Publishing
A mailing list after a book is out is one of those things people talk about as if the only point is selling copies. That’s too narrow. The real value is having a direct line to the readers who actually want the next book, not just whoever wandered past the last launch.
The awkward bit is the in-between. No launch, no cover reveal, no obvious “news”. Then what? Blank page syndrome, but for newsletters. I suspect a lot of lists die not because they’re useless, but because writers are expected to be endlessly interesting on demand. A grim little business model.
The awkward bit is the in-between. No launch, no cover reveal, no obvious “news”. Then what? Blank page syndrome, but for newsletters. I suspect a lot of lists die not because they’re useless, but because writers are expected to be endlessly interesting on demand. A grim little business model.
A mailing list can also become a little museum of obligation if you’re not careful. Not every gap needs filling with “content”. Sometimes the sensible thing is to send something small and specific: a paragraph on a line of research, a deleted scene, a note about what you’re reading now. Enough to be human, not enough to sound like you’ve been set a weekly penance.