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Not too long ago, one of my favorite newsletters changed format: James Clear, bestselling author of Atomic Habits, went from a more standard, essay-type newsletter to a simplified one where he shares a handful of specific thoughts in brief, pithy quotes, along with a couple of brief thought-provoking quotations from others as well.
It’s good content—I subscribed to Clear’s newsletter in the first place because I like his ideas and find them helpful. The format is efficient and to-the-point. I’m betting it saves him a lot of time to get right to the nut of his ideas rather than expanding on them in an essay-style post, and it certainly saves his readers time, when so many of us are inundated with overflowing in-boxes. It may even be a more effective marketing tool for him—with his good ideas crystallized down to brief nuggets ready for sharing on social media.
But I find I’m less and less interested in reading it every week.
In contrast, another of my favorite writers and thinkers, Oliver Burkeman, author of the marvelous Four Thousand Weeks, sends a regular newsletter that’s more typical: He addresses a subject or problem or thought he’s been mulling over, related to something specific he’s experiencing in his own life, and shares his thoughts about it.
It’s longer than Clear’s for sure—a consideration when we’re all pressed for time and pulled by the many emails demanding our attention. And yet not only do a read it every time, I look forward to it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about newsletters lately, as I’m attempting to clear some of the clutter of my in-box as part of a wholesale reevaluation of how I spend my time (we’re going to talk more about that in a future post).
Read more: “Knowledge Burnout and Information Overload”
I created a filter to send certain types of emails to a folder I can sort through periodically, rather than feeling inundated with so many every day, and I’ve been evaluating each one I receive to determine whether it automatically gets shunted into the folder, bypassing my in-box.
James Clear’s was one of the ones I applied the filter to—now if I want to read it I have to go seek it out and determine whether I want to open it.
Burkeman’s stayed in my in-box—even though it’s longer and takes up more of my time. It’s a pleasurable break from whatever else my day holds, often hits a chord in me and offers something helpful or thought-provoking, almost like conversation with a friend. I even take additional time now and then to reply to him (he says in every newsletter how much he enjoys hearing from readers) and thank him for some insight or share how it resonates in my own life. Often he replies.
I’m realizing what I value about the newsletters I receive, what makes me keep reading and what makes me click away; which ones I feel consistently are worth my time and attention—two commodities I’m growing ever more protective of.
Advice to authors to create a newsletter is ubiquitous, and the reasons are generally solid. It’s a direct line of communication to people who are very interested in your work. It’s a platform that’s totally within your own control and ownership, and the mailing list is your own, as opposed to being at the mercy of the entities that run social media or other platforms. It’s a way to maintain reader awareness of and interest in your work. It’s a marketing tool.
But many authors struggle with whether to write one: It’s a time commitment, and a diffusion of your creative efforts—and do people really want or need yet another email cluttering up their in-box?
Even if they decide it’s worth it, writers often struggle with what to write—what makes an email from them worth opening to the people who self-selected as fans of your work? What makes your newsletter worth their time and commitment to you, so they don’t opt right back out again?
What Makes a Newsletter Worth Reading?
One of the key differences between these two newsletters is that with James Clear’s shift in approach, it started to feel as if he were talking at me, funneling out his ideas in a packaged format that made it easier for people to disseminate them further. To me it feels a little bit calculated and transactional, more of a marketing tool than a way to connect with readers and fans.
One of the things I love most about Burkeman’s newsletter is its personal tone. It feels as if he’s talking with me, sharing anecdotes from his own life and what they made him think about, what ideas they sparked that it feels as if he’s working through in a dialogue with his readers.
I’m under no illusion that both these authors aren’t using a newsletter as part of their marketing efforts, a tool to reach readers and stay visible and ultimately draw them to the products they are selling. But Clear’s new approach to that feels to me a little more deliberate and purposeful, presenting his undeniable wisdom for readers’ consumption, whereas Burkeman always feels as if he’s inviting me to check out more of his work by engaging me in his thought processes, his creation and development of it.
I’m not saying Burkeman hides the marketing aspect of these newsletters—for instance with his last release, Meditation for Mortals, often he led the newsletter with posts about the new book. I just feel as if it’s not his main purpose in writing to me, which is how his intimate, chatty newsletters always feel: as if they are written directly to me and not for mass consumption.
