Raise A Glass

In publishing news this week,

Porter Anderson has the rundown on what happened at the Futurebook conference. The big talking points- audio and the changing face of publishing.

 

Techcrunch reports that Spotify has launched audiobooks into more English speaking markets. They are apparently moving away from the all-you-can-eat model. Is this the beginning of the end of unlimited subscriptions? Mark Williams adds his own take on this new development in Audio.

 

If you want to understand book marketing – talk to romance writers they are amongst the savviest book marketers on the planet. Jane Friedman did just this and has an interesting interview with Kitty Thomas

 

Kris Rusch has part two of the year in review. This is a romp through that court case again. However, Kris has some very pertinent things to say about how this could be the last best year for Traditional publishers based on what the court case revealed about publishing.

 

Ruth Harris has a list of clueless things that drive writers crazy. I can see this morphing into writers drinking game.

 

Joanna Penn has a great interview with John Truby about his new book, The Anatomy of Genres. John is an in-demand writing craft teacher. He has several best-selling books which are on my bookshelf. I watched a webinar about the new book today and it is top notch so it’s now on my must-buy Christmas list.

 

In The Craft Section,

The plotting grid- Kobo- Bookmark

Getting to know your characters- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

When to use flashbacks and backstory- Donna Jo Stone

Plot bitches and how to slay them- Marissa Graff

Good endings- Roz Morris- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri- Celebrate read a new book month and Clever book promos for 2023- Bookmark

How does a top book publicist think- Interview – Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Why does my book need interior formatting- Bookbaby

5 concrete steps for building a mailing list- Laurel Osterkamp

 

To Finish,

The last month of the year is here. As we totter towards Christmas, the lists of Christmas gifts for writers start doing the rounds. I started with two lists last week- Check out Angela and Becca’s Christmas gift list for writers this week. I often buy myself a writer textbook in print for Christmas. It’s a gift to myself for achieving another writing year. What gift would you get for yourself? 

 

R.I.P. The Original Songbird. Christine McVie

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. Get the best of my bookmarked links when you subscribe.

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 Kelsey Knight on Unsplash

Writing Challenges

 

 

It’s been a challenging week on the home front so apologies for no roundup last week. 

 

In Publishing News this week,

Tiktok is selling books- Yes, this is old news I can hear you say… but No, TikTok has partnered with Bookshop.org to create a Bookselling platform right in the app. It was only a matter of time.

Another company spreading its wings is Written Word Media- home of the Book Marketing email lists. They have partnered with Yonder, a serialized fiction app. They see it as curated a list of previously published fiction that is serialized. Didn’t Dicken’s do this? This could be an interesting way to mine your backlist.

 

And is Amazon price fixing again? Publishers Weekly reports that a new lawsuit is on the books involving Amazon and the big 5 and the pricing of ebooks. 

Maybe they saw something of interest in the recent lawsuit judgment against PRH and Simon And Schuster which you can read here.

 

This week a theme emerged. Every time I opened my laptop there was another post on writing and mental health. So dip into these.

5 strategies to prevent perfectionism with writer self-care by Lisa Towles

Small changes that can make big differences in your writing life by Beth Barany

9 things writers need to know about Trauma and Mental Health by Lisa Hall Wilson

 

As the country gets hit with lightning strikes and wild weather, this post popped up as a timely reminder of what writers can do to prepare for the worst mother nature can throw at us. There are some good tips in here to keep you from losing all your work. If you are congratulating yourself on storing everything in the cloud – just hope your server isn’t hit by lightning.

 

Indie thought leaders Orna Ross, Joanna Penn, Jane Friedman, and Becca Syme recently shared their thoughts on publishing trends and how to predict and profit from them. 

 

James Scott Bell, one of the best writing teachers around has an interesting article over on  The Killzone Blog about the writer quadruple threat. Do you qualify? If you are weak in any of the main areas it might be time to upskill yourself.

 

In The Craft Section

How to describe a location you have never visited?- Angela Ackerman

Surprising your reader in every scene.- September Fawkes- Bookmark

On Story Death and Life- Writer Unboxed

Clarity in the writing- Patrick McNulty - Bookmark

Emotion amplifiers- Angela Ackerman

Killing your darlings- Ruthanne Reid- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Using the right Font- Jessica Bell - Bookmark

Best practice for marketing on Kindle- The Fussy Librarian- Bookmark

You don’t need a platform if you can find an audience- Catherine Baab-Muguira- Bookmark

Why you should care about Library distribution.- Draft2Digital

5 steps to author success - Joanna Penn interviewing Rachel McLean  Bookmark

 

To Finish,

As we near the end of the year, and what a year it has been, thoughts turn to writer gifts.

If you need to hand your family some gift inspiration, get them to check out these two sites. Sandra Beckwith has pulled together 30 great gifts for writers, and Shayla Raquel adds to this with some wonderful extra ideas. 

