When Yahoo Groups shut down last month, I lost access to The Written Word, a mailing list I’d run for nearly 17 years. The contact information for hundreds of subscribers also disappeared as did my entire archive of past postings.
The concept for The Written Word was simple: email a daily quotation about writing, editing, journalism, poetry or publishing. It was basically the online version of a page-a-day calendar.
On weekends and vacations, I would prep future emails by scouring magazines and reading writing-related websites. I’d buy quotation collections secondhand and fill ’em with sticky notes, marking the pages that offered advice I wanted to share. Whenever I scrolled through social media, I’d save any interesting commentary from experts in the publishing business.
While my goal was to provide a bit of inspiration to aspiring and professional writers, I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that the quotations I shared sometimes helped me too.
As 2020 ended, I considered putting this project behind me. It was only after reading the many old emails I’d saved thanking me for sending the quotes that I decided to continue The Written Word. I may not be able to go out into the world and volunteer in person right now, but I can help others in this small way.
So, I’ve relaunched The Written Word on Tiny Letter. To subscribe, click here. And if you enjoy what you read, share it with others and encourage them to subscribe as well.
