My Daily Ulysses
Posted by: Lynne in E-mail Marketing, tags: DailyLit, E-mail Marketing, Iliad, James Joyce, Odysseus, Odyssey, UlyssesTo keep my niece entertained during long car rides, I tell her the story of Odysseus (also known as Ulysses). If you start with the Iliad, which I do because it was Odysseus’ idea to build the Trojan Horse after all, and then move onto the Odyssey, you can pleasurably fill quite a lot of time. So she’s 6 years old. Can you ever be too young for Homer?
Well, there’s another Ulysses I was hoping to conquer. This one was written by James Joyce. I have begun subscribing to an e-mail service that provides excerpts of books. It is from DailyLit. I tried it on a lark and am enjoying the brief but intense dose of literature in my inbox each weekday. That is, once I get over the dread and open the e-mail. I loved Dubliners so why the dread of Ulysses? It certainly has a reputation for being difficult but that is partly why the e-mails are perfect for me. I can savor the book in small doses and read them when I have the time and focus needed. Further, seeing them in my inbox each day encourages me to read them.
The e-mails from DailyLit are what e-mails should be — relevant, timely and meaningful to the recipient. In this case, I selected the book from a myriad of choices and set the frequency. My choices were daily, weekdays or Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Further, I was able to schedule the time of the e-mail or RSS feed. Other e-mail senders can learn from the customer preferences provided by DailyLit.
Book Vending Machine © Craig Alexander
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This is a bit off-topic from your original post, but I’m wondering about the experience of reading something like Ulysses in email sized chunks. I find it challenging to read fiction in bits & pieces - I tend to gulp down a novel in a week or less, otherwise I feel like I don’t really develop relationships with the characters; it doesn’t sustain from reading session to reading session. I haven’t read Ulysses, but I did go through Portrait of the Artist in a couple of days (this was back when I was in high school and could spent 5 or 6 hours at a stretch inside a novel, what a luxury!)
Of course, many of the novels I read in this manner were originally published in serial form, so clearly there’s a history of keeping the memory of the characters alive over time. Do you find it difficult to keep up with Steven and his day when you’re reading it in smaller chunks?
Jenny, I find the e-mail sized bites of Ulysses are helpful for me. First, I am rather daunted by reading one of the most important novels of the 20th Century. Second, the e-mail sized bites force me to savor the text and consider how Ulysses relates to the Odyssey. That said, I would not want this format for every book. I couldn’t abide receiving such small missives of Pride & Prejudice or Middlesex, both books I could not put down. My advice is to try it and see how you like it.
I will definitely check out this site. What’s their revenue model? Assume only works out of copyright are available free? How do they choose the breakpoints between episodes? Still, an interesting idea and you are right to applaud their provision of several options for receipt of the material - all too often we are offered only the option to receive email from a company - only at their chosen frequency rather than ours. Of course, such choice in the context of an ad campaign may be somewhat counterproductive!
Craig, I had the same question about their revenue model. They offer some titles on a pay-per-read basis. In addition, publishers can sponsor titles (instead of having readers pay for them). I am assuming that other subscribers and/or sponsors are subsidizing my free installments of Ulysses.
Regarding the breakpoints, the installments are typically around 1,000 words. I have read that subscribers can adjust the length of each installment but I haven’t tried it yet.
[...] to determine the frequency, content and even form of communication. DailyLit is a great example I wrote about. DailyLit allows subscribers to choose the amount of text they receive, the [...]