Finding Our Way

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Publishers Weekly has an interesting article on Booksellers in Minneapolis and how their visibility in the recent protests have affected their sales. The picture of a 70 year old bookseller standing in clouds of teargas went viral. For my American readers – the world is watching and appalled on your behalf at what is happening in your cities by your own government. 

 

In happier news, The Babysitters Club is 40 years old and Scholastic are celebrating with new projects. It is amazing how this series kept going, girls, and clubs a winning combination. Meanwhilie, the American Library Association celebrated their Carnegie and Newbury medal winners today.

 

Bologna Children’s Book Fair has a sizable exhibition section devoted to the illustrators and every year they host a competition of submitted work from illustrators. Thousands enter but only 75 get honoured at the children’s book fair. Looking down the list- only one from the Southern hemisphere and one each from USA and UK. 

 

Mark Williams reports on Amazon coding changes that were rolled out slowly in 2025. A10 is now fully implemented across the ecosystem and Mark explains how this has changed the way books are ranked and hopefully cut off the AI book surge.

 

Dale Evans reports that Ingram Spark is dropping the Update fee from February 1^st. When Ingram first started Print on Demand publishing it used to cost to upload a title and then a further cost to update it. With all the Print on Demand competition they dropped the upload fee a few years ago and now the update fee is no more. Expect a wait as thousands of authors take the opportunity to refresh their books in the first half of this year. 

 

Selling Direct was the catch phrase in 2025 and everybody seemed to be experimenting with different online shops. Just coming to the party are publishers who have caught on to the benefits of knowing who might be buying their books. The Independent Publishers Group has partnered with Norwegian Beat Technology to offer sales platforms to their members. 

 

Joanna Penn recently interviewed Adam Beswick on his selling direct adventures with live streaming on TikTok. As I read through the transcript I was constantly marveling at how bookselling is changing. If you want a glimpse of the future check out what Adam is doing. Mind blowing stuff for 2026.

 

Written Word Media have a comprehensive article on author trends for 2026. They start off with the statement Trust is the new currency. This is one of those articles that you need to read without distractions. There is a lot to think about.

 

Jenny Hansen has an interesting article on Writers In The Storm on writing goals and how they suffer in January. You start the year with great intentions then flail around after a few weeks doubting yourself. Writing Goals: Going From Aargh to Aha! 

 

Kristin Hacken South writes on Writer Unboxed about the dilemma of the writer. Who Are You? This is not a navel gazing exercise in what type of writer you are, it is a look at the profound understanding of choosing the identity of writer. 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to craft accurate fight scenes- Dr Alex Jemetta

Writing without trying to manage the reader- Excellent essay -Harper Ross

Character Journey as Structure- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

5 ways to hide your villain- Jill Boehme- Bookmark

Writing for change- Nina Amir- Excellent 

 

In the Marketing Section,

The author formula workbook- Book Review- Sandra Beckwith

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri-9 Proven strategies for Amazon sales and

What drives success- Bookmark

Substack made simple- Rachel Thompson

Planning a branding focus- Ines Johnson- Bookmark

 

To Finish

 

Katie Weiland is not afraid to go deep into the writer’s psyche and study how we think and express ourselves. As we start a new year there are challenges in the world that have us feeling unsure and unsettled about our place as writers and how our work is influenced by the events around us. Her essay on Why Writers Need A Sense of Wonder in Fiction More Than Ever speaks to the unease many of us are feeling. Our own lives can be seen in the context of stories. It is a great essay, and I hope you will read it. 

 

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.

 

pic Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Trying To Stay Sane for 2026

 

 

And we are back for another year of looking at news, trends, and tips on navigating the publishing world. 

Because I live in the Southern Hemisphere, we also have Summer, schools out, and Christmas and New Year all squashed together in one month of eating, celebrating, and broken new year’s resolutions. But the publishing world continues without noticing we are gone, so the first blogs in January are What Did We Miss.

 

Publishers Weekly reported that publishers are getting together to join a class action against Google. Yes, they too copied the Anthropic playbook and now a court case is looming on the horizon.

 

Spotify having made a substantial inroad into Audibles market share on audio books is looking to expand into video and to sweeten the pot it is going to be super easy to get eyeballs and ears on audio books. Meanwhile, Audible is doing the same according to Publishing Perspectives. The video wars on audio books are about to start.

 

If you are using YouTube for audio books you might like to check out the new trend on BookTok, ambient video for your books. You could upload a video of a cozy fire in a library as the visuals for your audio book experience. This could help with lots of sales if you upload the video to Spotify and Audible.

