Caitlin McColl: Turning Creative Practice Into a Sustainable, Human-Centred Career🎯The Career Pivot Playbooks Series
Caitlin McColl on building a sustainable, monetizable creative practice through Substack, focus, and reader-led value creation.
This Career Pivot Playbook features Caitlin McColl, a writer and creator known for her grounded, human approach to personal growth and creativity.
Caitlin has always written. What began as a private practice evolved into self-published Steampunk fiction and a love of world-building… a skill that later shaped how she created community and voice online. During the pandemic, platforms like Elephant Journal shifted her focus toward writing for an audience, eventually leading her through Medium and Vocal before she found her home on Substack in September 2024.
On Substack, Caitlin launched Dose of Wonder, a publication for people feeling digitally frayed and worn down by constant optimization. Drawing on her background as a yoga and meditation teacher, her work offers space for reflection, grief, and everyday meaning, without slipping into toxic positivity or tidy conclusions.
Rather than spreading herself across platforms, Caitlin chose to focus. Substack now sits at the center of her work, supported by a Ko-fi shop offering digital “Wonder Kits” and visual pieces that extend her writing into tangible form. Her visual style mirrors her philosophy: painterly, realistic, and intentionally unpolished.
This Playbook explores how creative focus, emotional honesty, and steady consistency can support a sustainable portfolio career, proving that wonder, when rooted in real life, can be both meaningful and monetizable.
🎯 About Career Pivot Playbooks
A public archive of modern career blueprints…
Most careers no longer follow a straight line.
People pivot gradually.
They extend their work beyond institutions.
They combine roles, platforms, and income streams.
Career Pivot Playbooks is a weekly series documenting how professionals are building resilient, future-ready careers, with professionals often using Substack alongside research, consulting, teaching, creative work, or operating businesses.
The focus isn’t outcomes.
It’s about how careers are shaped in practice.
About Caitlin
Caitlin is an editor, writer, and long-time yoga and meditation teacher from Vancouver, Canada, navigating the rugged work of staying human in a digital age. Through her Substack, Dose of Wonder, she rejects the culture of instant experts and optimization, choosing instead to explore the tension between grit and grace.
Her work serves as a sanctuary for those who prefer the reality of life over high-gloss perfection… proving that wonder is not a fairytale escape but a grounded form of defiance.
On Substack, Caitlin shares reflective essays, short audio pieces, and visual work that invite readers to slow down and reconnect with themselves—showing how a focused, values-led creative practice can become both meaningful and sustainable.
You can follow her work here →
Caitlin reflects:
“Can you share a bit about your professional background and the path that led you to where you are today?”
I’ve always written, even as a little girl, but for a long time, it was just a private practice. Before the pandemic, I was self-publishing Steampunk fiction on a personal blog that stayed mostly under the radar. I loved the world-building aspect of fiction, which unexpectedly helped me create the “village” of my Substack and the character of Elara.
In 2020, I discovered online platforms like Elephant Journal, which shifted my focus toward personal growth and writing for an audience. That path led me through Vocal and Medium (in 2021) before I eventually found my true home on Substack in September 2024.
“What sign, moment, or slow realization told you it was time to diversify — and what did you have to push through to actually act on it?”
I’d had a Ko-fi shop for years, but it mostly sat dormant because marketing isn’t my strong suit. When I launched Dose of Wonder, I felt a pull to expand my offerings with digital “Wonder Kits” and infographics that tied directly into my writing. It was an organic evolution, but I did struggle with imposter syndrome while moving from fiction to personal growth. I also realized that the stock photos I was using felt “plastic” and hollow. That realization led me to my current visual style—painterly realism that feels grounded in the everyday.
“Which skills or experiences from your previous career unexpectedly became an advantage in what you do now?”
Pivoting from fiction to personal growth shaped how I connect with readers. My years as a yoga and meditation teacher taught me how to hold space for big emotions—grief, anxiety, and hope.
On Substack, I’m doing the same work; I’m just using a keyboard instead of a yoga mat to help people inhabit their own skin.
“How did you decide where to build visibility or credibility (Substack or elsewhere), and what role does that platform play in your overall career or income mix?”