And that’s probably the core of why I prefer his newsletters to Clear’s new approach. As much as I’m a fan of both of their work, it feels as if Burkeman is truly interested in his readers and engaging them in a creative two-way conversation, not a one-way megaphone.
But What If You Write Fiction?
These two newsletters are from nonfiction authors, as is my own—arguably a little easier to determine content because we can focus on the topics that drew readers to our work in the first place.
But you can apply similar filters and questions to your newsletters as a fiction author too. I subscribe to a number of these—but not nearly as many as I could, given how much I read and how many authors I know and work with. So what makes the handful I regularly read make the cut?
Let your own behavior and preferences as a consumer of other newsletters guide you. If something draws you in as a reader, it may also appeal to people who share your predilections or outlook or sensibility.
When I am planning my own newsletters, I let my own behavior and preferences as a consumer of other newsletters guide me. If something draws me in as a reader, then I figure it may also appeal to people who share my predilections or outlook or sensibility.
As a fiction writer, it makes sense that your readers and fans may also be interested in and gravitate to the types of things you like or find interesting and enjoyable—so it’s useful to do the kind of inventory I’ve been doing on which newsletters engage you enough to hit “subscribe,” and what you like about them.
Here’s some of what I’ve learned so far keeps a newsletter in my in-box, and not filtered into a folder:
They entertain me
Good storytelling is probably my number-one reason for subscribing to fiction authors’ newsletters: If I love their books, I want more of that feel: more of their voice, their perspective, more of whatever qualities draw me to their writing, and the newsletters I love most feel like personal mini versions of that.
Ann Garvin’s and Rachael Herron’s newsletters are reliably entertaining and real, just like their books. They tell stories from their personal lives that feel like they’re sitting next to me confiding in my ear, and both often make me L literally OL.
Realizing this about my own preferences is why so many of my newsletters start with a personal anecdote from my own life to lead into and illustrate whatever topic I’m writing about, and incorporate a lot of humor. If I enjoy reading posts like that—and enjoy writing them, which I do—then I hope and trust that those who resonate with my work, message, and voice may also.
They share insights into their process and “behind-the-scenes” glimpses of their work
Back in the days of videos and DVDs I was a sucker for all the “behind-the-scenes” bonus material: the director’s cut, creator commentary, outtakes, and “making-of” material were as delightful to me as the movie itself if I enjoyed it (sometimes more so). To this day, as a former actor I don’t miss being onstage or in front of the camera one bit—but I still love being backstage, or on a set. And I’ll watch documentaries and shows like How It’s Made in a hot second. I LOVE the creative process.
So it’s no surprise that the newsletters that made my cull often offer that kind of insight.
Patricia McConnell is a dog behaviorist whose nonfiction work I’ve long appreciated, and her newsletters offer valuable insights into dog training and behavior. But she’s lately been writing mysteries and has been sharing stories about her drafting, revising, and publication processes as a first-time fiction writer. I love feeling as if her subscribers are part of this journey with her.
As an editor whose been working in many different facets of the publishing industry for decades, I try to offer “insider information” and insight in many of my posts to authors, who I hope may find it of value or of interest.
They are real, human, and inspiring
If I love the art, often I’m interested in the artist, too. I love when I feel as if someone whose work I admire is taking me into their confidence, being genuine and authentic rather than presenting some shiny public-facing image they want to project. I love authors who get real, who show their flaws, who share their challenges and vulnerabilities.
Rochelle Weinstein’s newsletters are personal, heartfelt, and thoughtful, always giving me insight into her life in a way that draws me in and lets me feel like our friendship is more immediate and intimate than it actually usually is, given our distance and the irregularity of our communication. Besides their great storytelling, Ann Garvin and Rachael Herron share the challenges and failures and warts of their lives, not just their many successes. I always feel uplifted, inspired, and fortified after reading any of these authors’ newsletters.
Knowing this, in my own posts I try to be as naked and real as possible. I write about my own struggles, “the demons” that I not only see many authors wrestling with but that I wrangle with myself, my occasional self-doubts or flagging spirits, my embarrassments and shortcomings and mistakes—and how I cope with, process, and bounce back from these setbacks, hoping my experiences may offer some insight to others going through similar challenges so common to our field.
