How can I add a guest author to a post?

Have an author you've been collaborating with and now you're ready to spotlight their writing with your subscribers? The guest post tool lets you feature a guest writer by easily creating their own byline and also prompts readers to subscribe to their Substack.

Here's how to get started:

1. From your Posts tab, select "New Post".

2. In the byline section, select the plus sign.

Tip: To have bylines appear, check that you have "Show bylines on posts" enabled which can be found in your publication's Settings.

3. Enter the Substack profile of the guest writer you'd like to invite to preview the draft post. If the guest does not have a Substack profile, enter their email address.

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4. The guest writer will get an email invitation to join your upcoming post. They can accept or decline your invitation in the email. Guest writers must have or create a Substack account in order to appear in the byline– this can be done via the email invitation. They do not necessarily need to download the Substack app in order to accept the invite.

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  • If they haven't accepted your invitation: their email address will appear as "pending" in the byline.
  • If they have accepted your invitation: their name will appear in the byline and you'll also receive a confirmation email.

5. When a guest writer accepts your invitation, they'll have the opportunity to set up a profile and create their own Substack publication (if they don't already have one). The guest writer will be notified by email once the post is live.

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Note: Guest authors will be unable to make any edits or publish the draft as you'll be posting on their behalf. If you'd like the guest writer to be able to directly edit the draft post, you can add them as a contributor to your publication.
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