I now focus solely on Substack. I’ve tied it to my Ko-fi shop, where I sell products that serve as a tangible “dose of wonder.” Concentrating on one platform prevents me from spreading my creativity too thin.
“Who is your work really for — and what problem do you solve so well that people are willing to pay for it?”
My work is for the seekers who feel “digitally frayed.” It’s for people tired of high-gloss, optimised versions of life who are looking for a way back to themselves. I write for those who value the rugged work of staying human and want to find wonder without falling into the trap of toxic positivity or fairytale endings. Most meaningful things are found at the kitchen sink—in the presence of everyday life—rather than in a perfect 10-step plan.
I solve the problem of spiritual and creative erosion. We live in a world that asks us to be “instant experts.” Dose of Wonder provides a sanctuary from that noise. Wonder isn’t a fluffy escape; it’s a form of defiance. I help my readers trade the chaos of constant optimisation for a grounded way of seeing the world. They aren’t paying for “hacks”—they’re paying for a return to their own humanity.
“What turned out to be harder than you expected when you started — and what was easier than you imagined?”
I arrived on Substack without heavy expectations, which I think is the best way to start. It allowed me to stay open-minded. Learning the technical side was actually enjoyable because I’ve always liked “tinkering” with websites. The evolution of the publication has been a steady, creative process rather than a race to a finish line.
“How have you found the journey? What advice/ strategies and tips would you give to others wanting to grow their audiences?”
I’ve been here for 16 months and it’s been a thrill to connect with a global community. My growth has been steady and modest—I’m currently at around 1,250 subscribers—and I’m proud that it’s been entirely organic. I’m here for genuine connection, not just numbers.
My main tip for growth is consistency. I post 2–3 times a week, including my podcast, and I use Substack Sections so readers can opt into specific topics like mental health or grief. I follow my gut; I write about what interests me because I trust that if it resonates with me, it’ll resonate with other people, too. Sometimes that’s a deep dive into loss, and other times it’s a short audio “Dose of Wonder.” The key is giving readers the agency to choose which “room” of the sanctuary they want to enter.
“What nearly made you quit, and what actually kept you going?”
I’ve never wanted to quit Substack because the community keeps me going. Engaging with people on Notes and in the comments makes the work feel like a conversation rather than a monologue.
“What advice would you give to someone considering a similar pivot or looking to monetize their skills in a more flexible way?”
Just give it a shot. Feel the fear and do it anyway; you have nothing to lose. I waited a full year before monetizing because I was nervous, but once I took the plunge on my first anniversary, I didn’t look back.
“What other platforms, audiences, or income streams are part of your portfolio career — and how do they work together?”
I recently cut out other social media to focus my energy. We can get caught up spinning too many plates, which often waters down our creativity (and leads to burnout). Focusing on Substack and my Ko-fi shop allows me to keep my work potent and personal.
“Looking back, what’s one decision that changed everything — and what’s next for you in your career evolution?”
The decision that changed everything was when I stopped trying to be “palatable” for an imaginary audience. I traded safe, gentle language for the realism of a life actually lived.
The turning point was leaning into that realism—with a dash of wonder—in both my writing and visuals. I’m now using AI tools not for speed, but as a digital paintbrush to create a visual world that feels hand-touched. It’s about proving that even in a high-tech world, we can create art that feels “lived-in.” People don’t want the fairytale; they want someone to sit with them at the kitchen table and find the wonder in the grit.
Links & Resources
Related Articles
The Safety Trap of The Bubble-Wrapped Life: A deep dive into why we need to trade artificial comfort for the rugged work of being brave.
Finding Elara: My Journey from Stock Photos to a Visual Soul: An exploration of how I built a visual world that breathes, moving away from generic aesthetics toward “lived presence.”
The Accountant In My Head and the Myth of Earned Joy: A look at the lifelong habit of bargaining for joy and why wonder is a right, not a reward.
Wonder in the Ordinary: An invitation to find the extraordinary within the kitchen sink (i.e. being present in the everyday, doing the dishes), focusing on the beauty of a “lived-in” life rather than the pursuit of a perfect one.
Read More
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Katharine from Learn Grow Monetize
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