Newsletters. The very word makes you yawn. Or at least, it used to make me yawn.
I’ve been sent enough newsletters I’d never subscribed to that it put me off them for life. Or so I thought.
In the last few months though, I reevaluated my presence on social media and this blog. I discovered that I’m spending too much time here and on social media, away from life and writing.
So I went back to the most basic question I could think of: what does this blog mean to me?
Over eleven years, this blog has been about conversations with bloggers who have become friends. While this blog and social media will remain–I’d like to reduce the time spent on them, without sacrificing the main thrust of this site: interacting with others, and adding value.
Which is where newsletters come in.
I’ve been surveying a few select blog friends (you know who you are) and asking them about their writing and reading pain points: areas where they would love some help, and where that help would make the most difference. If you’d like to tell me about the issues you face while writing or reading so I can address them in my newsletters, here’s the survey. It only takes about 2 minutes to complete.
The newsletters have received very good feedback so far, and I’m asking my subscribers for more–because I want to make this as useful as I can. The online world is noisy–if I can’t add value, I better shut up.
So what are my newsletters all about?
As a booknerd, blogger, and editor of the Forge Literary magazine, I’m involved in or hear about:
- reputed reading/writing groups
- the latest in writing and blogging
- online/offline workshops and literary events
These bring me useful resources for Writers, Readers, Bloggers, which I share in my two newsletters: Damyanti’s Writing Gazette, and Damyanti’s Reading Gazette.
For Damyanti’s Writing Gazette, I curate information about the writing craft, writing resources and courses.
For Damyanti’s Reading Gazette, I curate reading tips, book recommendations and book blogs.
All of it comes to the newsletter subscribers for free, and that’s the way it will remain because it is about giving back to the community that has grown around this blog for the past eleven years. Any readers and writers who do not read this blog, but would like a few pointers, are also very welcome.
SUBSCRIBE HERE to get monthly curated resources on writing and reading, via newsletters which would drop into your inbox around the 10th of each month.
What about you? Are you subscribed to any newsletters? Would you like to receive curated Reading and writing resources in your inbox? Are you already subscribed to one or both of the newsletters? If yes, what is your feedback? What issues would you like to see addressed in them?
I co-host the monthly We Are the World Blogfest: I’d like to invite you to join, if you haven’t as yet, to post 
the last Friday of each month a snippet of positive news that shows our essential, beautiful humanity.
This monthly event has brought smiles on the faces of a lot of participants and their audiences, and somewhat restored their faith in humanity. Here’s a sampler. Click here to know more.
Sign up here and add your bit of cheer to the world on the next installment on the 28th June.
If you want to be heard by this community: click here to join Daily (w)rite on its Facebook Page .
Sign up for curated writing/reading resources: click here For a monthly edition in your inbox.
If you found this post interesting: click here to have weekly posts delivered to your inbox.
im unsure about reading newsletter due to my workload
Thanks Damyanti – I’m behind … but signed up for both … and thoroughly enjoy the #WAWTB … mine will go up Sunday … off to watch some tennis today and tomorrow – tickets coming out of the blue. Eastbourne tennis is about 5 minutes down the road … take care … Hilary
I don’t subscribe to newsletters anymore. Frankly I don’t have the time to read them. I try to limit my social media to a few hours a week and find I enjoy the instagram / facebook / blog interactions the most. All the best to your newsletter.
I did not know you were publishing newsletters. So I quickly jumped in and subscribed. Looking forward to reading you 🙂
Thank you for this post. I would not have known any other way.
Thanks so much, Parul. Hope they’re helpful!
Thats a very valid point.Stopping the clutter from social media from entering inside our heads is much needed.
I admire your commitment to writing and towards making yourself better. I’m hoping some of it rubs off on me through your newsletters :-). Looking forward to them.
Thanks for subscribing, Tulika! I got 100 new subscriptions as we speak, and am beginning to get VERY nervous! 🙂
Hi Damyanti, I am sure your newsletters are going to be very helpful for every writer and reader. I have subscribed to both. Thanks
Thanks for your faith in me, Geethica. I received 60 new subscriptions yesterday after this post, and am just a tad overwhelmed! In a good, happy way, of course. Nervous now that so many people have shown me they believe I’ll add value to their inbox.
I subscribe to way too many newsletters! I’ve been purging the ones I never or hardly read. The ones I do like are the ones that are more like letters (like mine ?) – slice of life, some insights from other people’s journeys, some wisdom; and the ones that are informative. Both your newsletters sound really interesting. Going to look for those sign up forms 🙂
Hahahhahaha mine are not chatty, they are basically full of information, but maybe I should take a leaf from your book and make them more conversational. You have a newsletter? Am going to check it out.
Signed up for the newsletter. Looking forward to read it. ?
Thanks, Rajlakshmi. So happy to have you subscribe. I’ll do my best to provide value, and feel free to give me feedback if you see room for improvement.
Got your news letter, thank you for sharing!.. found it very informative and have saved it for future reference!.. 🙂
“Any piece of knowledge I acquire today has a value at this moment exactly proportioned to my skill to deal with it. Tomorrow, when I know more, I will recall that piece of knowledge and use it better. “ Mark van Doren
Larry, so glad you found it useful! I’ll try and make each edition as useful to my subscribers as I can.
I’m getting mine!
We try to make the IWSG newsletter interesting and full of helpful information.
Cool, Alex!
For some reason, I’ve not received the IWSG newsletter, even though I’m on the list. Will email you separately about this.
I like the input from newsletters that bring me information I’m always searching for anyway. I see them as an addendum to a blog because they are one-sided. A blog has a comments section where, perhaps, a dialogue will begin. a news letter doesn’t usually offer that opportunity.
Yes, that’s true, Malcolm. I have had some communication with my subscribers about the newsletter–their feedback and so on, but nothing can replace the interaction of a blog comment section! I like FB for its platform, I wish there was a similar one for blogs, where people would actually share long and meaningful stuff. WordPress is great, but still not as intuitively interactive as FB.
I believe in newsletters in theory and find that I do keep up with my favorites. I’ve thought of doing one myself and maybe your post will be the spark to get me to do that. The daunting part is which format to use and getting it set up to begin with. That said, I certainly have plenty of content to maintain one once I started, if I do!
Absolutely–starting it is a daunting task–I hope i’m able to keep up the momentum now that I’ve started. Have had eleven sign-ups since this post went up, so I have the added nudge now to do better for next month!
I’ve signed up! Keeping up with blogs and everything else has been a major task. I do take time to read all newsletters though. Hope you are doing well.
Thanks, Michelle! Hope it will be useful.
This weekend, I’ll re-send this month’s gazettes to all new subscribers who join in after this post!
Thank you! I’m looking forward to reading them.