Of course, one of the best things you can give your writer is time… so don’t forget to mention mini writing retreats – where the family goes away or you go away, or time banking where the usual chores are looked after by someone else so the writer can get more time in front of the keyboard.

 

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 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.

 

Pic: Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Taking Time to Recharge

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

The new Tutulia app is making little waves in the book community. The App uses a Machine learning AI to recommend your next read based on the information you feed it. The AI scrapes all the book sites and reviews and buzz to pull together a list of books that will suit you. As Ingram is a founder investor you can buy the book from inside the app and Ingram will print it and ship it to you. This is next Gen thinking.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that Bonnier owned Bookbeat is expanding Europe. They seem to be competing in the Audiobook sector with Storytel. They want to increase more competition in Audiobooks. Their pricing subscription reflects this with by the hour of listening instead of monthly fees.

 

Mark Williams has an optimistic view of the big book fairs happening in the Middle East. They are back to clocking up a million visitors and audio looks like it will be taking off there as well with audio subscription services chasing this big market. Publishers should be taking note of the expanding audio markets.

 

Kris finishes The How Writers fail series with a pithy article on quitting too soon. This is a thought provoking article on how writers can self-sabotage their writing. 

 

Sam Missingham has a great newsletter called The Empowered Author. She has her finger on the pulse of the UK publishing scene and is often amplifying authors across social media. Recently she updated her fabulous post on all the different ways Author Collectives operate and their value to the writers involved. ( So of course I would be all over it.)

 

Recently Dan Blank was commenting on generosity as a book marketing idea. He has some really interesting examples of how this has been playing out in the author community.

 

Terry Odell on The Killzone blog recently wrote about giving yourself permission to step back from your writing. Sometimes life gets in the way and writers can tie themselves into knots trying to get their word count in or their projects finished. This is a great little article.

If you need to take a longer creative rest- check out Orna Ross and Joanna Penn’s latest podcast transcript. Joanna has just walked the Santiago Camino Trail and talks about how she is structuring creative rests into her writing calendar.

 

If you are preparing for NaNoWriMo which starts in November, Don’t Forget to check out all the good offers/ deals available for participants. (pssst Scrivener is on sale)

 

James Scott Bell is a great writing craft teacher. I have a few of his books and they are constant dip-ins when you get stymied. He is guest posting over on Anne R Allens’s Blog with a great 10 commandments of writing post- This is print out gold!

 

In The Craft Section,

7 tips to add complexity to the story- K M Weiland- Bookmark

2 tips to amp up the conflict- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Handwriting vs Typing- Kay DiBianca

Prologues- Do we need them?- Janice Hardy – Bookmark

Fear Theasaurus- Not being believed- Angela Ackerman Becca Puglisi

 

In The Marketing Section,

Marketing beyond the bookstore

7 strategies to focus on book marketing- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Publishing resources Free downloads- Shala Raquel- Bookmark

The key elements of eye-catching book design- Jane Friedman- Bookmark

How to publish a Hardcover book on Amazon

 

To Finish,

It’s Frankfurt Bookfair time which means The Alliance of Independent Authors runs one of their free online conferences. SelfPubCon. Check out the link to see who the speakers are this year and sign up. The sessions are all prerecorded and usually 30 minutes long and chock full of information. It is free and there are often neat little deals and competitions on offer.

 

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 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.

 

Pic Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Popcorn Sideshow

 

 

This week in publishing news…

The court case over whether Penguin Random House can buy Simon and Schuster has become a compulsive watch spectacle for many in the publishing industry. The CEO of Penguin Random House gave testimony along with agents and other heavy hitters in the respective companies. However, the words the CEO was saying had people scratching their heads wondering if he knows what actually happens in publishing below his executive floor. 

Publishers Weekly are updating a list of articles they have published over the last week on the utterances in court. You can follow live tweeting of the issues being discussed. 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has some hard-hitting comments on the way the CEO of PRH has been hurling numbers around without checking if they make sense. PRH is the biggest publisher and wants to get bigger. The CEO believes they are the only knight standing between the reading public and Amazon's unlimited digital subscription models for books, which is why they need to get bigger. But there are other publishers out there too. Surely five knights are better than one knight. Swallowing up other publishers reduces the competition. Isn’t this court case about publishing monopolies?

 

In other news, The Authors Guild pulled off a win against Netflix on behalf of screenwriters in court. The writers have not been paid against the negotiated standard. The court found in favour and now Netflix has to pay 42 million dollars in back pay to writers. It pays to belong to a writers union.

 

Jane Friedman has a guest post from two agents on how books get picked up to be adapted for the screen. With so many streaming services looking for content the word is shopping agreements for a limited time.

 

Cory Doctorow has a huge post on copyright laws and how much things have changed over the last 20 years. First, it hit the music industry with sampling, mix tapes, Napster- these events changed the way people understood copyright and now practices that began in the music industry are moving into print publishing.

 

Litreactor has an interesting post on why great opening lines work. They have analyzed 10 examples to find what makes them stand out.

