Welcome to Tuesday Book Chat.
This is where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week. As we are a faith-based group the questions refer mainly to Christian fiction or non-fiction.
Today’s question is:
Do you expect Newsletters to be about the author you are following?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation by commenting on this post or on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group. Remember to comment today on Tuesday Book Chat to enter the giveaway.
Let’s chat!
Yes. I get frustrated when the whole newsletter is about another author. The check out this author with a book magnet at the bottom of emails doesn’t annoy me. It’s when I get a newsletter and its all about some other author more like a blog post but by an author I am following. There is nothing at all about the author who’s newsletter it is not even a quick updated. Just introducing xxxx and then information and a buy their books. I tend to just delete without reading. Even the info on another author at the bottom of the emails annoys me at times. I actually skip them also.
Your turn.
I look forward to reading your comments here or at the FB group.
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I do not really mind. I’ll still take a look at the email. Maybe I find a new author!
Thanks for commenting, Antoinette.
Like you, Jenny, I like to be reading about the author I signed up to. It’s fun to find out a bit about them and why they write, how they are inspired to write what they do. Sometimes they’ll share interesting things about the era they are writing in and I really enjoy that, especially when I learn something new.
That said, it’s also interesting to hear about other authors that have inspired them. It can give some insight into how they’ve developed their style. Which could, in turn, lead to me finding new authors in a similar style to read, which can only be a good thing! :o)
Thanks Suzie, Can I ask. I you get sent an email that has not news about the author you signed up for and they have weekly or fortnightly emails with at every second email just being about another author how do you feel.
I had one author who was doing this some times it would be three out of 4 newsletters are just posts on another author often the info like in when authors do a round robin.
I don’t mind if they introduce a new author at the bottom of the newsletter as long as there is a little personal info about the author I signed up for. Its also different being a recommendation to read a book. I found a great series due to an author recommending a book they had read and just had to share. But it wasn’t the main reason to send the newsletter it was just a small part of the newsletter.
If I was receiving emails that had nothing to do with the author I signed up to, I would probably unsubscribe because the reason I would sign up would be to find out news about that author (not other authors that I probably have no interest in). So yes, like you, that would annoy me.
I am close to. Some authors I feel bad if I unsub others not so bad. Its when I have some sort of connections I have more trouble unsubbing but that may change soon.
I like to read about authors in their newsletters, especially those I know personally. However I have made new friends through ACW even if I have not met them and enjoy reading about them, too. Love to all. Heather.
Thanks Heather. I like learning about new authors too. Places like ACW are helpful for that as are other blogs. I actually like author interviews on an authors blog. I think with author newsletters I am signed up to the ones I really want (and a few I don’t) and because some days I could get up 10 to open one and find nothing about the actual author and all about someone I either don’t know and writes what I don’t read or about an author who’s email I am already on I get frustrated. I think there are places for promoting another author and a blog works really well for that.
Hi Jenny – I don’t mind if people mention another author, especially if it’s in conjunction with an event or giveaway. Some authors also let you know what they’re currently reading, which can give you an insight into what they’re like as well as introduce you to other authors. However, I don’t like it when the whole newsletter is pretty much promotion for other authors (or for the author I signed up for either). I guess it depends why you signed up for the newsletter in the first place. If you’re happy to find out about other similar authors you might like, it could be good. But I think most people would mainly want to hear from the author they’ve signed up for, and not just messages about ‘Buy my book’.
Hi Nola I totally get it. I may not have worded the question the best. But what you said about the whole newsletter was what I was trying to ask. The question came from one particular author constantly sending emails only about another author and nothing about themselves. I don’t mind a little at the end but really want info on the actual author I signed up to. We have a couple more newsletter questions coming up.
I understood what you meant. I haven’t actually gotten one of those, so I don’t know how I’d feel. I guess it depends on how it’s done, but I do prefer more of an intro into why they want to talk about this author even if it’s on a blog. Have they got a personal connection to them? Is it because they love their books?
I do want to know more about the author I signed up for.
Hi Dienece, one may start with this is an author friend then its all albout that author. A few others do it the way you mentioned more and how they enjoy reading that author so its not quite as bad. As mentioned the question came about after about the 3rd email in a row from one author just sharing other authors. At the same time I was on a list for another author doing similar with a weekly newsletter doing the same with very little personal info. (that one I gave up on). At the time was on way too many lists.
Funny you should ask this question, I have been really thinning out my newsletter subscriptions lately and content is a factor. I definitely unsubscribed from quite a few newsletters where I had begun to see barely anything about them and loads of information and book recommendations from other authors. Plus they sent this out dang near every day. It was just too much. At first I felt bad about unsubscribing but I’m sure they don’t even know who I am.
Hi Cindy that is how I felt. When there was a boxset a few years back I had an author sending daily sometimes more often and it was one I really liked but it was too much. I totally agree when an author is sending newsletters that often without any real info just free plugs for other authors it becomes too much. I culled for similar reasons to you. I also stopped reading a couple of genres so culled some of those newsletters. The one that started the question was sending a weekly email with 3 out of 4 had nothing personal. Which leads me to thinking they are on some sort of newsletter swap