I made such a stupid mistake when I sent this thing yesterday. One of the benefits of Mailchimp (and I don’t know about this in comparison to other mailing list providers) is that you can “duplicate” a past email, and then edit it and send it as a new one. This is great if you have a formula and specific links and a header you always want to include, which I do. It doesn’t work great if you don’t double check everything.
Yesterday, I didn’t.
So, I sent a newsletter to 600+ people with the subject: “The Willful Inheritor is Available for Preorder!” even though that book has been released now for two weeks. Fabulous.
Did people notice? Honestly, probably not. We rarely read headings as is, but then again, this is an email, and I do actually think people check out subjects. On the other hand, everyone signed up for my newsletter would have to remember that the book already came out, and I don’t know that I matter that much to anyone. And once you’re inside an email–if you’ve made the effort to click–you’re going to read the body, right?
Anyway, the point is, I fucked up, and I kicked my own ass about it all day, and then I realized something: it’s okay.
Not just in the general, we-all-fuck-up-sometimes sense, but in a more specific, it’s-bound-to-happen-when-you’re-doing-everything sense. Because I am–I’m doing everything. That’s what being an indie author is. Yes, I pay someone for my covers, and I get beta readers and ARC readers and have a critique partner, but I’m still managing all of those things, and I’m promoting, and I’m running advertisements, and I’m taking courses to learn how to use those things, and I’m reading more fiction, and I’m researching my genres and marketing, and I’m formatting ebooks and paperbacks, and I’m setting release schedules and planning my year, and I’m managing my own daily schedule and my social media, and none of that includes the plotting, outlining, writing or editing. It’s just me, I’m the idea person and the action person and the closer. And ya know what? Sometimes I’m going to fuck up, and I did. And it’s fine.
Also, when you happen upon a typo, I want you to know: it’s a mistake, it happens, and it’s inevitable. I’m happy to hear about it so I can fix it later, but please don’t assume it’s the result of shoddy work or laziness. It’s the exact opposite, and I would challenge anyone to write a 100k words and not make a mistake. The big five release books every day with typos, I guaran-fucking-tee it, and they have no excuse. It’s $3.99, people, and I’m not even getting 100% of that, so sometimes there will be mistakes.
So, after all that, I’m sure you want to sign up for my newsletter, right?
To check out February’s, which includes some ebook giveaways and Kindle Unlimited deals, and a tiny snippet of Working Title Bad Blood, go here!
And to sign up, knock yourself out here:
A.K. Caggiano 