For so many reasons besides that belittling criticism I received, I could never get past the first 30 to 50 pages of more than a dozen novels I began and then abandoned in the following decades. It was all too easy to lay the self-doubt aside and settle for a day job that was less challenging and less fulfilling than the calling I could never put behind me. 

When my husband and I moved to Spain in 2019, I intended to take one more run at writing fiction part-time while teaching English. Then, during Covid lockdown in 2020, I tricked myself into short daily writing sessions that were sometimes frustrating but still better than the boredom of sitting stuck in an apartment with nothing better to do. A novel emerged—at last I had found a way to quiet (if not silence) the inner critic and proved to myself that I could do it. 

I began querying that novel in 2022, and all the advice-givers on YouTube agreed a newsletter is a great way to build an author platform. For new writers today, I would emphasize starting one as soon as you first begin drafting your novel, preferably sooner. While the cold-querying process to agents still produces success stories, the ability to engage with readers and show that you are already a robust citizen of the literary world is an increasingly important selling point that novices ignore at their peril.  

Unfortunately, I also came late to the newsletter and author platform game and didn’t yet have that crucial piece in my querying package. Despite a few full manuscript requests, all my queries were declined; that I managed not to take those 60 rejections personally was a testament to how far I’d come from that crushing earlier experience. While I let those No’s marinate, I embarked on a newsletter platform I’d heard about in a writing workshop: Substack. 

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Never mind monetizing—a secondary consideration for a fiction writer trying to connect with readers—the real magic of Substack is in the relationships you build with like-minded hopefuls, many of them also just starting out and looking to build a rapport with someone, anyone, who shares their dream of joining the community of people playing with words. I call it a writer incubator, even though there are more experienced writers and recognized names on the platform all the time, either courted by Substack or just finding their way through attrition from traditional media. 

Whether it’s finance, civil rights, or news, popular media, erotica, or New Age meditations, there’s a niche for everyone—and by all accounts, deciding on a niche is the first task at hand when you are initially choosing categories for yourself. I picked Fiction and Literature, but for the first 11 months I published no fiction. I was testing the waters. I busied myself with thought salads, book reviews, and stories of my life—clearing my throat while I figured out what I was really doing. 

Six months into posting on Substack, the self-imposed weekly deadline did wonders for my motivation, my subscribers increased five-fold, and feedback that was supportive rather than hypercritical helped repair my confidence further. I began to form connections with other writers, including several who were testing out serializing novels. I saw how non-traditional narratives presented in episodes resonated with readers, that the process of writing and reading fiction in digestible bites could be as satisfying as sitting down to the five-course meal of a book in hand. 

Eager to begin a new novel, I decided on a different approach—drafting and publishing each chapter as I went along. Lamb: A novel in snapshots is experimental and non-linear, interlocking stories with the same characters tracing an arc from high school days to the mysterious disappearance and untimely death of the title character. The story unfolds years later when his best friend, the unnamed narrator D, reminisces about their life together in the 80s and 90s while sorting through journal entries, poetry, and short stories left behind by Lamb, a sensitive, misunderstood soul and frustrated writer. 

The main advantage of this method (rather than finishing the novel before posting) was that I could post episodes of the story in real time, without much fear that developments later would necessitate seismic shifts in the earlier chapters. Drafting my first novel had been a process of iterations, blind alleys, and revisions; it had also taken two years.  

Another advantage, besides a deadline, was the need to frame each episode as its own engaging scene with a satisfying conclusion that still left the reader wanting more. Writers serializing on Substack often find their individual chapters are tighter and more suspenseful within the constraints of the format. 

The main disadvantage of serializing? Perhaps the perception that a novel self-published on Substack is disqualified from agent representation or a traditional publishing contract. I was interested in giving self-publishing a shot, and serializing it first seemed the perfect way to build an audience who might also be interested in buying or at least telling others about the book version later. 

Of course, there are still opportunities to publish traditionally even after self-publishing, Andy Weir and The Martian being just one wildly successful example. At least two memoirs (Kimberly Warner’s Unfixed and Mary L. Tabor’s Who By Fire) and a novel (Eleanor Anstruther’s Fallout) first serialized on Substack have been offered publishing contracts by Alisa Kennedy Jones’s new women-centered imprint, Empress Editions.  

The brilliance of Substack as a platform is not just the readers you find, but the relationships you’ll form with writers at all levels of the game. Eleanor, who’s now been both traditionally and self-published (she is leading the charge for a rebrand to “independent” publishing as an increasingly worthwhile path in the evolving marketplace), is a generous, prolific Substacker who also provided me a blurb for Lamb. 

