The meta-letter | January 2025
Dear friend,
Alas, I have surrendered to the siren’s call and started an author newsletter. But I have my reasons.
January 2025 marks the start of my debut year. BLACK SALT QUEEN comes out in (gasp!) less than five months.
As excited as I am for pub day, looking at my agenda for 2025 never fails to give me a jump scare. But each time I look back, I get emotional, thinking about how much my life has changed since last January.
Here’s what happened over the past 12 months.
I got married to my partner of eight years (and counting). Wedding planning stressed me out for months, but in the end, it was one of the most magical days ever.
After being on sub for over a year, I sold my debut novel to Bindery / Violetear Books. My experience at this growing publishing house has been nothing short of extraordinary.
I moved around a lot and had a number of unforgettable experiences, including the Paris 2024 Olympics and my honeymoon in Tanzania.
In short, 2024 was one of the most intense years of my life. Through all the highs and lows, I know I’ve been luckier than most. This letter is also a reminder to myself never to take any moment for granted.
✏️ Authorly musings:
This edition of The Letterbox is, indeed, a newsletter about newsletters.
Like many authors, I was on the fence about starting an author newsletter (lord, just let me write). But then, also like many authors, I started to experience social media fatigue. And, for once, I wanted to create content without subjecting it to a nebulous, almighty algorithm.
Full disclosure: I work for an email marketing company as my day job, so I’ve come to know a thing or two about newsletters. Maybe, one day, I’ll come up with a more comprehensive guide on how to go about actually creating an author newsletter.
Until then, here’s what you can expect from mine.
My thoughts on being an author, writing craft, and various bookish opinions.
Roundups of the media I’m consuming, such as the progress I’m making on my TBR and my latest TV binge.
Occasional life updates, include the brief travel log and other, more random musings.
💌 What I’m loving lately:
Dune: Prophecy. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of Dune, but this show really checked all the boxes for me. Stunning visuals? ✅ Political scheming? ✅✅ Morally gray female characters? ✅✅✅
Storygraph. I’ve been a Storygraph girlie for a couple years now, and their product never fails to impress me. I’m loving their new features, and their monthly / yearly wrap-ups keep getting better.
Buttondown. I shopped around a lot when deciding on a newsletter platform. No one is paying me to say this, but I’m super pleased with where I ended up. Buttondown’s writing experience is top-tier, and the marketing copy is refreshingly human (as a marketer, this is something I always appreciate).
🔗 Links: (because it wouldn’t be a newsletter without a few CTAs)
Add BLACK SALT QUEEN to your TBR on Storygraph and Goodreads.
Preorder BLACK SALT QUEEN via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold!
All my love,
S.B.
samanthabansil.com | @sam_bansil