Searching For A Market

This week in Publishing News,

 

This week Techcrunch published an article on how publishers will be able to opt out of AI searches due to new laws in the UK. The law states that AI search engines must offer a way to opt out, but with everyone using Chat GPT for search now, is that a good thing?

 

The recent US Book show examined the big movers in publishing, AI and Audio. Publishing Perspectives reports on some of the discussions and the importance of data when making decisions.

 

Publisher’s Weekly reports on an Author Guild survey on why author incomes are in decline. It’s all subscriptions fault, and libraries. People are still reading. So how do we get people to pay us for our stories?

 

Reading is a social activity. That’s the latest trend. (I can hear introverts screaming right now.) Publisher’s Weekly reports on a Frankfurt Bookfair virtual event discussing the global trend of reader social engagement that is bypassing publishers.

 

Kobo’s CEO Michael Tamblyn has a feature article on Publishing Perspectives about the office discussions on whether they would publish AI books. As he writes “This AI moment… is revealing a lot about what we believe to be important.” This is an inside look at what publishing companies are wrestling with.

 

If you want to lure a kid into the library, give them Manga. That’s the popular opinion of librarians according to Publishers Weekly who went out and surveyed them. From being very niche, it is now mainstream. It’s all down to librarians who nurtured those weird kids, giving them space to read, and now Manga is for the cool kids. 

 

Mark Williams calls out the hypocrisy from publishers as they publicly bemoan the use of AI while using it in their offices. I have some sympathy for the argument. He rightly calls out the double standard and how people are losing their jobs because of AI. It’s not, our office is more efficient as our staff are using AI tools. It’s our office replacement for staff are AI tools. 

 

Which type of Social Media is best? If you have been struggling with this question the latest article from the Alliance of Independent Authors is for you. Some social media brands work better for different genres. 

 

Alexa Bigwarfe has an interesting article on writing for AI search engines. How Is Your Next Reader Finding You? The Economist is already writing articles just for search engines. She explains about new marketing search and how authors can make their book findable in all the search noise.

 

Rachel Thompson has a great article on marketing. The Absolute Best Time To Market A Book Is Before It Exists. If you are scratching your head over that, you need to read the article. Do you want your readers to remember you?

 

The Indie Author magazine has an interesting interview with Deborah Wilde about the transition from screenwriter to books, navigating the publishing world, and reinventing yourself. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Meeting reader expectations- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Do you know Why?- Kathleen McCleary- Bookmark

How to choose the right character arc- K M Weiland -Bookmark

Writing the best twist- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Interiority vs Visceral reactions-Susan Watts- Indepth article

 

In the Marketing Section,

Sending merch with ARC’s- Sandra Beckwith

A pitch is not a strategy- Kathleen Schmidt

Three leaks that are costing you- Alexa Bigwarfe- Bookmark

10 tips for setting up Direct Sales- Indie Author Mag- Bookmark

Give readers a clear way into your writing- Dan Blank- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The shortlist for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children’s and Young Adults is out. I’ve judged these awards and it’s always a thrill to see what my peers have been up to and how creative our industry is. I’m especially noting how many great books are in the Te Reo section. Ka pai. It’s going to be another tough call picking the winners!

 

I’ve been thinking about the many hats that Writers wear. We can be cheerleaders for others, marketing apprentices with our own products, researchers of obscure things, and the biggest imposter syndrome badge holders. And we write as if we are separate from all those other identities. Recently I read Mark Leslie Lefebvres essay on trying to reconnect the different sides of his author life at Stoker Con. He writes so well about our dual lives and how sometimes one life takes over and crushes the other life. Food for thought. 

May you crush all your writing demons this week!

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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It’s All In The Algorithm

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Over the years when Summer hits the Northern Hemisphere and the publishing world goes on holiday, I have noticed that’s when publishing companies start buying each other. First up this month, Wiley have bought UK based Emerald Publishing group. Ho Hum you might say but close reading of the Publishing Perspectives article points out why they did this deal. Content, and Archive. What would need access to trusted scholarly information across the world?

