over 100,000 consistent readers*? Aaron Mahnke is one such writer.

His hit podcast Lore grew out of an obsession with supernatural fiction. You see, Aaron didn’t find success with his first four books. Instead of abandoning the effort (or continuing down the rut), he pivoted, sought advice, thought of a new medium for readers to consume his work and the rest is history. He evolved like a nasty plague.

In this episode of Bleeding Ink, Aaron and I discuss what it means to be a modern writer. What challenges and milestones lay ahead for us and how to tackle them. Aaron is a prime specimen of the artist-patron hybrid. It’s fascinating and will inform your audience-growing strategies now and in the future. It might just inspire you to pivot as well.

I also recommend you check out Lore if you love creepy, fun stories based on real-life events.

* I realize a podcast isn’t exactly reading. Aaron also provides transcripts and writes the episodes like any other work of narrative non-fiction.