I’ve launched Kathy L. Brown Writes The Storytelling Newsletter this week. A newsletter is a huge, much procrastinated step for many writers, and I’m not an exception. My thoughts on newsletters have been along these lines: Why burden myself with what amounts to thinly disguised email marketing? No one reads newsletters. Writing a newsletter will take time away from my real work of story creation. 

But I’ve come to realized that the best reason for an author to maintain a newsletter is to connect with the people who actually care. To show how much the author values those readers, not simply as book consumers but also as like-minded people. 

This past weekend I heard mystery author C. Hope Clark speak at the Gateway to Publishing Conference in St. Louis. One profound idea she presented is that an author needs to “find their hundred readers.” That is, a solid core, a base of true believers. She used the term “fans,” but I think of the relationship as more equitable than that. Story comes along and nudge many, many people, but someone has to write it: See the threads, gather them up, choose the best, and weave them into a tale for all to enjoy. It’s a matter of the reader and the book finding each other, rather than the author selling the reader on a story’s worth. 

I’m excited and empowered by the idea of a newsletter as a personal thank-you note to the folks who “get it,” and I was able to put one together in time to announce the publication of the paperback version of Water of Life this past week. As for the specific detail:

Kathy L. Brown Writes The Storytelling Newsletter will be:

• Published quinterly (five times a year) on—
  • The Feast of All Fools (January 1)
  • The Ides of March (March 15)
  • Bloomsday (June 16)
  • Agatha Christie’s Birthday (September 15)
  • Guy Fawkes Day (November 5)
• Short and to the point
• A little quirky
• Dare to stray “off-brand”

The newsletter will share exclusive content, fun photos, recipes, puzzles, games, and various nerdish stuff I like and think you need to know about. Because we’re all in this world of weird fiction together.

As a reader, why care about an author’s newsletter?

1. You want to know what stories are in the works and about any author events that are coming up.
2. You think navigating to websites is a pain; content directed right to your email box is much easier to find.
3. You want access to extras: Stories you won’t find elsewhere, games and giveaways, and an exclusive “club” of like-minded folks with great taste in literature. 
4. You want to feel valued by the author as an individual human being. Because you are. 

Subscribe to Kathy L. Brown Writes the Storytelling Blog via the short form on this website. Birthday and snail mail address are optional, but special treats (hint-hint) might be involved.

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