In AI news – HarperCollins France has decided to embrace AI translation much to the annoyance of translators. Publishing Perspectives reports on The Future of Translation: AI and The Greater Good.

 

Dave Malone has an interesting post on what labeling could look like as a way to distinguish works with AI use in it. He has some clear examples of types of labels which could be used on creative work. (It looks a little like a nutrition label, but the concept is worthy.)

Steph Pajonas has an interesting post on AI resistance being a problem for your ego. Are you letting your ego get in the way of using this tool?

 

Mark Williams keeps his eye on the publishing in the rest of the world, and he has some interesting things to report on the new darling of the Frankfurt Book Fair- India.

With their Gen Z numbers bigger than the population of the United States this is a potential publishing market that has been ignored for too long. The New Delhi Book fair is aiming for over 2 million visitors. If your country has just signed a free trade deal (NZ) this could be a great opportunity for publishing expansion.

 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has seen the future in kids literature and it is Manga. They have embraced the Manga storytelling style and are teaching their kids to create this using their own stories.

 

Big Bad Wolf is back in Indonesia. BBW takes English language books that would be pulped otherwise and sells it in huge sales that last a week and are round the clock. Children’s books are in high demand. The numbers are astonishing. (A nice little earner for the publishers who write off their books, officially.)

 

Every January, the list of books, songs and films coming into the public domain gets attention. This is for specific books or characters. So thriller authors if you want to do your own versions of The Saint or Miss Marple or the Maltese Falcon you are in luck. Check out the list. There might be a pot of author gold waiting for you.

 

If you are thinking about the coming year and what might be the dominant themes check out Joanna Penn’s predictions for publishing in 2026. She is a publishing futurist and is often ahead of the trends.

Meanwhile, Erin Niumata has an interesting post on selecting a word of the year as your guiding star for decisions in your author life.

In the Craft Section,

How to use character tropes without the cliches- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

3 Unforgettable Scenes- James Scott Bell

Summing up your story in 2 sentences- P J Parrish- Bookmark

The sentence and the story; a fable- Donald Maass

When to reveal story stakes- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

Tips to overcome video shyness- Amy Rogers Nazarov- Bookmark

2026- the year to stop being invisible- Jaime Buckley

The pitch- a writing selling point- Ellen Buikema- Bookmark

Facebook ads for authors – video teaching by David Gaughran- Bookmark

5 social media metrics that matter- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

As we look to start another calendar year of writing and publishing organizing ourselves into productive habits become the most pressing things to conquer in January. In the Southern Hemisphere it is right up there with getting the kids back to school after the so called Summer holiday. (It’s torrential rain here- Climate Change is biting.) If the thought of planning a year full of writing activities daunts you, check out this excellent post from Alexa Bigwharfe on a way to plan your writing goals and keep you moderately sane for 2026.

 

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.

 

Pic Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

The Writers Gift

 

In Publishing News this week,

If you have books on the Amazon store you may have received a message about an important change coming in January. Amazon will allow book downloads of ePubs and PDF’s. This is a potential hazard as one author put it. What’s to stop someone taking that PDF uploading it with another name and selling it… or using it to train an AI? Will the T’s and C’s change allowing Amazon to train Ai’s because you didn’t put a DRM on the book? A nice conundrum present for Christmas.

 

Writer Beware also flags a problematic Amazon gift. The one that introduces a chat bot into your book to help you find where you got up to in the story. This could be a breach of copyright. Publishers are reaching for contracts and lawyers. Amazon’s gifts are double edged and always in favour of the gift giver.

 

If you are an author in France, you will be celebrating as the French Publishers Association have negotiated a way to compensate authors for used book sales. Money for writers, what a present.

 

Also in the money for writer’s present mode, a new literary prize for Deaf and Disabled Writers. This is welcome news and a nice boost of sharing the love to emerging writers. Publishing Perspectives talks to the first recipient. 

 

Hachette is funding a Raising Readers campaign to encourage reading by funding class libraries and other great things to reach the younger readers. After all if we don’t encourage reading early, we won’t have adult readers. It would be nice if other publishers joined in this gift giving.

 

The American Book Fair died a lingering death over a few years ago and pretty much disappeared but now something new is coming. BookCon 2026 which has sold out already, according to Publishers Weekly. A potential gift to the publishing industry in America- their very own Bookfair.

 

The Diamond Comics fallout, or the gift that keeps on giving. It was the first news story of the year and now it’s in my last roundup for 2025. After all the court cases, the shady deals, the legal wrangling, finally they are moving to liquidate stock. Probably, says Publishers Weekly.

