If you are new to the publishing industry, just getting your feet wet in this game, you will have likely encountered an insane number of posts and advice tidbits on how an email list is incredibly important to include in your writer's platform. Email is much more reliable than social media in getting your messages in front of your fans. But even if you're not new to the industry, the advice on building an email list can totally do your head in.

Some advice is contradictory. Very little advice gives you solid information about what you should do or how to even start. And for those who are working on their first publications, the idea is often too overwhelming. In fact, most pre-published writers put building an email list into the too-hard basket, saying that they'll do it later—except that later never comes.

Today, I want to explore the insecurity that the debut writer faces when building an email list, and I want to tell you about a venture that I'm taking on to put some science behind some valid tactics.

I'm technically a pre-published writer myself.

Even though I've been writing fiction for over 10 years (near on 15 years now), I'm still a pre-published writer within the fiction realms. I will gladly admit that I've made choices that have resulted in massive delays in my personal fiction publishing career (one choice being pursuing traditional publication). I'm not going to go into the specifics of why I'm still pre-published, but just know that I understand from firsthand experience all the anxiety that comes from trying to build an email list as a pre-published writer within today's market.

(As a side note: I say pre-published, because unpublished sounds like someone was published but chose to take that work down, unpublishing it. Pre-published carries the connotation that a writer is yet to be published, but they will get there at some point. A much more positive mindset, don't you think? Besides, the word unpublished often sends ProWritingAid into a meltdown.)

In recent times, I have set myself some f***-it dates, where if certain things don't happen, I'm shifting tactics, changing paths. But there are a few things that are consistent between all paths that lie ahead of me.

1) I have to keep writing new material.

No matter how my publication journey ultimately gets my work into the public eye, if I don't keep writing, there won't be any work to put into the public eye.

If you're self-publishing, you have to keep writing more books. If you're traditionally publishing, you have to keep writing more books. So, no matter what, keep writing new material.

And eventually all of that new material will find a home.

2) I have to believe in myself and put myself out there.

Not only does this mean that I need to take risks by querying agents (and publishers), but it also means that I need to connect with those who I'm hoping will one day be my faithful readers.

If I don't believe in myself and my own skills, then why should anyone else?

Trust me, it's not easy—in fact, it's outright terrifying—but I'm doing it anyway.

3) I have to be prepared to do my own marketing.

This one goes hand in hand with number 2, putting myself out there. But there's an added component to this that many new writers just entering into the publishing industry might not be aware of.

It doesn't matter if you ultimately self-publish or traditionally publish, much of your marketing comes down to your personal online platform. I wish that this wasn't the case, but in reality, if you are seeking publication (even through traditional roads), you need to build that online presence and build a following.

(Geez, reality sucks.)

4) Regardless of what other components go into my platform, email needs to be part of it.

If you are paying attention to the markets like I am, you'll know that so much about the internet landscape has changed in just the last three years alone. I don't think anyone will disagree with me when I say that 2020 saw huge changes in the world, but the transformation that hit the internet since 2020 is phenomenal.

TikTok has turned many writers into tiny film makers. #BookTok is growing by the day.

Instagram has encouraged everyone to put those smart phones to good use and turn into shutter bugs. Have you heard about #Bookstagram?

Even as new social media sites gain popularity and old ones cling on for as long as they can, all readers using the internet still have email. And maintaining an email list is the best way to connect with all of your readers without fear of the social media overlords getting too big for their breeches and hiding your messages from your fans. Sure, you can still be tagged as spam by the Google Monster—and we'll just avert our eyes as you go read about that disaster—but email is still the best way to be seen by the masses.

But to help bring some perspective into this beast… Social media might be fleeting and a massive time suck, but email is something that you can steadily build on, experimenting, until you find the formula that works for you and keeps you sane.

So, I need an email list, BUT…

Yeah, and it's a BIG but.

Where does the pre-published writer even begin?

Well, I started by reading through Newsletter Ninja. Seriously, read it. Sure, much of what is said is targeted at those who are already published, and a lot of it is geared towards those who are heading down self-publication paths, but even so… Get the mental mind shift started.

A platform, and the newsletter is part of that, is not about selling books. It's about selling yourself and letting your readers get to know you! And even as a pre-published writer, this is something that we all know a lot about.

We know what makes our brains tick. We know why we are interested in the things that we are interested in. And we know why we want to write the stories we write. (And if you don't know this stuff, then you better figure it out, because that's what you need to be conveying to the world as you build your platform.)

And after reading Newsletter Ninja, I finally got the push I needed to start building my personal email list for my writer self.

The Email List Experiment

I'll admit that I'm not entirely starting from scratch. I've been blogging since 2014, attempting to gain a following that way, and sharing my blogs to my email list subscribers for years. But my email list for my personal writer persona is so small that it might as well not exist at all. That said, at the start of this year, I did a newsletter reboot, shifting how I treat my newsletter and email list subscribers.

Don't get me wrong, that list is still incredibly small, but because it's so small, it gives me the perfect playground to test ideas on how one might build their email list as the pre-published writer.

Things will be changing on that list over the next few months as I take on board the ideas and suggestions that I've gleaned from Newsletter Ninja and put them into action. But as an added bonus for my Black Wolf followers and subscribers, I'll be keeping you posted about what tactics I'm using as the pre-published writer to build my personal author email list. Perhaps we'll find a winning formula that others can use in building their own lists.

The leader magnet thing still has me tied up in knots.

For those who don't know, a leader magnet is that enticing freebie that you give away to people in hopes that they sign up for your mailing list. I have them on this website, and I'm currently developing something new for Black Wolf subscribers—something that both existing and new subscribers will be able to take advantage of. But as the pre-published writer, I'm completely lost on this one.

It's most common for writers to give away a short story or novella. Or even an extended scene. Fantasy writers might give away maps. Crime writers might include case files to accompany their novels. But if you are like me, pre-published, with no publication date in sight, you stare at the ideas stumped.

I could share a short story, but if one was to share a short story, you want it to be a taste of the types of things that you write. Well… My short stories are where I experiment—pushing my writing skills to their limits to see what I can do.

A second-person short story might show off my writing chops, but it doesn't show what my novel writing is like. A story with hope filled with tears is a little closer, but bears zero resemblance to a crime thriller or an assassin thriller. And a high fantasy piece might be fun, except that the first novels I'm aiming to publish are actually crime novels. So…

Yeah, I'm tied in knots and have no idea where to start. But the desire to share my writing with my readers burns deeply.

So… I have a plan. And it's the first of the tactics that I'll be trying to build my author email list as the pre-published writer.

Within my personal newsletters (not the newsletters for this site, but for the newsletters for my author website), I will be sharing snippets of my personal writing with my readers. However, only subscribers to my personal author email list will see those snippets. It's going to be an exclusive for subscribers only.

Yeah, okay… My first tactic to start building my personal email list is shamelessly cross-promoting that list with my Black Wolf peeps. While my Black Wolf family will be soon able to gain insight into my personal writing practices, only subscribers to my personal writing email list will be able to bear witness to the fruits of that editing.

If you want more information on how to join my personal writing email list (and to see some of my personal writing), visit my personal website and blog.