 

Dan Holloway reports on the recent post from Writer Beware about Indie authors being cut out of AI copyright class actions. The new META case specifically excludes ASIN’s. It’s worth reading the full post from Writer Beware as well as Dan’s commentary.

 

After recently celebrating a win for the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, the beleaguered Institute responsible for funding libraries and museums across the nation is still battling to stay alive. Publisher’s Weekly reports on the ongoing saga to keep information services free.

 

Staying with libraries, Publishers Weekly reports on five public library organisations who are pleading with the big five publishers and digital publishing platforms to overhaul their library prices for books. Publishers have long charged an exorbitant price for a book to be in a library, and they continue that practice with eBooks. The costs have ramped up so much that libraries can’t afford the licensing fees.

 

Publishing Perspectives recently interviewed the editor of Clark’s Publishing Agreements about their latest edition. This is the bible of publisher’s legal departments, as it contains publishing contracts and legal advice as well as information on international agreements. This edition includes AI information for contracts for the first time. An edition comes out every 5 years. With the speed of change at the moment. they may want to speed up their editions.

 

I have heard of duo’s writing books, but when six young adult authors get together to collectively write a book that’s news. Publishers Weekly interviewed one of the authors to find out why and how they did it. 

 

App Sumo has its Deposit Photo deal on at the moment. This does not happen very often so if you need photos for any marketing or book covers etc, jump on this. It’s a lifetime deal for very cheap!

 

Dale Roberts pointed me in the direction of this interesting company. Spoken have just released a turnkey model to do full cast audio recordings. If you are thinking about audio books, check out their press release and pricing. They pay their voice actors and charge by project, so you don’t have to have a subscription. $20 per 5000 finished words is amazing!

 

James Blatch has an in depth essay on metadata and how this is becoming the most important way you can get your book noticed. This is an essay every author should read. Metadata doesn’t have to be put in the too hard basket. Understanding how to use it with the new search algorithms can give every author an advantage.

 

Many moons ago I had fun writing a serial novel with a group of writer friends. They pushed me to write well and ever since I’ve thought about serial novels as a fun flashback to the good old days. However, serial novels are very much alive on various sites. Matty Dalrymple has written a great essay on why she’s about to dip a toe into serial publishing. She also has great tips on how to go about it.

 

Do you remember what it was like to write your first story? How in touch are you with the writer you were then? Mark Leslie Lefebvre has a great essay on The Slow Pilgrimage To Author Success. Don’t forget why you started to write in the first place. 

 

Donald Mass has a great essay on Writer Unboxed about what makes human written fiction human?  In the age of the machines “being able to write” how do you cut across the noise and show human qualities in your fiction? He has a series of qualities to look for with prompts to help you explore your own writing.

 

In The Craft Section,

Sex scenes and curse words- James Scott Bell -Bookmark

Omniscient POV- Anne R Allen

How to write Mythic fiction – KM Weiland- Bookmark

Dealing with backstory- Janice Hardy

How to generate better story Ideas- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Facebook ads- Ines Johnson-Bookmark- (Great series on this subject)

29 whimsical Book promo ideas for July- Sandra Beckwith

Publishing online- Gale Leach- Bookmark 

The tiny detail that ruins a book- Nuria Corbi-(Important info)

Marketing, algorithms, and tropes- Terry Odell- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

There are some meaty topics in this week’s roundup. As I came to summing up the weeks theme, the word algorithm, defined as “a finite sequence of step-by-step instructions or rules designed to perform a specific task, solve a problem, or complete a computation,” got the blog title prize.

Writers need readers. Finding those readers, nurturing them, and hopefully inspiring them to become true fans of your work is the bedrock of your writing career. You can write for one person- yourself, and it’s a bonus if others follow along.  Search is changing, AI has seen to that. Understanding algorithms is now important for writers. How will your readers find you? What do you want from a Book Launch by Alexa Bigwharfe is a great reminder of when to think about your launch plan. Written Word Media’s essay on Building Local Buzz is a timely reminder that you can control the algorithm in your favour.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. Ifyou want the best of my bookmarked links and other tidbits you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

 

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox, subscribe to the free Substack version.

 

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash