An audience you can take with you.
Every follower you have on a social platform is rented. An email address is not. It still works when the algorithm changes, when the platform closes, and on the day your next book comes out.
Four things,
then it is yours.
- 01
The publication itself
Named, designed to match your book, with a description that tells a stranger in one line why to subscribe. Free to run, and the account is in your name from the first day.
- 02
A welcome sequence
What arrives the moment somebody subscribes. Most authors leave this empty, which means the most interested reader they will ever have receives nothing at the exact moment they are paying attention.
- 03
A rhythm you can keep
Monthly is a rhythm. Weekly is a job. We will help you choose the one you will still be doing in a year, because an abandoned newsletter is a worse signal than no newsletter.
- 04
Everything else pointing at it
Your site, your author profile, the back of the book, the end of every article. A subscribe box nobody is sent to collects nobody.
Why Substack,
and when not.
Substack is recommended here for one reason above all others: the subscriber list is exportable, in full, at any moment. That makes it a rare platform where building an audience is not the same as lending it to somebody. If you leave, the people come with you.
It also has discovery of its own, through recommendations between publications, which almost no email tool has. For a writer that is a real advantage over a plain mailing list.
When it is the wrong tool
If you have one book and no intention of writing regularly, do not start a newsletter. Put a proper signup on your own site instead, collect the addresses, and write to them twice a year when there is something to say. That is a real strategy, and it is far better than a publication with three posts and a two-year gap.
Strongest for non-fiction
Because the subject continues after the book ends. A memoirist finds this harder and a novelist harder still. For fiction the honest version is that it keeps you in touch with readers between books rather than growing an audience by itself.
What it is not
It is not a shortcut to readers. A newsletter converts attention you already have into a relationship you keep. Getting the attention in the first place is what the rest of the marketing is for.
Set up,
handed over.
- 01
We work out whether you should
Genuinely. For a fair number of authors the answer is a mailing list on their own site instead, and we would rather say that than set up something you abandon.
- 02
It is built and designed
Publication, about page, welcome email, and subscribe points across everything you already have.
- 03
We write the first few with you
The hard part is the first three. After that it is a habit rather than a decision.
- 04
You run it
In your account, under your name, with a list you can export whenever you like. We are not in the middle of it.
Author websites,
running right now.
Click one and scroll it like any other site. Every domain is registered in the author's own name and every mailing list sits in their account, not ours — which is the whole argument for owning the list rather than renting an audience.
What our authors say
On platforms we do not own and cannot edit.
- Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa were brilliant
Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa extremely helpful and talked me through everything. He was also very patient with me.l would certainly recommend you all and have already done so
Gail Simmons - Book publishing and promotion
Jason and David and the team have worked hard to get my second book into the public eye, and have made some really good social media pictures and promotions. "The CPO & The Wren" is now selling on both sides of the Atlantic. Geoffrey Spinks
Mr Geoff Spinks - I can't tell you how amazing it has…
I can't tell you how amazing it has been working with Grand Publishing. From the very beginning, the experience has been outstanding. When I first reached out, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to publish a project I had been working on for quite some time. Jerry gave me a call and patiently walked me through the entire process. He answered all of my questions and genuinely motivated me to move forward with publishing my book. I was then introduced to David Alonso, who became my project manager. He has been fantastic throughout the journey, keeping me updated every step of the way, answering any questions I had, and making the whole process smooth and stress-free. As a first-time author, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're hesitant about publishing, I'd encourage you to speak with the team. If you don't come away from that conversation feeling confident, then I'll have to call myself a liar! Thank you, Grand Publishing, and especially Jerry and David, for making this such a positive and memorable experience.
Booker Odena - Outstanding Service from Grand Publishers
I had a very positive experience working with Grand Publishers. As a new author, I really needed guidance throughout the process, from editing to preparation for publication. David and Jerry, who were incredibly helpful, professional, and supportive, made a significant difference. They took the time to explain each stage clearly and did an amazing job with the marketing, illustrations, and overall development of my book. Their dedication to making the final result as strong as possible was exceptional. I would highly recommend Grand Publishers, especially David and Jerry, who were fantastic to work with.
Juliet - My book, In my happy place.
Some while ago I submitted a raw manuscript to Grand Publishers. Honestly, at first I was cautious about their enthusiasm, in fact I thought it a sales ploy. How wrong I was! The project has been managed by David Alanza, with input from Arthur J Wayne the marketing director. At every stage I have been afforded full control of the artistic direction and have now got a highly polished book that I could never have produced. I'm now in the launch phase and the marketing so far is beyond my wildest dreams. I know that there's much more to come, but wanted to highly recommend anyone with a book that they believe in to listen to and trust Grand. To verify everything I've said, please search Vernon Smith I my happy place and see for yourself.
Vernon Smith - Helpful and professional
Helpful and professional
Elikem Debrah
Newsletter
questions.
No. Most author newsletters are free and should be. Paid subscriptions make sense when you are publishing something substantial on a schedule, which is a commitment worth being honest with yourself about.
You do, and you can export it at any time. That is the main reason we recommend Substack over most alternatives, and it is the question to ask of any platform anybody suggests.
Whatever the book is about, continued. Not updates about the book — nobody subscribes to a progress report. The subject is what people are there for.
Fewer than you would guess. A few hundred people who chose to hear from you is worth more on launch day than several thousand followers who did not.
Where would readers reach you?
If there is no answer to that yet, this is the cheapest thing on the marketing list to fix.