Update Only

What would you like to see in my newsletter?

For this month’s newsletter prize, I’m giving away 2 of these Venetian, hand-decorated masks made in Italy. How can you win one? Tell me what you’d like to find in my newsletter. Maybe it’s something you’ve seen another author do in their newsletter, or just something you’d like to read about or look at. October 31st I’ll have Random .org draw 2 winners! That’s twice the chance of winning!

 

Congratulations to Tammy Windsor who won my mom’s Autumn Wreath with her horse name “Eclipse.”

 

Romance inspired by the classics

98 thoughts on “Update Only”

  5. your letters are good, but if you get inspired to write by something (a person or place) I would like to see that. I love to know what inspires others

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  6. I like the newsletters just the way they are, but if you are interested, maybe making little games in them (puzzles, questions that your readers can try and answer, etc.). I have seen some authors’ newsletters with those in them and they can be pretty fun to do. Also, pictures with either animals and/or events, books, etc. Those are interesting as well. Thanks!

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  9. I have enjoyed your newsletters! I like the WIP progress and the images about how you imagine your books!! I would love to continue to see stuff like that

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  11. I love your newsletter just the way it is. But if your looking to update it, photos of pets always make my day. Thanks!

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  13. Honestly I love them the way they are and can’t think of anything I’d change about them 😊 Thanks for the chance to win one of these awesome masks!

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  14. Lynne Brigman:

    I like your newsletter just the way you have it.It is informative and
    you add a fun flare to your newsletter.I actually enjoy receiving your
    newsletter.Thank you for bring so caring and making them interesting.

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  16. I really enjoy browsing through the newsletter. I like the photos and seeing where you’ve been. I would like to know a little more about your day to day… do you cook, what are your fav recipes? Do you hate cooking… what are your fav restaurants? What do you do for fun? Maybe a little more about your characters. Do they demand you write them, do you have any that you really feel an affinity with? Does music play any part in helping you with writing? That kind of stuff is interesting and helps connect to you on a more personal level.

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    • LOL when I talk about that with my daughter-in-law, she reminds me that Scotland isn’t exactly known for its cooking. But there are a few I can steal from her. I didn’t even know what a clootie dumpling was until she told me!

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  21. For me, a newsletter should be colorful,easy to read, not too wordy and with photos of the books you have written. I like to read a brief description of the book’s content. I like to see something personal about the author and a giveaway.
    Your newsletter seems to meet those criteria.

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  22. Game contests would be awesome. Other authors use word searches, put the puzzle together to see what it is, spot the differences and scrambled pictures.

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  24. I like pictures. It could be vacation pics, pet pics, garden pics, anything. I also like contests, recipes, and information about upcoming books, conventions, and book signings.

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  28. Your newsletter is good now, you are personable and keep us informed on what is going on in your life without going overboard. What would be interesting to see if any new ideas and characters that you might have brewing.

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  29. For me, I have very little time but end up on many author’s mailing lists.
    What I like to see as I skim:
    * Brief recommended books, with a picture of the cover and brief description.
    * Free books (that’s how I got into this…)
    * A link to a blog about unrelated stuff, like the cool costume idea you have…but not in the email itself.

    What I don’t like to see:
    * Unrelated content. Points of view from a pet, vacations, talk about family. Put those in a blog you link to, or I might unsubscribe.
    * Games, etc. I am just skimming to see if I should delete the email first. Otherwise, email management is a nightmare. So be brief and to the point.

    Other people may feel differently, of course.

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    • LOL Yes, I’ve had suggestions to the contrary. As an author I know that anything I write, newsletter, blog, books, are not going to please EVERYONE. Just hoping to please the majority 🙂

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  32. Not gonna lie, I love entering to win stuff, so I really enjoy the author newsletters where there’s a little section devoted just to giveaway links. Obviously pretty much everyone’s newsletter tells you if they are running or in one (like this one specifically), but I appreciated when authors give out links to various contests they’ve found…like, from other authors and publishing companies, etc.

