Writers in the Storm

by Lisa Norman

There's a hole in the bucket.

When I work with writers on their marketing, everyone has a firm opinion about newsletters. Many authors come to me aggressively denying their need for a newsletter. "You can't make me do one!" Others say they know they need one, but they don't know how to start. I've watched authors build their following from nothing. In this multi-part series, I want to show you not just why, but how you can build your newsletter following.

To start, let's change the definition of "newsletter," A newsletter is an email that you write to your superfans. Get rid of all other preconceived ideas about what that looks like and return to this basic definition.

Authors who don't have an email list that people can sign up for are losing a direct connection with their fans. In marketing funnels, everything brings people back to the signup forms. If you don't have an email list, your funnel can work better than any other funnel in the universe and it will fail because there's no bucket to catch your readers.

Why I believe in newsletters.

I've worked with quite a few clients with highly monetized platforms. They've built up their followings, and they have products that sell well. These are the ones where you can see immediately the value of an email list. I love it when you can track sales on a site, and you can hold the graph of sales up to the graph of when those emails go out.

There's a reason marketing professionals push writers to have an email list: they work. The email list that an author maintains is the most powerful tool they have for selling books.

Your email list is a direct connection between you and people who want to buy your books.

Why some newsletters work, and others don’t.

Some authors know their fans. They know what their fans want, and they give them exactly what they want. Others struggle with finding an audience.

Look in your email box for the next few days. Pay attention to which newsletters you throw away and which ones you open. Which ones do you open first? Why? Do you have a newsletter that you look forward to? Is there one that you would even pay money for? (Substack is a growing platform for monetized newsletters. Yes, people pay to receive newsletters.)

Why do you open some newsletters, save others, and delete most of them? The ones you keep have something for you, something you specifically want. You know you can trust those authors to deliver. Others are a waste of your time. You're busy. That author didn't respect your needs, and so you didn't even open the newsletter. Remember this when you put your newsletters together.

Finding your audience

We can find our audience in one of several ways: with a blog, with a newsletter, or with our books. Blogging and writing newsletters are a much faster way to connect with an audience than writing books! You can experiment with blogs and newsletters. You can also experiment with books, but they require a much greater time and energy investment. If you've learned to connect with your audience through your newsletter, you'll also be able to focus your books so that they'll delight your readers.

You're going to start small.

If you write in a genre with a well-defined readership, then you may be able to participate in a newsletter promotion or newsletter swap to grow your audience.

But most writers aren't that lucky. Most build up their fan base slowly over time, and that's okay.

Quality over quantity

I've seen some writers buy lists or participate in promos and get a bunch of signups only to end up with a list that is barely functional. It isn't the number of emails you have on your list. It is the number of true fans that you have. 10 true fans are worth more than 100 people who signed up to win a prize.

As your list grows, you will run into challenges: sending limitations, cost increases, and more. If that list is strong and clean, these issues will be irrelevant because the list will be generating income and paying for itself — more on that in a moment. If that list is weak, I've seen writers decide to scrap the list and start over. Don't get yourself into that situation. Be content with a smaller list, and let it grow over time. Remember: we don't just want to write good newsletters: we want sharable newsletters. Sharable newsletters will find new fans.

How can an email list earn its keep?

When you think of monetizing your newsletters, maybe you think of Substack or other subscription-based platforms like Ko-fi, Ream, or Patreon. And those work, but there are other ways that your newsletter will support itself:

• Improving your discoverability
• Increased book sales
• Super-charging your fan base so they will tell others about you, share your newsletters, and purchase your books

Newsletter basics

A person's email address is a bit of personal information that has a high value. You're asking them to give you that email address and to allow you to put your messages directly in their inbox. That's a big ask! You want to make it easy for them to sign up.

Signup form on every page

Every page of your website should have a signup form. You may even want to include a signup button on your social media pages! Keep your signup forms simple: name and email address is enough. Sometimes just asking for the email address is enough! You don't need extra information. Sure, once you have a huge list, having more information can be helpful, but the more information you ask for, the less likely people are to sign up.

Pick a platform.

There are many platforms for sending newsletters. Most will let you send to a small list for free, but will charge as your list grows. MailChimp and MailerLite are both well-known and stable. My favorite for people with WordPress websites is a plugin called The Newsletter Plugin.

Why do I recommend one that no one has ever heard of? Because it lives on your website, alleviating privacy concerns. Their pro version also has all the tools of the more well-known platforms without a monthly minimum or per-subscriber fee. It does run on your website, so it will be subject to the limitations of your hosting. It integrates with tools like Send in Blue and Amazon SES to allow you to get around those limitations once you have a larger list. The Newsletter Plugin is fantastic for people just starting to build a list, but it has the power to handle lists of 10,000 or more!

