For some decades now, it’s fair to assume the vast majority of people have rarely received paper mail they look forward to opening. As the internet grew, paper mail declined, falling by 46 percent between 2008 and 2023, according to the United States Postal Service. These days, our mailboxes are most often filled with junk: fast food coupons, consult offers from local businesses, religious solicitations, and political mailers. Beyond the brown boxes we order, the crowdfunding campaign packages that arrive, and the occasional holiday greeting card, there seem to be few surprises waiting for us, and even fewer reasons to get excited about the march to the mailbox.
That might be about to change.
Reviving Literature Through Letters: The Return of Epistolary Stories
Standing on the horizon, a few authors and their companies are heralding a new dawn of storytelling. This new format hearkens back to times when people could be excited not only to check the mail but also to actually read the letters they received—and two authors with ties to Indie Author Magazine have seen firsthand how rapidly it’s growing in popularity.
A Storytelling Revolution? Meet the Creators behind ScareMail
David Viergutz, an IAM staff writer, started brainstorming an idea over the course of two weeks in the summer of 2024. Inspired by the music industry and Taylor Swift tickets, he asked himself, “If she can sell a $500 item, why can’t I?”
To this Horror author, the answer was buried within one critical, deeper question: “How can I cultivate an experience for my fans?” he asked.
After chewing on the question for a while and brainstorming ways to offer a more immersive experience for readers, Viergutz spotted his mailbox. “There’s nothing in there for me,” he says. That’s when the final pieces of the idea for ScareMail clicked into place. “Well, how about I fix that problem?” he said to himself.
Whether you call it a revolution or a time warp, the epistolary movement—stories told through a series of physical letters sent directly to readers’ homes—goes against the grain of typical fiction publishing models. An epistolary is a story told in the medium of letters, and notable examples include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker. But this format isn’t limited to Horror. Other famous examples include The Color Purple by Alice Walker, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and The Martian by Andy Weir. Rather than writing massive epic novels that can cost a fortune to print and ship, authors deliver short-form fiction to readers in an epistolary style.
“This is not a novel,” Viergutz insists. “This is an epistolary.” For most writers, this may require stretching and exercising the creative brain in new ways. “You have to be clever,” he says, and you have to be able to keep the readers hooked with good writing that makes it clear why this story has to be told through letters.
But for those willing to take the risk, like Viergutz, it might prove life-changing. Viergutz started preorders for ScareMail in August 2024 with a list of thirty-thousand-plus subscribers, unsure if book readers would be interested in letter-format storytelling. Viergutz planned carefully, preparing refund contingencies if interest was inadequate.
Yet ScareMail proved to be a bigger hit than he ever anticipated. On the first day alone, two hundred subscribers ordered the first season of ScareMail. These early successes not only enabled Viergutz to leave his previous job, but soon afterward, he brought his wife and expanded the business significantly. “Within four months, I built the company to eleven employees, two assistants, a warehouse trailer, and $1.3 million in revenue,” he says.
Mailing a Mystery: Cozy Letters from Alice Briggs
Alice Briggs, a co-founder of IAM, says the epistolary idea came to her years ago, but she initially dismissed it. Laughing, she recalls initially thinking, “That’s kind of weird.”
Briggs was originally focused on a cozy paranormal story featuring a protagonist journeying through the UK. She envisioned the narrative unfolding via letters but delayed exploring the idea further until Viergutz proved the viability of the concept. Encouraged, she launched a successful Kickstarter for Annily’s Letters, an epistolary series she then made available as an evergreen offering through her Shopify store.
Handling with Care: The Practicalities of Epistolary Fiction
From idea to fulfillment, delivering an epistolary story requires meticulous attention and careful, dedicated work. Outlining is key, both authors emphasize; this is not an endeavor to “write into the dark.” Alongside storytelling, authors must ensure each letter deepens reader engagement. Viergutz highlights the operational complexity: sourcing paper, envelopes, and printers—even initially modest operations benefit from careful logistical planning. Eventually growing into industrial-scale printing, he suggests hiring additional creative contributors such as artists and voice actors to elevate reader engagement.
For Briggs’s smaller operation, she manages more processes directly, including the production, folding, packaging, and even original artwork, combining writing and visual artistry in each letter.
Is Epistolary Entrepreneurship Right for You?
Undertaking a stories-by-mail endeavor is clearly not suited to every writer.
“If you don’t like long-term commitments, then definitely don’t do this,” Briggs advises. “Every time someone purchases something, I’m stuck doing this for six more months. There’s a high commitment on your part.” Briggs, like Viergutz, underscores the complexity and continuous effort epistolary storytelling demands. Viergutz urges a mindset shift to entrepreneurship rather than traditional novel writing: “How long are you willing to read business books and study the market, try new things, devote yourself obsessively to something that consumes you?” he challenges.
This format involves numerous moving parts, long-term commitments, and at least intermediate marketing skills. For authors who prefer simply writing and selling books traditionally, stories-by-mail may be a mere distraction. However, for those deeply fascinated by unique reader engagement and comfortable with managing complex, long-term fulfillment projects, it could be exactly the entrepreneurial challenge you’ve been seeking.
Until we chat again …
Yours truly,
Audrey Hughey
Audrey Hughey designs planners, writes fiction, and works diligently to help her fellow authors. Although she currently writes horror and thrillers, she’s as eclectic in her writing tastes as in her reading. When she’s not submerged in the worlds of fiction and nonfiction, she’s caring for her family, enjoying nature, or finding more ways to bring a little more light into the world.
