Writers are encouraged to be voracious readers, but I don’t think the original intent of that advice was to read email lists. I’m subscribed to 22 email lists (as of today) and several of those lists generate over 50 messages per day. Now who has time—really—to read all that chatter?
The key thing should be to evaluate each list and determine it’s “cost-benefit” rating.
- How will it benefit my writing craft?
- How will it benefit my writing career?
- Is it a resource that I need for my current WIP? Can I find the information elsewhere?
Just answering those questions makes going no mail an easy decision on more than half of my lists. I can even put my resource lists on no mail until I actually need to ask questions or do research. (Getting organized for research is grist for another post.) That just leaves the announcement lists (sporadic posts), and my RWA chapter lists. Hurrah!! There’s hope for me yet. 
Tags: Writing