There are a few caveats to just firing up a new Substack and starting to post chapters. Build up an audience of consistent readers first, who can be depended upon to Like and Comment on each new installment. Provide clear signposts along the way, with a separate introduction and table of contents pinned to a special section for your novel, and in-post links to previous and subsequent chapters. Know that most readers on Substack are unfailingly kind, and their positive comments should not take the place of beta readers and honest, constructive criticism. Expect that some readers will fall away in the course of the serial—rather than be disappointed, consider that these might be the very people who would prefer to read your story in book form; use it as motivation to set a swift deadline to bring it to market. 

As I’m turning the corner with the book I started on Substack, now released into the wild, the experience of building my platform there is sending ripples out into the wider literary landscape. While it’s not a magic pill, the doors it can open are proliferating for the new writer hoping to be welcomed into a fellowship of mutual support. 

The post How Substack Helped Me Publish My Novel at 55 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

This piece will provide you with a sampler of strategies for growing the readership of your author newsletter.

Easy strategies every newsletter writer should use

Add a link basically everywhere you are online, such as your email signature, your website, and your social media bios—and include a zippy tagline that tells people why they want to read your newsletter. Two quick examples: Jessica DeFino says that her newsletter, The Review of Beauty, is about “what the beauty industry won’t tell you, from a reporter on a mission to reform it” and Heather Lanier has a line in her email signature encouraging people to “Sign up for my newsletter, The Slow Take, here if you’d like occasional thoughts in your inbox about the strange beauty of being human.” Two really different writers, with really different approaches to their newsletter—and in a sentence or so, you can tell if their newsletter is going to speak to you.

Make sure your newsletter’s name and a link is in your bio when you publish online. Readers who like your poems, short stories, or essays are the ones who are the most likely to want to read more from you, so don’t miss that opportunity to promote your newsletter along with other publications! (And if you’ve got recent pubs that don’t include your newsletter, you could—very nicely!—email the editor or managing editor and see if they’d update your bio with a link.)

If you’re teaching or speaking somewhere, make sure to include your newsletter name and a hyperlink on handouts. I had cute postcards with a QR code and my newsletter’s logo made up a while ago, and I share those when I’m on panels or leading a community workshop.

Share your newsletter on social media—and ask your readers to share

The biggest growth I saw early on with my newsletter, Write More, Be Less Careful, came out of sharing posts on Facebook in groups of other writers. This strategy works best when it’s a group you’re already a part of and when you’re clear about why you think group members will like your newsletter. “I’m sharing this post because it provides some tips for doing research for writing historical novels” will work great for a group of historical novelists; “read my newsletter!” will get you crickets just about anywhere. If you’re not part of any groups on Facebook, you could spend a little time researching groups and see if any of them might be a good place to connect with fellow writers and/or your ideal readers.

You can also share your newsletter on any other social media platforms you’re using regularly. Most platforms are designed to keep users on their app, so you’re unlikely to get a ton of new subscribers from any given post, but I think a post for each new newsletter is a helpful reminder. (Because link sharing is clunky on Instagram, you’ll want to use your stories to share each new newsletter as well.) 

Substack offers automated graphics for each post that you can share on social media. I’ve been having fun lately making posts in Canva to share favorite tidbits on Instagram, like this interview with The Leaving Season author Kelly McMasters. Because I believe in automating as much as I can, I picked a template in Canva, so all I need to do each time I have a new interview to share is swap in new text and a new author photo, and update the colors based on the book cover. Each graphic takes me 10 minutes or so, which feels like a reasonable amount of time to invest for a couple potential click-throughs.

Ask your readers to share! Add a note, right in the newsletter. You can be earnest (my newsletter always ends with some variation on “If Write More has helped you in your creative life, I’d love it if you would share it with a friend”), direct (Karla Starr’s The Starr Report often includes a line like “Thanks for reading! If you liked this, forward to someone who’d like it”), or whatever else suits the vibe of your newsletter. But you’re much more likely to get what you want if you ask for it.

Collaborate with other writers

Keep an eye out for other writers whose newsletters you admire, especially ones you think are reaching a similar readership as yours. Collaborating with other newsletter writers through a guest post or interview is a great way to grow your newsletter, especially if you’re thoughtful about finding other writers with whom you share an audience. Two great examples: Aliza Sir and Aja Frost’s Platonic Love newsletter features five recommendations from a writer, artist, or other interesting person in each installment of their Links We Sent Our Friends series. Sherisa DeGroot’s Literary Liberation offers workshops to paying subscribers, and their workshop leaders have included great writers like Jane Wong, Shannon Sanders, and more.

A cautionary note about growth: I think it’s worth spending some time sharing your newsletter and trying to grow your audience—but keep in mind that connecting with readers is a more important goal than absolute numbers. You’re better off, I think, having a really clear view of who you’re trying to reach, writing newsletters that will engage those readers, and then sharing deliberately, rather than investing tons of energy worrying about subscriber counts. In the same way that a watched pot won’t boil, checking the subscriber count won’t make it climb.

