SPEAKING
I’m Amy Suto — bestselling author of Write for Money and Power, creator of a Top 20 Business Substack with 42,000+ subscribers, and a former Hollywood TV writer. I give talks about creativity and money that people actually buy tickets for: my most recent lecture with Big Brain, the Bay Area’s paid speaker series, sold out — and my bookstore writing classes run waitlists. Occasionally I take on paid speaking engagements, depending on my schedule; the form below is the fastest way to check availability.
Book Amy to Speak
Talks I give
The Death of the Starving Artist
The keynote version of Write for Money and Power: where the starving artist myth actually came from, why artists like Michelangelo were entrepreneurial, and how creative people build leverage today.
Creativity & Creative Productivity
How working creatives actually finish things: growth weeks vs. maintenance weeks, protecting deep work, and building a creative practice that doesn’t run on burnout.
How Creatives Can Use AI
A working writer’s honest, hype-free take: where AI genuinely helps a creative business, where it can’t follow you, and how to use the tools without losing your voice.
The New Age of Writing
What replaced the old gatekeepers: newsletters, self-publishing, serialized fiction, and community — and what it means for anyone building a writing career now.
Paid Newsletters & Substack
How I grew Make Writing Your Job to 42K+ subscribers and $267K in gross annualized revenue with no paid ads — the strategy, the pricing, and the mistakes.
Your Audience, Your Idea
Have a theme in mind for your conference, offsite, or series? I love building custom talks where creativity meets money, media, and technology.
Recent rooms
My latest talk was a sold-out night with the Big Brain Lecture Series in Oakland — the Bay Area series that packs bars, theaters, and community spaces with people who pay to nerd out on a Friday night. Big Brain’s lectures routinely sell out — so much so that its founder quit her corporate job to run the series full time. My talk turned the thesis of Write for Money and Power into a night out: the starving artist myth is PR, and you were never the customer.
I also teach in-person writing classes at local bookstores — like my session at The Love Potion Library on using TV screenwriting techniques to write romance novels — and those seats go fast enough that the events run waitlists. Audiences leave with frameworks they can use Monday morning, not just inspiration.
Formats
- Keynotes & speaker series— 30–60 minute talks with Q&A, built for ticketed series, conferences, and festivals.
- Corporate talks & workshops — creativity, writing, and AI-for-creative-work sessions for teams, offsites, and lunch-and-learns.
- Bookstore & community events — hands-on writing classes, author talks, and salon-style conversations.
- Panels, fireside chats & virtual — happy to join remotely for global teams and online summits.
Speaking engagements are paid and scheduled around my writing calendar — tell me your dates early. For media, audience stats, photos, and everything a producer needs, my press kit has it all in one place.