A newsletter? I have no idea how to do that. And I have nothing to say. I don't really have to do that, do I?
I should know better by now. I used to think the same thing about an author website, but almost a year ago now, I came to terms with the reality that it needed to happen, and I forced myself to take the plunge. I held out longer against a newsletter, in part because I really didn't have time to figure it out. It seemed like SO much work. It has definitely been less fun than writing.
The turning point for me, newsletter-wise, was reading Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque. It was very highly recommended online among the author crowd, so I was hopeful that it would come with a magic wand, or some pixie dust, of somehow just give me all the answers.
Don't let this book's small size (136 pages) fool you. It starts from square one and tackles every fear a newsletter-wary author like me could have. It tells you what the obstacles are and how to overcome them. It doesn't make the process easy, but it makes it much less overwhelming.
The best part was that it was a fun and engaging read. Coming from me, who only reads non-fiction when it's absolutely necessary, this is a very high compliment. Yes, I had to set up this newsletter that I so didn't want to deal with, but reading this book was like having a friend cheering me on the whole way, telling me I could do it - and unpleasant tasks are 100% better when you have a cheering section.
Do I have all the answers now? Not even close. But am I making progress on the whole mailing list thing? Yes! Huge progress. After several weeks of setup, several false starts and lost drafts, my first newsletter is going out today. For someone who refused to even think about doing a newsletter a few months ago, this is huge. Now I guess it's time to pick up the sequel.
I'd give this book at least 8 stars out of 5. Possibly more. Thank you, Tammi!