They offer something I value
This might be simply information about when an author I like has a new release, or an appearance near me where I might get to hear or meet them in person. But often it’s resources, tips, or info an author may offer that I find useful or enjoyable.
Katherine Center has a “Three Good Things” section that I really like, always discovering some gem within her suggestions that I’d never have discovered without her tips: an artist whose work offers unexpected delight, or a podcast I wasn’t aware of. Along with stories from her life, Sharon Short often shares delicious guilty-pleasure recipes that make me drool.
Jennifer Weiner often shares her thoughts about the industry and craft from the perspective of a major bestseller and industry insider in a frank, unvarnished way I find informative and refreshing—and she has some excellent craft-and-career-related posts I always enjoy as well.
That’s one reason I started the “Writerly Resources” section of my newsletter, where I share posts, podcasts, and other writing resources that I find especially helpful; and recently added my “Current Favorite Things,” where I share everything from products I love to delightful articles I’ve encountered to book and movie and TV show recommendations.
Will Your Newsletter Sell Your Books?
This is the crux of it for many authors, perhaps: whether it’s worth their while to create a newsletter, with all the regular work that may entail, on top of all the other responsibilities of their career, and life.
In mine I don’t focus on or even worry too much about marketing my “products”: my books, online courses, webinars, etc. If a topic has a clear tie-in I will take it, but again I pay attention to how I react to other people’s newsletters, and a hard-sell approach will turn me off every time, so why would I do that in my own? My posts are not SEO-optimized (back in the day when that was relevant). I don’t study my analytics and try to make them more searchable or clickable or broadly appealing. I just write—just share the thoughts I have and converse.
Am I doing newsletters “right”? I have no idea. Just as in my editing work and writing advice, where I take a bespoke, personal approach to craft rather than adopting one-size-fits-all “rules” or “best practices,” in my newsletters I simply focus on what I find interesting or enjoyable or worthwhile, and predilections I think people who were drawn enough to me and my work to subscribe might share.
That’s not to say I don’t take readers into account. On the contrary—my favorite thing about these posts is the engagement they often yield with authors: the thoughtful comments that feel like conversations, the emails I receive from writers sharing that something was especially resonant or useful or helpful to them, the fact that I’ve come to recognize many regular commenters who feel like part of my writing community.
Could my newsletters be a better sales tool for me? Yes, probably—but that’s not my primary purpose in writing them, and focusing my efforts in that direction might strip these posts of everything I truly enjoy about them now: most importantly that direct, unvarnished line of communication with people who love this craft and business I love, who share so many of the same challenges and struggles and questions I have, who —in a field that too often can feel daunting, isolating, and overwhelming—value the connection, conversation, and camaraderie that can be found in our favorite newsletters.
I would love to hear from you about your own newsletter consumption and production, authors. What makes you hit subscribe, and what might make you opt out of a newsletter? Do you have a newsletter of your own? How do you determine what to write about or what approach to take, and does it feel worthwhile and satisfying to you? In what specific ways?
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36 Comments. Leave new
Tiffany, are you doing newsletters “right”? I appreciate the struggle, and it’s not my bank account on the line…but by standing in your authenticity and giving so generously of your talents, I’d suggest you are doing “life” right. You have a rare gift of connecting with writers/people about the important stuff beyond a “tools and tricks” level (even more impressive during a webinar, as during yesterday’s “Mastering Character Inner Life”)…so much value, dispensed with warmth, humor and an underlying kindness.
Easy for me to (selfishly) say, but I for one would be very sad to see you go the commoditization route with your newsletters.
Last, I would guess that I’m one of many who, based on your recommendations in this piece, clicked “subscribe” to a bunch of newsletters I would likely have passed on otherwise. Another reason to be grateful I found you!
Oh, Pat, you made my day–thank you! Those are the nicest things to hear about my teaching and work. And I’m glad you found some good newsletters to check out here too. Thank you for this lovely comment. 🙂
Yours is one of the few newsletters I read through, every time. I feel like we’re sitting, having coffee and chatting.
I think newsletters that are full of honesty and voice draw me the most. And that’s what I strive for in mine.
