There are thousands of e-mail list out there on every subject you can imagine, and
probably on a few you can’t and wouldn’t want to imagine. No matter what kind of
writing you do, you can bet there are a number of lists just for that genre, or even
sub genre. These on-line communities help you stay in close contact with other
writers, and sometimes readers. That can mean even more to writers like myself, who
live in small towns were they are no local writing groups. Many lists allow members to
pass on market news, take part in weekly writing or discussion prompts, ask
questions, do brain storming on stories, or even share the sadness of a rejection or
the thrill of seeing your work in print.

You can find plenty of e-mail lists to get you started by using your favorite search
engine and typing in something like writing mailing list directory or e-mail writing
list. You can narrow your search field by adding in a key word, such as horror,
freelance, or romance. Another way to locate lists is to ask other writers, or to check
out links on writing websites.

Once you find a list you are interested in, there are a few things you can do to fit in
and get the most out of the e-mail list experience.

1) Read the welcome message. Really read the welcome message. In it you should
find the information on how to send in messages, what topics the list covers, how to
change your mail settings, and most importantly, the rules for the e-mail list.

2) Know that every list doesn’t fit every person. Some lists are really active, with forty
or more messages popping into your inbox each day from them. Others don’t
generate that many posts in a month. Some lists allow social chitchat, some stick
strictly to writing topics in the genre of the list. There are list that are closely
monitored, and others where you are kind of on your own. It’s best to join a few lists,
and then stay with the ones that are a good fit for you.

3) Once you start participating, follow those rules you read in the welcome message.
Also use Internet etiquette, like trimming post when you reply on list, thinking twice
before you type an angry response, using the subject line correctly, placing your
name and e-mail address at the bottom of messages for those who might wish to
answer off list, and taking the time to send a thanks when someone answers a
question you asked.

4) Don’t allow mail volume to overwhelm you. If there are too many messages from a
list you would really hate to leave, try using topic filters if they are offered, or setting
your mail to daily digest, which means you get all of the messages, but they come in
together in groups. You can quickly scan the digest and dump the whole thing if the
subject lines don’t draw your interest. If you are dealing with a tight writing deadline,
you can even change to no mail, or website only mail.

5) Don’t get lost in all of the e-mail from your lists. All of those messages can be as
tempting as a wrapped Christmas present you aren’t supposed to open. It’s too easy
to get lost in your e-mail. The next thing you know hours have gone by and you
haven’t done any writing at all--at least none other than e-mail. If you want to start
off with e-mail before writing, set aside a certain amount of time for handling new
messages. When the time is up, close your e-mail program, disconnect, and get to
work. Some people even find it better to do their writing first. They set a goal on
finishing an article, or writing so many pages on their novel, and then the reward is e-
mail after the goal is reached.

6) Keep things organized. Your inbox can become something worse than that end of
the closet that catches everything that has no place else to go. The key to preventing
this is folders. I have set up a number of folders in my e-mail program. They are
named titles like Freelance Markets, Research, Writing, Ideas, Writing Contests,
Critiques, and Agents. This makes it quick and easy for me to store links or info that I
want to look over later. It also makes it quick and easy to find those messages again.

E-mail lists can be wonderful tools for writers, but learning to use any tool in the
most effective way can take a little time, and a little trial and error. When you find the
right list though, I think you’ll feel it was worth the effort.

Charlotte Dillon

Charlotte Dillon was born in a small town in southern Louisiana, only a couple of hours from New Orleans. As a child, she feared bedtime, when the house would grow still and quiet; when all the lights would be turned out one by one, until her bedroom settled into inky darkness and shadows. There was one sure way not to notice the slow movement that she could swear was near her closet, or the soft breaths that she could almost hear under her bed--make up a tale, a wonderful story to carry her away. Each night, while Charlotte waited for sleep to come, she invented characters, designed worlds, and slipped away from the darkness and her childhood fear.

By the time she began school, reading was a favorite hobby--that and any kind of animal that needed a home. Charlotte devoured books about horses, far away places, long ago days and children brave enough to face any battle and win. She wrote short stories for fun and still made up her tales at bedtime, even when she outgrew her fears.

In high school, a friend handed her a romance novel to read one day. It seemed the perfect kind of book. In romance novels there were always happy endings, the good guys never finished last, and dreams did come true.

Thousands of romance books later, after marriage and babies, Charlotte wrote the first words of a romance story of her very own. Way back then she actually thought you just wrote a manuscript, sent it off to a publisher, and a few months later it was a book on the store shelves. At last count she had a folder full of nine year's worth of rejection letters to prove that greenhorn theory dead wrong! We are talking no need for life-support, don't even waste your time on CPR.

Charlotte still lives in that same little town in Louisiana, one house over from where she grew up. These days she shares her home with her hero husband, two wonderful children, too many spoiled dogs, and what ever wild pet she has taken in at the time -- from fallen baby blue jays to lost baby possums. Even now, she
makes up bedtime tales when she can't rest at night, but at least she has a perfect place to share her adventures -- in her books. She spends her days as a freelance writer, and evenings and weekends working on her tales of heroes, horses, and the kind of romance that dreams are made of.

Visit her at http://www.CharlotteDillon.com

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