Make sure your email reaches their inbox.

Look, technically these emails are promotional emails, so many email providers will filter them out. Increase your chances by setting up a branded email address (you@yourname.com) and then send a test email to Mail Tester (https://www.mail-tester.com/) to make sure that there aren't any technical difficulties. Mail Tester is a website that will check your newsletter and diagnose any problems that might cause it to go to spam.

Sometimes fixing the problems can take a bit of work, but there's no point in sending out an email that never reaches its destination! The best email in the world won't do you any good if no one receives it.

Create a template.

Keep it simple! I have a client who sends out a newsletter that is designed by a graphic artist. The content is on point and people pay to receive it. The #1 complaint she receives is that it is over-designed. People want simple, easy-to-read newsletters. Bonus points if they can be read easily on phones. Don't try to get fancy. Don't set yourself up with grand expectations and elaborate patterns you need to follow each month. Make it simple to send and easy to read.

Be welcoming.

Write a welcome email that goes out whenever someone signs up. If you want to be fancy, you can create a series of welcome emails. You can even create different ones depending on where people sign up. But know that you don't have to be fancy. Just a simple welcome email will suffice. You want people to know that you value them. Let them know what to expect from you. Let them know they've come to the right place.

Do you have a newsletter? What has your experience been with it? Share your wins AND your horror stories!

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of Deleyna's Dynamic Designs, a web development company focused on helping writers, and Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her brand new classroom!

By Lori Freeland

As writers, we have seasons. Seasons when our muse visits daily. Seasons when the muse packs up and moves to Mexico. Seasons when life comes in swinging and sucker punches us in the gut.   

We have some control over the muse. We can learn to be disciplined, make “butt in seat” a priority, show up even when we aren’t feeling it, and work to find our writing groove. You’ve probably heard all the tips and tricks for writer’s block. There are a lot of great ideas out there.

But what about when life sucker punches you in the gut? Sometimes writer’s block has nothing to do with laziness or lack of organization or bad time management. Sometimes it’s about being physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, where no matter how much you want to write, you just can’t.   

I’m talking about when you’re:

• dealing with a financial crisis
• going through marital issues or a divorce
• relocating across the county and leaving your support system
• struggling with your mental health
• struggling with your kids’ mental health
• suddenly a caretaker to a parent or other family member
• diagnosed with cancer or a chronic illness
• someone you love is diagnosed with cancer or a chronic illness
• dealing with grief and loss

As someone who’s walked through six of the above, I’ll tell you that no amount of discipline can break through the mental and physical exhaustion of being kicked to the curb by life. Not right away, anyway.

5 Things to Try When Life Gets in the Way

If you can relate, I’d like to offer 5 things to try when life throws a roadblock between you and writing. Because even in the toughest seasons, the artistic piece of you is still in there. As a creative, “creativity” is part of who you are. It’s part of your soul. And it longs to be fed. I’d love to say I figured these things out right away. But that would be a lie. Instead, I learned from my mistakes. Here’s what I wish someone would have told me:

1. Tune out the destructive voices.

Just because you’re not writing, it doesn’t make you a quitter. You’re not giving up your dreams. You haven’t lost yourself. This is a season. It may last longer than you want, but things will change. Life doesn’t stay the same. Look back at last year. And the year before. Writing may take a backseat today. But it isn’t going away forever. Hang onto that and learn to be okay with it.

2. Take care of yourself.

Start with the basics. Sleeping. Eating. Exercising. Without them, the hard things can feel impossible. No one functions well when they don’t take care of their bodies. Prioritize you whenever you can. Consistently being good to yourself gives you room to be creative.   

3. Talk to your muse.

Then listen to what it says. Feeding your soul is just as important as feeding your body. Let your creativity come out in other ways. Embrace what helps. Release what doesn’t. Take up doodling, knitting, sculpting, journaling, painting, cooking, whatever outlet gives you peace or brings you joy—even for a second. Just because you’re not writing doesn’t mean you’re not creating.

4. Today is all you have to deal with.

Say it. Believe it. Walk it out. Forget about counting the hours in a day and focus on budgeting your energy instead of your time. What you feel like you can accomplish won’t be the same every day. If you have the energy, jot down a story idea or write 500 words in your WIP. If you’re drained by noon, watch reruns of Gray’s Anatomy and cry on the couch. And don’t feel guilty about it. Guilt sucks energy and serves no purpose.

