Excursions

I don’t write a newsletter well. I don’t understand this medium. I have tried it a few times now. The first time, I published it as a links log, sharing links that I found useful. Then I made it personal, a letter about what’s up with me. It could well have been a blog post, every time. A weekly digest of my posts was a good tradeoff between a mindless link log and why-can’t-this-be-blog-post thought. But it felt meaningless.

To be frank, I don’t want to sign up for the added dance around subscribers and their numbers. I like it when I don’t know anything about who reads what I write. Also, I enjoy it when I am not forced to stick to a schedule of any sort. There are periods when I am highly active, writing, and sharing regularly. But then there are times when I don’t.

Newsletter wants to force a schedule onto me. Without a schedule, a newsletter is just another outlet for my blog posts.

I am an instinctive writer, my writing does not have any structure. Or nature. I write about anything and everything that interests me now. Because I read anything and everything that interests me now. My blog serves me best for the form of writing I do. Newsletters work for many — I enjoy reading them. But the form is not a natural fit for me.

So, I am done with my newsletters experiment. Every issue I have published is available on my blog as an essay. I intend on keeping it this way. RSS feed continues to exist.

I have settled onto an easy workflow for publishing newsletters with Micro.blog. Another issue for Excursions Weekly went out today and the editing process was the most frictionless till date. I do wish though that there was an archive of the issues that I could share with the subscribers so that they know what they are signing up for.

Also, unfortunately the issue with the replies bouncing back has still not been fixed. Without that, I have no way to connect with the readers.

The way things stand, the support for newsletter in Micro.blog is extremely bare today. But the workflow remains one that I am most comfortable with. I just wish a few things were different and better.

I published the first issue of the revived Slanting Nib newsletter today where I narrate a personal story of the day when I panicked in the swimming pool, twice, and how it affected my teenage life. As promised in the last issue of the first revision, I intend to keep this the format going ahead. So if you like what you read, please subscribe.

When I published the final issue of my newsletter last week, I had promised I won’t send another letter to anyone, even if they stay subscribed. Even if I continue writing the essays. Here’s what I had said.

I prefer not to break your trust. You had signed up for something which I no longer intend to deliver.

I wanted the reader to provide me explicit permission to mail the essays. Today, I received the first one, with a really wonderful feedback on my writing. I am so glad the message wasn’t lost.

The final issue of my newsletter went out today. It was a wonderful journey writing each of these issues. But all good things have to end some day. I didn’t want to leave the newsletter dangling without tying things up. Today’s letter does that.

I published the 20th issue of my newsletter yesterday. Though I am proud that I have stuck with this hobby of mine, I would also love to get some feedback, some critique. I don’t care about numbers — that’s another reason I have disabled the analytics. But I do love to hear from you.

I have got a few via emails and I have loved each one of them. It has improved each issue.

• If you like something, I would love to read. If you don’t like something, I would love to read that more.
• In case you prefer email, do subscribe. If you prefer RSS, do let me know. There’s that too.

When I began the little side project about ten weeks back, I hadn't set any specific expectations from it. Or from myself. I had an itch, an idea for sharing my interest in everything about writing with other folks who share my passion. I wanted to explore the newsletter as a medium to reach out to other people. It was only natural to bring them together.

I had no idea at that time that more than 2 months down, I would still be pumped to word each issue with care every week.

At the risk of getting cheesy about a random number, the 10th issue of Slanting Nib & A Keyboard newsletter needed a special mention. I paused before publishing the issue in haste in the last week. I hadn't got enough time to work on it. I wasn't happy with what I reviewed as I about to schedule it. So I skipped sharing any issue in the last week. I took the time again and reworded the whole issue. And it is out today.

It features some insightful essays that attempt to decipher and explain the past, present and the future of the complex obscurity that is language. I enjoyed reading each one of them; they made me appreciate the intricacies of human communication. It made me wonder that maybe the languages evolved because we human beings are an intelligent species. However, possibly we evolved into an intelligent species because we had the backing of complex languages. Maybe both.

Anyway, do give it a read online; this one is a special one for me. If what you read interests you, please subscribe. If you are already subscribed and have been enjoying the issues, I will appreciate if you forward them to your friends. And any which way, I would love to hear from you.

I am planning to rework the structure of the newsletter a bit without losing on the core idea. I will share more details as they crystallize in my mind. If you think any aspect is just not working, do let me know. It would help me make some easy decisions.

I recently took a big decision to travel across the state and temporarily settle down into my hometown. Closer to my family and friends. I'm anyway working from home. So it doesn't matter how far away from the office I actually am. It wasn't an easy decision, but a strong desire to break the monotonous routine made it a lot clear. So over the weekend, I and my close family travelled and have begun to settle into a new place.

Consequently, I could hardly find time for everything that was routine for me. One of them is the weekly issue of my newsletter. With just a couple of days in hand, the self-doubt had started clouding my mind, making me question whether I'm on the right track. Should I continue to spend time on publishing the weekly issues? Would I have enough time to curate each issue to make it interesting? Am I failing at another side project? A timely comment from a reader cleared the doubts. And it also gave me the topic for the next issue; I cleaned the slate and started curating it afresh.

In this week's issue of Slanting Nib & A Keyboard, I feature the essays that, in no way, preach how the fear of failure can be, should be overcome. Rather they attempt to persuade that it is all fine to fail. I needed the nudge myself. Each of these essays lent that to me.

Do give it a read online. If what you read interests you, please subscribe. If you are already subscribed and have been enjoying the issues, I will appreciate if you forward them to your friends.

PS: The issue also has a glaring mistake -- so fitting to let the first one (that I know of) slip through in an issue about failing.

Another issue of Slanting Nib & A Keyboard newsletter is out today. It features a few essays from the masters who have, over the years, learned to command the art by confronting each of the factors that drive every writer or a creative mind to satisfaction - inspiration, focus and craft.

I had to delay this issue by an hour as I could not complete my final review in time. It was a race against meeting the deadline and the last-minute call from work made it all the more difficult. I usually find the links that I want to feature way ahead of time. However, I carefully include the comments later to be sure about why I'm including the link as part of the issue. I had to rush through the commentary part today. So, if you find the description slightly incoherent, my planning-gone-wrong is to blame - a learning experience to not trudge too close to the deadline.

Do give it a read online. If what you read interests you, please subscribe. If you are already subscribed and have been enjoying the issues, I will appreciate if you forward them to your friends.

Another issue of Slanting Nib & A Keyboard newsletter is out today. It features a few well-written essays that talk about the partisan debates around the different forms of the books, starting with their evolution over the years, from "the clay tablets to the e-book format". The physical, emotional and psychological effects of eBooks and paper; a love letter to audiobooks. This issue has it all.

Do give it a read online. If what you read interests you, please subscribe. If you are already subscribed and have been enjoying the issues, I will appreciate if you forward them to your friends.