When I started my newsletter, it was fortnightly. You probably don’t remember that, though, I had only 100 – 200 subscribers at the time. I decided it was taking too much time out of my life and moved to a monthly schedule.
This worked well, until I got so good at finding articles about the English language that I got overwhelmed. Every month I had to sift through dozens of articles, and the resulting newsletters were far too long.
“If I move back to once every two weeks (we Brits say “fortnightly”), then I won’t have too much content, and it will end up being less work”, I thought, optimistically. I was wrong. It was almost just as much work, just twice as often.
So I am going back to monthly, and I am going to be more picky with the articles that I showcase. I’m also not going to summarise everything any more. Less overwhelming for myself and for my audience.
I am going to continue showcasing as many non-western voices as I can. English is not only owned by Americans and Brits, and it has always been an important value of my newsletter to mark that. This means that that one excellent article you saw in The Guardian or The New York Times might not always make it into the newsletter. Just so you know.
Heddwen Newton is an English teacher and translator. She is fascinated by contemporary English and the way English changes. Her newsletter is English in Progress. 1100 subscribers and growing every day!
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