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    • That would be great, just not sure if I have the time to find them. But if one of my author friends is in one, I’ll probably hear about it and I can pass it along 🙂

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  33. From Caroline Doig
    I would like to see free or cheap books on iBooks, now most authors do that for Amazon but not for iBooks so that might b something new for u cause u sell ur books on iBooks . Thanks Caroline.

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  35. I certainly appreciate all of the freebies you offer. I would like to see your thoughts on future writings. Thank you

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  36. From Artemis Lynn:

    I would love to see a section from you and your author friends where one starts the story in their newsletter ( will help y’all build your newsletter bases as people will need to be on each authors newsletter list {or have to wait until it’s finished}), and the next author continues it , until a little short story is made and see what y’all come up with . It could end up hilarious or hot or hilariously hot !! Lol

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  40. I’d like to see some behind-the-scenes stories.What motivated you to write that scene? Where did you get the idea for using that particular prop? That sort of thing. Pictures (if any are available) would be a plus. 🙂

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  41. Wow. Your newsletters are awesome. I would love to see what or who you would recommend for us to read. Who are your favorite authors or books. Do you have hobbies or interests you can share with us all. Thank you for your generosity and your moms talents.

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  42. I honestly like your newsletters. You do a lot of variety, short and sweet is great no matter the topic. I got nothing!!

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  43. I think your newsletters are pretty perfect, but Jasper and Stormy wanted me to ask for more stories about Giz. They find his adventures fascinating since they are indoor cats and don’t get to experience all the things he does. He’s their hero. 😉

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  47. All of the suggestions are good. A few of the authors (both men and women) have added in a favorite recipe with a photo of it. Two have shared their knowledge of their personal passion other than writing. At least two shares funny/adult related cartoons related to their books or holidays..

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    • Great ideas, Bobbi! I can’t cook, but I do make homemade ice cream, so I can share that for sure. Not sure how much people would be excited about me dancing past time, but I could probably dig up some old pics 🙂

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  52. I like newsletters that talk about what the writer is passionate about. Since your tagline is “Romance Inspired by the Classics,” maybe a short bit about the classics you love and why you love them? I think as long as you have clearly visually defined section breaks, it’s easy for readers to skip over content that doesn’t interest them and go on to the next topic, which might!

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  53. I don’t always read my author’s newsletters but, I really really like yours very much. I would like to see more of your family and if you have any animals. Where I live I can’t have animals. I miss having them around me so I love to see them on the web.

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  54. I didn’t go thru and read all prior comments, so I apologize if this is a repeat. But I do agree with those that have pics and stories about their pets. I get so many author newsletters that I try to unsubscribe from at least one or two every week, or more if I’m on a roll. Most of those are people whose books I have never read. I like to hear the updates of the latest antics their pets have been up to.

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  55. Now please don’t enter this one for the contest, as I just made my suggestion above. But there’s something else I want to mention to you. I used to read lots and lots of ARC copies of books. In fact, for over a year, it was all I read. I don’t read them anymore, or very seldomly, because first of all, I don’t have the time for reading like I used to, second of all, I got tired of not being able to CHOOSE what I was going to read, and only reading those I promised to read for someone, and third, most importantly, I resent Amazon’s change in policy where ARC reviews are treated as “second class” and not given equal status with the other reviews.
    One thing some of the other authors have been doing is making their books available for ONE DAY ONLY or a very short time, for free or for $.99. These sales usually aren’t publicized and are only made known thru their newsletters, so I would guess there aren’t a ton of people picking the book up other than regular readers. That way someone can pick up the book inexpensively, and when they review it, it actually shows up as a “verified purchase”.
    Just thought I’d make this suggestion, because there are some of your books I would like to read, from series I started, (I’m usually into the cowboy ones but this Frankenstein one sounds interesting too), but I just will not pay $2.99 or $3.99 for a book. I am a senior on social security, and I literally have several thousand books I have gotten mostly for free or $.99, most of which I will never find the time to read. So why on earth would I pay more than that?
    This is just a suggestion. I understand this is how you make your living and you need to sell your books. Something to maybe think about some time when you aren’t busy writing. 🙂

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