Mind How You Go

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

If you are a children’s writer, you may have been asked your opinion of PRH imprint Puffin ‘cleaning up’ the language in the new reprints of Roald Dahl’s work. Everybody seems to have an opinion. Here in NZ, a respected writer and festival organizer, gave her parental take on Roald Dahl and the modern child. It is a thoughtful essay on the problems of updating writing and why we are so sensitive about Dahl and not for instance, David Walliams. The Dahl Literary estate has just been sold for multi millions to Netflix, so maybe it’s all about the money.

 

Meanwhile that other staple for children’s publishing houses Manga and Comics, which showed great publishing sales in the last few years, are looking sadly at a downturn.

But that doesn’t seem to be impacting bookshops. The Bookseller writes that there are a record number of independent bookshops up for awards in the UK this year. I’m just fascinated by the picture of one of them from the article. A bookshop that is a bar. That’s a new one for me.

 

Publishers Weekly reports that the trial is still grinding on between the big publishers and The Internet Archive. It has just passed two years. The court have finally got to oral arguments. The Internet Archive wanted to scan all their books and make them available for $ and the publishers said – That is piracy. 

The courts will decide… maybe in the next year. It’s going to have big implications either way.

 

Reuters reports that there are AI books on Amazon. Who Knew? However, comments around this range from – gosh they are dull, to they will have to compete against other AI books, to let’s have a rule about disclosure. Everyone is waiting to see what Amazon will do about it. Then the other sellers will get into line. Kris Rusch has a super blog post on what is happening in the magazine slushpile with AI submissions. (The same is probably happening with publishers.)

 

Every Now and Then Mike Shatzkin drops what he is doing and writes a post about the Publishing Industry. He is a longtime pundit and looks at the big picture. This month he wrote about publishing being not as much fun as it used to be. Depending on your mindset it could be exciting or depressing.

 

Sue Coletta has a brilliant article on How to adopt a writing mindset. Sometimes we forget that the mindset we have when we tackle something creative can sabotage how we feel about the work. (And how we talk about it to others.) Is writing an escape or a chore?

Over at The Dream Team’s website Sue has a guest article on the unbreakable promise to the reader that a writer makes. It is excellent food for thought.

 

When I need to get into a story in a hurry- I use writing sprints. This stops the tyranny of the blank page. I have something to edit which then gets my brain thinking around the scene which then leads into better words. Becca Puglisi (half of the Dream Team) has a useful article on this.

 

In The Craft Section,

What’s the best choice for Point of View?- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Show don’t tell and breaking writing rules- September Fawkes

Two fantastic posts from C S Lakin-The intersection of premise and protagonist and Developing a scene outline- Bookmark Both

Backstory is essential to a story except when it’s not- Tiffany Yates Martin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

5 Amazon ad tips to improve book sales- Written Word Media – Bookmark

Start locally with book marketing- Sandra Beckwith

3 essential editing tips for Beta readers- Beth Barany

Easy Mindset change for marketing books- Colleen Story- Bookmark

Book marketing mindset ideas  Joanna Penn's interview with Honoree Corder- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

While we are sorting out our New Year’s plans, getting into quarter goals, forming those To Do lists. Being busy and productive writers is our goal. But what about those Not To Do Lists?

Colleen Story has 7 important Not To Do things that writers should take note of.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for the bumper first newsletter of the year. If you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate virtual coffee love.

Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Franciele da Silva on Unsplash

 

Title courtesy of Terry Pratchett (GNU)

Voting with Your Feet

  

In Publishing News this week,

Harper Collins employees go out on strike. They are asking for writers to support them by not submitting anything unless it's contractual. Will other publishing firms follow suit? Publishers Weekly breaks down the issues and how HC is also facing a financial downturn.

 

Spotify is having a stoush with Apple over not making their audiobooks available to buy on the IOS app. Did Spotify really think Apple would sell their competitor's books?

 

Publishers Weekly has a long-form article on publishing houses started by women and why they are different and successful.

 

Richard Charkin of Publishing Perspectives has updated his A-Z of publishing terms. Some of it is tongue in cheek and some is biting commentary on the state of the publishing world in the UK.

 

Kristine Rusch writes about the blame game in her How Writers Fail series. She also has some pithy commentary on the revelations from the S&S /PRH court case.

 

While you are wondering about the real sales numbers being admitted to by publishing execs… Jordan Pruett has a deep dive article into the workings of The New York Times Bestseller list.

 

Joanna Penn has a great interview on using tropes to strengthen your fiction with Jennifer Hilt, the author of The Trope Thesaurus-(My copy got snaffled by my daughter- I must get it back!) Read the transcript or listen to the podcast for some great ideas.

 

A M Cal from The Writing Cooperative has an interesting post on Embracing your bad ideas.

No idea you have spent time writing on is bad… maybe it’s time is not now.

