I had the pleasure of hosting Veronica Llorca-Smith for a raw and honest Substack Live conversation about what it really takes to turn creativity into a thriving business. Veronica is a writer, author coach, and public speaker who recently published The Anti-Procrastinator with Penguin Random House.
What made this conversation special?
We committed from the start to being completely transparent—no sugar-coating, no hustle culture promises, just the real story of building a creative business in 2025.
The Unconventional Path to Traditional Publishing
Before landing her deal with Penguin Random House, Veronica self-published two books and worked with an indie publisher for a third. The rejections were many, but they led to a strategic insight that changed everything.
Veronica secured her book deal before writing the manuscript.
Her approach was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love strategy, pitching the concept first rather than completing the book and hoping for interest. But this wasn’t a random shot in the dark. Veronica did extensive research into Penguin’s structure, discovering they have over 300 imprints, each with different focuses and audiences.
She found an imprint in Southeast Asia (she’s based in Hong Kong) that specifically sought stories from authors in that region and didn’t require agent representation.
The lesson?
Intentional targeting over volume.
Traditional vs. Self-Publishing: The Real Comparison
When I asked whether she’d continue with traditional publishers, Veronica was clear: yes, despite making less money per book (8% royalties compared to self-publishing).
Why? The intangible benefits:
* Credibility and authority that open doors to literary festivals
* Speaking opportunities at higher rates
* Professional validation that distinguishes you in an AI-saturated market
As Veronica put it: “It’s not about the money from the book itself, it’s about what the book enables you to do.”
The Six-Figure Reality Check
This is where our conversation got really honest.
Veronica challenged a common misconception: “I don’t know one single creator who actually makes six figures from a writing business.”
Here’s the truth: most successful “writing businesses” are actually diversified income ecosystems where writing is the foundation, not the sole revenue source.
Veronica’s Income Breakdown:
Primary source: Public speaking (workshops and keynotes for Fortune 500 companies at $3,000-$5,000 per session)
Secondary sources:
* Digital courses on Gumroad (launched in July, already published four courses)
* One-on-one coaching
* Premium webinars for paid subscribers
* Book sales (the smallest revenue stream)
The timeline is equally important. Veronica barely made money in her first three months. After six months, she could pay some bills. It took two full years to reach a sustainable income, and even now, most months don’t match her former corporate salary.
The Substack Growth Strategy
With over 13,000 subscribers, I had to ask: how did she get there?
Veronica’s answer challenged the typical “just be consistent” advice. She treated her first year as a learning period, then paused to reassess when growth stalled.
Her turning point: Shifting from a hobby mindset to a business mindset.
This meant:
* Defining her ideal reader clearly
* Creating a strategic content plan
* Identifying growth drivers beyond just posting regularly
The Three Pillars That Accelerated Growth:
* Notes - Consistent presence, though she acknowledges it’s a numbers game
* Collaboration - Guest posts, joint webinars, and live sessions that expose you to new communities
* Going live - Building trust through face-to-face connection
On the notes debate, we got real. I admitted my notes sometimes get minimal engagement despite posting regularly. Veronica’s take? Different formats serve different audiences. She publishes both video and written summaries to avoid alienating anyone.
The Public Speaking Pivot
Veronica’s journey from corporate Apple employee to international speaker wasn’t planned; it evolved strategically.
Phase 1: Practice and exposure through podcasts and YouTube interviews Phase 2: Premium webinars for paid Substack subscribersPhase 3: Corporate workshops and keynotes
Her strategy is brilliantly simple:
* LinkedIn for B2B business (where HR heads and learning development professionals live)
* Substack for B2C business (books, courses, coaching)
Her LinkedIn profile “screams public speaker”, complete with microphone icons and speaking photos. It leads to a dedicated website showcasing testimonials and previous engagements. She also focuses on SEO for terms like “leadership speaker Hong Kong” to appear in search results when companies are looking.
The Hard Questions
When Should You Give Up?
This question hits home for many creators. Veronica’s answer was nuanced: Don’t give up, but be smart about risk management.
Her advice:
* Build your creative business as a side project while employed
* Create financial cushion before going full-time (she had 15 years of corporate savings)
* Consider returning to part-time corporate work if needed while continuing to build
She was refreshingly honest: “If I didn’t have any financial cushion, I wouldn’t have survived past six months.”
Is Everyone Going to Be an Entrepreneur?
We discussed how mass layoffs and AI disruption are pushing people toward solopreneurship. Veronica believes the future of work is shifting in this direction, particularly for younger generations seeking purpose and freedom over the outdated nine-to-five structure.
But she’s clear-eyed: not everyone will thrive as an entrepreneur, and that’s okay.
The Infrastructure of Success
How does Veronica manage publishing books, running a business, raising kids, and training for triathlons?
Her answer centers on one principle: Know what you need to be at your best.
For her, that means:
* Protecting her sleep
* Morning exercise (where most creative breakthroughs happen)
* Saying no to protect her time and energy
* Focusing on just two platforms instead of spreading thin
As she put it: “If you want output, what is the input?”
The Bilingual Advantage
One insight that excited me: Veronica’s Spanish Substack (El Limonero) hit 2,500 subscribers in just one year.
Her observation? Non-English publications are one to two years behind the English market, creating a first-mover advantage for multilingual creators.
This inspired me to consider launching Substack content in Arabic, where there’s even less competition.
Final Thoughts: Books as Business Enablers
Veronica’s approach to books is strategic. A book isn’t just a product, it’s the center of an ecosystem that includes:
* Speaking opportunities
* Courses and digital products
* Coaching relationships
* Community building
Her Anti-Procrastinator launched in February, but she’s still in “launch mode” for the full year, attending literary festivals, doing international book fairs (including 1,000 copies at the Delhi World Book Fair in January), and continuously promoting.
As she said, “Being an author is not just the action of writing a book. It’s the mindset and the lifestyle.”
The Bottom Line: Building a creative business is possible, but it requires patience, diversification, strategic thinking, and often longer than the internet would have you believe. There’s no shortcut, but there is a path, if you’re willing to play the long game.
You can find Veronica at The Lemon Tree Mindset and connect with her on LinkedIn for her public speaking work.
Thank you Margaret Williams, MS, ACC, Paul Cobbin, Fleur Hull, and many others for tuning into my live video with Veronica Llorca-Smith! Join me for my next live video in the app.
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