To Newsletter or Not to Newsletter

Okay, after years of saying “I don’t want to!” I’ve taken the plunge and begun self-publishing some of my books— especially my backlist series. That bit of self-revelation, however, is a topic for another post. The thing that makes it relevant is that, in preparation for this momentous step a friend recommended that I read a book about self-publishing written by nine New York Times bestselling authors.

So I did. I’m sure it’s a great book full of better advice than I’ll ever be able to give, but I have to say— those women drove me crazy! Don’t they ever sleep? How can one human being possibly do everything they say you absolutely must do?

But never mind all the other 10,000 things, one major point I read over and over again was: “You must have a newsletter.”

So, I ask my writer friends— “Do you have a newsletter?”

I ask my reader friends— “Do you read newsletters?”

I can answer the second question partially in the affirmative. No, I don’t read newsletters. But, yes, I do read a newsletter.

I read Veronica Heley’s delightful, chatty newsletter every month. And here are a few points I have observed about it which, if— a very big if at the moment— I ever did decide to commit to yet another task, I would hope to emulate:

             1.Voice: Veronica’s own voice comes through as clearly as if she were in the room with me: chatty, friendly, humorous. And, since she is English, Veronica’s humor is always directed at herself. 
             2. Information: Veronica always shares bits about her everyday life, a glimpse of her writing life, and clear information (plot summaries, reviews and ordering info) about her newest releases and re-releases.
           3.Regularity: Veronica never misses. The first day of the month her newsletter arrives in my inbox. 
            4.  Brevity: No hype, no pizzazz, just a page and a half of vignettes and information, ending with a blessing.

Here are some samples from her most recent newsletter:

On this first day of the New Year, I would like my world to be all sweetness and light, but no; I have to report a crime. It’s one I can’t take to the police. My milk is being stolen off my doorstep! Last summer I found someone (something) was ripping the tops off my milk bottles and lowering the level of the liquid inside by an inch or so. Next, I found one bottle had been toppled onto its side, the lid removed, and that the contents had drained away. I concluded that the crows which haunt the nearby park had decided to vary their diet, and a neighbour gave me a plastic bucket to put over my milk carrier.  That worked well . . . until recently I found the bucket had been left on one side and the carrier was – empty. At first I thought Alan, who had been delivering my milk for years, must have taken the empties and forgotten to leave me a new bottle. But after this had happened a couple of times, the horrible truth emerged; he hadn’t forgotten and my milk was being stolen!

Now it is true that my front garden is somewhat exposed, and what is more, I live opposite some park gates. People walking dogs go in and out of the park at all hours; as do teenagers extending a night out by sitting on my garden wall and eating a ready meal; as do men wheeling fractious babies in buggies; as does the man who delivers the papers in the middle of the night. (Between three and four o’clock, to be precise.) So who do you think I should blame? Not the milkman. Otherwise, the field is wide open. For the moment, Alan is hiding my milk in a flower bed and we’re hoping this will stop the thefts. To be continued, no doubt.

. . .

And now – Tarantara! – a fanfare for FALSE WALL, which was officially published yesterday, 31^st December in the UK.  There have been a few good reviews out already on NetGalley, which is open to anyone who is a librarian or has a review blog. If you would like a copy with a view to giving it a review, just email Charlotte@SevernHouse.com and she will do the necessary.    

Finally, a blessing: may the New Year bring you more joy than sorrow, and the strength to deal with whichever comes. 

. . .

NEW . . . .

FALSE  WALL, the 10^th Bea Abbot. December 31^st 2015, 3 months later in the USA and other overseas territories. Bea Abbot watched in horror as her garden wall came crashing down, exposing human bones in a neighbour’s pets’ cemetery. An invitation to Bea and her financier friend Leon from the Admiral and his lady next door leaves both of them in hospital. It also leaves Bea’s home and her agency rooms uninhabitable, while threatening to destroy Leon’s reputation. Bea is distressed when, at this traumatic moment, Leon deserts her to rescue a business deal. Even with the help of her friends, can the agency survive – and what then will become of Bea’s relationship with Leon? Severn House,

ISBN 978-0-7278-8576-0.

. . .

And a PS:

PS. Neighbours have just told me their milk is also being stolen. Half a bottle was taken the other night! Alan is now hiding their milk in a food container outside their front door.

Veronica doesn’t include pictures, but I can’t resist:

So, tell me what you think: Do you have a newsletter for your readers? Do you read others’ newsletters? Are they an essential tool for a writer?

Posted by Donna Fletcher Crow whose latest release is An All-Consuming Fire, book 5 in her Monastery Murders series. see more at www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com