Ramblings about newslettering

[ziasudra]

skuf has an interesting poll here about fandom newsletters. I read the fill-in answers and the anonymous discussion threads with interest, and noticed that a reoccurring "complaint" seems to be newsletters tend to favor toward certain things, be they genres, pairings, or overall bias in reccing.

This got me thinking — and in fact I've had thoughts about newslettering for a long time now (and was great to get to talk about this with other fellow newsletter editors at r_becca's newsletter roundtable at Phoenix Rising) — why do people assume newsletter editors have the time to read every single fandom LJ account in the intarwebs? I'm glad the daily_snitch is not a rec newsletter, because I simply don't have the time to read all the fics that are posted in a day, never mind sifting through them to select recs. But even doing the meta/news/non-fic links alone, each issue takes me hours do compile. I almost always (barring RL busyness) go out of my way to look for links outside of reading my own flist or the Snitch's watcher journal. But I'm just one person, I can't know that someone who posts about RL stuff 99% of the time just happens to post something fannish and linkable today, and oops I missed it but instead linked to posts by "popular" LJers or slashers.

I've said this before, and would probably say it again in the future: if you see something that might be of interest, e-mail the links/recs/suggestions to the appropriate newsletter! Seriously, newsletter editors don't bite. In fact, every single one of them that I've met has been of the nicest group of HP fans I've had the pleasure to get to know.

</rant> (not directed against anyone in particular; in fact, I'm feeling more amused than annoyed)

Comments

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Hooray for you! I edit comicstore_news one day a week - it's an inclusive newsletter, not one with recs, and we link everything that is posted to us except for friendslocked posts. We still get flack for overlooking people and not "giving love" to certain posters!

[ziasudra-fic.livejournal.com]

All-inclusive posts must take so much work! I watch a few all inclusive newsletters and the editors do a great job at scouring everywhere for fics and art for a certain pairing. You all deserve so much love.