5. Take a break—for now.

Life will get better. Even if it doesn’t seem like it. I’m a walking testimony to this. And I’ve been through some pretty terrible stuff. Writing is a muscle. Like your stamina for biking or jogging or swimming, it may get out of shape temporarily. But you can get it back with some practice. When you’re ready to embrace “butt in chair” on a regular basis, take it slow. Set small goals that will boost your creativity, not tear it down. Baby steps are still forward progress.

Have you walked through hard times? Felt like you lost that creative part of yourself? What worked for you? Better yet, what didn’t? Realizing we’re not alone can be powerful. Knowing someone else stumbled through the dark tunnel and came out on the other side is the kind of encouragement that can carry us as we limp along. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share them in the comments.

About Lori

Lori Freeland wrote her first story at age five. It wasn’t good. But it left her with a firm belief that everyone has a story to tell. An author, editor, and writing coach, she holds a BA in psychology from The University of Wisconsin and lives in the Dallas area. She’s presented multiple workshops at conferences across the country and writes articles, novels, and everything in between. When she’s not curled up with her husband and dogs drinking too much coffee and worrying about her adult kids, she loves to mess with the lives of the imaginary people living in her head. You can visit her at lorifreeland.com or lafreeland.com.  

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Some accidents were meant to be. 

Gabe isn’t a werewolf. He just plays one on TV. 

Jess isn’t a guy magnet. She just writes about teen romance. 

TV heartthrob Gabriel Wade has never met a party he couldn’t rock, a problem he couldn’t dodge, or a crowd he couldn’t play. Homeschooled Jessica Thorne has never met a party she couldn’t wallflower, a problem she couldn’t stress over, or a crowd she couldn’t escape. But they both know what it’s like to lose someone—someone who’s still here. 

After a hotel escalator dumps Jess into Gabe’s spotlight and he unknowingly hijacks her first kiss, he decides she’ll be the perfect decoy for the paparazzi—if he can convince her to play his “girlfriend of the week.” Jess wants nothing to do with TV’s Hottest Hairball or his Hollywood ego. And by the time she figures out he isn’t who she thought, it might be too late to admit she needs him as much as he needs her. Even if he wants her for real. 

Buy it on Amazon today

Lori Freeland author/editor/writing coach   lorifreeland.com (young adult & contemporary romance fiction)  lafreeland.com (inspirational blog & resources for writers)  Buy Now | Amazon Author Page

by Colleen M. Story

One of the things we have to learn as writers is how to take control of our writing careers.

Nothing happens unless we power the machine, so to speak. It’s one of the lessons of writing—we have to be self-motivated and self-directed.

So it’s common for writers to celebrate when things go right…and then to seriously beat themselves up when they don’t.

After publishing six books so far (3 traditional, 3 self-published), I’ve learned something important: as hard as we writers work, we can’t control everything.

Sometimes the proverbial sh— happens.

It’s at these times that we have to stop, exhale, and learn how to let go.

And man is that hard, particularly after all that learning to take charge!

But letting go at the right times can help ease your stress and keep you sane.

Why It’s Important to Realize When You’re Not In Control

Trying to maintain control when you’ve already lost control is an experience in crazy-making.

You feel bad enough already when something goes wrong. If you then try to control it when you can’t, you’ll make things worse for yourself.

“One of the reasons we worry too much is because we tend to focus on problems that are beyond our ability to solve, or things we cannot control,” writes holistic coach Dr. Gala Gorman. “Accepting the fact that you cannot control everything will lift a lot of burden from your shoulders … and will eventually end your worry.”

The big problem for writers is that we feel we can control our writing futures—and in many ways, that’s true. Many things are up to us—how much we write, what we write about, how much time we spend marketing, etc.

But then when something goes wrong, we can take it especially hard because everything falls on our doorstep. Whatever it was, it had to be our fault.

If so, we can learn from our mistakes and try again. But sometimes, what happens isn’t our fault and the best thing we can do is remind ourselves that we’re not always in control.

5 Times When Writers Are Not In Control

1. When the Market Fails to Respond to Your Book

Most of the time when a book doesn’t sell well, there is a reason for it.

Maybe the cover design was wrong for the genre or the audience. Something may have been off about the story itself in terms of pacing, plot, or characterization. The marketing campaign could have used some tweaking, or maybe the writer didn’t do enough to get the word out.

It’s always best to examine all the possible contributing factors. But it also helps to know that sometimes, the market just doesn’t respond for some unknown reason.

