This week publishers are watching the Maryland State Legislature who have passed a law giving libraries the ability to license eBooks and other digital content for their consumers. Great news for libraries but what about publishers? Amazon does not license books into libraries so this directly affects them. Other states are watching carefully. Meanwhile, Passive Guy put his lawyer hat on and delved into the implications of this law for writers.
I have been mulling over online workshops and meetups that have been such a feature of the 2020’s so far. This week my husband had invitations to three back-to-back international meetings. (All in the middle of the night, our time, after his usual work-day.) If he had attended all of them, he would have put in almost a 24-hour workday. On one hand, the tyranny of distance to attend international meetings has dropped to the distance to your computer Zoom call. On the other, the one-to-one networking and socializing at such an event has disappeared completely. Mark Williams comments on changes in the future for publishing conferences.
A few years ago, I delivered a speech on the changes that will happen in publishing when blockchain becomes more mainstream. A few people listening blinked as it seemed so far in the future that they couldn’t conceive of a time when this would be a thing. This week Joanna Penn spoke to a company that is pioneering publishing on the blockchain. The future is hurtling towards us and we are only about five years away from another infrastructure change. (Think Internet in 1999.) Banks are already dipping their toe into blockchain. If you want to understand how the blockchain will change publishing check out the interview.
Another week, another company launching an audiobook service. The future of audio publishing is gathering pace. Findaway Voices has an interesting article on the trends for authors to watch. Meanwhile, Scribd has launched a subscription service for audiobooks.
Kris Rusch has been doing a Kickstarter for a new book in her Fey series. She writes about the mind shift she has had recently on advances and how Kickstarter is filling this gap.
What if your fans Kickstarted the next book in the series? Like pre-orders with extra bonuses.
Ali Luke has a great post on motivation. Nine powerful ways to motivate yourself to write. If you have been struggling with the muse check out Ali’s tips.
In The Craft Section,
All the sub-genre definitions you didn’t know- Writers Digest
How to rescue a book in danger of dying- Jennie Nash
3 things to think about before you start your book- Lucy Hay- Bookmark
7 plot structures for pantsers- John Peregine
What makes a great villain- Scott McCormick- Bookmark
Grounding your reader- David Farland- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
Author Websites- follow these tips- Frances Caballo- Bookmark
2 posts on Instagram
Instagram Book clubs -SheReads and 8 tips for Instagram Authors- Penny Sansevieri
Sell books in your Amazon bio- Penny Sansevieri
Choosing the best Amazon categories- Jay Artale
8 critical bookselling mistakes- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
How to grow your social media platform- Frances Caballo - Bookmark
To Finish,
As you know, writing your epic novel can be fraught with peril for the unwary novelist. How do you leave out the things that the readers will hate? Anne R Allen has written a great blog post on a recent survey of Readers Pet Peeves. This list of peeves is a writer’s cautionary tale. Are there any peeves you would add to the list?
Maureen
@craicer
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Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – GregWest98
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