The Article Pipeline: A Straightforward System to Manage the Article Writing Process
How I solved two major writing struggles: managing the mental clutter of unfinished articles and avoiding incomplete, rushed publishing.
I used to write and publish every single day. I managed to keep up, but my growth was painfully slow, and my articles weren't getting much or any engagement at all, even though I put in at least three times the effort I do now.
“Were my articles bad?” I always wondered
3 months in, I finally understood what’s wrong with them.
I stopped mass-producing articles and focused on crafting one solid piece per week. One of my articles blew up.
But it wasn’t just the timing of publishing that changed—it was the entire process leading up to hitting "publish."
In this article, I’ll share the system I use to craft better, more effective articles by addressing TWO MAIN PROBLEMS:
1️⃣ Managing the mental clutter of tracking unfinished articles
I learned that writing online isn’t like heating takeout in the microwave—it’s more like cooking a dish from scratch.
Some steps can be sped up, but none can be skipped. If you rush through it, you’ll end up with something undercooked, missing key ingredients, and far from what you intended.
But I get it—if you’ve ever written a draft while in the zone, you know how tempting it is to just finish it in one sitting, edit it, and hit publish.
I used to do this all the time. But as I wrote more, I realized that even though those one-sitting articles weren’t bad, they lacked depth.
I’d often have insights I wished I had included.
I also discovered that the real reason I kept pushing myself to hit publish right away wasn’t just excitement—it was to get it off my mind.
The thought of having an unfinished article hanging over me, knowing I still had to write another, felt like too much mental clutter.
This, in turn, led to the second problem:
2️⃣ Publishing articles that always felt incomplete
Writing and publishing regularly meant you always have a deadline, which sometimes leads to rushing through the process, often resulting in articles that lack depth and engagement.
By shifting to a structured system, I was able to refine my work and create more impactful content.
Readers weren’t just clicking—they were engaging, sharing, and I even got an offer to have one of my articles translated into Spanish. How cool is that? Having your work reach a whole new audience in a different language!
The system I created is what I call my Article Pipeline—a structured system to prevent rushed publishing and ensure each piece gets the attention it deserves.
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The Article Pipeline
This started as just an idea, but recently I have been polishing my Substack Notion database (where Imanage my Substack projects, notes, unpublished articles, and niche performance analysis) I incorporated it in.
Before this, I had a simple list of articles categorized by niche, but while it gave me an overview of my planned articles, it didn’t help with the process of writing and publishing.
Plus, my main problem with my previous layout is that the sheer volume of listed articles plastered in my face every time I opened my project manager, with no clear indicator of where I was at—felt overwhelming. (You can see below my old unpublished article system).
Now, my Article Pipeline gives me a structured, step-by-step approach.
Note that in the screenshot, these articles are still be categorized based on their niche but I’ve hidden some properties (uch as the niche and dates) since I won’t be diving into my full Notion setup here. However, I plan to cover it in another article—maybe even a series.
For now, I’ll focus on the Article Pipeline itself—my step-by-step process for taking an article from idea to publication.
Table View Looks Like this (I’ve shown the Niche but still hidden the publication dates for personal reasons) :
The calendar view, organized by publishing dates, essentially serves as my deadline tracker. It generally looks like this:
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Now that you’ve seen what it looks like—yes, it’s pretty simple. But for me, simple systems are the best. Let’s dive deeper into how I use it.
Step 1: Capturing Ideas
Ideas can come from anywhere—while working, walking, or scrolling. If I’m on the go, I quickly jot them down in my phone’s notes app. Later, I transferred them to my Notion database.
Each idea starts in the Not Started stage. If I come up with an idea while working in Substack, it goes straight into Notion. Sometimes, I add a short description—just one sentence—to remind me of the core concept.
Step 2: Scheduling & Prioritization
I assign dates to each article, scheduling their deadlines in my content calendar (I can rearrange them later if I want to).
Sometimes I add polls in my article to know what my readers want to read next and schedule them accordingly
At a glance, I can see when each article is set to be published, from the calendar view. This ensures I’m never scrambling to find a topic last minute. and I can also filter it out based on their niche to give me a snapshot of my content’s direction.
Overall, it helps me balance my workload, so I’m not overcommitting to too many big articles at once.
Step 3: Outlining (1 Week Before Publishing Date)
A week before an article is scheduled to go live, I move it to the Outline stage.
Here, I brainstorm the main points I want to cover.
This is a quick process—just bullet points, hence I can do this almost anywhere whenever I have time, but if I am sitting with my computer in a favorable place, I sometimes also proceed to step 4 or at least start with it.
Step 4: First Draft (3 Days Before Publishing Date)
This is where I flesh out the article. I take the outline and expand on each point, making sure the ideas flow well.
Though this is just the first draft, my goal by this stage, the article should be close to publish-ready.
Before this system I think most of my articles get published during this stage, good but can still be improved.
Step 5: Letting It Rest
I let the draft sit for at least a day or two before reviewing it again. This step is crucial.
When I revisit the draft with fresh eyes, I always find things to improve—sections to clarify, unnecessary fluff to cut, better transitions to add.
If I had published it immediately, I wouldn’t have caught these.
Step 6: Final Draft & Transfer to Substack
A day before the publishing date, I finalize my edits and move the draft from Google Docs to Substack.
This step is inspired by something I read from Nicolas Cole—changing the medium in which you read your work (paper, phone, Google Docs, Substack) helps spot different mistakes.
I’ve noticed that my articles always feel different when I read them inside Substack versus Google Docs—the flow, the feel, and those small nuances that subtly impact the overall piece.
When already in the substack draft, this is also where I add buttons and such.
Step 7: Publishing & Engagement
On publishing day, I give the article one last read-through, make minor tweaks if necessary, then hit publish. But my work doesn’t end there.
Right after publishing, I focus on engagement—sharing the article, replying to comments, and being active in notes.
Why This Works
Prevents rushed articles – Instead of forcing myself to publish quickly, I allow each article to develop naturally.
Makes writing sustainable – Writing full-length articles takes time. This system lets me work on small sections daily instead of tackling everything at once.
Helps visualize workload – I always know what stage each article is in, preventing overwhelm.
Allows for better editing – With built-in breaks, I can refine my work before publishing.
Aligns with audience growth strategies – This system integrates well with my engagement strategies (notes, comments, restacks), ensuring I’m not just writing in a vacuum.
Before using this system, I was writing blind—constantly generating ideas but struggling to turn them into polished articles.
Now, I have a clear process that ensures consistency and quality.
If you’re struggling with rushed, half-baked content, try creating your own Article Pipeline.
It doesn’t have to look exactly like mine—just structure it in a way that makes sense for your workflow.
What does your writing process look like? Let me know in the comments!
Poll Break! 🎭
I'm thinking of rebranding my publication from Notes Before Dying to a name that better reflects its content: systems around susbatck, online writing, and personal development.
That is all for today! Wishing you all a great week ahead! Thank you so much for reading up until here! 😊
Frey.
All my content is currently free, but if you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi! ☕✨ Every bit helps me keep creating contents like these. Thank you! 💛
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