Now for the FAQs (pronounced “fah-kyoos” – char):
What is Unsent Letters?
Unsent Letters was created by yours truly, Shakira Sison (some troublemaker based in NYC), as a writing project focused on unsent letters. I began accepting submissions within days of starting this account because I knew that there were others who also had unspoken sentiments. My hunch was correct, and if you’re signed up for this newsletter and have been following its buzz on #UnsentLetters, then you know that in the past month hundreds of people have sent over their unsent letters for me to share. You get them in your inbox daily.
The subscription is free. You only need to sign up here. I am a one-person show doing this for fun and advocacy along with my other writing and online engagements, in addition to a full-time job and a busy personal life. So please be patient. Mahina po ang kalaban. Mag-isa lang ako at ang dami ninyo. 🙂
Subscriber limit
Because the subscription is free, I gain nothing from this newsletter and have to depend on free services like TinyLetter to keep this operational. There is a 2,000 subscriber limit for TL, and I am currently at 1,040. I expect that the second thousand will sign up and fill the cap within the next month or so. After that, I can try to request that my limit be increased, but I can’t promise anything. Which brings me to this:
If you don’t like UnsentLetters, or find that it’s too much spam for your inbox, please unsubscribe to let others have access to the newsletter. Decreasing the number of subscribers also increases the number of letters I am able to send to the list.
Sending limit
I’ve requested that TinyLetter increase my sending limit and they’ve graciously doubled it to accommodate my needs. But an 80,000 email limit will only be enough to send 1,000 subscribers 80 emails per month, which makes that a little over 2 emails per day, not including previous letters. The number of submissions is also increasing and unfortunately I am not able to post all of them because of this cap.
My point is this: Unless you’d like to fund this endeavor, please understand its constraints. If it’s pissing you off, just unsubscribe. I won’t be offended!
I’m signed up, but why am I not getting my TinyLetters?
Check your spam/junk folders please. TinyLetters are notorious for landing there from time to time.
Previous letters / online archive
There is no complete online archive for Unsent Letters. Some of you have suggested that I create a Tumblr for Unsent Letters. That’s an interesting proposition but right now I feel that it takes away from the essence of this project, which is the sending and receiving of letters. There is a certain kind of thrill upon receiving these letters in one’s inbox, and it is one that cannot be replicated by visiting a Tumblr or other site. It just defeats the purpose.
Because of the sending limit mentioned above, I’m not able to send previous letters often. It’s not possible to send emails to one subscriber at a time, only to the whole list (or those who haven’t received a particular letter yet). At a current list of over a thousand subscribers, sending previous posts severely cuts into my sending limit and the number of new letters I am able to send out. I will try to send previous letters out as often as I can. Otherwise, you could just make friends with people in the #UnsentLetters thread and ask them to send previous letters to you. You might just meet someone. 🙂
Submissions
UnsentLetters accepts submissions of original work in English or Filipino. Submission guidelines are in the bottom of each email you receive from me. Because of the constraints mentioned above, I won’t be able to post every single submission. I also won’t post anything that is hateful, bullying, threatening, or has excessive use of expletives. We’re here to share love (and heartache), not to stoke fires. Thanks for your understanding.
Will there be a book?
Perhaps. Tell your favorite publisher to contact me. 🙂