I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters. Many publications pique my curiosity at first, but then don’t hold my interest over time, and I unsubscribe. Probably the main reason I end up unsubscribing is when the content is too I-focused rather than audience-focused. I crave newsletters that educate me, inspire me, move me to action, or make me think. I am often turned off by those that persistently sell or self-promote.
Frankly, the newsletters that feed me in some way are much more likely than the promotional ones to translate into a financial transaction with the sender at some point. This happens when I feel as though I have a relationship with that person, value what they do andd have given me, and trust them. So yes I’ll buy their book, subscribe to their paid content, or attend their webinar.
Here I’ll describe some of the online content I subscribe to. It passes my tests for authority and substance and has continued to serve me for a long time.
Jane Friedman’s Newsletters
janefriedman.com/i-send-a-lot-of-email-newsletters
Jane Friedman has been educating people about writing and the publishing industry for a long time and much of her content is free. She is one of the most trusted experts in the industry. Her blog content is well curated, and I’ve learned a lot from her Electric Speed newsletters and online classes.
The Bottom Line is her weekly newsletter about the publishing industry written for an for an “audience of authors and industry professionals.” I find the paid version very worth my while and reasonably priced for the quality and amount of content, but there is a free version you can try out.
Friedman shares so much content, it reminds me to remind you that not every issue of even your favorite provider’s publication will be of interest. To save your valuable time, develop the skill to scan your emailed content quickly to see if it contains something that deserves your attention before you continue to read more deeply. Often, well-formatted content will help you to do this by employing smart titles and subtitles in bold type.
Writer Beware
Writers have to be one of the groups most often targeted by scammers, so it’s a good idea to stay informed about some of the traps. Victoria Strauss and her Writers Beware, sponsored by a nonprofit and run by volunteers, was founded in 1998 and is concerned with “tracking, exposing, and raising awareness about schemes, scams, and other bad practices in the publishing industry, with the aim of providing writers with tools to protect themselves from exploitation.” Do I read all the many updates I receive? No. But I do scan them quickly to see if they may be relevant for me or my contacts. Sometimes I’ll take a deeper dive into a post. I also know to research or recommend the site when I hear from writers receiving questionable offers. Victoria Strauss and Writers Beware are so well-known and trusted that recently a scammer has been impersonating them! A subscription to blog posts is free.
Story Club with George Saunders Substack
George Saunders is the author of more than a dozen books—from short story and essay collections to novels and a children’s book. His writing appears regularly in The New Yorker. Recently, the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, announced that it will award Saunders the 2025 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
His Substack is all about exploring the short story. He assigns a stories and exercises, subscribers respond, and he is amazingly generous with his own thoughts, feedback, and interactions. I don’t know that I could have ever qualified for the MFA program at Syracuse U where he teaches, but in these online discussions (written) I feel as though I am almost getting a bargain priced MFA education because his personal touch, the content, he provides and the sense of community he offers are all so enriching. “Story Club” is $50/annually or $6 month and there is a free version with less content if you want to get a taste for it first.
Give yourself permission to try out online content subscriptions, then unsubscribe if they don’t serve your needs. The internet is exceedingly rich, but can easily overwhelm, too.
Fred M Gray
Thank you