Showing posts with label shannon hale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shannon hale. Show all posts

Thursday, October 18, 2018

It’s all about language...


This week in the publishing blogosphere... I was struck by how many times I was reading important articles about language. 
Language as a weapon against bias.
Language as a priviledge.
Language in education.
Which is better- Short capsules of meaning or long explanatory paragraphs? 

The ability to use language correctly is a touchstone for the writer.

This week Chuck Wendig was fired from his writing job with Marvel and Star Wars. The reason... they had finally discovered he uses colourful language on Twitter. It has nothing to do with the ongoing Twitter rage and abuse felt by a section of the community over Chuck introducing an LBGTQ character in his Star Wars books apparently.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair, Publishing Perspectives interviewed Pieter Swinkel from Kobo about the rise of book serialisation and subscription models in Europe. Are they creating readers? What about binge culture?

Kris Rusch always has an eye to the future and her lengthy time in all facets of publishing gives her the ability to clearly see and articulate what is happening and likely to happen. This week she looks at Barnes and Noble. Are we about to see the end of the chain bookstore model?

The New Publishing Standard is fast becoming a must read. They focus on the global publishing industry and are not UK/US centric. The rise in AI translators has been rapid. This week they report a Chinese language book has been translated by an AI with 95% accuracy. Stop and think of the implications to publishing. (Last weeks blog had a very interesting post on whether translators should be seen as original writers.)

Dave Kudler was thrilled to be referenced in a recent podcast with Dave Chesson and Joanna Penn. He has done some in depth study on keywords. If you are studying or working with keywords and ads for marketing books this article is a must read. It expands some ideas in the podcast which is a must listen/read. 

The fabuous Katie Weiland has a magical post about the power of language to expand and illuminate ideas. How to Cherish Language. This is a fantastic post.

Joanna Penn has a great interview with Bec Evans on how to be a prolific writer. There are some great ideas and tips in this interview.

In The Craft Section,





Creating Villain Motivations- Now Novel- Bookmark


Capturing Complex Emotion- Tamar Sloan- Bookmark


Why does learning writing take so long?- Writers in the storm-Bookmark


In The Marketing Section,


Preorder Strategies- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark


A marketing exercise for critique groups- WomenOnWriting- Bookmark!


What you are doing wrong on Twitter - Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

To Finish,

Shannon Hale is an award winning author of a popular series of books – Princess Academy. Here she writes in the Washington Post about the way books are presented to boys and how we unintentionally stop them from reading with the way we introduce books to them. Are we guilty of unconscious gender bias? Changing the language we use around boys and reading could be the magic trick that encourages life long readers. 

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. 


Thursday, March 8, 2018

Independent Unique Individuals



How often this week have you wondered about the motivations of people?

Shannon Hale is a top notch children’s author. She recently wrote a post on her experiences with school visits where she was introduced as a girls writer. She has some interesting strategies to challenge this opening but she raises an interesting question- Are we unconsciously limiting boys reading due to gender bias?

This week The NY Times launched a new best seller list.Audio. This will be interesting as Audible (owned by Amazon) has 90% of the market and they never share data...

Draft2Digital, ebook aggregator, has introduced a new nifty feature, book formatting for print books. You can use this feature for free.

Nick Stephenson has an interesting blog for Indie publishers. This week he profiled an author who amassed 3000 rabid fans before the book was out by creating the world the book is set in. It is a fascinating story... if you are into world building check it out.

When was the last time you walked into a bookstore? Was it an Indie bookstore? Did you feel the difference? Julie Rosenberg on Writer Unboxed has a post on how important Indie bookstores are becoming.

Penny Sansevieri has written a great post on Amazon ads. If you have wondered about how they work this is the post to read and Bookmark.

Roz Morris has a great post on the five stages of book production and why Indie publishers should follow them in strict order. Not only will it save you heartache it will also save you money!

Anne R Allen has a great post on choosing character names. For me the story doesn’t start until I have the character name sorted. It is so important. If you have ever struggled with getting the right name check this out.

In The Craft Section,


Creating editorial maps- Marcy Kennedy


Writing a perfect first chapter- Writer Unboxed Bookmark

Is your novel premise and no plot?- Janice Hardy- Bookmark


What is a Mary Sue? This is a must read post! TCK publishing- Bookmark


In The Marketing Section,




9 types of pitches for promoting- Joan Stewart - Bookmark

5 unique strategies to market on Goodreads- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

To Finish,

What’s the opposite of a dystopian world... If you said utopian you would be nearly right. There is a new Sci Fi kid on the block... Solar Punk and its mission is to promote an alternative future within reach... oooh Shiny!

Hands up if you’ve stretched today while sitting at your computer.  Here are 5 tips to get that author body moving so you can invent more independent and unique characters.

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you enjoyed this blog you can shout me a coffee by hitting the coffee button up top or share the blog with your writing friends. Thanks
 


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