Newsletter growth can be slow, especially as you’re getting started, but try to keep in mind that each new subscriber represents the potential for a stronger connection than a follower on social media. If you focus on writing an interesting newsletter that connects with your readers, I think you’ll build a loyal newsletter community—who will also be excited to read your next book.

The post How to Grow Your Author Newsletter appeared first on Writer's Digest.

So if you’re persuaded that you should start an author newsletter, and you’ve developed a clear picture of the readers you’re aiming to reach, how do you ensure that you actually send that newsletter with the kind of regularity you need to build an audience?

Today’s piece will provide you with several strategies for writing your newsletter regularly enough to build an engaged readership—but without overtaking your writing practice or burning you out. I’ll share ideas for how to build your content calendar, develop templates for each type of post you’ll write, and determine a manageable frequency for posting. 

These strategies helped me continue to write my own newsletter, Write More, Be Less Careful, while drafting my forthcoming book, The Good Mother Myth, teaching, parenting, and attempting to keep the rest of my life from descending into total chaos. I think you’ll find tips that will make writing a newsletter a sustainable part of your busy life, too.

Create a Content Calendar

“Content calendar” can sound like it has to be fancy or complicated, but really it’s just a plan for what kinds of posts you’re going to send and when. In a previous piece on identifying the ideal reader for your newsletter, we talked about different kinds of content you might include in a newsletter. 

I’d suggest selecting one of two basic approaches: Either sending a less-frequent (monthly or quarterly) newsletter with a couple different components that are standard in each newsletter (say, an opening essay or anecdote, a reading recommendation or two, then any writing and event dates you might want to share) or, if you’re planning to post more regularly, developing a plan for different kinds of content that you can rotate.

If you’re sending monthly or quarterly, then all you need to do is pick a day of the month, put it on your calendar, and boom, you’ve got a content calendar. If you’re going to send different kinds of content—say, interviews with other writers, reading recommendations, and some behind the scenes content from the book you’re working on, you can schedule each one of those separately, so that, for example, an interview goes out the first Tuesday of each month, a reading recommendation on the second Sunday, and a book update on the third Thursday. 

For my newsletter, I have sections set up for each kind of content I send, and I have recurring events set up on my Google calendar to remind me when each piece should go out. I’ve really liked having sections in my newsletter because it provides readers with variety—posts in the sparks section, for example, tend to be brief and provide a quick writing tip or prompt, while the tending essays are longer, focused on craft elements or process issues in more depth—and because having a container helps me generate and shape ideas.

Create Post Templates

Once you’ve determined the categories of content you’re going to send, I think it’s helpful to create some loose templates for each kind of post so that you’ve determined the structure in advance. Mine tend to be really basic—when I have a guest essay or interview in the tending section of my newsletter, for example, I write a one or two paragraph introduction to the person and their work, share their essay or interview response, share a writing prompt they’ve written, add their bio, and I’m done. 

There’s nothing fancy about that as a structure, but having that structure determined in advance helps me work more efficiently. That way, all my creative energy is going into what I actually want to say, rather than how I’m going to organize it. You could also think of this as developing writer’s guidelines for yourself.

The big underlying idea here is that it’s helpful to automate the parts of newsletter writing that aren’t creative, so that you can save your creative energy for the actual content.

Determine a Regular but Manageable Posting Frequency

Many of the big newsletters on Substack, where I host my newsletter, Write More, Be Less Careful, post multiple times a week—but those are writers whose newsletter is their full-time job, or close to it, and the rest of us don’t need to post nearly as often. Many writers with day jobs, family responsibilities, and a writing practice of their own seem to aim for every two weeks, but I think a monthly or even seasonal posting schedule could work well. 

I’d suggest identifying a posting schedule where you feel like you’ve got some consistency and some momentum around your newsletter—but you’ve still got time and space for your other writing projects. (And if you’re an especially ambitious type, as so many of us writers are, maybe start by taking whatever your initial goal is and doing half of that, just to give yourself some breathing room. You can always adjust your pace back up if you feel inspired.)

One more note: I think, especially as you’re getting started, that it’s helpful to keep an eye on how long each newsletter takes you to write, so that you have a solid sense of how long you’re devoting to your newsletter compared to your other writing projects. 

Even with all the templates I’ve developed, I’d estimate it still takes me 2-3 hours for each good creatures interview I share, and probably 3 hours or sometimes longer for tending essays and intentions posts. I find doing that work meaningful, particularly because of the feedback I’ve gotten from readers and the relationships I’ve built with writers and artists whose work I’ve shared—but that’s time I’m not spending on other essays or my next book project, so I try to be mindful of how much I’m taking on for the newsletter.

Remember, the goal with your author newsletter is to build community and grow your readership—but you don’t want to do that at the expense of the projects that brought you to your writing life in the first place. 