 

PEN America has the list of most banned books for 2025. Sigh. Not the gift you were looking for, John Green and Jodi Picoult. On the other hand, having a banned book might result in lots of sales as a backlash. 

 

Hoopla library app has been tracking the 2025 most borrowed trends. Audiobooks are up nearly 20 percent with Thrillers and Romantasy the top audio borrows. Banned books were also amongst the top borrowed books. With physical libraries suffering under book bans- there is still a way to read that ‘controversial’ book.

 

Richard Curtis has part 2 of his article on collaborations. This is where the copyright and back detail gets a close look. If you are thinking about collaborations with other authors next year – check out these articles.

 

Mark Leslie Lefebvre has an entertaining article on the author photo. I didn’t realise the lengths he would go to get the right author photo. Hilarious. A completely different way to look at author branding.

 

Sarah Brinley has an interesting article on the stress response and how you can use the Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn responses to strengthen your scenes. 

 

In The Craft Section,

What to write next- Julie Glover- Bookmark

Tech tips for organizing your novel- Kris Maze- Bookmark

Allow your characters a moment of happiness- Lesley Krueger- 

Bookmark

Using character themes to fix a scene- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Why character motivation matters- Lucy V Hay- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section.

The art of the ask- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

How authors can elevate their brand- Kimberley Grabas- 

Bookmark

The years best book marketing articles – Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

The complete guide to Amazon optimization- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

 

This is the last roundup for the year. I feel a bit battered by the years events. Jane Friedman has written a comprehensive review article on the standout moments. You may be reaching for the eggnog after reading it.

 

Gift giving for writers always generates lists of journals and pens etc. The best gift you can give a writer is a review or a library request. Go out and talk about your favourite writers. Share the love. (My book Star Light is free in an epic mid-grade book giveaway.)

 

I will be back halfway through January 2026. I’m off to finish the bumper newsletter and find some sunscreen because its Summer down under. 

Have a fantastic festive season.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

If you have enjoyed my weekly blog this year and want to buy me a coffee or an eggnog, you will have my grateful thanks.

Newsletter subscribers will be getting the bumper Christmas edition. You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

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

 

Thanks.

Book Bans – The Non Gift for Writers

 

In Publishing News this week

 

In another blow for libraries in the United States, the supreme court has denied an appeal to re consider a book banning case in Texas. The decision affects three states and affects the freedom to access information. Publisher’s Weekly reports on the impacts that are likely to freedom of speech. 

 

The judgments being handed down on the United States courts have a bearing on publishing worldwide according to a symposium on Future Proofing Equality in Children’s Publishing held recently in the United Kingdom. Most of these book banning judgements center around children’s books. With diversity, equity, and inclusion hot topics in children’s publishing, the flow on effects from the US are impacting children’s books worldwide. Publishing Perspectives report on the symposium highlighted the increase in books being dropped before publication just in case they might violate some US ban.

 

The School Library Journal published an open letter from the owner of Lee And Low Publishing about the danger of soft censorship. Jason Low exhorts publishers to keep publishing inclusive titles. Soft censorship is a slippery slope to restriction of information. Everybody needs to get behind challenges to book banning including publishers. 

 

PEN International is an organization supported by author groups worldwide to shine a light on writers who have been imprisoned for speaking truth to power. They are fund raising for various legal campaigns for imprisoned writers. Many well known authors have supported by donating amazing collectables to the literary auction.

 

New Zealand is one of the few countries to have a Public Lending Right. This means that writers are compensated for having books in public libraries. Recently all the PLR countries got together to have an international body reports Publishing Perspectives. They are looking to exchange ideas and international cooperation.

 

Lit Hub is reporting on the possible Netflix Warner Brothers merger and why author societies are up in arms about it. Can you see any danger in a large corporation controlling all the entertainment media? Yes, Publishing books is in entertainment media.

 

Dan Holloway reports the European Union has not exempted books from the deforestation regulations. This is going to impact publishing supply chains as paper is crucial in publishing books.  James Daunt, CEO of the largest book chains in the world told the BBC that he would sell AI produced books if someone wanted to buy them. Watch for new dartboard pictures in publishing offices.

 

Mark Leslie Lefavbre is a well respected commentator on publishing. He has done pretty much every job in it. He has an essay on how the traditional slush pile has moved out of the publishing in-box and into the digital publishing sphere. He makes some great points and is a must read.

 

Agent Richard Curtis looks at collaborations and how they can be richly rewarding or a nightmare of unrealistic expectations. He talks about the best projects that lend themselves to collaborations.