 

In The Craft Section,

8 easy writing goals to accomplish before the end of the year.- Colleen Story- Bookmark

How to handle critique feedback- Suzanna Henshon

Making background characters pop out- September Fawkes- Bookmark

The craft of award winning microfiction- Amber Byers

How to free yourself from endless revision- Audrey Kalman- Bookmark

Conflict and Choices give agency to your characters- Becca Puglisi

 

In The Marketing Section,

Build an author website- Reedsy- Bookmark

5 tips to balance Book Marketing with writing- Colleen Story

Improve your publishing and marketing plan- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Choosing author targets in Bookbub- Bookbub Insights

How to use social media effectively- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Many writers and publishing professionals hang out on Twitter. There is something about the quick-fire pithy quote that appeals to us all. From MSWL’s from agents and editors to Pomodoro writing sprints or just writing gossip. 

At the moment there is a big exodus happening from Twitter due to a billionaire takeover which has rapidly changed the website. Many authors are heading over to Mastodon which is a decentralized site.  Anna Featherstone has a great rundown on what is going on, advice about how to navigate the two sites, and why you shouldn’t delete your Twitter account. 

Mastodon has servers dedicated to the writing community. You can still follow all your old friends and make some new ones.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Apologies if you are waiting for my monthly newsletter. The website is not playing nicely with me. I hope to sort out the problem this week. You can still subscribe or shout me a coffee as I go into newsletter battle.

I appreciate all virtual coffee love. 

Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Lending A Helping Hand

 

This week in publishing news,

The Los Angeles Times published a big article on the #Disneymustpay saga with quotes from the action team and a deep dive into the way Disney interprets contracts. I’ll bet there were fist pumps everywhere…also a lot of L A creators and lawyers checking over contracts. Hometown karma for Disney.

 

Instagram is flirting with NFT’s. This story from Techcrunch is interesting because Instagram is opening up a marketplace that a lot of people have access to. If you aren’t sure about NFT’s yet, keep an open mind and read the article. When we all live in our virtual reality life it might be handy knowledge.

 

The Society of Authors in the UK has a campaign running for the reform of hybrid publishers. There are legit hybrid publishers out there and there are some shady ones, very shady ones. Check Writer Beware if you want to be really sure about how your publisher stacks up.

 

Meanwhile, across the pond, The American Library Association is fighting back against all the book banning that has been going on. They have collected a formidable group of organisations to help them highlight this growing problem. I was shocked when I realised that ¾’s of the books banned were from marginalised writers. I didn’t realise it was so high. 

 

The New Publishing Standard always has an eye on what is happening around the rest of the world. This week they published an article about Sweden’s very high take up of audio subscriptions. 

 

Juliet Marillier has a great article on Writer Unboxed this week on supporting other writers. She lists a few ways you can do this. One of the easiest is to write a review as everybody knows that each review is gold. Juliet has a few other ideas to add and there are more in the comments.

 

Kris Rusch has an interesting article this week on How Writer’s Fail. As I was reading it I was thinking that optimism is a key ingredient for being a writer. You have to be optimistic to start writing, to continue writing, to finish, to revise, and to keep writing in spite of everything trying to stop you. Nurturing this mindset is the biggest and best thing we can do for ourselves and others. 

 

Colleen Story has a great website, Writing and Wellness. Here are two posts that nurture writers if you need a mental hug. Quotes to encourage you to keep going and Ways to make your writing mornings more awesome.

 

In The Craft Section,

Plot vs Story- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Can a writer quote song lyrics?-Anne R Allen- Bookmark

The difference between plot and story and why you need both- Heather Davis

Ten tools for writers – Kathy Steinemann

Bad Book Descriptions- Book Riot

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to write an author bio- Beth Barany- Bookmark

Can you revive a dead book- Dave Chesson  Bookmark

Book Launch Calendar- Scribe Media

Creating your copyright page – Alliance of Independent Authors – Bookmark

How to work with your graphic designer- Colleen Story

To Finish

The dream team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are celebrating this week. It is ten years since they launched the Emotion Thesaurus. This blue book has been bought by writers all over the world and translated into other languages. Along the way, it has been joined by other books in the series. They reach out to help writers every single day with their resources. Angela and Becca have put together a fantastic prize pack of resources as a 10^th anniversary celebration. Enter to win or send a message of congratulations for a top notch resource. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full of marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic:Photo by Hanna Morris on Unsplash

Looking For Happy

 

 

This week in publishing news,

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard reported that Storytel was having a shakeup with their founder and visionary leader Jonas Tellander stepping down unexpectedly. With uncertain times in Europe at the moment- finding a comfort book to read or listen to maybe a priority. 

 

Publishers Weekly is confident that Bologna will be back in person…however they are expecting a smaller turnout. To compensate they are expanding the children’s book fair to focus on independent publishing and educational publishing. Congratulations to the shortlisted publishers around the world for International Children’s Publisher of the year. Huia has been named in the Oceania shortlist along with Beatnik.

 

Anne R Allen has another timely look at scammers in the book industry. They keep changing their shonky practices. Please keep an eye on Writer Beware… if you get an offer of any sort, treat it with caution. Agents have been burned too.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed Craig Martell this week on tips for author success. If you have heard of the Facebook group 20 books to 50k then Craig will be a familiar name. If not, Craig runs the biggest writers conference in the world. Read /listen to this extraordinary man and his mission to empower writers.

