From The Book To The Merch Empire

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Australian government is about to introduce legislation that would change the copyright law to allow AI companies to use any authors work without a license to train AI models anywhere in the world. The Authors Guild is promoting a global effort to stop this legislation.

 

Audiobooks are still continuing to do well in sales. Storytel, the Swedish competitor to Spotify has posted a strong third quarter of sales according to Publishing Perspectives. It seems that their Europe base is not succumbing to Spotify. Meanwhile, Spotify is allowing authors up to 1000 free codes per audio book to use as giveaway promotions. 

 

Victoria Strauss has an up to date article on the Anthropic court cases and how other AI companies are using what they have learned to limit their own court cases exposure.

 

Publishers Weekly has an article on Apateon Press who are helping authors who have regained their rights to out of print books and don’t know how to navigate the self publishing system to keep their books in print.

 

There are literary prizes and then there is the new literary prize for an AI co written book. The Prix Pascal de Littérature IA is open for submission is French. The Guardian reports on how this prize came to be.

 

If you follow the Romantasy genre you will be aware that Sarah J Maass has released another hotly anticipated book. Publishers Weekly takes a look at Sarah J Maass Inc. How has one author gone from being an indie creator merch darling into a behemoth  merch franchise entity.

 

Creating a global empire from your writing could be a writers dream but how to make it a reality. What does Hollywood actually want? Publishing Perspectives has the latest report from Rightscenter; Book to Screen Marketplace Insights highlighting all the trends that are hot right now.

 

Meanwhile Kristine Rusch has an interesting essay on navigating the complex issues of rights deals and options with Hollywood agents. This area is ripe with scammers so she has a detailed breakdown of what to look for and beware of.

 

Dale Roberts writes about the recent scare that Amazon put some authors through when they refused to price match books. Apparently, this is all fixed now. Dale talks about the uses of the perma-free model in marketing. 

 

Indie Author Mag has an interview with Evan Gow of Story Origin. The company started as a way of managing all the marketing outreach to readers. He has worked on his newsletter strategy and gives some great tips for connecting with newsletter readers.

 

Darcy Pattison is writing a series of articles on business plans for publishing children’s books. This week she tackles the marketing problem. She know her books aren’t written for general sale so she has a focus on schools and libraries where the marketing is very different.

 

As Novel November is about to start don’t forget to drop into Storybundle for a great package of craft books. Good luck to all who are giving thios a go. Remember even if you don’t hit the target you can still get words down and challenge yourself. Also short stories and other writing counts to the 50,000 word total. You might just surprise yourself.

 

In The Craft Section,

Keeping track of your characters- Craig Martelle- Bookmark

Checking your point of view- Janice Hardy

7 main types of character conflicts- Ellen Buikema- Bookmark

How to write subplots- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Crafting nuanced emotional states- Kim Bullock

 

In The Marketing Section,

The Book Launch planner- Ines Johnson

Amazon A+ Content- Sandra Beckwith

One chapter six mirrors of marketing- R J Redden- Bookmark

Crafting great Book ads- Bookbub- Bookmark

How writers can embrace video- Dan Blank

 

To Finish

 

When you tell people that you have a book out, one of the first things they will do when they get home is do a search on you and your book. Do you have anything for them to find? Rachel Thompson has a great article on what every author should understand, that Book PR and Social Media are different beasts and they should be treated in different ways. If you can get all the component parts working together your book marketing will be easier and opportunities to expand your franchise empire may just fall into your lap.

 

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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Writers-Are You The Problem?

In Publishing News this week,

Publishers Weekly reports that Catapult publishers is to close at the end of the month. As you read the article you wonder why this is happening, on paper it looks successful. But there are a few paragraphs in the news report that offer a clue according to industry gossip. The staff decided to unionize. What was their billionaire owner to do?

 

On the other side of the publishing desk, two authors unhappy with the way their children’s book on Palestinian history was being edited decided to pull their book from Random House just as it was ready to go to print. Publishers Weekly details the authors concerns.

 

Amazon have announced they are changing the name of Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+. In their press release they are adding audiobooks into the subscription and they promise that audiobook royalties will be by the page. With the heavy competition for audiobook ears, it seems this was a match waiting to happen. 

 

The Authors Guild has written a set of guidelines for publishers around AI best practice in dealing with authors. They hope that it will give authors and publishers a starting point to understand how much and what kind of AI should be acceptable.

 

The Wall Street journal writes about YouTube looking to officially expand into audiobooks. Unofficially, authors have been putting their audiobooks onto YouTube and getting lucrative advertising money. 

 

The next big court case has been filed with 300 authors filing copyright infringement claims against Meta. What is interesting is that this is not a class action. That’s 300 individual claims. This is just the first group reported on. Lawyers interviewed by Publishers Weekly indicate that another 2000 are in the pipeline and they are asking $150,000 per claim.