 

Rachel Thompon has an outstanding post on relationship based book marketing. This is the post you need when you are figuring out how to show that you are not an AI. She offers lots of tips, and reasons to stop saying buy my book everywhere.

 

Jane Friedman has been highlighting memoir this week. She has two guest posts on the process of writing memoir. It’s Not About You. Your Memoir is Someone Elses Story by Allison Williams and Why Your Memoir Feel Like its Rambling and How To Fix It by Wendy Dale.

 

 

In the Craft Section

2 excellent posts from Janice Hardy- Freshen up tired tropes and How to edit without feeling overwhelmed- Bookmark

4 ways to protect yourself when writing trauma- Rachel Warmath- Bookmark

Anticipation – writing thesaurus- Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

Trying out dictation- Gabriele Pereira

 

In the Marketing Section

2026 literary calendar- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark!

Running successful events- Jillian Forsberg- Bookmark

12 proven book marketing campaigns- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

2 different approaches to direct selling- Sacha Black and Joanna Penn (podcast)

How does a good book get discovered – Brian Feinblum

 

To Finish

It’s December which means…  Lists of gifts for writers. Lit Hub has 50 interesting gifts for writers  If you are looking for a really good resource, The Dream Team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a Buy One Get One Free Thesaurus sale. If you haven’t checked out these amazing books… run to their store.

 

If you have any mid grade Sci Fi and Fantasy fans, there is a book giveaway happening over December. You can even get my book Star Light for free.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

My last post for the year is next week, and Newsletter subscribers will be getting the bumper Christmas edition. 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 Ionela Mat on Unsplash

Counting The Cost

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

The publishing world was rocked by the death of Porter Anderson. Porter was a long time commentator and publishing news journalist. I shared many of his articles on the blog over the last decade. He was a kind and generous man who will be missed. I still grin when I see the words The Industry. Porter coined this tongue in cheek phrase, “the industry, the industry,” when reporting on the impact of another merger of publishers or publishing shaking event. RIP Porter.

 

Publishers Weekly reports the deep dissatisfaction with the new owners of Edelweiss, the ARC copy review site and sales database. Prices have gone up sharply. Being in this catalogue was essential for small publishers but now they are being priced out.

Metadata. It’s important. And many people in publishing do not understand it. It is the difference between finding your book in an online catalogue where it is supposed to be or the book disappearing completely. Darcy Pattison has an informative post on metadata.

 

Bloomsbury has partnered with AI reports Publishers Weekly. If you sucked in your breath at that headline, you are not alone. However, they are using AI technology for discovery and engagement. Not for writing. Only for learning outcomes in their academic division. Really. 

 

Anne Trubek has an interesting article on Will AI Written Books Destroy Publishing. She lays out where AI and the publishing contract language of indemnity diverge. This is a soothing post for most writers worried that AI written books will replace them.  

 

Mark Williams has an interesting post on the music industry and how the music publishers are using leverage with the AI companies to get favourable terms. This is something that the publishing companies are trying to do. With the recent court case judgement of training AI’s coming under fair use if you buy a copy, publishers might have missed a trick with licensing.  

 

Written Word Media have published the results of their annual survey of writers. One of the interesting ways they present this data it what each finding means for the author reading the survey.

 

Richard Charkin has an interesting column on the measurement trap and how what you measure in publishing gets in the way of why you are measuring. Is the industry failing to understand the basics of good publishing judgement? 

 

Agent Richard Curtis has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog about the Importance of Print and why it never died. Print might still be alive but some formats of it are shrinking fast. 

 

Jenn Windrow has an excellent post on making your writing sparkle. She see’s developmental editing like a Christmas Tree. Has it got a good structure? What about the sparkle?

 

 

In The Craft Section,

The case for shrinking your novel- Amy Bernstein- Bookmark

Keeping score- Donald Maass- Bookmark

Four moments you should hold the conflict- Becca Puglisi

The most powerful writing tip- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Naming your book- Penny Sansevieri

 

In The Marketing Section

Can Facebook ads sell books- Randi Minetor- Bookmark

Understanding IngramSparks title processing

Amazon royalties explained- Dale Roberts - Bookmark

Long term author career- Podcast with Joanna Penn and Jennifer Probst – Interesting

The Taylor Swift Newsletter strategy- Katrina God- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The last month of the calendar year and everyone is thinking I haven’t met my goals.

If that is you, cut yourself some slack. Are you further ahead on your writing journey than the start of the year? If you need some concrete help in goal setting check out this article from the SPA Girls. They are fantastic and one of my go to podcasts.

