That's right - no emails will actually be sent if there are no subscribers.

In the manage your store section, under email marketing, (which I gather you've explored already) it will show you first how many subscribers you have, then how many emails have been sent out in total. It will (or should) only send out emails to subscribers, but the total does include any you've received yourself.

It will, if applicable, also show you how many sent emails were actually opened.