Generally, I'm pretty quick to catch onto things, but whether it was due to stubbornness or misplaced optimism, it took me eight months to accept that my author newsletter didn't work. So there will be no September edition.
I always struggled coming up with content. How much is there to say, really? I never had any "exciting news to share" because I don't do exciting things. Even when I released a new book, which was exciting to me, no one cared.
I tried all the usual suggestions, and none of them worked. I wrote essays related to a couple of my books, I did quizzes and giveaways; I even once included a recipe. Everything landed with a thud.
I don't dispute that some authors find success with newsletters. How, I don't know. On the other hand, they just might be lying. Maybe they enjoy composing them and that equals success. Before I sent out my first monthly missive, I subscribed to a successful author's newsletter to get a handle on what I should be doing. Hers was more boring than mine! I also notice that she hasn't sent one in months. Maybe she's finally caught on, too.
Companies with a vested interest try to convince us that we should do certain things. Thankfully, I never purchased a paid MailerLite plan, so I only lost time and dignity. I'm actually relieved to be done with newsletters. No one really wants to receive them, even if they initially subscribed. Everyone already gets too much junk.
If anyone cares to point me toward a popular indie author newsletter, I'd love to see it. Until then, I'll consider them to be a myth.
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