The Dylan Spies series gathers pace. The first two books are published, the third is at the printers and the fourth is mid-edit.

So starts my first author newsletter.

I keep being told  that every author needs an email list to communicate with “followers.”  Lots of experts are available to tell you how to do it – for a fee.

But how difficult can it be to put together a list of potential recipients, draft a newsletter and send it out?

The answer is that compiling a list is easy, just time consuming. Everyone has to be individually contacted and their formal consent received and logged.

Writing a newsletter is not so straightforward, at least when you have a daughter with a first class marketing degree.

One respected author assured me that nobody ever complains that an email is too long – nonsense responded daughter Alex, chopping away at my first draft.

My publisher had come up with a special offer which I thought would be a nice way to end the newsletter. Alex was horrified: “The CTA must go at the beginning.”

“The what?”

“The Call To Action – what you want your readers to do, order your books. That’s the most important bit.”

I had thought that the most important element was the news. How naïve. See for your self by clicking this CTA.