Thank you, Laura–that means a lot to hear, especially from someone with whom I have actually sat down and shared coffee. 🙂
Honestly, as a writer, I have been unsubscribing from a number of newsletters (and some blogs too) because I’m seeing the same content, same subjects, and it has become redundant. Maybe it’s because writers are now using AI and chat bots to write their newsletter content? Also, when my Inbox gets cluttered with so many newsletters, I feel overwhelmed. I’ve established that I only want a few blog favorites (your blog is a keeper!), and read them with true interest. I don’t write a newsletter because it tends to be an isolated audience of followers. I prefer to write a blog because a blog gets higher SEO to reach a wider audience. My blog is mostly about reading fiction and short stories, and I want to keep that readership growing for visitors to stop by my blog. I am also watching more podcasts now than ever before because I can listen while multitasking household chores.
I get a little saturated with craft posts lately. While I do love hearing other viewpoints and ideas, sometimes I’m just a little at my limit of taking in “hard skills”–I’ve been enjoying some of what I see people offer lately that seems to wrestle more with some of the “squishy skills” that feel especially relevant to me in our current climate: resilience, kindness, inspiration, etc.
I can tend to be so myopic about AI sometimes, I didn’t even consider whether it might be used to generate some of this lately. I imagine some authors are, as you suggest. I’m still grappling with my thoughts about that (as I’ll be discussing in a future post), and am softening on thinking it’s a tech tool that we have to learn to incorporate if we don’t want to be made obsolete, but I’m with you in that there are a lot of things I don’t want to use it for–especially anything as centered on my own perspective and voice as this blog.
Happy to hear my posts make your own cull. 🙂 And I like that you know what you want yours to be and what seems to be working for you, and focus your energies on that. A lot of the reward of regular blogging, for me, is personal–the fact that I really enjoy doing them, the way I do them, so I can understand your commitment to your own approach. Thanks for the comment, Paula.
I’m kind of ruthless, I guess. Either I read them or I don’t get them. That means, I don’t receive all that many. It’s about balancing my time. Age aside, I’m 66, I simply have too much going on to sort through newsletters. It works for me or it’s gone.
I do, though, receive select ones, and yours is a favorite for all the reasons you describe why you do what you do.
What I produce is a weekly blog post. I do have a small number of loyal readers, which makes it worthwhile. If I have A reader, that makes it worthwhile. I typically delve into topics that interest me, like writing, fantasy, mapmaking, aging, hiking, walking, yoga, cats, photography, and more. I have, in the past, touched on overcoming abuse and neglect, and with finding natural ways to manage anxiety and depression.
My best posts are a mix of entertaining and useful. They’re also useful for me. Quite often, the topic I choose is one that’s important to me in the moment and writing about it helps me to sort it out. There’s something else I admitted on my blog.
I do the same thing, Christina–many times these posts are ideas that interest me, or I’m puzzling through things I’ve been mulling over (like this one!).For me it makes them feel personal and intimate–and I wonder if that’s your perspective on yours too.
The ones I’m filtering aren’t ones I don’t want to read (like you, I just unsub from those). But I do want to stop feeling obliged to read them when they come in. This feels a little more intentional to me: They are filed away, and once a week or so I can go in and see what catches my attention. I’m finding it a bit freeing. Thanks for your comment, as always!
Tiffany, you are among just a 3 newsletters I subscribe to and each of those select few I look forward to reading and value the content. I MAKE TIME TO READ YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Every week you have a knack of picking out the hot topics of the day (even if I didn’t know I was thinking it) and I find myself nodding along, going ‘Yeh, yeh’
You also always reply to comments. You are engaging and engaged with your readers.
I know there’s a temptation to optimise, but sometimes we do stuff just because, and that’s also OK!
Sending love!
One of THREE makes me feel very special! (In my future post about reclaiming my time I’m going to tally up how many I receive each week. I’ve been keeping count and it’s kind of staggering….)
Thanks for the feedback on what you like about the newsletter, Syl–it’s really nice to hear what hits the right chord!
I subscribe to a good double (triple?) handful of newsletters by authors I consider my peers (at least aspirationally)— people whom I’ve met IRL or via video. I consider reading and responding to these to be important relationship-building. The authors are reaching out to the world with their thoughts, and exactly as if I were passing them at a party, I feel like taking three to five minutes to read and respond is just good manners. It does take some time, but real connections to readers and writers is at the heart of why I’m in this field in the first place. I try to get to these within a day or two.
