My favourite author newsletters are ones that are more than just a sales pitch.
What do I like?
I like to know a little bit about the author’s life.
Because I don’t want a day-by-day diary (especially not if their life is as boring as mine), but enough that they are more than a paragraph on the back cover of a novel.
I like something funny.
Because I like authors with a sense of humour who aren’t afraid to show it.
I like short.
Because long newsletters leave me feeling I’d rather be reading one of their novels.
Some of the author newsletters i read have a predictable pattern, which I like. One newsletters has a 3-2-1 pattern—three topics, with three points about the first, two about the second, and one about the last. One newsletter always ends with a short prayer.
Some authors share favourite books and authors, which I like.
What I like less is when authors promote other authors without having read their books first—I’ve had more than one bad experience in buying a book recommended by an author in their newsletter, and now I’m sceptical.
What I don’t like with author newsletters is receiving them too often.
Yes, it’s fine for authors to send more than one newsletter to announce a new book launch, but some authors seem to ramp up to a newsletter every day when they are launching. That usually has me hitting the unsubscribe button: if I’ve already bought the book, I don’t need to be asked again. If I didn’t buy it the first three times I’m emailed, I’m not likely to buy it the next ten times either.
I like knowing which books my favourite authors are reading and enjoying. I like knowing what they’re working on. And I like knowing a bit about the author’s life and where they live.