The post How to Create a Content Strategy for Your Author Newsletter appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to start a newsletter, this piece will provide you with practical advice for getting started. The good news is you don’t need fancy graphics or an exceptionally clever name or a content calendar that stretches from here to next year. What you do need is clarity about who you’re aiming to reach with your newsletter and what you’re offering them.

Two pitfalls to avoid as you’re starting your newsletter:

Writing mostly for other writers. So many of us spend so long honing our craft and talking to other writers about our work that it can be easy to think that’s who our audience is. But if you imagine yourself writing largely to other writers, you’re missing a huge potential audience for your newsletter and your book. Did you know the world is full of people who aspire to never write a book? And yet those non-writers read books, and that’s who you want to reach in your newsletter.

The Christmas-letter style update. A newsletter that’s pitched as providing “updates” on your writing is probably too vague for many readers to get excited about, and chances are, you’ll quickly tire of writing it. Even the wildly popular romance author Jasmine Guillory includes a recipe in each edition of her newsletter, alongside updates on her many books and her appearances on the Today show! If you think about your newsletter not as a chance to talk about yourself but as an opportunity to build relationships with readers, I think you’ll have an easier time getting readers to sign up, and you’ll have a lot more fun writing it.

But what should that “something” you’re offering be? Figuring out the answer starts by thinking about your target reader. What a newsletter can do really well—better, I’d argue, than social media platforms—is build a relationship with your audience. So before you start writing your newsletter, it makes sense to spend a bit of time thinking about what readers you’re aiming to reach.

Three exercises for thinking about your target reader:

1. Develop reader personas. Instead of thinking about your reader in general terms of demographics or preferences, create personas with actual names and character traits. This is a marketing exercise, but it’s one I think writers should use more often. Leigh Stein wrote a great post, in her newsletter Attention Economy, about working with Dan Blank to develop reader personas—she named hers Rachel and Lauren—ahead of the launch of her novel Self-Care. So think about the people you’re aiming to reach with your writing. What do they read/watch/listen to? Where do they shop or go out to eat? What issues do they care about? Once you have two or three personas, you’ll have a lot more clarity about how your newsletter can connect with those readers.
2. Write a message to yourself from your target reader. Imagine that you’ve sent the first installment of your brand-new newsletter, and you’ve reached your ideal reader, who emails you back to say how much they loved it. What did they like? What did they learn? How did your writing make them feel? (This exercise is adapted from Nicola Washington, whose newsletter Too Much is a great guide to using Instagram to build an audience for your writing.) Imagining how your writing will connect with a specific reader can be a great guide to getting started.
3. Think about what you love and are excited to talk about, in addition to your writing. Novelist Chloe Benjamin’s seasonal newsletter includes recipes, travel stories, and updates on her knitting; Jamelle Bouie’s newsletter for The New York Times features a round-up of articles he’s read elsewhere, a photograph he took, and a recipe he’s cooked for his family. No matter how devoted you are to your writing, you’re certain to have other hobbies and passions you can share with your target reader.

Once you have a clear sense of who you’re trying to reach, it will probably be easier to imagine what you’re actually writing in the newsletter. If you’re writing historical fiction, for example, chances are your reader probably cares about a wide swathe of topics related to that time period, so you could share podcasts, movies, other books, even cool things you’ve discovered related to fashion or culture from the time. If you’re writing nonfiction, you could share snippets from your research, other books you’ve loved, or interviews with other writers or experts. I’d recommend identifying three or four core topics and starting a Google doc or note in your phone where you can collect ideas related to those topics.

Each newsletter, then, might include a little introductory essay, a round-up of reading recommendations or a podcast you loved or a recipe, and then an update on your writing life. It’s not that you shouldn’t include information about your writing—definitely link anything you’ve published, share updates about your progress on your novel, do a cover reveal for your next book—but that shouldn’t be the only thing in your newsletter.

All of this—the focus and format of your newsletter, even the name—can evolve as your newsletter grows. But if you have a target reader in mind, that will make getting started a lot easier. A newsletter subscriber base takes time to grow. And the best way to get that growth going is just to get started. 

The post Thinking About Your Author Newsletter? Start With the Reader in Mind appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(Should Writers Use Social Media?)

When I started writing my newsletter, in March 2021, I had a pretty straightforward idea: I’d share a poetry prompt each day for April, and anyone who wanted to join us could write along. For years I’d celebrated National Poetry Month by trading prompts with friends and writing a poem a day (or trying my hardest to), and I thought I could share that celebration with a wider group of people by creating some sort of mailing list. I claimed an address over at Substack, where several writers I liked had recently moved their newsletters. I popped in a name inspired by advice a mentor of mine had shared in grad school: Write More, Be Less Careful. 

