In publishing news this week, there was consternation as the generous donor to the Bookshop hardship fund was revealed. Was it a PR coup, genuine, or a sarcastic tribute from a company that is loathed by brick and mortar stores.
While governments are scrambling to keep their economies going in the wake of the pandemic…there have been calls to see books as essential to the well being of communities. The UK publishers set out a 5 point list of demands. Meanwhile, a couple of agents took a different view and wrote why books aren’t essential in a Publishers Weekly column.
This week Publishing Perspectives reported that China’s bestsellers seemed to have bucked the slump in sales that has hit everywhere else. It’s a fascinating look to see what makes the bestsellers list over there.
If you want a deep dive into analytics Alex Newton of K-lytics fame made his analysis of the coronavirus impact on the book market free today. Well worth a look.
Bologna Bookfair is rolling out a series of online events next week as they move the trading hall to a virtual marketplace that replaces the postponed fair. They are using the postponed dates 4-7th May for their virtual fair. This is probably going to be the way of the future so all eyes will be on Bologna to see how it works out.
Has reader behavior changed through this uncertain time? Are you reading more or less? New books or old favourites? Digital or Print? Bookbub has a revelatory article on what they are seeing.
At the end of last year, Joanna Penn interviewed Andrea Pearson about productivity. Andrea runs her writing business from home while homeschooling young children and hosting two podcasts. If you need tips on how to juggle life… check out the transcript or listen into the podcast. (She is a juggernaut!)
Kris Rusch is always my Go To. (As if you didn’t know- LOL) She makes sense of this crazy world of publishing and how we can approach it. This week she warns that Traditional Publishers who are delaying book launches until later in the year could be doing themselves and their authors a huge disservice. She has some good advice.
Today I saw in my Twitter feed the first of the publishing layoffs of editors and book designers. Sadly, this is just the beginning. I think we will see a very contracted book industry before the end of the year.
In The Craft Section,
The difference between an inciting incident and a plot point- Jami Gold- Bookmark!
Writing through distractions- Jody Hedlund
Never mow the same grass twice- Michael Bjork
Mastering the basics of point of view and dialogue-James Scott Bell- Bookmark
How to outline a novel- Roz Morris- Bookmark
How to avoid writing a dull series-David Farland- Bookmark!
In The Marketing Section,
Amazon cuts KDP ebook minimum for Euro countries- Roger Packer- News
4 ways to market YA titles- Jennifer Tucker
Public Speaking for writers- Sally Jenkins
Build a community of readers- Karen Lock Kolp-Bookmark
Unique content for May – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
To Finish,
Just when you feel overwhelmed at all you should be doing, struggling to create writer energy, along comes Ruth Harris. Her gust of common sense stops you in your tracks and makes you rethink what you are doing. 10 ways to feel like a writer when you can’t write thanks to the coronavirus is a MUST READ. I played around on book cover sites and invented books for the hell of it and along the way did some learning and it was great for my mental outlook. I could float along without feeling that I was paddling furiously to get nowhere.
Note To Self- Be more like a duck.
Another year has ticked over in the life of the blog. It is nice to see that people I linked to way back, in the beginning, are still hanging in there. What changes we have seen in the last 12 years. We are definitely living through interesting times in publishing.
Maureen
@craicer
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