Caution: Look Carefully At The Message.

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Frankfurt Bookfair wrapped up and everyone is slowly trickling back to their offices in publishing land. Publishers Weekly has a rundown of the gossip, the political brickbats, the changes coming to the fair to make it more public facing, much to some publishers’ dismay. I think there will be a lot of water cooler conversations about the fair, especially the stats of more than 50% of European readers not reading more than one book a year, and the American ambassador feeling attacked because the German minister said AI was digital colonization. 

 

While AI might have been the subject of fiery speeches at Frankfurt there was a survey done that asked how many publishers were using AI. Some were but many aren’t for various reasons, reports Publishing Perspectives. It sounds like many publishers are dipping the tip of their little toe in the water, seeing which way the rest of the publishing world is going, and still making up their mind.

 

Nielsen released a report at Frankfurt showing which territories were having a growth moment. More than half but some were going backward rather than staying the same. Nielsen reported than NZ was locked in price discounting which stifled growth. (I wonder where those cheap books are?) 

 

Publishers Weekly reported who the top trade publishers are in 2025. Thompson Reuters took over pole position. It is interesting how Amazon, possibly the worlds biggest bookstore, isn’t on the list.

 

Barnes and Noble have got a new library distribution eco system sorted out. This is to try to fill the gap left by the collapse of Barker and Taylor. They are the latest in a stream of book distributors and publishers hoping to help libraries part with their meager funding. 

 

Meanwhile, in a glimpse into the future, Thomas Umsteddt reports that Walmart are making buy links directly into Chat GPT. Watch for this to be quickly adopted by Amazon. Thomas also talks about the changes to the Amazon algorithm now rewarding readers from outside the ecosystem coming to buy your books. Amazon ads are slowing down.

 

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has a post on the Army of Bots taking over the publishing scams. She has examples and screenshots of what to look for. As ever, if you see a newbie talking about the great offer they got – gently point out that publishers don’t randomly email you out of the blue to offer publishing contracts.

 

Chad Allen writes on Jane Friedman’s blog about Why Your Book Isn’t Enough and Why that’s Good News. This is an interesting article on platform. Could you engage more with your audience?

 

Insecure Writer Support Group have an interesting post on Fair Use. What is it and when can you use it? This is a good reminder that lawsuits follow when you take someone’s work without getting permission.

 

The Creative Law Centre has a good post on Author Estate planning. Protecting Your Legacy Beyond The Page.

 

Hank Quense has an interesting post of Elizabeth Spann Craig’s blog warning beginning writers not to use AI. This is sound advice. How can you know if AI is writing anything good? How will you learn to tell the difference? September Fawkes is also cautioning writers about over reliance on Beat Sheets. Yes they teach structure but sometimes they get in the way of the story. This is an excellent article from a great writing teacher.

 

James Scott Bell is starting a new project and he looks at the process of getting ready and when the big grind points will hit. If you are thinking about having a go at Novel November (NovNov) this is a good primer.

 

Katie Weiland has an excellent article on the midpoint which had me thinking about my own characters and where their mirror moment is. A good excuse to dive back in and see if I have really nailed that essential bit of the story down.

 

In The Craft Section,

Strengthening your prose through direct language- Elizabeth Spann Craig

Working with relationship driven scenes- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Clean 1 draft fiction Dean Wesley Smith- Bookmark

Coach your characters- Jackie Alcalde Marr- Bookmark

You keep using that word- On profanity- Tiffany Yates Martin

 

In The Marketing Section,

On Amazon verified reviews- Sandra Beckwith

Branding by standing out- Podcast with Joanna Penn and Steve Brock- Bookmark

Free reads- new service from Bookbub

Creative book launches- Bookbub – Bookmark

How Netgalley makes your book stand out- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

This week I dropped into the Alliance of Independent Authors free conference on New Trends in publishing. These mini online conferences are excellent. My hand cramped writing notes. It is so good for those of us in opposite time zones to be able to access replays. Sadly, the two day grace period to watch the replays disappeared very fast. If you are hunting down information online about writing conferences check out YouTube. The 20books to 50k conference sessions are still up. Author Nation who have taken over the big 20 books conferences have a video podcast now. Draft2 Digital has an excellent series on Print or you can go down the Brandon Sanderson’s Writing University rabbit hole. 

