Monday, February 1, 2016

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, 31st 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 10th Bea Abbot. December 31st 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 


16 comments:

  1. I have a quarterly newsletter, and I read other authors' newsletters. Life is so busy, and I read/meet so many great authors, that I sometimes forget a few. What a blessing it is to see a newsletter from them in my inbox once every three months. I open it to catch up, and I often find great ideas for my own journey--ideas for my own newsletter, for book signings, for speaking opportunities, etc. I believe quarterly newsletters are the standard. If I get too many emails from an author, I usually unsubscribe. But that might be just me.

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    1. Thank you, what a thoughtful response, Patricia. Quarterly sounds much more reasonable than monthly to me.

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  2. Donna, good point for discussion. In my travels a newsletter appears to be the one "must do" regards building relationship with your readers. Even more so than social media. I like receiving newsletters from authors I care about. Like what Patricia says, it gives you a chance to catch up. I find a lot of authors only write once a quarter which I think is sufficient.

    I try to think of it as the old handwritten letters to keep in touch with ones we care about. The beauty of technology is that letter written with much love can go out to lots of people all at once. Sounds like Veronica has captured a similar essence in her newsletters.

    BTW, I don't have one as yet but plan to in a few months time.

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    1. Oh, yes, Ian--have you been around long enough to remember the old hand-written fan letters--and then answering them in envelopes with stamps on them! What a blast from the past. I do like that concept of a newsletter.

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  3. Hi Donna, I have an author newsletter. I keep my newsletters short and I only send one out when I have a new book releasing, or a different version/format becomes available.

    I will confess that I don't tend to read author newsletters unless the author is announcing a new book. Then I'll read the book info, search for the Kindle link, and pre-order the book straight away. If the author tends to send out a newsletter for the sake of doing it, without any significant book news to share, I'll probably unsubscribe because I'm not reading the content. I'm also aware that the author may be paying for the newsletters if their list is sizable. I don't want the author to be paying to send me a newsletter that I'm not reading.

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    1. So, do you use Mail Chimp or something comparable, Narelle? The mechanics seem a bit daunting.

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    2. Yes, I use Mail Chimp and it works well for me :)

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  4. I've thinking about getting one out. Interesting to read about Ian's, Patricia's and Narelle's differing ideas on this. It would have to be an online newsletter because the postage is awful here in Australia. Being writers it shouldn't be too difficult to be newsy. I guess I'd soon find out if it was worthwhile by those agreeing to receive one.

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    1. Hi Rita, I don't know of any authors who send out print newsletters to their readers. My understanding is they are all sent via email.

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    2. Yes, gathering a mailing list is another issue. I suppose one does that through social media. A note on Facebook and Twitter: Subscribe to my newsletter. . .

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  5. Very timely, Donna. I've been contemplating the newsletter idea for quite some time. I rarely read author newsletters, except for a cursory skim-over. Makes me wonder why I'd do it, but apparently there are those who do read them. And I would like to at the very least keep my readers in the loop as to my book releases. I also like to be approachable, b/c I really am a very ordinary person (I didn't say normal!).

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    1. Ha, Janice! Approachable is a great term--"normal" I'd hate to attempt even a definition!

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  6. I have a newsletter that goes out once a year with a Christmas short story. I used to send it more often, but now that I have a weekly blog, I don't have enough material to do a newsletter too. I receive some newsletters but tend not to read them. With groups, facebook, blogs, other social media, I just haven't the time to read another screed -- even ones that are fun and chatty.

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    1. Absolutely, Alice--time is the whole issue! A weekly blog--congratulations! I wish I could be that regular.

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  7. For those interested in Veronica's tale of the milk thief, here's an update from her most recent newsletter: My report of milk being stolen off my doorstep has inspired comments from all around the world. In Australia apparently milk is no longer available in bottles, but only in cartons. I didn’t know that. Another reader advised me to set up a camera to capture the thief in action . . . which is exactly what a third reader did after he noticed the pears on his tree were disappearing every night. And who did you think his camera caught? A fox! They had never realised a fox could jump so high, but now they have it on camera! Interesting . . . but foxes don’t drink milk, do they?

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  8. I'm very new to the newsletter game with just one being sent out so far. It's definitely a big adventure! I'm aiming to send mine out bi-monthly to quarterly but, like Narelle says, it will only be if I have something actually worth saying! I subscribe to a few newsletters of favourite authors and always read them :)

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