Challenging Your Mindset

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Just as I was publishing my blog last week, I was contacted by a writer who was caught up in the Starfish Bay publishing nightmare. So Substack readers got an early heads up.

 

Children’s authors around the world have been caught out by the closure of Starfish Bay Publishing. An Australian news team interviewed some authors caught up in the mess, which is looking very like a scam or pyramid scheme according to one writer who contacted me about it. When the publisher asks you for money, you weren’t expecting to pay, or the contract changes abruptly take a good hard look at the operation. When a publisher fails it is usually the result of money mismanagement. (If you can’t get sound on the link turn on captions)

 

Meanwhile, Frankfurt Book Fair kicked off and everyone was keen to find out what the next hot genres that agents are seeing and editors are buying. Remember Traditional Publishing works on about an eighteen month lead time unless you are a celebrity or are writing a politically explosive book.

 

Spotify announced moves to expand into 180 countries with audiobooks this year. If you thought audiobooks were peaking in sales you haven’t seen anything yet. One writer I follow said that over covid lockdown  her audiobooks sales tanked because no one was commuting. It’s back to normal now and only getting bigger.

 

If you are wondering how to market your audiobooks, check out this great article from narrator Christa Lewis over on The Indie Author Magazine

 

Publishing Perspectives has examined the latest global publishing list and listed the biggest publishing owners on the planet. It’s been another year of consolidation. Are we happy that the bulk of the worlds ideas and thoughts are controlled by so few?

 

Questions are being asked about how and why at the recent Association of American Literary Agents People In Publishing conference, there were panels with agents who have financial stakes in Pangram. And the concerns about the use of this AI detection software used in publishing were not addressed. Andrea Bartz has a pulled together a list of big concerns about Pangrams ability to detect AI use at all. It’s only author careers that are on the line.

 

Jason Chatfield from New York Cartoons wrote an article that had a lot of comment from other cartoonists. The way AI generated artwork is also stealing their signatures, to put on the AI generated slop. Cartoonists are feeling under threat, and many don’t want to post their work online anymore.

 

The Dynamic Duo of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are celebrating eleven years of their great website One Stop For Writers. Where has the time gone? They have a great discount happening over on their website. While you are visiting, trawl around for great resources on all things writing craft related.

 

Becca Syme is the writer go to for all things psychological on how and why writers do the weird things that writers do. She is starting a new article series on why writers have problems selling our work or even just talking about it.

 

Every now and then you see an author having a terrible time because their Amazon KDP account was terminated wrongfully. Dale Evans has the, what to do if that happens to you, article. And the Jeff at amazon email still works. 

 

Donald Maass over at Writer Unboxed has a deep writing craft article on that mountain all writers trip over … the middle. Great reading for ways to tackle the beast.

 

Katie Weiland is continuing her excellent series on character arcs. This week she looks at Negative Character Arcs. These are the trials a character must go through to change. Katie has studied and written about character arcs for years. She even wrote a great book on the subject.

 

In The Craft Section,

Why does my story feel broken- Jaime Buckley- Bookmark

The mirror is not your friend- Sarah Hamer- Bookmark

3 questions to ask when the scene feels off- Kelsey Allagood- Bookmark

10 things to consider when naming characters- Amanda Patterson

When you return to a manuscript after a break- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Personal Brand advice- Jessica Sorentino- Bookmark

Fixing your lead magnet book- Mykyta Chernenko- Bookmark

Does your book blend genres- Hannah Jacobson

Accidentally going viral- Jason  Zackowski

What actually sells books- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

From time to time I come across odd little things in the writing blogosphere that make me stop and think deep thoughts. (I know, who knew?) Today I discovered my nine books. These are books that have made an impact on your life. Of course I could do a different set on a different day or theme them into comfort reads or challenging reads.

This collection comes from books that changed my world view when I was growing up and continue to challenge me with their masterful execution of story and character.

