Into The Light...

So we had a week of rain then the washing machine breakdown then the beginning of mice season then good news on the friend front and then the sun came out.

There has been heaps of research about how weather affects moods and depression. I know from experience that a week of rainy weather sinks me into the pit of despair. 

There is something wonderful about sunlight. 

Humans must have it. It is hard wired into our DNA. 

So why am I writing about it as the ultimate killer....Hmmmm The strange stuff that gets into a writers brain...tip the world on its head...be mean to your characters...

‘It is all good therapy,’ I said to my friend’s Neuro Psychiatrist ....The more she spoke about how she works to understand a paralysed patients mindset, the more I was thinking... sounds like a children’s writer to me...

So stepping out from the twisted world of ‘what-more-can-I-throw-at-my-main-characters’...and into the light.... What wonderful gems do I have for you this week?

The theme of this week seems to be marketing...

Mediabistro has a great link list 10 Non Traditional ways to promote your book, which they gathered from Amazon  discussion boards.

Tony Eldridge has a 7 week plan to implement when you start out marketing online.

Jon Bard links to a very nifty marketing idea where a writer asks people to come up the title of his book...You get to read part of the manuscript, sub a possible name and....Go Check It Out It’s a cunning plan.

Elisabeth S Craig has a good article looking at Promo Time vs Writing Time. She shares some good tips to make sense of your week.

For those of us still inside the novel making the main characters miserable...

The Bookshelf Muse has been doing a series on the Seven Deadly Sins of Novel Writing...This is a great site to visit especially if you are looking for the Emotion Thesaurus or the Colour Thesaurus or the Weather....

GLA Blog has a guest post from Traci Borum...on Whether Your Novel Has A Hook Or A Gimmick and how to tell...

For those of us in between the marketing and writing, wondering what now in the publishing world...

The Spectacle Blog has a great interview with P J Hoover about how her Literary Agency made the decision to publish her novel instead of waiting for a publishing company. There are some interesting points to think about in this model and the whole project will be talked about at BEA.

Jennifer Laughran (Agent) has a great post on what is in an agency agreement and what you should make sure is in there. This was in response to Kristin Nelsons article on the perpetuity clause which I referred to a few weeks ago.

Laura E Kelly of the Huffington Post has put forward her recommendations for Bookish. 

Bookish is a new (Big 3) publisher initiative website which will feature and promote books. This looks like being a challenge to Amazon. Laura has a great title and hopefully the publishers will listen and take on board 5 Ways Not To Screw Up Bookish!

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

10 Best Books For Writers

5 Ways To Ruin A Good Story

The Breakdown Of The 6 Figure Book Deal

To finish,

Jon Bard and Cory Doctorow have got together to make available, for free, an Ebook featuring Cory’s thoughts and experiences on making all his books free online... His print sales are soaring... 

It’s all about coming into the light from obscurity...

Enjoy,

maureen

Pic,  one of the tunnels on the PA Turnpike cycling trail.

Better Than Gold...

This last week has made me stop and think about friend relationships and how precious they are. 

When one of your friends is fighting for their life in hospital, you do stop and reflect on how much that friendship means to you and why. You do want to know that you have done everything in your power to help and support them because frankly you are not ready to deal with the hole in your life should they not be there.

This thinking leads on to an examination of your own life, (nothing like ICU with all the waiting around with other families facing similar or worse scenarios to get you thinking.) Am I doing what I should be doing with my life?

I have to say Yes. I love researching for this blog. I love all my writer friends. (Online/offline) I love the weird questions we ask each other, the laughter, tears, and shared wine, coffee and agony of waiting on the manuscript outcome.

I want to say Thanks Fifi, for getting me into this blogging game... Thanks all of you for reading and sharing writery thoughts with me via facebook, twitter or commenting or blogging or emailing or ringing me up or seeing me at book events...The value of friends outstrips the value of gold.

So what do I have for my friends today....

For those of you who are looking at independent publishing, How not to publish your print on demand book and How to get your ebook noticed, are great articles to read and get ideas from. Bob Mayer also has a great article on what it takes to succeed...

For those looking at the craft of writing, staring at your latest Manuscript and thinking there must be a better way to tell this...

Larry Brooks has a great article on 3 edgy tips to make your writing more compelling and Jane Friedman has a great article on adding structure to your writing life.

For those friends who have to get their head around self promotion and marketing, Kristen Lamb has a great post on helping you to understand that You are the brand, not the book...and why some marketers get author branding so wrong.

If you are interested, and I am, in what other children’s writers are doing to collectively share the self promotion load have a look at Kidslitauthorsclub. (NB.The FaBo team is about to get underway again soon...)

If you are feeling like a possum caught gazing into the headlights of the publishing change train...mesmerised by the possibilities...Take a look at a new phone app that has you writing and publishing online...from your phone. And there is a great audio interview with Seth Godin on the new face of publishing up on Litopia.

Over on Craicerplus (my Amplify page) I have links to articles on

Publishers Obsessions with IPads Elitist?

Bookstore Events- Hints for Success.

Adverts in Books- Watch This Space...(Ads in ebooks are being discussed...who will get the income? Can the author control the ads?....because it will happen, the publishers are trying to stay afloat by any means.)

Where Are The Male Writers?

E publishing Success - How Do They Do It?

To Finish,

Children’s writer, Neil Gaiman, was called “a pencil necked weasel thief”, this week, by a Republican Senator in the House of Representatives (USA) for accepting a cheque for a speaking engagement of $45,000 last year in Minnesota. 

Anybody who knows about Gaiman’s huge charity work and this event in particular knows the Senator made a very bad call...It is all over the internet...Neil blogged about it this morning in an effort to deflect the press from constantly interrupting him asking for comment.

All the money was donated to charity as Neil always does. The huge speaking fee is an attempt by Neil to stem the massive flood of requests to speak at events...so when an organisation fronts up with the cash...Neil donates it. The Library System in Minnesota had to use the remaining cash in their budget for writers to rural libraries or lose it back to the government and get their budget cut for next year. Neil lives in the area...perfect sense really.

The senators server has crashed...

Moral of the story;

Check your facts and don’t try to bully someone with 1,556,000 followers on Twitter.  

Happy things on the horizon...

Cassandra Clare is visiting Wellington on her Mortal Instruments tour. (Auckland is in for a great treat at the festival.)

My friend may go into a ward soon.

maureen

pic Neil Gaiman's poster for a Parkinson's awareness charity project.