Over in Korea, Mark Williams reports on the Korean Publishers Society launching an appeal to their government to pursue compensation from Anthropic for illegally copying their authors work. Other countries are preparing their own cases.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that due to the dire state of reading and closing of bookshops Poland’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage is debating whether to make fixed price book laws. The rest of Europe is waiting to see whether it is a good idea.

 

Over the years I have linked to articles that explain IP (Intellectual Property) and why keeping control of it is a good idea. Publishers Weekly reports on two ex Amazon Executives who also think IP is a good idea and they have formed a company to help authors exploit their own IP in book packaging deals. 

 

Ines Johnson has a great essay on how to create your own author mastermind group. 

It doesn’t need to be in person but the idea of looking over another writer’s shoulder to get motivated and learn can be beneficial to everyone in the group.

 

Claire Taylor has an interesting essay on calendaring. What happens when calendaring your life isn’t working? Are you stuck in the constantly planning phase and not getting any further forward in your creative project? Claire explains that your ego might be the problem.

 

Mark Leslie Lefebvre has a thoughtful essay on pre rejection. This is the essay for you if you are feeling imposter syndrome. Mark writes about wearing two hats, one hat is well known in the industry and gets all the attention which he wishes the other hat would get.

 

Jenny Hansen writes this week on the difference between Fear and Fine. Each word is an acronym for a state of mind that can halt the writer in their tracks. A must read.

 

Kris Rusch has an interesting essay on Craft and the writer. Have you stopped learning?

She is a big advocate of the writer constantly learning about craft. You may think that you know all the basics but are you writing the same story over and over again?  

 

In The Craft Section,

Grammar errors you may be making- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Using Character Tropes effectively- Angerla Ackerman- Bookmark

Author blind spots- Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

When is it ok to quit a story- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

The many ways to bookend a novel- CS Laking- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

November holiday Book Promotion ideas- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Are low content books dead- Dale Evans

Should writers pay to have their book edited- Jill Boehme

Interview with Spoken founder Phil Marshall-Indie Author- Interesting

Why Writers need multiple practical marketing strategies- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

 

To Finish

It’s nearly Novel November and you’ve obsessively planned out your story. (See last weeks post for links) Got all the craft books you need and are ready to go…and stop. You have run out of momentum before you even start the project. Or you may have had a project rejected that has been one rejection too many. Natalie Hart has the essay for you. The Big List of Momentum Recovery Activities. You need to reframe the feelings that you have to go forward.

Among the quotes Natalie shared, this one got me thinking about new beginnings. 

The phoenix must burn to emerge- Janet Fitch.

 

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 Patrick von der Wehd on Unsplash

 

The Battle For Culture

In Publishing News this week,

 

The talk around the publishing blogosphere is the position Faber finds itself in with Sally Rooney’s books. Faber has halted her book sales in the UK over her support of a ‘terrorist’ group, to comply with UK law. 

 

Frankfurt is over for the year…except for all the side events leading up to next years event. Publishers Weekly has a wrap of the week in Frankfurt. 

One of the panel discussions at Frankfurt addressed the concern over whether AI in the Publishing will mean that jobs will disappear. This is front of mind in my house with a young publishing professional looking for a permanent publishing job. 

 

The AI in publishing hot topic continues with magazine articles like Wired’s recent OpEd. Kathleen Schmidt has another thoughtful essay on this with Big Publishers Are Using AI Why It Doesn’t Surprise Me.

If you want to stay up to date on the topic drop into Jane Friedman’s constantly updating article on AI in Publishing.

 

Audible recently announced new exciting features to bring readers into the story, which had me exclaiming ‘what’ at my screen. Publishing Perspectives writes about their planned immersive features. All I could think of was the poor authors. Many publishers ask for extra creative content as part of publicity, unpaid of course. This move by Audible looks like another level of content use.

 

Writer Beware has a check your contracts (rights grab) story involving the new owners of the five most well known genre fiction magazines. Even if you don’t write for these magazines or supply art work, this is an informative article on contracts and fair dealing and how new owners aren’t always better. A must read.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the 67^th Arab language Book Fair in Beirut which is on this week. The theme Culture is not a Luxury is reflected in the comments by the Arab Culture Club president who noted that the fair still happens throughout war and acts of terrorism. 

Holding on to culture is important, and writers, publishers, and booksellers are at the forefront of this. A recent Publishers Weekly article highlighted that Ukraine’s publishing landscape is on the brink of collapse because of drones targeting warehouses containing books and other cultural items. 

 

Craig Martelle has an interesting essay on boundaries and knowing your business. It’s Not Personal It’s Just Business.

 

Librarian Kathleen Reidy has an excellent article on finding comps. That’s shorthand for letting publishers know, (because they will ask) what other books your book can be compared with. (Answer: something that has sold well and is recent.) She has some great research sites in her article.

 

The Indie Author Magazine has an interview with best selling romantasy author Katie Cross on how she uses reader feedback to inform her writing.

 

Can Your Novel Become A Microdrama? Susan Watts explores why microdramas are all the rage and what companies might be useful to help you make your own.