Three years later, that newsletter, which I’d started almost on a whim, has changed my writing life in all kinds of ways I couldn’t have imagined. A regular cadence of writing and sharing short pieces has helped me develop momentum in my writing practice and made it easier to finish other writing projects. I’ve developed a really lovely, loyal readership and made connections with writers whose work I admire. My newsletter even helped me find my agent and land a book deal for my first book of narrative nonfiction, The Good Mother Myth.

But even more than that, working on my newsletter has taught me to write for readers in a way that has transformed my writing practice. My MFA trained me to value gorgeous metaphors and sharply broken lines, and my PhD honed my ability to do exhaustive research and write tightly constructed arguments, but the years I spent in workshops and seminars had only ever glancingly mentioned the reader who might be on the other end of that polished writing.

Writing a newsletter forces you to think about what you’re offering your readers. Because your readers can comment and email you right back, you can hear pretty quickly about how well it’s working. And since a newsletter is necessarily occasional and brief, you can respond to reader feedback quickly and experiment with new ideas. If you feel like your writing practice and your platform as a writer could use a boost, writing a regular newsletter is about the best way to accomplish that.

Here are a few ways that writing a newsletter can impact your writing practice and improve your writing career.

Establish a regular rhythm of finishing and sharing short pieces

If you’re feeling stuck in your writing, or you’re working on a long project where the finish line is way off in the distance, regularly finishing a small thing, like a newsletter post, can be an incredible boost. And the immediate feedback you can get from a newsletter, where people can comment or email you back right away, is a great reminder that there are readers out there for your longer projects, too.

Connect more directly with readers

I know I’m probably harping on this, but writing can be such a lonely business, and it’s easy to lose track of the fact that there are specific people out there in the world that you’re hoping to reach with your words. A newsletter provides you with a way to write right to that audience and build a relationship with them long before you’ve got a pub date for your next book.

You don’t need a huge subscriber list for your newsletter to have a big impact on your writing life. I’d argue that, if you’re going to spend time working to grow your audience, you’re better off investing that time in a newsletter than in a social media platform. 

On social media, the algorithm plays an important role in determining who will see your content, and if the platform changes direction when it’s taken over by an unpredictable billionaire, all those followers you’ve worked to accumulate go with it. With a newsletter, you send your work right into the inboxes of people who’ve signed up to hear from you—and that email list is yours to take with you on whatever platform you like.

And the folks you’re engaging through your newsletter will probably be the first to click buy when your book goes up for pre-order, which brings me to the most practical reason to start a newsletter…

Sell more books

It can feel gauche to talk about selling our work as a goal, but if you’re working hard on your book, you want people to read it, right? And I think the direct, ongoing relationship between newsletter writer and reader is one of the best ways to promote new books, highlight titles from your backlist, and drive pre-orders for forthcoming books. 

Several of the nonfiction books that have cracked the New York Times bestseller list in recent months have been published by writers with strong newsletter subscription bases, like Virginia Sole-Smith’s Fat Talk and her newsletter Burnt Toast and Lyz Lenz’s This American Ex-Wife and her newsletter Men Yell at Me.

And look: If a newsletter feels like just one more thing that you can’t possibly add to a too-long to-do list, and you really just want to keep your head down and work on your writing, that’s totally fine. But if having a space where you control how you share and connect directly with your readers sounds appealing, I think a newsletter is really your best bet. 

The post Should Writers Have a Newsletter? appeared first on Writer's Digest.

This live webinar will cover best practices of email newsletters for authors, how to avoid the mistakes most prevalent in the writing community, plus the pros and cons of using the popular newsletter platform Substack. Thankfully, regardless of what tools or platforms you use to send your email newsletter, it’s fairly straightforward to start (or restart) an email newsletter. It often doesn’t cost you any money until you have a sizable list of names—and that’s the point at which it can become very profitable.

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If you want more online education, see the full list of WDU courses here.

This Week: Connect Your Characters with Your Audience or Your Script Dies

From our friends at Script magazine, you’ll learn the difference between an authentic character versus a series of traits and how important it is for you to connect emotionally with the people in your story. Tim will also discuss the destructive power of unintended character information, give tips on discovering the authenticity of every character, and explore why paying attention to small details can have a huge impact on your audience, and how they respond to your characters. He’ll also discuss a lot more.

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Listen to the Newest Episode of “Writer’s Digest Presents” Now!

Whether you’re hitting restart on your resolutions or reevaluating last year’s, our first episode of season three of Writer’s Digest Presents looks back on the writing advice we received from authors and editors in 2023 to starts us off strong in 2024.

Listen wherever you stream podcasts, or start listening below!

The post Establish (or Improve) Your Email Newsletter appeared first on Writer's Digest.

The Anatomy of a Best Seller: 3 Steps to Deconstruct Winning Books and Teach Yourself Craft; 8 Steps to Side Characters: How to Craft Supporting Roles With Intention, Purpose, and Power; The Anatomy of Prose: 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences; 10 Steps to Hero: How to Craft a Kickass Protagonist; 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains; A Game of Hearts and Heists

(Nonfiction writing craft; sapphic fantasy romance; Atlas Black Publishing)

Why self-publish?