If you want to grab writing craft books don’t forget to check out Storybundle’s collection, a win win win for the book authors, writers, and a charity. All this is great prep for Novel November (NovNov) coming soon. 

 

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.

 

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Hunting Down Information

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

Frankfurt Bookfair is on. This Bookfair, the largest in the western hemisphere, dominates the publishing calendar. Publishing Perspectives has a run down on the issues talked about on day one of the fair. 

 

Publishers Weekly reports that libraries are hunting for partners to fill the distribution gap left by the collapse of Baker and Taylor. Ingram Content group are ramping up to offer services, but Amazon is ahead of them having quietly designed an eco system just for libraries. The library dollar is still relevant and with limited funds libraries are going to be looking for as many extras as they can get.

 

Dan Holloway of the Alliance of Independent Authors has a post on the Spotify and Chat GPT integration and the how this might play out for authors. He also explores the dangers of the new AI video app, Sora which is threatening the content creators on YouTube.  

Dan Blank uses the Sora controversy to wonder if we should all ditch social media. He explains that social media is only worth it if you are intentional with its use. How are you showing your human side?

 

Publishers Weekly has an up beat post on comic books. They are having a moment, where new readers are discovering them and sales are going up. I wonder if this is a follow on from all those graphic novels that were being launched at young readers in the last decade. 

 

The Guardian reports on a new venture – a certified organic and AI free stamp for literature, to help readers identify books created by real authors. The team behind this has plans to expand beyond the UK. They have a following amongst independent publishers.

 

Sandra Beckwith has an interview with Tal Kilim, who has launched Booksnout an innovative approach to storytelling using crowd sourcing. Does this approach sound familiar? Hopefully they have learned from the Unbound debacle earlier in the year.

 

Manda Comisari writes on Jane Friedman’s blog about the divide between art and business. Good Intentions Aren’t Enough in Publishing Deals: How Creators Can Protect Themselves. 

 

James Scott Bell always writes an entertaining article on the writing business. This week he looks at advice he would give if you are hunting a traditional publishing deal. He references Nathan Bransford’s publishing submission bill of rights, one clause is the timely response to submissions. Many writers are left in limbo over never hearing about a submission. It leaves a sour and discouraging taste about the industry.

 

Kathleen Schmidt is wondering where the big fall book is? Twice a year- Northern hemisphere Spring and Autumn, the publishing industry releases their big books. These are the ones with the marketing dollars behind them. This year the Fall books are very quiet. Why?

 

Penny Sansevieri reports that some authors are getting locked out of their Amazon Central pages. She has some tips to help you get back in and why you should be using these pages in your marketing.

 

Katie Weiland has a collection of great writing craft books. She has been updating them this year and has now updated her popular workbook on Structuring Your Novel. She is launching her second edition with a nifty giveaway.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to edit someone’s work- Sarah Hamer- Bookmark

Morning pages- tips- Gabriela Pereira

Writing using good speech guidelines-Barbara Probst- Bookmark

Creativity in Brevity- Jim Dempsey- Bookmark

The secret weapon behind character arcs- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Selling books direct- Kindlepreneur

Standing out in a crowded market – Podcast with Joanna Penn and Steve Brock

Pinterest for authors- Bookbub- Bookmark

The best social media channels for different types of books – Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

How to build an email list before the book launch- Thomas Umstaddt- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Recently, I had a phone conversation with a family member and we started talking about dicey parts of the world and what was happening. Then I thought about what if our phone conversation was being monitored so I stopped and addressed whoever might be listening that this was an innocent phone call. Sue Coletta this week addressed the same problem that thriller writers have. Do FBI profilers mistake writers for serial killers. 

It can be tricky out there in writer search history land. I’m glad I write children’s science fiction. 

 

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.

 

 

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Shopping for Knowledge

 

In Publishing News this week.

