What should a writer’s newsletter actually say?
Write it as a letter, not a press release. The newsletters that generally work best read like a note from someone the reader likes: personal, specific, and usually not selling anything. Aim for about seven letters that give for every one that asks.
Litopia Editorial, with Peter CoxUpdated
Why does the letter matter more than the list?
Because a reader who stops opening your letters is a reader you’ve lost, even if their address is still on the list. The letters are what keep the relationship alive between books. A thousand addresses and a dull newsletter add up to very little; a few hundred readers who look forward to hearing from you can carry a book launch.
How much should you sell?
Most of the time, very little. If you only write when there’s something to buy, you’ll write at most three times a year, and readers will forget why they signed up. Give generously, and the asking takes care of itself.
The exception is a launch, which readers who like your work expect and welcome. Then be clear and direct: say the book is out, why you’re proud of it, where to buy it, and how you need them to support the launch.
How do you make it sound like you?
By writing to a person rather than an audience. Four habits help:
- Write to one reader. Picture a real subscriber, or your most curious friend, and address every line to them.
- Read it aloud. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend over coffee, cut it or say it differently.
- Keep the odd bits. The aside, the digression, the strange thing you noticed on a walk: that’s the voice. Too much polish flattens it.
- Have a view. Readers don’t subscribe to neutrality. Tell them what you think, and why.
What can you write about?
More than you’d think, once you stop waiting for news. Any of these can fill a letter:
- Behind the scenes: the research, a draft that went wrong, ten versions of an opening line.
- Recommendations: a book, a film, a place, anything you genuinely loved this month.
- Work in progress: a paragraph from the new book, a character note, a deleted scene.
- Small essays: a walk, a conversation, a moment that turned into a thought.
- Craft: something you learned about pacing, dialogue or structure.
- Reader questions: once replies start arriving, let the best questions shape whole letters.
- Other writers: a début you admire, or a writer readers of yours would enjoy. Generosity travels.
How long should a letter be?
As long as it needs, and no longer. Three short paragraphs make a perfectly good letter, and most people nowadays read on a phone. Give each letter one main point and, if you want the reader to do something, give them one clear thing to do: reply, read a post, or buy a book.
For how often to send, and how to write the subject line and the welcome letter, see Rhythm and the welcome email. For what happens when readers write back, see Replies.