Fiction & Nonfiction Authors: 19 Ideas for Email Topics

Fiction writers often struggle with what to write about when sending email to their email list. That’s what they told me on Thursday when I hosted a free webinar for authors on “How to Use Email to Create to Attract Fans, Create SuperFans & Sell More Books.” If you missed it, listen to the replay here before midnight Monday night Pacific Time.   

1. What’s the most unusual thing in your office that inspires, entertains or humors you? Mine is a miniature replica of my first car: a 1962 white Chevy Nova we affectionately nicknamed “The White Tornado.” If you have an old photo of your car, include it.
2. What writing problems do you struggle with, and how do you solve them? This shows your human side.
3. Share fun facts about the locale where your romance novels or fiction takes place.
4. Pay attention to questions people are emailing you. Often, these are also great fodder for a blog.
5. What sparks your creativity?
6. Who is your hero?  And why?
7. What one event in your childhood had the greatest effect on your writing career?
8. If you weren’t doing what you do today, what other job would you have?
9. Who is your best friend, and what do you like best about him or her?  List your best friend’s favorite books. How do they compare to yours?
10. What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?
11. What’s the one thing you want to accomplish, or write about, before you die?
12. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be?  Would you write or read there, or do something else?
13. Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write?  If so, write about your pet. Has it taught you anything about writing?  If so, what?
14. What’s the worst writing mistake you ever made that taught you a valuable lesson?
15. What’s the most unusual place you have visited?
16. What’s the most unusual book you’ve read that’s made a lasting impression?
17. If you could have a quiet dinner with just one author, who would you choose? What would you want to discuss? What questions would you ask?
18. Create a survey that’s related to the topic of your book and share it with readers.  Report the results.
19. Create a fun quiz about one of your books and award a cool prize.

Authors, what do you blog about? Which posts elicit the greatest number of comments from your readers? What other questions do you have about sending emails to your fans?

If you want in-depth training on how to build an email list from scratch, or you want to boost sales for a book that’s been on the market for awhile, consider my Author Email Boot Camp which starts on Wednesday, March 2.