In a surprise move, as everyone thought the Baker and Taylor Distributors had a buyer, B and T shut the door and fired everyone. Publishers Weekly reports that this leaves B and T workers, small publishers and libraries completely in the cold with no sign of redress.

 

Fox Entertainment and HarperCollins have decided to work together. They have signed a first look deal. Fox gets to develop Avon romances and HarperCollins gets to write books on Fox studio properties. If you can’t beat Netflix – Do what Netflix does… all the way to the bank.

 

If you are a subscriber to the Substack version of the blog you will have already seen the breaking news about the new searchable database for the Anthropic settlement last week. Darcy Pattison has a great article on what all the important dates around filing for the $3000 per book payout means. This is a must read. You can be sure that the other AI companies are looking at this judgement and will be taking notes. Anthropic saved themselves a $75 Billion fine by settling out of court and if you look at the numbers they come out of it pretty well. The kick in the teeth for some writers is discovering their publishers in America didn’t file a copyright claim within 5 years of publication which leaves them out in the cold.

 

On Writer Beware Victoria Strauss writes about the return of the Nigerian Prince scam and includes the new book club feature scam. With AI doing all the research work the email scams can be pretty convincing.  

 

Penguin Random House has sent its banned books wagon to Washington DC for Banned Books Week. Insert your own pithy comment on the juxtaposition of these two entities meeting in the seat of American government. The banned books on this year’s list, that they are handing out, will make you weep. 

 

Last week I mentioned an article - Publishing has a Gambling Problem and the responses from many people in publishing to its truths.

This week to add to the discourse, Karen Gillespie writes about The Case of the Disappearing Author and Why You Don’t Want a 6 or 7 Figure Deal.

 

 Agent Richard Curtis turns the spotlight onto Moral Clauses this week. He argues that the moral clause is immoral. Publishers are seeing the moral clause as a potential weapon to disassociate themselves from a high risk client. High risk? That could be a writer who disagrees with the latest edict from a political leader. Have you read your contracts morals clause?

 

Next month you can join Novel November. This is the replacement for NaNoWriMo. The list of sponsors for this free event is gathering momentum. If you want to test yourself and write a novel in November check out the site and sign up for free. There are lots of goodies on offer, including a charity donation from Pro Writing aid for every writer who succeeds in writing 50,000 words in November. This could be the month to try dictation and smash those words out.

 

Dan Blank has an interesting article on cycles of learning. What stops you from doing or learning about book marketing and connecting with readers. It can be as easy as committing to a short daily challenge. 

 

Susan Watts has one of those articles that you file away and think I must do that. It’s all about body position and health. If you have felt the strain of sitting at your keyboard Susan has some ideas for you to fix your workspace. (Stretch your body now!)

 

The Dream Team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are celebrating 10 years of their website One Stop for Authors. This is their comprehensive website with articles and planners and all good things. They have some great deals to say thank you.

 

The Art Of Keeping Your Readers Hooked is what every writer wants. Elizabeth Craig has boiled it down to five important things to nail to keep your readers nailed to the page.

 

In The Craft Section,

Writer Igniter Story prompts- DIYMFA- Bookmark

How long should a series go- James Scott Bell

First draft words of wisdom- Dale Ivan Smith-Bookmark

10 dialogue tips – C S Lakin- Bookmark

What is a compelling voice-Tiffany Yates Martin

 

In The Marketing Section,

Booktok for Book Marketing- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Social media strategies for authors- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Creating Buzz- Terry Odell- Bookmark

When your imaginary world becomes real- R J Redden

10 proven strategies to own the Amazon Algorithm- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

October was usually called NaNoWriMo prep month. Now with Novel November prep month continues, with lots of resources around for writers to access. Kevin Anderson has put together a collection of writing craft eBooks for Storybundle with great bonus books if you buy the whole set. It’s a win win win, writers get money, you get great books for not much, and a charity gets a dollop of cash. 

To make the most of writing resources you should read Gabriela Pereira’s article on Double Take learning. It is especially interesting if you are thinking about stretching yourself into new writing directions in November.

