Friday, November 27, 2020

All Eyes On The Prize

 


Over the last few months, I have posted the occasional news item about the sale of Simon and Schuster. Sometimes I have seen it as the old stag in the river surrounded by piranhas.

Each piranha wants the stag for themselves and is also trying to avoid being eaten by a bigger piranha. Yesterday I had a news item for you about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp group with their eyes on the prize. Biggest piranha, I thought. This morning Penguin Random House bought Simon and Schuster by outbidding everyone.

They still have to go through regulatory approval because of monopoly, but as they’ve been through this before when they became super big PRH, it looks like a foregone conclusion. 

What this means for everyone? Expect more disappearances of imprints, jobs, and advances.

This isn’t over yet with speculation that Murdoch could come back and outbid the $2.2 Billion offer. The prospect of a publishing duopoly is worrying for many in the industry. Already The Atlantic magazine is sounding an alarm about the industry’s future.

Meanwhile, there is speculation as to what their new name will be. Someone suggested going back to Random House as they keep buying random publishing houses.

 

This week I listened to Joanna Penn talking with Holly Worton on business mindset and author career. The interview is fascinating. However, the before interview is just as meaty with Joanna talking about attending the Future Book conference, virtually. This conference is aimed at Traditional publishers and Joanna talks about how far in advance of them Indie publishers are in terms of mindset and practice. Mind-Blowing! (You can only hear the beginning 20 minutes if you listen to the podcast.)

 

A few weeks ago I highlighted the practice of Audible encouraging customers to exchange their audiobooks for another when they had finished listening to them which meant that the author, narrators missed out on the sale even though their content was consumed. (The word I used was despicable – that was me being polite.) The backlash, protests, petitions, worked and Audible issued a statement yesterday saying they would no longer encourage this… and that they would only allow returns up to 7 days. However, it won’t be effective immediately so don’t count on audiobook earnings as a Christmas present.

 

Recently, Global English Editing shared an infographic of the world's reading habits in 2020. It’s an interesting snapshot into who and what is being read around the world.

 

Hugh Howey was interviewed by Publishers Weekly about his deal with Houghton Mifflin to bring out the Wool series again. This is the trilogy that keeps on giving. Read the interview to see how Hugh straddles the best of both Indie and Trad publishing with this deal.

 

In New Zealand, one of our Indie authors had an article published recently about bucking the trend of the out of pocket writer. This is a great spotlight on our success stories who are quietly going about the business.

 

In The Craft Section,

A three step plan for getting back into your manuscript- Janice Hardy


Busting 3 myths of the inciting incident- Ane Mulligan


Character motivation- Jerry Jenkins- Bookmark


5 Random ways to trim your manuscript- Kathryn Craft- Bookmark


How stakes set up expectations- September Fawkes- Bookmark


What should I write about- Now Novel- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Virtual Book Tour Strategies- Leila Hirschfeld- Bookmark


How to promote consistantly and Festive Book Marketing- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark Both


Finding competing book titles- Penny Sansevieri


5 quick and easy ways to use book reviews


Promoting your book on a shoestring budget- Hayley Zelda

 

To Finish,

It’s the last week of NaNoWriMo and also the holiday of Thanksgiving.

Tonight I launched 3 books in my Circus Quest series with a small party at the children’s bookshop. I decided that I needed to mark 2020 with an acknowledgment that it’s been a tough one for writers and that we have still produced good work, despite the challenges.

So custard pies, candyfloss, cake, wine, and a clown were the order of the day. (and juggling lessons.)

Paula Munier wrote recently about writers keeping a gratitude journal. It’s a good idea. I was pleased to have writer friends and family who I hold deep gratitude for, sharing the wine and the gossip and the pina colada candyfloss.


Maureen

@craicer

 

P.S. This is the last week for Storybundle writing craft books. Scour the online Black Friday deals for Writers- AppSumo have some amazing deals at the moment.

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter so if you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here. (You will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you.) 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Robert Nunnally 

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Profit and Loss


 

In publishing news this week

A case of a big company crushing the writer… Disney asserts that when they purchased the rights to a contract they did not purchase the obligations and they want a non-disclosure agreement before they even talk about it. The Science Fiction Writers Association is rightly concerned (angry/vitriolic.) Disney can profit off Alan Dean Foster's work and not pay him? How many other writers are in this position? This discussion is taking over the writer internet today with many writers calling Disney out on it.


Draft To Digital has introduced a welcome change to their services. They are now offering payment splitting. If you have collaborated with other authors on a book or a boxset they can split the royalties now. 


The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is moving its dates in 2021 following London Book Fair’s announcement last week. Bologna will now be in June and will be bigger than ever with a new parallel programme running alongside.


Are you guilty of using violent imagery when you don’t need to? Michael Gallant has an article on the Bookbaby blog about the prevalence of violent imagery in words and when to use it appropriately.


How can you tell if you are growing as a writer? K M Weiland has a great article on how you can tell if you are spinning your wheels or reaching for new heights.


Kristine Rusch has written another interesting blog on what she sees is the Train Wreck of Trade Publishing at the moment. She is responding to Mike Shatzkin’s October blog post The end of the General Trade Publishing Concept. Mike comments on where trade publishers are getting their money now and how they see the titles they acquire. Kris points out that when a publishing guru like Mike finally sees the handwriting on the wall it’s almost too late for the industry to learn and change.


September Fawkes is always an interesting read. Here she unpicks Arrogance vs Confidence and Humility vs Self Depreciation


In The Craft Section,

How to continue writing when you get stuck- Novelize - Bookmark


7 plot structures for pantsers- John Peragine- Bookmark


How to start your synopsis- Becca Puglisi


The charm of the large word in the right place - Mathina Calliope- Bookmark


Creating a Storyworld- SlapHappy Larry



In The Marketing Section,

How to set up a sponsored product ad- Dave Chesson


Starting from Zero- Joanna Penn interviewing David Gaughran- Bookmark


Using video marketing and why it’s important- Frances Caballo


Marketing a new book - Bookbub- BOOKMARK


4 easy SEO tips for writers- Ivelisse Rodriguez


How to make free 3d mockups of your book- Bookmark



To Finish,

As the publishing world changes and the pandemic hits all the events you might have gone to… authors and booksellers are having to get creative with their marketing. Lisa Tener interviews some of the team behind A Mighty Blaze-  a social media community for authors and readers on how to virtually market the book.

It has to make a profit for someone...


Maureen

@craicer


Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Jonathan Harford



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