on Fiction University:

I’m constantly hearing from new and even pre-published novelists who are spending their time obsessing about building an email list and sending out weekly (or daily or hourly) newsletters to their “fans.”

I know they’re following the hot, trendy advice. But I think the newsletter fad has got way out of control. Newsletters can be helpful—for established novelists with a big readership.

But a novelist needs to get established first.

I think new fiction writers should spend their time writing fiction. Developing your creativity muscles, writing and publishing short stories, and learning the nuances of storytelling will help your career a great deal more than obsessing about marketing too soon.

But there’s one thing you can do at any stage that will get your name into search engines and start building an audience —without taking over all your writing time.

It’s guest blogging.

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