Don’t forget to sign up for The Alliance of Independent Authors free online 24 hour conference. This year’s theme is New Trends and the agenda is up. 

Go out there and soak up the knowledge.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter of the best of my bookmarked links. 

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.

 

 

pic Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

 

How To Find A New Book

 

 

In Publishing News this week

 

Publishers Weekly had a story about Bookshop.org beginning to sell eBooks in the UK. If you haven’t heard of Bookshop.org they are an independent online book seller that sells into the US and UK. They donate their profits to your local independent bookseller. Their catalogue is from Ingram. With eBooks being added to the stores that’s another win for independent booksellers. In NZ we have BookHub, an online book site linking to independent booksellers throughout the country. It’s a great tool to quickly research and buy books from your local bookseller.  

 

Porter Anderson reports that the judge has approved the settlement of the Anthropic case but as anyone in publishing knows what about the fact that AI companies all scraped their information from pirate book sites. Porter talks to some of the plaintiffs about that big problem that wasn’t addressed in the settlement.

PEN America reports on the latest round of book censorship taking place across the US.

Banned Books week is next week and sadly there is an increase in book censorship in American schools. It’s got to the point where they are just reporting on new books that are being banned, not all books that have come under censorship. 

With a child studying the publishing industry here in NZ, I am interested in what publishing courses around the world are teaching. Publishing Perspectives has a run down on what New Yorks Advanced Publishing Institutes week long conference will be covering. Their hot topics are very familiar to anyone in the indie publishing world. Newsletters, YouTube, AI, Audio, and Direct Selling. 

 

There has been a lot of comments in Social Media about an article published by The Walrus – Publishing has a Gambling Problem. Some commenters agree that the system could be broken, others defend it. At issue is how publishers’ actions can screw up a writers career. Nowadays the success of their first book dictates whether they have a career at all. Kathleen Schmidt has an interesting take on this from the publicist’s point of view. And riffing on a theme, An independent bookshop book buyer also weighed in how difficult it was from the bookshop side to even choose books from a catalogue. Suffice to say that if you see a book being featured in a window it has already gone through many battles to get there.

 

In a potential new book alert- The Dream Team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a new thesaurus in the works – The Coping Mechanism Thesaurus. They like to test out ideas with writers so have a great article on what coping mechanisms are and how you can use them in your character development.

 

It is nearly time for the Frankfurt book fair and happening at the same time is The Alliance of Independent Authors 24 hour online conference. The conference is free and available for everyone. This year’s theme is New Trends. They have their usual fantastic lineup of speakers. Sign up and get all the talks for two days before they go behind a paywall. 

 

Dave Chesson has pulled together a list of the best book marketing books in his opinion. Rachel Thompson has a great article on 5 Misconceptions Writers Have About Book Marketing and Sales.

 

Liz Michalski has an interesting article on Writer Unboxed – How First Drafts Are Like Cauliflower. She has a list of hints that can make the process of revision so much better.

I’m currently working through one of her hints in my own work. It’s tough but it is worthwhile.

 

Katie Weiland has a quick post on single vs multiple narrators in your novel. What are the pros and cons of each style of writing? I’m wrestling with a multiple POV book, and it is tricky. Huge learning but hard work. 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to find your characters voice- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Craft a Raptor Hero-Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Picturing your characters- James Scott Bell

Can setup and backstory work in chapter one- Donald Maass- Bookmark

Writing friends becoming co-authors- Julie Glover

In The Marketing Section

How to get reader reviews- Sandra Beckwith

5 mistakes authors make running eBook promos-Written Word Media- Bookmark

How authors can ask smarter questions- Brian Jud- Bookmark

Global Translation tips- Kelly McDaniel

15 rules for advertising books- David Gaughran- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

It’s the last quarter of the year and that’s a panic time for authors. The Christmas book sales rush – will my book sell? The end of year, I still haven’t finished my manuscript, worry. Advertising budgets go up. Aaargh Money!  Not Enough Time -Aaargh! That treadmill of productivity starts to run faster. 

How do we counter this? 

