Today my Twitter and Facebook feeds went a little nuts with
the announcement from Amazon that they have a cool new publishing tool for kids writers.
The first comment I saw on Twitter was from Laura Hazard
Owen.
KDP Kids = Get ready to see some really, really bad art
— Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) September 3, 2014
I took a look at what they were offering and thought hmm 650MB not a big
file and what about the illustrators? Amazon does not do Royalty splits. Yet.
Recently Hugh Howey wrote a list of Stuff I Want To Know
where he calls out to Amazon for answers.
Bundling and royalty splits were on the list.
Also getting comments on Twitter, Mike Shatskin's article on
Author Branding and Marketing, are the authors responsible or the publishers?
Book Apps seem to be a hot topic with a comprehensive How To Use Authorly at The BookDesigner site.
HarperCollins UK has put a stake in the ground and is selling ebooks from its own website. This has raised eyebrows for ‘why has it taken
them so long...’ and is a direct nose thumb to the ZON. Among the comments is
this little gem where HC state that their authors will get a much higher royalty from them than Amazon.
Jim Hines is a funny writer for kids but his two articles
this week deal with serious topics. The first, Writer Despair, had a host of
writers nodding their heads. The second on the outrage he feels for the
justifications used by idiots that viewed hacked pictures this week. This rant is one of the most succinct call outs I have read. Brilliant.
On the subject of call outs... A serial plagiarist has been caught out. This is a sobering read and a timely one. It was so easy for her to
do this... Be Warned!
And on that subject Porter Anderson has been examining Author Ethics. Jane Steen has proposed 8 ethics for self published writers...
but may be they need to be taken further.
In the Craft Section,
Larry Brooks on the 6 epiphanies that great writers have
The Plot Whisperer has a tip for that sagging middle
In the Marketing Section,
Joanna Penn has gathered all her translations advice into ahandy list
Susan Kaye Quinn on using the new Amazon preorder buttons effectively. Great post!
To Finish,
I use Twitter for research... it is a very good tool.
Editors occasionally play the #MSWL game where they post on Twitter what they
would like to see. Today was one of those days. It is always interesting (just
put #MSWL in the Twitter search bar) and now there is a nifty website to go with it.
Chuck has a note of caution to writers who blindly try to follow the
trends - don’t write what they want, Chuck exhorts, Write What You Love!
maureen
maureen