As it’s December, there will be lists of writer gifts out there. Katie Weiland has 12 days of writing gifts to get for yourself or a friend. Treat Yourself.

 

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 Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Understanding The Rules

In Publishing News this week

 

In the continuing saga of Baker and Taylor distributors, the physical warehouse and staff have found a buyer. Riding to the rescue is Lakeside Book Company who have snapped up their warehouse, employees, and print on demand service. 

 

Publishing Perspectives highlights the news that Tennessee is demanding libraries comply with a directive on age appropriate books- or gender politics by another name. This has widespread condemnation with PEN America among many organisations crying political interference in library management and reading.

 

The suspension of books with AI covers from New Zealand’s prestigious national book awards was reported around the world. The online discussions ranged from it shouldn’t be about the cover to we must draw a line in the sand, and this will strengthen the argument for other book awards. One of the issues raised was the time a book is in production. If you change the rules unexpectedly instead of gradually everyone has time to prepare. 

This morning the Book Awards Trust released the new rules for the New Zealand Children and Young Adults Book Awards. There is a clear clause on AI.

“ 11. Works containing AI-authored text, in part or in whole, are not eligible for entry in any category of the awards. Use of AI for research and minor editorial or formatting support is permitted. Submitters should clarify any queries they have with the awards administrator before entering. If, after submission, a work is found to include ineligible AI-generated text, it will be disallowed. Entry fees will not be refunded and submitted materials will not be returned.

Note: Ahead of the 2027 awards, the awards organisers are consulting with the children’s book sector, including with illustrators and designers, to provide clarity around the use of AI for illustrations. Potential submitters who are currently working on books that will publish during the eligibility period for the 2027 awards (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027) should bear in mind the potential for restrictions on its use for illustrations.”

Their gradual introduction of rules for illustration and AI use gives everyone who already have books in production a grace period. 

 

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators recently held a webinar on the state of the industry. Gone are the months where children’s books propped up publishers. In this brave new world SCBWI believe it’s time to make everything fresh again.

 

Tanzania has a publishing problem, reports Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard. With all the English language books flooding into the country, reading in their native language is on the decline. What to do? 

 

Elle Magazine has an interesting article on the celebrity culture of using ghost writers. The quality of your ghost writer collaborator is now the hot thing. Can you get a Pulitzer Prize writer to ghost write your book?

 

Written Word Media has a comprehensive article on the latest AI scams for writers. Sigh.

Meanwhile, in another twist Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware reports that scammers are impersonating famous writers, calling you up to sell the dream.

Let’s be careful out there. Please pass this knowledge on to newbies. It doesn’t hurt to ring the company and ask if their email is genuine but do your own google search and website contact. I know of one local writer who did this and exposed a whole scam operation from a hacked financial account.

 

Chelle Honiker of Author Automations has an interesting article on using AI to streamline all her office jobs. 

Jenny Hansen also shows how you can use AI in 8 cool non writing ways to protect your work- which means not sharing it in the first place. (Yes you can turn off sharing in AI.)

AI is a tool, you can use it as such for proofreading but the accepted practice is don’t use it for creativity. AI does not have the human experience or voice.

 

Rachel Thompson has a brilliant post on repurposing content. Have you got an article or notes filed away that you can repurpose for social media, website articles or into different bite size notes? Rachel shows you how to do more with your work.

 

Kobo Writing Life has an interesting article on the three technical skills writers need to develop. This is a good advice. Are you learning your craft? Do you keep learning? Do you reread your writing craft books? This is also the last week for the Storybundle of writing craft books. Don’t miss out.

 

In The Craft Section,

Creating subtext in deep POV- Lisa Hall-Wilson- Bookmark

Edit your book as if it’s a screenplay- Lesley Krueger

Memoir examples- Reedsy

Ethical and moral dilemmas in crime fiction- Chris Berg and Paul James Smith- Bookmark

Is your character the true antagonist- September Fawkes- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

The importance of your author website- Kobo-Bookmark

The power of the free prequel- Harshini Fernando- Bookmark

Amazon Metadata mistakes- Bookbaby

The 100 rejections challenge-Libby James-Bookmark

Ebook Distribution Deep Dive – Reedsy - Interesting

 

To Finish

As we move into the last month of the year it's gift giving season with Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday deals and then Christmas. Sandra Beckwith is first off the rank with a collection of writer gifts that you might like people to buy for you. The best gift to give a writer is reviews, book sales, a coffee, and then maybe trawl the list for something they really need.

 

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 Jonny Gios on Unsplash