 

Ines Johnson has a great essay on the intersection of what you want to write and what the market wants to buy. The Book You Are Supposed To Write Vs The Book You Can’t Stop Scribbling.

 

In The Craft Section,

How much revision is enough?- Kathleen McCleary- Bookmark

What I’ve relearned from fiction to playwriting- David Corbett

How to write subtext- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Flexibility for Pantsers and Plotters- Michelle Barker-Bookmark

Writing the ordinary world matters the most – September Fawkes- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Book Promo language can attract or repel- Sandra Beckwith

The best PR bait is not your book- Rebecca Forster

10 practical ways to save your book- Rachel Thompson – Bookmark

Author Email Lists -Dale Evans- Bookmark

The $694 I don’t regret spending- Mathew J Holmes – Bookmark

 

To Finish

 

October is known as the prep month to Novel November. If you want to write 50,000 words in November you need to be planning out how you are going to do it in October.

Novel November is being sponsored by ProWriting Aid now and they recently did a round up article on how many other types of writing challenges are out there.

 

At this time of the year, Storybundle has the big writing craft book bundle up for grabs. The Storybundle model works with a sliding scale of donation for some or all of the curated collection. The money goes to the authors and a charity and you get access to some exclusive craft books for not much money. Win. Win. Win.

 

Go forth and conquer that page.

 

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 GR Stocks on Unsplash

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

 

It's nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want 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.

  

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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

The Care and Feeding of Readers

 

 

In Publishing News this week…

 

The big news across all the social media outlets was the unsealing of the previously redacted comments in the Open AI Microsoft court case. The admission that executives knew they were using pirated work among other comments from executives make chilling reading. Publisher’s Weekly reports on the news story. (Insert your own comments about what weasels those execs are here.)

 

Amazon are limiting publication of titles. In an in-house press release on KDP they announced the move restricting author to two titles per format per week. This will be welcome news to authors battling against an AI scam book onslaught. However, those authors who publish wide in different formats might find they need to stagger their launch times.

 

Staying with KDP for a moment, Dale Evans did a deep dive into the new identity verification process that prove that you are a human to KDP. This is starting to feel very big brotherish and quite difficult. If you are a KDP author who hasn’t published in a while be aware that things have changed and you need to jump through a few more hoops, some of them flaming.

 

The bags will be packed ready for Frankfurt Book Fair beginning October 7^th Publishers Weekly has a packed roundup of all the trends and tech on offer this year.

 

A collection of organisations dedicated to promoting reading and the freedom to read in the United States are having a telethon. Their aim is to educate people about speaking up and using their voice and vote to protect the freedom to read at the grass roots level. They have enlisted a lot of authors in the virtual event. 

 

Meanwhile in Australia, parliamentarians, publishers, authors, and librarians came together to discuss how to raise reading rates in Australia. Publishing Perspectives asked Australia Reads CEO Anna Burkey how they were able to get so much buy in from their government. If only it was reflected here in NZ. (cough notbitteraboutBologna cough)

 

Publishers Weekly talked with authors about their brand new releases for Fall (or the lead up to Christmas as it is known down under) YA Dystopia is back with spinoffs and sequels to the big franchises from Fifteen years ago. Prepare for teenagers to battle to save the world in survival games. 

 

Agent Richard Curtis has an essay on the problems when your agent becomes a publisher. The blurring of the lines can bring big problems for authors.

 

Jenn Windrow has a great article Querying Is Not A Verdict On Your Book. Sometimes you query too soon. The book might not be ready. Jenn has four questions that you can ask yourself and your book before you get into the query trenches.

 

It is always great to read Rachel Thompson’s dose of reality for Book Marketing. 

Publishing and Visible are NOT the same. Here she helps the reader to refine who their 

Reader is and how to reach them. Essential reading for authors.

 

Harper Ross writes on Writer Unboxed about self doubt as she hit a milestone birthday. Do I Still Want To Write? May Be The Wrong Question. If you are looking at your current writing and wondering about whether you should continue, she has three key tests for you. This is great advice for writers who feel they are at a crossroads with their work.

 

In The Craft Section,

Flat character arc transformations- K M Weiland

Short Story Methods- Jo Lallo- Bookmark

Building fear into turning points- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Turning points- September Fawkes

Tips for bookending your novel- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Using Video for Book Promo- Sandra Beckwith – Bookmark!

Why nobody can find your book on Amazon- Dale Evans- Bookmark

Facebook Ads for authors Tutorial - David Gaughran- Bookmark

40 Social Media Posts for the camera shy author- Tesa Barbosa- Bookmark!

A new sales channel. GimmeBook made by authors- sales pages and delivery in one place. Check It Out

 

To Finish

Readers read more books than you will ever write. Publishing the book is only the start, finding readers is the endgame for authors.  How do you find the readers who will love what you write? Ines Johnson breaks down how she niches down to find the exact reader who will love what she writes. She shares her tips in a great essay, I Don’t Need Every Reader. 

 

Finding the right reader and nurturing them is the end game for the writer.

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 Jamie Street on Unsplash