Meet someone to talk about books. 

Electric Lit has an article on what they think is the next big past time, Book Readings. Have a session at a bar and read each other’s books… or just your favourite book. Hang out at a bookstore event- or start a weekly reading drop in. Book readings where you can ‘meet cute’ or just meet someone new and buy a book as well. It might be just what you need.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter of the best of my bookmarked links. 

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.

 

Pic  Photo by Steven Wright on Unsplash

 

Sharing Our Ideas

 

In Publishing News this week

 

And back to court we go in the Anthropic AI court case. Publishers Weekly writes that the attorneys for the authors had to satisfy the judge that the right people would get compensation. Publishers Weekly have laid out what different sectors of the industry should expect in renumeration. The judge will decide if it's fair.

 

In New York, women in publishing got together for a Publish-Her session. Porter Anderson talks about the keynotes and the new collaborations amongst women in publishing. This international movement is gaining momentum. Bologna will have a dedicated PublishHer session.

 

Publishers Weekly turns a spotlight on Indie children’s publishing to share the secrets of their success. Amongst their advantages are how they are using their smarts and size to take advantage of opportunities quickly. They also have more editorial control over their books so they can publish the unusual or potential problem book.

 

Publishers are waiting to see what the terms of the deal are over the Baker and Taylor sale. The new owners, Readerlink are only buying the assets of Baker and Taylor library distribution company. Who will pay the bills owed? According to one source -it will be a wild ride for publishers.

 

In academic publishing news, Cambridge University and the Max Planck society are collaborating to provide open access publishing of evidence based research. The academic publishing model is one of pay through the nose to publish and pay through the nose to read it. Open access publishing shares the work among researchers, so everyone benefits. Given the nature of wild claims coming from some politicians free access to medical evidence based research should help everyone to figure out what is pure bunkum snake oil. 

 

Amazon are partnering with the International Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries to create a comprehensive digital Arabic collection. Amazon will bring their AI translation and Audible publishing company to the party. Publishing Perspectives reports on how it will change the Middle Eastern publishing industry.

If you have been wondering about what to do in November  now that NaNoWriMo is no more- Fear Not, the annual push to write a novel in 30 days is still on. ProWriting Aid has taken over the reins and has a whole lot of free support for you if you want to have a go, including a big list of mentors and coaches. 

 

The Tax arm of our government occasionally puts out some good short videos to help small business figure out what to do at tax time. This morning I watched a little video on business expenses. Yes, writers can claim business expenses. If you aren’t sure what to claim the video is very educational. Of course this is New Zealand- your country might have different expense claims. You might have to do some digging on your own government website.

 

Chelle Honniker from The Indie Author magazine has been beavering away on a new author automation hub. If you have been wondering about streamlining your author business go and have a look. She is doing a coming out of Beta special.

 

Rachel Thompson breaks down the numbers around marketing for traditional publishing. This is a good overview of what you can expect from your marketing budget – and what you have to do for yourself. She has some great reference articles to help you manage your marketing.

 

Stephanie Cowell has an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about Daring to Share Your Work. It never gets easier even the great Madeleine L’Engle said this. She shares some helpful ideas to make the process easier on the writer.

 

Kaitie Weiland has an excellent article on Big vs Small character arcs. Some characters have a quieter life in your story but they still have an arc. How do you make the most of those small moments? 

 

In the Craft Section

How to write twists and turns- KWL team-Bookmark

A writing compass- Sally Hamer- Bookmark

Trouble is your business- James Scott Bell

Use weather to create mood- Angela Ackerman

5 strategies for pacing dialogue- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Why most writers hate marketing-Rachel Thompson – Bookmark!

What to do when ads stop working- Mathew Holmes- Bookmark

Pen to camera – YouTube a platform authors can’t ignore- Dale Roberts

3 powerful things to find your ideal reader - Sandra Beckwith

Newsletter magic without math- Lisa Norman-Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Jane Friedman has excerpted a chapter from Nadim Sadek's book How Creativity Survives in an AI Monoculture. This is an excellent reminder of what AI can do and can NOT do. Now more than ever is the moment where we must remember it is our relationships, our voice, our vision that makes us different. Handing creativity to a machine that can only regurgitate the next most likely words in the sentence is not a replacement for human experience. 