I wanted to keep control and maximize the use of my intellectual property. That doesn’t mean I won’t work with traditional publishers. In fact, my nonfiction books were translated into Korean through a publisher. But when you’re an indie, you can choose which rights you sell and which ones you keep. I like the fact I can make these choices based on the publishing route I think would benefit the book best.

Had you considered traditional publishing?

I have a sapphic young adult book I’m editing. The YA LGBTQ+ market is currently dominated by the traditional market so to give the book the best chance, I’d like to query it.

Order a copy of The Anatomy of a Best Seller: 3 Steps to Deconstruct Winning Books and Teach Yourself Craft by Sacha Black.

Bookshop | Amazon
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Self-publishing appeal?

The ability to control my work life. I work how I want at the pace that works for me. Meaning, I get to set the timelines, the formats, the methods, and the marketing. Plus, I’m able to pivot quickly to utilize new tools and marketing strategies. It really is the heart of freedom.

Biggest challenge?

When you work in a team or corporate environment, you have a team to support you if something goes wrong or you encounter a problem. As an indie, everything rests on your shoulders. That’s a lot of problem solving, a lot of troubleshooting and having to work out how to fix and resolve things on your own. That can be grueling at times, especially if you’re the kind of person who likes to bounce ideas around. It can also be confidence building when you do fix something on your own and you realize you can absolutely do anything you set your mind to.

Order a copy of The Anatomy of Prose: 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences by Sacha Black.

Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

Wish I’d known:

I wish I’d understood the power of simplicity in story. When I wrote my first book, I thought everything had to be completely unique and original which resulted in a complex world, plot, and storyline. It was too much. Just because you use a simpler plotline or story structure doesn’t make the story “lesser.” Readers love tropes for a reason, there’s safety in familiarity and lots of flexibility to be creative. I wish I’d understood how to deliver what readers want sooner, but it takes time to understand both how to craft a story and how to match it to reader desires.

Writing advice:

The best action I ever took for my writing craft and business was to learn how to deconstruct what the bestselling authors are doing. What literary tools and devices are they using, how long are their books, do they have clean prose or rich descriptions? What tropes are they using and how pacey is the story? I go to a forensic level and pattern spot the commonalities across multiple books in whatever genre I’m writing in. This helps me deliver a story to readers that I know they’ll enjoy.

Then I do the same but for the author platforms and marketing. What platforms are they using? Are they running ads and if so, on what platforms? Do they content market? Do they rapid release books or do one a year? I sign up to their mailing lists so I can see the frequency of emails and content, I look at their branding and color schemes the way they present themselves online. This, just like with craft, enables me to build a business that I know will appeal to readers, create a platform that attracts them and driving advertising that I know works.

Order a copy of A Game of Hearts and Heists by Ruby Roe.

Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

Marketing Strategy:

We are in a pay-to-play market. There are a lot of books out there and if you want readers to see your books, you need to find a method of driving traffic to them. I do that through a combination of paid advertising, like AMS ads, paid newsletters, and content marketing. For content marketing, I use TikTok, podcasting, interviews, speaking, and social media.

The most important part of my marketing, though, is getting the right reader magnet to encourage sign-ups on my mailing list. Your mailing list is always your best asset because it gives you direct access to readers who know and like you and want to read more of your work. You control your list, no one can take it away from you, and even if the big bookstores fall, you can still sell books directly to readers through your mailing list.

Don’t Skimp On:

I don’t think it will come as news to anyone, but do not—under any circumstances—skimp on the cover. Don’t do it yourself; just don’t. Readers will one click buy if the cover is good enough, and they’ll one click leave if it’s not. Even as an author myself, I will refuse to pick up a book if the cover isn’t good enough. Your cover is your first marketing tool. It’s the first thing readers see and therefore the first opportunity for them to pass on your book. Pay a designer. Get the best cover you can.

Website:

SachaBlack.co.uk
RubyRoe.co.uk
pod.link/rebelauthor
Instagram.com/sachablackauthor/
TikKok.com/@rubyroeauthor

[Click to continue.]

The post Indie Author Spotlight: Sacha Black appeared first on Writer's Digest.

I currently write two popular newsletters—Tigers Are Better Looking is a weekly lifestyle and culture Substack, and Freelance Writing Jobs is a U.K.-based media industry email. Both run very differently—in how they make money, how my audience grows, even the platforms that they run on. It’s safe to say I’m a big fan of writing emails.

(5 Tips for Writing as a Parent)

However, as much as I love the form, it does have some drawbacks. But before we get onto those, let’s start with the pros—here’s why writing a newsletter can be great.

Pro: You really find your people

You know that feeling when you meet someone at a party and discover they love the same nerdy thing as you? That’s exactly what writing a newsletter feels like!