Authors I’ve never actually interacted with go in a folder like the one you described, to be perused when I have scraps of time and not enough brainpower left to do anything else. These will usually only get a “like” unless something really moves me.
And the third category really only contains your newsletter and Jane Friedman’s. These, I know I will want to settle down with and read carefully, check out the links, and think over. Those are fifteen-minute-or-more pleasures. I try to use them as rewards for a good chunk of work, but I usually can’t wait more than a day or so. 😊
My own newsletter is a longish essay with lots of photos, generally about some aspect of 1970’s history or culture (my historical fiction setting) or my writing process. I make an effort to connect these topics to wider themes that I hope will to be relevant to my subscribers. I also include playlists of 70’s music, pics of my cats and my garden, and the occasional recipe or how-to to keep things fun and add value. I have a tiny readership (just hit triple digits!) but a pretty good open rate (about 50 percent), so I feel pretty good that I’m offering something worthwhile. I’m thinking of moving from Mailerlite to Substack for delivery, to make comments and conversation (those connections again!) easier.
That’s a great way to think of the newsletters you subscribe to, Heather. I do think that engaging with authors that way is a powerful way to build your writing community. I don’t know many authors who aren’t delighted with comments and emails and feedback about their blogs, no matter what level. (I’m always amazed that Oliver Burkeman takes time to write back to me!) And supporting other authors without an agenda like that is such a great way to build connections so that if a time does come when your paths cross for something related to your own career, you’re a known entity and a fan–and someone who has already consistently supported their work.
Plus, as someone with a newsletter yourself, I’m sure you know it’s just lovely to hear when something lands with someone. Sometimes sending out a blog or newsletter can feel like dropping it into the void without that. It’s one of so many reasons I’m grateful for the engaged community here; it’s fortifying. 🙂 Your subject matter sounds personal and fun, and I think that goes a long way toward making them something people want to read. And a triple-digit subscribership is wonderful. I’m mindful of Dan Blank’s repeated reminders that ANY number of followers is a privilege and a wonder. I think it’s easy to “just”-ify our numbers (“just a few hundred” or “just a few thousand”), but I try to keep in perspective what that actually means: that all those people have appreciated something about our work enough to invite us into their inboxes, to want to follow and learn more. Which is why we do this in the first place, isn’t it–to reach people, connect with them through our work?
Also, side note–you made my day by ranking my newsletter in the rarefied air with Jane’s–which, like you, I read and click on and think about. She offers immense value, in my opinion, and I take that as a big compliment! 🙂
I had signed up for the WD Conference in Baltimore and found you while researching which sessions to attend. I’ll have the honor of attending several sessions that you’ll lead. Since I’m in the editing stage of my novel, I bought your Intuitive Editing book and have found it very helpful and painful, as it has disrupted my process. Okay…fine…a good disruption.
I also have enjoyed your article on newsletters. I’ve thought of starting one, but I’m trying to balance my main goal of completing the editing of my first novel and refreshing my pitch for the agents’ one-on-ones at WDC.
I look forward to meeting you in Baltimore.
Hi, Lawson! Nice to “meet” you, and welcome to this community! You made me laugh with describing Intuitive Editing as “very helpful and painful.” I’m happy you’re finding it useful. 🙂
I’ll look forward to seeing you in person in Baltimore–would you make sure to come say hi over the weekend?
Hi Tiffany,
I’ll be happy to introduce myself at WDC. Maybe you can sign my Intuitive Editing book, if that’s appropriate.
I attended your webinar, “Mastering Character Inner Life,” on Wednesday. The amount of information you covered reminded me of drinking from a firehose. I’m reviewing the recorded video and the transcript to best embrace the content. I try to learn or reinforce something educational four or five days a week.
As an entrepreneur, I had always loved and advocated learning, but this “newbie stuff” is, well, new. I always said, “If you love, learn, and practice your profession every day, you will get proficient, or at least better…we hope.
