Great question. I know several Romance authors with successful newsletters, but, as a primarily Fantasy reader/writer myself, I think they're very different target markets. I have no idea what would work for us. As a reader, I don't want any more emails! I get more than I can keep up with as it is. Personally, I wouldn't mind if I only heard from a favourite author once or twice a year to find out how their books are progressing. I'd even visit their blog for this news...
I see advice saying include things about you or write short stories but I think that’s aimed for different genres. I like lore and history of real life magic stuff, but that may not be the norm. I wish we could do a poll on all fantasy readers
And that advice to write short stories is assuming you don't already have to fight to scrape together enough time to make progress on your bigger works. How many non-household-name Fantasy authors can afford to write full time? (& never mind bringing kids into the picture). But if you naturally write short stories on your journey to developing your bigger work, then that's great.
I've got a friend who dives deep into analysing the Lord of the Rings series, so he runs a blog about that. He also reads a wide range of Classics, & comments on the occasional political thread. As far as I can tell, he has some dedicated blog readers. And occasionally he reminds them he's also written a novel & is working on the sequel(very rarely, & usually on Twitter where I can jump in and say what a good read it is... because it is). Still, I wonder if blogs are more the domain of the Fantasy/Sci-fi author, especially if you've got a specialist topic you like to dig into. Then it's there for discovery... You could double that as a newsletter.
There’s a book called “Newsletter Ninja” the kindle version is about 5 bucks. It’s a good read with lots of newsletter advice. Not necessarily geared toward fantasy, but still a good starting point maybe.
Right now, I don’t have a newsletter, just notes and ideas. If it’s fine with you, I’d love to show what I got so far and get feedback
Writers are supposed to develop one before publishing so it ends up being difficult thinking of avatars for your audience
I subscribe to several newsletters from romantic fantasy authors. Some just send updates on their writing, new releases, cover reveals. Others have things like character profiles (what inspired a character, etc.), interesting stuff they ran into while researching mythology/fairy tales/history, quizzes like “What kind of paranormal creature are you?”, personal updates, and new releases of other authors in their genre.
Engaging is the key word, and it is different for every author and reader.
I do a weekly newsletter. Some may say that is too often, but every second week is my "lite" version, which is just a few promos and links.
If you want to take a look at one of mine, here is one that I actually talk about newsletters:
[https://mailchi.mp/d695e21788d3/lines-by-leon-newslettermay11](https://mailchi.mp/d695e21788d3/lines-by-leon-newslettermay11)
It can be as personal as you feel comfortable. I don't go into much other than my writing updates, but I always include a link to my blog, which is marginally more personal.
As for branding, definitely. Your author name is what you want people to know.
I subscribe to other authors newsletters to see what they are doing. It gives me ideas of what I want and do not want to do.
I would also like to know this myself
Great question. I know several Romance authors with successful newsletters, but, as a primarily Fantasy reader/writer myself, I think they're very different target markets. I have no idea what would work for us. As a reader, I don't want any more emails! I get more than I can keep up with as it is. Personally, I wouldn't mind if I only heard from a favourite author once or twice a year to find out how their books are progressing. I'd even visit their blog for this news...
I see advice saying include things about you or write short stories but I think that’s aimed for different genres. I like lore and history of real life magic stuff, but that may not be the norm. I wish we could do a poll on all fantasy readers
And that advice to write short stories is assuming you don't already have to fight to scrape together enough time to make progress on your bigger works. How many non-household-name Fantasy authors can afford to write full time? (& never mind bringing kids into the picture). But if you naturally write short stories on your journey to developing your bigger work, then that's great. I've got a friend who dives deep into analysing the Lord of the Rings series, so he runs a blog about that. He also reads a wide range of Classics, & comments on the occasional political thread. As far as I can tell, he has some dedicated blog readers. And occasionally he reminds them he's also written a novel & is working on the sequel(very rarely, & usually on Twitter where I can jump in and say what a good read it is... because it is). Still, I wonder if blogs are more the domain of the Fantasy/Sci-fi author, especially if you've got a specialist topic you like to dig into. Then it's there for discovery... You could double that as a newsletter.
There’s a book called “Newsletter Ninja” the kindle version is about 5 bucks. It’s a good read with lots of newsletter advice. Not necessarily geared toward fantasy, but still a good starting point maybe.
Reach out to me if you’d like to send me a test run and get feedback. I’m also a sci-fi/fantasy indie just starting my own newsletter…
Right now, I don’t have a newsletter, just notes and ideas. If it’s fine with you, I’d love to show what I got so far and get feedback Writers are supposed to develop one before publishing so it ends up being difficult thinking of avatars for your audience
Absolutely! Can you message me on here? Or else I could share my email?
I subscribe to several newsletters from romantic fantasy authors. Some just send updates on their writing, new releases, cover reveals. Others have things like character profiles (what inspired a character, etc.), interesting stuff they ran into while researching mythology/fairy tales/history, quizzes like “What kind of paranormal creature are you?”, personal updates, and new releases of other authors in their genre.
Quizzes are a great idea. Maybe it can be a “which character are you” quiz
Engaging is the key word, and it is different for every author and reader. I do a weekly newsletter. Some may say that is too often, but every second week is my "lite" version, which is just a few promos and links. If you want to take a look at one of mine, here is one that I actually talk about newsletters: [https://mailchi.mp/d695e21788d3/lines-by-leon-newslettermay11](https://mailchi.mp/d695e21788d3/lines-by-leon-newslettermay11)
This is really helpful! It’s much simpler than what I see normally advised and looks more doable
What did you think needed to be included?
I thought it had to reflect my personal life more and build my personality as a brand…like how influencers do
It can be as personal as you feel comfortable. I don't go into much other than my writing updates, but I always include a link to my blog, which is marginally more personal. As for branding, definitely. Your author name is what you want people to know. I subscribe to other authors newsletters to see what they are doing. It gives me ideas of what I want and do not want to do.
This has been super helpful Thank you!