There are a lot of examples of classic books that didn’t sell well when they were released. LitHubhas a list of 15 of them, including T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, and James Joyce’s The Dubliners.

The good news is that after a time, these books found their audience. Yours might too, but in the meantime, you may have to let go a little.

2. When Your Publisher Makes Changes

My latest novel, The Beached Ones, suffered through several of my publisher’s mistakes when it first came out.

This was mainly because the publisher changed distributors just as my book was being released (bad timing). That caused a lot of chaos. Initially, there were a few canceled pre-orders because of it. (I received emails from some readers wondering why their orders were canceled. Argh!) Then some of the books were released with the wrong copy on the back cover.

Worst of all, several books were released with the wrong interior file—one that had not gone through a final proofread/edit. This one drove me nuts! I was running around trying to replace the incorrect books with the correct ones. The publisher paid for these copies, but it was still embarrassing for me.

For a while, all of this was super anxiety-inducing and I struggled a lot. Here was the culmination of all my work on this novel and instead of the launch being an exciting, fun time, it was disappointing and dispiriting.

I finally realized that all of this was out of my control and I had to let go. Otherwise, it was going to keep eating at me incessantly. Eventually, everything got ironed out and now I can proudly share the book knowing that everything is correct.

3. When a Reader Doesn’t Like Your Work

This one can also be hard to take. You put your heart and soul into a story. You thought you did everything right.

But then one reader got ahold of it and just didn’t like it. Worse, that person decided to share that opinion in a bad review. On multiple platforms.

Writers work ridiculously hard to write, market, and sell their books. One bad review, however, can turn off a lot of potential readers.

You see it sitting there and your heart plummets because you know two things:

• the book was good—it just didn’t click for that reader, and
• you can’t do anything about the fact that the review will influence some readers who otherwise might have bought a copy.

It’s frustrating. And discouraging. But you can’t control it. All you can do is let go and move on.

4. When You Feel Lousy About the Tough Times

Writers are supposed to develop a thick skin.

“Learn how to take rejections, bad reviews, and poor sales in stride!” they say.

When we feel horrible about these things, we can tend to then feel guilty for feeling horrible. Talk about a double whammy of negative feelings!

This sort of self-recrimination sets up a vicious cycle of feeling bad, feeling bad about feeling bad, then feeling worse.  

The thing is, we can't control how we feel. Those emotions live inside us, and trying to squash them isn’t healthy. All we can do is let go and accept that they’re there, then find healthy ways to work through them.

5. When Other Things Interfere with Writing

Even the most disciplined writing routine can crumble in the face of difficult life events.

I’m talking about the big ones like death, divorce, the loss of a job, health problems, and the like. When life gets tough, sometimes writing has to take a back seat.

This is hard for many writers to accept. We tend to blame ourselves when we’re not getting the writing done or when other things like book marketing fall through the cracks.

Many of us also feel out of sorts when we’re not regularly writing. It contributes to the stress and anxiety we may already be feeling because of the trauma or upheaval we’re going through.

We can’t control when these things happen, or the toll they can take on us physically and emotionally. The best we can do is take a deep breath, let go, and assure ourselves that we will get back to writing as soon as possible.

Other Coping Techniques for Accepting the Things You Can’t Control

As a writer, you can count on things occurring in your writing life that will be out of your control.

The key is to identify when these times are, then learn to let go. “Identifying” is key because sometimes there is something you can do to make things better. But if not, it’s time to try these coping techniques:

• Accept that this is something you can’t change. (Easier said than done!) Focus on “not resisting” and letting it be.
• Journal about your feelings, or talk them out with a good friend. Don’t bottle them up.
• Redirect your energy toward something you can control—like your next book or marketing effort.

There are a lot of quotes about accepting what you can’t control. But in case you haven’t heard it, here’s one I liked:

“Anything you can’t control is for teaching you how to let go…”

(part of a poem by Jackson Kiddard)

Note: Get Colleen’s free report on finding your blogging niche plus free chapters of her award-winning books for writers here!

What is your biggest writing struggle you have gone through? Have you turned a sour situation around in your writing work? Share and commiserate below!

About Colleen

Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, writing coach, and speaker with over 20 years in the creative writing industry. Her latest novel, The Beached Ones, was released with CamCat Books on July 26, 2022. Her previous novel, Loreena's Gift, was a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, among others.

Colleen has written three books to help writers succeed: Your Writing Matters, Writer Get Noticed, and Overwhelmed Writer Rescue. You can find free chapters of these books here. Find more at her author website (colleenmstory.com) or connect with her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story) and YouTube (@ColleenMStoryteller).