Oh, I’d love to! Authors have brought their own copies of the book to conferences I’ve done in the past to have them signed and it’s delightful. I’m glad you enjoyed the Inner Life course–it’s a brand-new one, on a topic I see authors wrangling a lot. I’m hoping the fire hose of info is a good thing…? 🙂
To your comment about practicing our profession every day… Years ago I knew an actor (when I was one) who said that he did at least one thing every day for his career, because at the end of the year he knew he’d have done at least 365 things toward furthering his goals. That’s stuck with me ever since–it’s been a guiding idea in building my business as an entrepreneur as well, and I share that story a lot. It’s good advice, as you say. And I always think the learning of any craft or pursuit is the real practice of it, the joy, the process. We never fully arrive, do we? If I thought I knew everything about this craft and business, I think I’d have to retire in boredom. 🙂 Thanks for the note.
We are in the same educational thought boat. And a firehose is a great thing, considering your learners have the opportunity to review and absorb the information at their own time and pace. You gave us the opportunity through the supplied recorded video and transcript.
I will proudly bring my book and look forward to seeing you in Baltimore.
Thanks for the feedback, Lawson. See you in Baltimore!
Thanks for this, Tiffany. I gave a short presentation on newsletters to a SinC chapter last month, and you expanded on many points that felt salient to me, too.
Like you, I sometimes don’t have the mental energy for a hard craft post — and I’m less interested in them, or maybe just more picky, at this stage in my career. Still a lot to learn — always — but basic skills and marketing info isn’t useful anymore.
I like Burkeman’s newsletter, too. Every 2 weeks (I think) is just right, and while it’s longer than Clear’s format as you describe it — sounds like his social media posts, which I unfollowed because I felt chided and preached to — it’s still short. I finish feeling like I got something from it, and that matters.
Oh, thanks, Leslie! This isn’t my field of expertise, at least as a marketing tool, but it’s been informative for me to analyze what makes a newsletter make my email purge.
I like Burkeman’s frequency too–I find myself wanting more of them, and I think that’s probably a great feeling to create in readers–better than the ones that come so often you want to mute them, right? 🙂 I also like that it gives me time to chew over his ideas. In his latest book, Meditations for Mortals, he suggests readers read a single chapter a day, for four weeks, to allow the ideas to percolate. And while I am usually very impatient to read when I really like a book or author (which I do with this one) and not always one to follow instructions, I’m taking his advice, and really enjoying getting what feels like even more out of it as each individual idea simmers in my brain every day.
“Chided and preached to” is a good description of Clear’s new format for me too, I fear. I really like his work, but this dilutes the impact of it for me. (In a flash of delusion I was worried when I posted this that he might read this and it would hurt his feelings…and then I reminded myself that James Clear is probably not sitting at home reading my blog, and if he is, I doubt it would concern him very much… 🙂 )
Thanks for the comment!
Hi Tiffany! I write fiction and I write my newsletter on Substack. Sometimes that feels like a mismatch because I see so much non-fiction on Substack. But I’m not moving to another provider because the other tool that Substack offers are things I want to use with my readers, someday. I have big ideas of having discussions and interviews that my readers can take part in thru the Substack platform. I want to keep things as simple as I can so when I do expand and offer more things, it’s all in one place.
The newsletters I send out now are part personal glimpse, chats about health (since living with a chronic illness is a major part of my life and a focus of my fiction). I throw in what I’m reading and enjoying and also a section every now and again on drinks and foods I’m enjoying. I keep it short – under 700 words. I want my newsletter to feel like an encouraging note from a friend. And I’ve heard from several people they do like my format.
I posted a link–I think in the newsletter version of this post actually, in Writerly Resources?–to an article that says a lot of fiction authors are using it to experiment with their fiction, so I think you’re in good company. I keep being intrigued by Substack, but every time I consider it I come back to liking to host these on my own website–though I hear Substack helps a lot with discoverability. (See, it’s that marketing thing I’m not that good at…)
I like the approach you describe in your newsletters–that’s how I think of mine too, like notes to friends–or as I always think of it, as if I’m inviting friends into my living room to chat. The living room being my head, I guess… 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Beth.
I read the Nature Scot newsletter for their volunteers from their man in Stirling every week. His wit and humour is what draws me in as well as the mystery around what cake he will bake that week. There is humour, mystery and cake. Incidentally, I have only ever volunteered with Nature Scot once in late 2019. Milngavie, (Mulguy), Scotland.
Ooh, I’ll check that out, David. I love nature…I love Scotland…and I love cake. 🙂 Although I’m always worried that newsletters like that will encourage me to make–and eat–more cake than I probably should….
