All too often, our email inboxes are a source of stress rather than solace.
They’re filled with bills, advertisements, to-dos and slightly-problematic chain emails from our folks. (That last isn’t just me, right?)
But a well-chosen email newsletter can make checking your email great again — or at least dangle the carrot of some solid writing advice, something fun to read, or even a new gig paid or two to apply for.
Some of the best email newsletters for writers
Clogging your email account with a superfluity of email newsletters will do you no good at all, so we’re going for quality over quantity.
That said, here are a few writers’ newsletters that never tempt us to hit the “unsubscribe” button.
1. Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week
This just in: finding freelance writing gigs is hard. Really hard.
So many opportunities are basically just one-off editor calls made on Twitter. You might not even know who the editors of your favorite mags are, let alone follow closely enough to catch every single pitch request.
Which is why I’ve told every writer I know (and now, a few hundred I don’t) about Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week newsletter. Sonia painstakingly rakes through the slush to bring the best paid writing opportunities to eager writers 2x a week, and she does it all for just $3 per month.
Honestly, for the amount of work that goes into the project, the price is a pittance; each newsletter also carries an array of links and resources to make pitching suck even less.
But if you absolutely can’t afford it, you can contact her directly to inquire about a sponsored slot — and if you’ve got the extra funds floating around, you can ramp up your monthly donation to help sponsor a writer in need.
2. Susan Shain’s Where to Pitch Newsletter
Susan Shain is adventurous, smart, funny, and one of the best writers I know. (Her work’s even been featured right here at The Write Life a time or two!)
She’s also the mastermind behind the Where to Pitch web tool, a program that helps writers winnow down from the plethora of options when trying to figure out where their story should live — and also makes me wonder, why didn’t I think of that?
Along with its interactive and easy-to-use interface, Where to Pitch also offers a free email newsletter, which features tons of great freelance writing advice as well as some stellar to-reads and to-listens from Shain herself.
It’s always entertaining and always full of great resources, and since it comes on a monthly basis, it never feels like too much to keep up with.
Plus, as an added bonus when you sign up for her free email newsletter, Susan sends five real pitches that snagged bylines in the NYT, The Atlantic, Playboy, NPR, and The Indpendent. How is that for inspiration?
3. Jane Friedman’s Electric Speed
Written by Jane Friedman, an expert in the book publishing space, Electric Speed is a free email newsletter packed with tools and resources for writers. It comes like clockwork each Saturday morning and is great read when paired with a fresh cup of coffee.
Jane also sends out a paid email newsletter, The Hot Sheet, that is focussed on industry insights, market analysis, and author earnings updates, all curated for authors. This one is a bit more meaty and arrives in your inbox every 2 weeks.
We included Jane’s email newsletters when we updated this list because they came highly recommended by a couple of our own author readers!
4. Funds for Writers
Even if you’ve got luck with sniffing out writing gigs, you’re likely to find yourself with at least a few that pay… well, not much.
But the weekly Funds for Writers newsletter shares only jobs that pay $200 per post or 10 cents per words and above, not to mention editorials, advice articles, creative writing contests, publishers seeking manuscripts, and more.
It really is a great resource for all writers, no matter what the title means to you — which is probably why it’s been going strong since 1999.
5. The Freelance Beat from Tatiana Walk-Morris
Take advice from someone who’s been there!
Published by The New York Times, Vice Magazine, Harvard University’s Nieman Reports and Crain’s Chicago Business, Tatiana Walk-Morris has great advice for freelance journalists looking to get published.
The Freelance Beat newsletter features her latest blog posts, journalism news and a roundup of awesome gigs each week.
6. Total ANNARCHY from Ann Handley
So, when I started writing this post, I put out a quick call on Twitter to ask my fellow writers what their favorite newsletters were.
Content marketing guru and best-selling author Ann Handley quickly floated to the top, recommended by multiple writers from disparate social circles.
Her newsletter, Total ANNARCHY, comes packed every Sunday morning with “new writing, useful ideas, fresh links, and some high-spirited shenanigans” — which, given its clever title, I’m willing to believe.
7. Poem-a-Day
This one’s not going to help you find paid writing gigs or learn how to earn a freelance living — but not every email newsletter in your inbox has to be productive.
There’s room for plain old beauty, too. Poem-a-Day is just that: one lovely poem delivered straight to your inbox on a daily basis. The poems are new, previously unpublished, and on weekdays they’re accompanied by commentary from the poets themselves.
Add some inspiration into your days with this beautifully simple and free email subscription, fresh to your inbox every morning.
8. Memoir Monday by Narratively
Into the idea of having great writing delivered straight to your inbox, but not really much of a poetry person?
No problem. Memoir Monday is a once-a-week newsletter curated by Narratively, and it brings the very best of creative nonfiction from sources like Granta, Guernica and The Rumpus — so you can start your work week out with some high-quality prose to both inspire and distract you.
9. The Write Life
That’s right, we put out our very own email newsletter right here at TWL! Once a week, we will keep you abreast of all our latest blog posts and resources, so you never have to worry about missing out on great writing advice. We’ll even send you a free article writing template just for signing up, courtesy of our friends at Self-Publishing School. Subscribe here!
Tell us About your Favorite Email Newsletter
Which email newsletters have you found invaluable for your writing – or at least which ones were better than grandma’s latest email chain forward? Make sure to tell us in the comments!
Have we accidentally inspired you to write your own email newsletter instead? Take a look at our review of the top 9 Email Newsletter Platforms to help you pick a platform and get started on your own inspirational newsletter.