 

Kris Rusch is another extraordinary resource for the publishing community. Her longevity in the industry and her ability to see through the murk to the realities of the publishing business make her a must-read resource. This week she looks at exclusivity deals- when they are a good thing and when they go horribly wrong.

 

Author newsletters can be a wonderful marketing tool but they often give writers a headache as they try to figure out what to put in them. Nate Hoffelder shares 8 things he learned from the Newsletter Ninja, Tammi Labrecque.

 

Colleen Story wrote this week on author mindset when it comes to book marketing. How do you approach marketing your book? Colleen writes about some easy changes that will change your marketing mindset.

 

In The Craft Section,

4 steps for second drafts- D Edwin - Bookmark

When to kill a character- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

How to develop content for a workbook- Nina Amir- Bookmark

Flat character arcs- Lewis Jorstad

3 tips for a time bomb plot device- Becca Puglisi

 

 

In The Marketing Section,

Promote your book while watching TV- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Book Marketing Burnout- Dave Chesson Bookmark

Unique branding for March- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Promoting with a limited budget- Bookbub

Facebook ad images- Written Word Media

110 book marketing ideas- Smith Publicity

 

To Finish,

I’m in the last quarter of my current book and trying to tie up all the loose ends. This week I read an interesting article from Mythcreants on keeping the readers happy with your novel series. You don’t have to always follow the main character. Write an anthology series like Discworld or spin-off books or prequels. This article opens up a whole new drawer of ideas which is a writer’s happy place.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It is nearly time for my monthly newsletter of the best bookmarked links. When you subscribe you also get a nifty mini book crammed with marketing notes as a thank you.

 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. 

I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Kia Kaha Ukraine. 

Time Pressure

 

 

This week in publishing,

 

The dynamic duo of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have launched a new writing thesaurus – The Conflict Thesaurus. As usual, there are lots of cool giveaways but first, you have to go through a choose your own adventure in the writing camp of doom. This is lots of fun and the new thesaurus looks amazing. Well done Angela and Becca!

 

The School Library Journal is an important trade journal for teachers and librarians. They recently had an article on the supply chain woes that are beginning to bite. Libraries are starting to see a slowdown in acquiring books. 

 

Joanna Penn interviewed an anthropologist this week on creating cultures. It is fascinating stuff. Are you trying to create cultures for games or book worlds? Find your trusty anthropologist… or dust off those old Uni notes from those courses you did- it turns out that you can have an exciting career in anthropology after all.

 

Paul Simon is releasing an audiobiography. If you thought I spelled that word wrong- I didn’t. Paul has been working with Malcolm Gladwell and recorded an audiobook autobiography with some new music he has been working on. He has also added conversations with his close friends along with stories of his life. It is an expansion of the audiobook format to encompass a documentary for the ears. This offers loads of possibilities to writers wanting unique audiobook ideas.

 

How much do you know about the paper your books are printed on? Do you know what 80 gsm or uncoated means? Jane Friedman has a guest post from Andrew Watson who has delved into the treasure trove of printed paper and compiled a book of tips and explanations for working with printers. 

 

Writer Unboxed has an interesting post from Kathleen McCleary on being a passive protagonist of your own writing life. This gets to the heart of some knotty issues that you may be facing but didn’t know it. 

 

Barb Drozdowich has a guest post on Anne R Allen’s blog on the 5 Indie author mistakes. The first one caught me by surprise- a failure to think globally. As I was reading, I was thinking about the implications of selling yourself short. Are you frightened of success?

 

We are beginning the last quarter of the year and Penny Sansevieri has a timely post on refreshing your book marketing. She suggests 5 core marketing strategies that you do every quarter to keep yourself current. 

 

Angie Hodapp of the Nelson Literary Agency has an interesting post – Genre Isn’t Everything and High Concept Isn’t King. She breaks down stories based on four different types of appeal. This is a great article for looking at your stories in a different way.

 

In The Craft Section,

Using writer’s intuition to solve problems- Laura Highcove - Bookmark

The only reason your story premise is important- K M Weiland - Bookmark

5 tips for nail biting suspense- Savannah Cordova

How and why reading improves writing- Sue Coletta - Bookmark

Are epilogues good or bad?- Mythcreants- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

14 Virtual tour strategies- Leila Hirschfeld- Bookmark

Top 10 tips for a BB featured deal- Draft2Digital

Advertising design elements that impact ad clicks- L A Sartor- Bookmark

How to grow your author social media platform- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

How to do a Multi-author anthologies- This is a fascinating read- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Colleen Story, a writing coach, talks about the four questions you should ask yourself about why you write and whether writing really matters to you. This is a chance to dive deep into your psyche and examine your motivation.

Kristine Rusch has been looking at these questions from the deadline end. Do you have external deadlines? Do you make internal deadlines? Are they stimulating or terrifying?

Are you more productive when someone else is holding the stopwatch? 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – William Warby