 What would be your nine life changing books?

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Are Writers Conferences Worth The Hassle?

 

 

In Publishing News this week… money, opinions, and craft.

 

As writers and publishers are waiting for the cheques to arrive from the Anthropic settlement, The Authors Guild is calling on the publishers to share the wealth around. 

Many publishers are claiming for out of print books where they have had no correspondence with authors for decades. Is this fair? asks the Guild.

 

Ed Nawotka reports on a study by the Book Industry Study Group on their survey of AI use by publishers. This was the second year the survey was run. As expected, publishers are using more AI, however there is a marked slowdown amongst their employees, causing a clear fault line. Interesting reading.

 

Publishers Weekly has an interview with literary tastemaker, Jordan Moblo. This book influencer’s day job is an IP buyer for Universal. How does he decide what books will make films and TV series?

 

When I attend author events, here in NZ, I often get asked what writers should keep an eye on overseas. Occasionally I send links to publishers and booksellers, interesting ideas I find in research for the weekly roundup. The recent Sharjah Booksellers conference had some interesting ideas that I have passed on to some booksellers.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the recent Babelica conference of independent publishers. The focus this year was bibliodiversity.  Publishers from 60 countries took part and there were six language tracks. The Alliance of Independent Publishers will be celebrating 25 years next year.

 

Mark Williams of the New Publishing Standard wrote another of his strongly worded essays on the London Book Fair. With the recent news of other conferences joining the fair will LBF grow, or get swamped by all the competing players in their space?

 

The Alliance of Independent Author are looking into the 2027 crystal ball and noting the four trends they see sticking around from this year. Their upcoming conference is future focused so this essay is a great lead in.

 

Becca Syme has a great essay on why you can’t find any good workshops at writing conferences. It’s not the conference, it’s you. She deep dives into competence building and how the closer you get to mastery the less you learn at workshops. Fascinating stuff.

 

Ines Johnson writes about why she still goes to conferences… it is all about the networking. How often do you talk to the vendors at the conference? She explains how their insights have improved her business. 

 

Craig Martelle, of 20booksto50K conference and short video writing craft tips fame, recently wrote an interesting essay on writing series books. It should be the reader who determines series length. 

 

Tim Grahl of The Story Grid has an epic 144 writing tips learned over 15 years. He has recorded this in a video. Click on the pinned post under the video to see each time stamped chapter. Make sure you have a large drink and lots of time. A writing conference in miniature.

 

In the Craft Section,

Dialogue Beats- Michelle Barker- Bookmark

Before you publish eBooks- Indie Author Training

Specific characters equal Universal Characters- Tiffany Yates Martin

The Virtuous character doesn’t need to be boring- Vaughn Roycroft- Bookmark

Character misdirection tricks- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What does your swag say?- Amy Reade

2 interesting posts from - Kimberley Grabas-How can authors elevate their brand and

A comprehensive guide on branding using AI- Bookmark

3 keys to running a successful author business-Audrey Hughy- Bookmark

Time savers for serial fiction writers- Simon Jones

 

To Finish

 

As I write this, children’s authors will be packing their bags and heading towards the New Zealand Storylines Hui for Children’s Writers and Illustrators. It is a big commitment in time and money to attend an author conference. You want to go to everything to get your moneys worth. 

Having organized a few of these conferences- The sleepless nights and hair pulling behind the scenes to make sure that attendees do get their money’s worth is also top of mind, along with where is that important thing which I can’t remember the name of… why can’t I find pain killers, and who drank the wine?

It is a juggle to provide a program that informs the newbie and stretches the seasoned professional. Time spent with other authors is important. Nobody understands writers like other writers and some of your best conference takeaways will be outside the sessions, just chatting with other writers. 

If you can’t make an in person conference, check out the Alliance of Independent Authors conference happening in October. There is a great line up of speakers and it’s free.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? 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 Wan San Yip on Unsplash