When we write about the history of still life painting in Tigers Are Better Looking, or get excited about the rise of risography, we know that we’re connecting with people who will be just as excited to make the discovery. Newsletters really help you find your tribe. (And if someone doesn’t gel like they thought they might, the unsubscribe button is right there.)

The very nature of newsletters being opt-in means that your audience is already engaged. They haven’t stumbled upon an article on page three of a search engine, they’re already excited to hear from you.

Pro: You carve out a writing niche

Let’s dig down some more into that nerdiness. Some of the best newsletters I read are really niche. There’s a power in that specificity—you’re targeting a particular audience.

Buzzing is all about insects as food—it’s politics, it’s environment, and food all in one email. Sisters Under The Mink is about women and crime in film—a niche topic with a lot to cover. Talking Travel Writing is about, well, exactly what it sounds like. Consider these examples as a writer—what exactly do you want to write about?

A newsletter is a great way to expand on your knowledge and create an audience in a particular area of journalism. Not only do you build up expertise and a body of work, you also hone your voice—newsletters mean regular writing and self-editing, both of which improve your writing practice.

Pro: They feel like a safe space

As depressing as it is, writers—particularly women—are used to online abuse. Whether it’s comment sections, or anonymous voices on social media, people will always find something to be angry about. While criticism can certainly be valid, abuse isn’t. I’ve found that the harassment and baseless rage usually aimed toward women writers is lessened with newsletters.

That extra step to gain access can be enough of a deterrent to a troll, which makes way for more positive engagement and discussion. It feels like you’re publishing in a safe space, and there’s real value in that—not just as a writer, but as a reader, too. It’s no surprise that some of the best newsletters I subscribe to are raw and personal, and by women.

Pro: You can write on your schedule

You set the deadlines when you write a newsletter. You’re the editor. You choose the schedule. You can write at 2:00 am if you like. You can write a newsletter around night feeds or insomnia. Or—like I did for longer than I should have—in my lunch breaks during the full-time job I hated.

No one knows, people only care when it lands in their inboxes. This means you can also write weeks in advance, which is great for building up issues around holidays or busy work periods. You’re in control of your own creative schedule.

Pro: You can make money

There are several ways you can make money with a newsletter. Some platforms, such as Substack and Patreon, allow you to offer paid subscription options to your readers. It’s automated, it’s easy to set up, you just have to keep writing. You can also create a tip jar on a platform such as Ko-Fi, so readers can donate when they choose to.

If you happen to be writing about something with a commercial slant—books or fashion, for example—then affiliate links can be a good option (although it’s worth noting that these must be used carefully in emails so as not to trigger spam filters—make sure you do your research!)

If you have a substantial audience, you can also approach brands directly for partnerships and advertising. I use all of these in my newsletters, which means I’m never wholly reliant on one revenue stream. Mix and match and figure out which is best for you.

While this all sounds super positive, there are some downsides to the newsletter format. So, what are the cons of writing your own newsletter?

Con: They put a barrier in front of your work

If you’re hoping to build a body of work that you can share with potential editors, newsletters aren’t always the best place for that. There’s a barrier—be it a sign-up page or a paywall. And you won’t necessarily benefit from SEO in the same way you might from a blog. It can be a good idea to choose a platform that allows a chunk of your archive to be read.

Con: They create an echo chamber

There’s very little in the way of professional editors to highlight bias. Creating a newsletter may feel like building your own tribe of like-minded people, but this has another side: There’s very little counter-debate.

While it’s not necessarily a huge issue when you’re writing about salad or people in London, there is a lot of debate about the impact of newsletters and their role in culture wars—Substack’s been under fire repeatedly for the right-wing voices on its platform. Whichever way you lean politically, it’s always worth remembering that the community you create can become an echo-chamber.

Con: It isn’t always easy to build subscriptions

It’s easy to imagine that your newsletter will have thousands of people sign up the day you launch—and it might! Go you!—but that’s only the beginning. Starting a newsletter means building a readership from scratch. It’s harder to grow something when it stops being new. Don’t wait for people to find your newsletter—tell them about it at every opportunity!

Con: Making money from newsletters is hard work

While there are many ways to make money from writing newsletters, it’s undoubtedly hard work. Newsletters involve more than just writing, especially if you want yours to be profitable.

I approach mine like running mini publications—the writing is the easy part. There’s also promotion, a calendar, subscription management. These are things that might not appeal to every writer—some writers just want to write!

It’s always worth remembering that despite their boom in popularity, success of any kind doesn’t happen overnight. It does, however, happen to the newsletter creators who consistently put time and effort into their publications and create unique editorial that readers love. That’s something worth gunning for with any writing project.

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Friedman isn’t alone. Writers of all stripes are now turning to this once written-off tool as a device to reach readers as directly as possible—right in their own inbox. And for those who make it a priority, providing consistent, quality content to their subscribers, a newsletter can pay major dividends.