Sharing our creativity with others adds to the global human story.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly 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.

 

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Show Me The Money

In Publishing News this week 

 

Publishers Weekly reports on the latest Trump court case. He is suing Penguin Random House and The New York Times for $15 Billion. Penguin Random House published a book by New York Times journalists called Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Fathers Fortune and Created The Illusion Of Success. I think the sub title spells out the problem. In other news- another U S late night talk show host has been taken off air. And DJT threatened an Australian reporter with an unfavourable outcome for Australia for asking if it was legal to make money off the office of president. 

 

Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article on the upcoming Shanghai Children’s Book Fair. Shanghai is adding new programmes to the fair and they expect over 50,000 visitors including over 20,000 publishing industry professionals from 35 countries. To make it even easier the fair is free for publishing industry people and they are allowing free 240 hour transit visas for attendees. 

 

Amazon is following the EU mandate to have books be accessible. Publishers Weekly reports that Amazon has begun asking for accessibility information as part of a books metadata. Meanwhile, Rachel Thompson has an article on KDP’s new rule changes. If you haven’t been on the Kindle platform lately there have been a few changes.

 

James Patterson has been offering authors money. If you are one of his lucky 12 – you will get $50,000 for a year to write your book. Lit Hub makes a case for being a recipient.

 

Kathleen Schmidt writes about Literary Criticism vs Book Consumerism and how one is not fueling the other. How are you finding books to read? Book consumerism is about fandom and emotional TikTok videos. Literary Criticism is rapidly being lost as Book reviews become harder to find in mainstream publications. Do you have a trusted source for reviews and recommendations?

 

A while ago I mentioned a podcast on AI that Joanna Penn and Thomas Umstattd had recorded that I thought authors should listen too. Joanna and Thomas recently recorded another podcast on The Authors Guide to AI. You can read the podcast transcript to see how authors can use the tools AI provides to help with the author business. 

 

Darcy Pattison has launched her big book on publishing children’s books on Kickstarter. This has been a few years in the making and Darcy reached her goal in the first day. If you want to get early access to a book written for children’s authors and publishers check it out.

 

Lucy Hay has an excellent post on the fear of never getting published. First you need to identify your fear and then you need to figure out what getting published means for you.

 

Colleen Story has a great post on Jane Friedman’s blog about Book Marketing and procrastination. Why do you fear book marketing? Is there another way to reframe it?

 

I have a bookcase filled with P G Wodehouse, so I was interested to see this article about poetry book publishing where the author Laura LeHew advocates printing out your poems, sticking them on a wall, reading the poem out loud and finding the theme. This is exactly what Plum (PGW) would do. He looked at each typewritten page in isolation. The higher on the wall the page, the less it needed work. He only sent the finished manuscript off when all the pages were up near the ceiling.

 

Katie Weiland has another knockout post on how a character’s personality shapes their voice and goals. She has a very comprehensive article on personalities to explain her points.

 

In The Craft Section

How to polish your first five pages- Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

Mapping your career path- David Farland

Writing for children- Sue Coletta

The role of food in building character- Karmen Spiljak- Bookmark

How to show repressed emotions- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Building a quick website for a pen name- Alessandra Torre- Bookmark

Build a Book publicity media list- Sandra Beckwith

5 ways to become a better speaker- John Kramer

How authors can ask smarter questions- Brian Jud

Publishing in creative ways- Heather Webb- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

You all know the one. The book everybody seems to be talking about. The viral sensation. But how do you get a viral sensation? Harshini Fernando wrote an interesting article for Written Word Media on what makes a book go viral. It starts with a good story and accessibility. 

Once it’s viral then obviously the movie deals and best seller lists follow along. Sometimes the book becomes viral long after it was published. Or when there is a big court case suing the publishers and the money is a bludgeon or a carrot. (See the Anthropic court case.)

 

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.

 

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