I think you’re doing it “right!” Your newsletter is one I consistently read through and always feel like I get something valuable out of it. In other words, not only is it enjoyable to read, but I always feel it was worth my time. And I’m taking your lead and going to set up a filter to weed out some of the newsletters I’m not sure I want to cancel yet, but also don’t want to see everyday. I’m inundated!
Thanks, Audra–that’s really rewarding to hear. And I hope the filter helps! I’m astonished already how much headspace it’s opened up for me just to clear some clutter from my inbox and sort through it more intentionally. I will have more to say about this whole process in a post soon….
I love this piece. As someone who writes a professional newsletter twice a month and has dabbled in putting my creative writing out in Substack (two different audiences), I have struggled with much of what you share, both from a writing perspective and a reading one.
I hadn’t actually thought about what I liked in a newsletter, but as I read your post, I was head nodding to all the reasons you so wonderfully described. It’s why I follow you. I love your newsletters. I learn so much about you, how you see the world, and how you always bring it back to writing.
The things that make me unsubscribe are if there are too many emails coming. I’m good with one a week. But getting something every day is just not doable for me. I also don’t like it when it is evident their goal is to sell you something, a product, or a service. Once that happens, I unsubscribe.
I greatly enjoy the Writerly Resources section and have discovered some amazing resources and information there.
Emily, thanks so much for the kind words (and the feedback! It’s nice to know the Writerly Resource section is also of value).
It was insightful to me too to see what I like in other people’s newsletters (and validating to see how much of it I’ve already instinctively been doing in my own, I’m sure as a subconscious result of that). I hope it helps you keep customizing yours too. And I agree with you on frequency. Even a newsletter I love wearies me if it comes every day. Who has this kind of time…?! 😉
As usual, your newsletter today was very insightful, personal and helpful. I guess what intrigues me most and what keeps me reading is how you share your inner thoughts. I feel I am behind the scenes with a writer I greatly respect. The other important thing for me is that you take your personal time to answer our posts and comments each week. Thank you for doing that, it means a lot to me! I attended your course this past Wednesday and, as usual, it was extremely helpful. Thank you for presenting it.
Please keep up the great work and I will keep reading!
Jeff, thank you–your kind words and feedback mean a lot to me.
I got so much useful info from your webinar, “Mastering Character Inner Life,” on Wednesday. Thank you. In October, I posted my first podcast episode. Last week, my first Substack. They share a title, Conflict Owner’s Manual, but with different focus on the subject of conflict competence in life and relationships. Between October and last week, I noticed the difference in my style but until I read your article I hadn’t named it. My early podcast was stiff and almost stilted. By last week, I was chattier, more personal and revealing. You’ve clarified for me the better tone and approach, and my very small but (hopefully) growing number of subscribers will see your influence in my future posts. Thank you, again.
Thanks, Deborah–I’m so glad to hear the course was helpful. It’s a brand-new one and it’s good to hear what’s working (and what could be improved, if needed).
Congrats on your first Substack, and your podcast! That’s a lot to take on, but it sounds like you’ve found an approach that feels right–and hopefully fun. Writing this blog always is for me, and mostly it’s for the reason you mention: It feels personal and natural. Hope both are a big success!
I love your newsletter. I nearly always read them and often share them with fellow writers or writer groups 🙂 And I’m quite strict with curating my inbox. So you must be doing it right! Thank you!
Thanks, Robyn–not just for the kind feedback (which makes my day), but sharing the newsletter with others. I appreciate it!
Tiffany,
You are doing it right! Please don’t change! Yours is one of the few I always try to read. I subscribe to way too many newsletters and I want to read them, but time is limited.
I also struggle with what to write in my own. I’d love to be able to plan some out, however Im usually figuring out my theme a few days or a week ahead. Thanks as always for the great tips and advice. If I ever get the chance to meet you in person, I’ll feel like I already know you from your newsletters.. You can’t say that about many people who you only know through classes and online. Keep it up, girl!
Thank you,
Patty
Thanks so much, Patty. Your lovely comment about feeling as if we already know each other from the posts is so nice to hear–it’s how I feel writing them, and reading all your comments.
By the way, I’m planning a post about coming up with ideas that I’ll be running in the not too distant future–I know what you mean about finding intriguing topics to write about.
Thanks for this!