Trends: The Mailing List

This trend in publishing takes us away from Amazon to the comfort and clutter of email. Specifically, the resurgence of the mailing list as part of the the author's toolbox.

It's been a long complaint of writers that the burden of marketing their books has been thrust back upon their shoulders by publishers and distributors. Writer Gene Doucette recently described this in his mailing list email:

As this industry evolves, reaching existing readers is becoming more challenging by the day. This is a point that was driven home to me in a recent exchange with Amazon, for reasons that probably never occurred to anyone who isn't an indie author. 

Some of you (perhaps many of you) follow my author page on Amazon. They provide a nice little button to click on for notification of new releases and what-not, with the problem being, from my perspective, that I don't own that list or have any way to communicate directly with anybody on it. 

I never thought of this as a problem, because I've never had any issue with how Amazon uses the list. Every time I put a new book up on preorder, they eventually roll out a generic blast to my followers, and that's really all I'm looking for. Then I get a decent bump in preorders, and some social media mentions here and there. It's nice.
I'm not sure that's happening any more, though. After two weeks, it doesn't appear that the email has gone out, and Amazon's only direct response to questioning implies that the program I'm talking about is invitation-only. 

Which mean, either they've changed some things over there, or we're talking about two different things. It also could mean something is still going to be going out (if we are talking about two different things) and I'm just being impatient. 

The larger point, though, is that since I don't own the list they've curated of my readers, I can't rely on that list to help promote my books. That isn't really anybody's fault, it's just how this works. (And also why this newsletter exists, actually, since controlling my own list is increasingly the only way forward.) It's just a shame. 

By my count, about 30,000 people bought a copy of The Spaceship Next Door through Amazon over the past couple of years, and I would love to let as many of those people know about The Frequency of Aliens as possible. One of the best ways to do that has always been for Amazon to let some of them know. It appears that they may no longer agree with that.

As a result, Gene and many other writers have turned to methods they control to get announcements of sales and new books out to their fans.Thus the rise of the mailing list, where fans and customers can opt in for such announcements and stay informed on the new releases by their favorite writers.

From a reader's perspective, this is useful. Not only will the mailing list keep you from losing track of your favorite writers' new releases in the ever growing sea of novels published every day, the more aggressive marketers will often offer discounted prices on their books on a regular basis. And authors want you to find their mailing lists. Many even give away a novel for free just for signing up. Some even offer exclusive stories for members of their lists. For instance, want to read Galaxy's Edge: Tin Man? (And if you are a Galaxy's Edge fan, you do.) The Galaxy's Edge mailing list is currently the only method of obtaining that short story.  Finally, writers are starting to cross-promote each other, recommending their own favorites as well as their own books.

One particular mailing list should be at the top of every science fiction fan's list: Sci-Fi Bridge. Every season, this mega-list offers four free ebooks as part of a contest for 25 ebooks, which also lets you sign up for Sci Fi Bridge and the lists of every one of the participating authors. It is a curated list of writers intended to introduce science fiction fans to quality content. And, in my opinion, they deliver. I have read many new releases from Sci-Fi Bridge-associated writers, and have found the list's recommendations and membership to be an excellent indication of a good read, just as Baen's label on a paperback used to be. (I rely on these lists when making Castalia House's New Release Roundups.) Sci-Fi Bridge has been a major contributor in making 2017 the year where indie and self-published science fiction became the mainstream. If there is just one critique I have of Sci-Fi Bridge, it is that it is difficult to see who is associated with them outside of one of their contests. Oh, and fantasy fans need not be left out. The minds behind Sci Fi Bridge have spun up a sister list just for you at Fantasy Bridge (Check out fantasybridge.com. I'd link directly, but Blogger is broken.)

It is almost certain that we will see more mega-lists as writers continue to market each other to help themselves. (Just look at how a small clique of tradpub writers dominate the discussion on many science fiction and fan sites. When asked for their recommendations, they always recommend each others' works.)

For writers who have yet to dive in, but are interested in learning the benefits of mailing lists and mega-lists from a writer's perspective, here is an interview with Jason Anspach, one of the founders of Sci Fi Bridge.