Why To Launch an e-Newsletter

If you’re a freelancer, an e-newsletter can announce your latest bylines to your audience. Many journalists use it to keep friends, family and dedicated readers up to speed on their work.

For some writers, the newsletter is the new blog. (Though the two can also work in tandem—many bloggers use newsletters to help circulate their posts.) Ariane Resnick, author of The Thinking Girl’s Guide to Drinking, set up an email list because a blog seemed like an ineffective use of her time. “I was looking for a way to offer advice and recipes,” Resnick says. “But I don’t enjoy blogging: You create content, put it out, and no one might see it.” She is also using the newsletter to expand her brand. “Rather than just being considered a chef and a nutritionist, it’s been helpful to show people that I have more to offer in the general lifestyle realm.”

Fantasy novelist Suzanne Johnson says her monthly newsletter—which includes blog posts, giveaways and news about her most recent releases—has been her most effective marketing tool. “There are thousands of books published every month,” Johnson says. “So how do you find true readers and how do you keep them engaged between books?”

A newsletter is a more targeted marketing tool than a blog because readers are able to opt in (or out) of their own volition. Even if your audience is small, those who subscribe are doing so with a built-in interest in your work. They’re your biggest fans, your best customers. Author Jessica Scott, who writes contemporary fiction, recently started selling her indie books on Amazon, iBooks and other platforms. Every time she sends out a newsletter (which features early news about new books, teasers of latest releases, and the occasional “random bit of information”) she sees a 30–40 percent bump in sales. When entertainment and travel journalist Valentina Valentini started sending out her e-newsletter featuring her clips, she was flooded with pitches from publicists: “[They] wrote to me saying, ‘Oh I didn’t know you wrote for so and so. That would be great for this client I have.’”

While most offer their newsletter for free, some have even managed to convert it into a revenue stream. The Ann Friedman Weekly makes money in two ways—through subscriptions and classified ads. When readers subscribe for $5 per year, they receive additional, exclusive content. The e-newsletter also features four to five classified ads, for which Friedman typically charges between $50–100. “It’s very difficult if you’re a freelance writer to have a revenue stream that you control,” she says. “I take a lot of career security in the fact that this is a thing I built. Even if it’s not a ton of money, it’s income I can count on.”

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How to Hook Subscribers

While it can be tempting to start off by adding everyone in your address book to your subscriber list, Friedman warns against it. “It’s terrible practice,” she says. “The only person I added was my mother.” Instead, to garner subscribers, add a subscribe button to your website, and promote the newsletter as relentlessly as you can on your social media accounts. (You can even designate “Sign Up” as a call to action at the top of your Facebook page.) It’s also smart to send polite email invites to trusted writer friends and editors—without being too pushy, of course. And don’t forget to plug a link into your email signature.

Once you’ve begun to build a list, your e-newsletter must provide some kind of inherent value to keep subscribers engaged. What you choose to include will depend on the type of writing you do, as well as what you plan to achieve.

Scott offered six chapters of her new release as a freebie to her subscribers. In her September 2016 newsletter, Johnson enticed her readers to preorder a copy of her upcoming novel by raffling off a Kindle Fire. Readers could enter the drawing by preordering the book or sending her a postcard. She also routinely offers subscriber exclusives, such as deleted scenes or a sneak peek into a new cover.

In anticipation of her new parenting book in 2018, independent journalist Katherine Reynolds Lewis is using her e-newsletter to build her platform as a parenting expert. Her January newsletter began with a personal note, which she followed up with some book recommendations and curated articles on parenting.

An important note: If you want a loyal readership for your e-newsletter, you must send it regularly. Friedman is fiercely punctual with her weekly send. In the last four years, she has only missed four weeks.

[Do you underline book titles? Underline them? Put book titles in quotes? Find out here.]

What to Watch For

Keep in mind that you’re not sending out a company newsletter, so don’t make it sound like one by using a stiff voice. Employ a casual, professional tone—one that implies a level of intimacy. “A big mistake is to see the newsletter just as a vehicle for selling,” Lewis says. “It should really be a vehicle for engagement.”

Second, recognize the importance of tracking statistics—seeing who’s opening your emails (and who’s not), and what subjects are most popular with your readers (based on click-thru rates). Most newsletter services charge based on total number of subscribers, so make sure your list is fine-tuned to include only your target, active readers. After Scott’s list grew to 21,000 subscribers, she used analytics to see how many of them actively engaged with her newsletter, and ended up cutting her base by almost half.

Finally, don’t set up an e-newsletter if your heart isn’t into it. “If you’re a writer who thinks about this as a chore, it’s not going to be [a good use of your time],” Friedman says. But for those who do invest the energy, an e-newsletter can be an essential piece of your authorial platform.

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