 

In The Craft Section,

2 Great posts from K M Weiland 13 rules to be a better Beta Reader and

Misconceptions about In Media Res. Bookmark Both.

How many scenes does it take to tell a story- Sarah Hamer

How to tell if your story is a Mystery or Thriller- Lucy Hay

Dialogue tags- Kellie McGann

The art of colour coding a manuscript.- Cathy Hall- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

10 tips for more author blog traffic- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

5 reasons your ads aren’t working-Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

9 tips to build your following- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

How to tell if you’ve found your marketing niche- Colleen Story

Republish vs update- Dave Chesson

To Finish,

Every now and then I drop into Dean Wesley Smith’s blog for his interesting take on the writer business. This week he has been writing about all the ways to freely advertise your book. He started listing ideas, and over two blog posts people added their best advertising strategies. So read all the comments for some great book marketing plans to try out. 

With PRH telling the court all their authors get large marketing plans and many of their writers wonder how and why they missed out on the marketing largess… the only way is to learn the author's hustle. 

 

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 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.

 

PIC Photo by Corina Rainer on Unsplash

 

Trick Or Treat

In Publishing News this week,

Audiblegate… Version 2 ‘Here’s a cool trick to play,’ said Booktok influencers, Amazon lets you read the book and return it for a new one and you can keep doing it… and you won’t be charged. 

Since Booktok influencers started sharing this ‘tip’, the rate of returned books has tripled. Authors are reporting that readers are reading an entire series, returning each book for the next one. Understandably this has authors hopping mad. There is a petition to sign to get Amazon to look at the problem and fix it- If the book is fully read there should be no refund.

 

With companies pulling out of Russia, how are the people of Russia coping? Their government is looking to make piracy legal. First up are entertainment companies.

 

Many authors are fond of podcasts, either listening to them or creating them. Substack, known for its subscription newsletters, is dipping a toe into the podcasting arena. Mark Williams reports that a battle is looming ahead for your ears with Patreon.

 

London Bookfair is on now… in person…. Publishing Perspectives shares what is on offer at the stripped back show that also has an online companion show. The way of the future seems to be an all-access pass to the online version along with your ticket to the in-person book fair.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors was started 10 years ago at the London Book Fair. They recently shone a spotlight on four of their authors and how they have succeeded in the last 10 years. 

Over the years Alli have hosted 24 hour online conferences in conjunction with the major book fairs. This year they have a mini-conference happening. Check out the speakers and subjects. Sign up … its free.

 

Kris Rusch wraps up her dive into copyright this week. As ever she is a must read if only so that you can be a little bit informed as to what you can make money on. This week she looks at why all the big musicians are selling their music catalogues.

 

Lisa Ellison has an interesting guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog about why your writing groups might be failing you. As you write you learn more and change your focus…is your writing group helping or hindering you?

 

Anne R Allen has a great post on writing secondary characters. Do your secondary characters try to take over the story? (yes) Anne has 5 tips to help you write great secondary characters who stay in their lane.

 

In The Craft Section,

How To Study Plot and Character- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Theme – the marrow of your story- April Bradley

Swearing in children’s books- Mary Kole

Adjectives- do you really need them- Kathy Steinemann- Bookmark

6 key qualities of the B story- September Fawkes - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Ways to use video to engage with readers- Bookbub-Bookmark

Productivity hacks- Rachel Thompson

How to format a book using Microsoft Word- Bookmark

2 interesting posts from Thomas Umstattd, 10 reasons to delay your book launch and

How to promote using Goodreads

New advertising updates on Amazon – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

DIYMFA has an interesting post from Brittany Capozzi about the Vagus nerve and how it can be used effectively by writers. As I read this article I was struck by how familiar it felt to me. When you are writing an action scene do you find yourself mimicking breathing or facial expressions? (Thank goodness I don’t have a mirror near me.) Check out the article, it might turn you onto a neat trick to try when you want the muse to work harder.

 

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 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.

 

Pic: Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

 

The Book Fair Smorgasbord

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

It’s Book Fair season and the publishing world is venturing out to meet in person for the first time in two years. First up Bologna Children’s Book Fair which has just wrapped up. Publishing Perspectives has the lowdown on how it went.

 

Publishers Weekly takes a look at what will be the big topics at London Book Fair, London will be buzzing next week with the organisers expecting over 20,000 people to attend. They have an interesting collection of talks around publishing in the future too.

 

Frankfurt Bookfair is next after London they are finalising their programme but the theme this year is Translate, Transfer, Transform. Publishers Weekly details what they mean by the catchy slogan.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard shares his thoughts on The Alliance of Independent Authors tenth anniversary and he also has an interesting column on what’s coming down the track -publishing in the metaverse. 

 

Dipping a toe into the future is Joanna Penn, This week she had an interesting talk with a copyright attorney and they talked NFT’s, The Metaverse, and other publishing models and how contract law is changing. This is a meaty interview about copyright so make sure you have a long drink while you listen/read.

 

Writer Unboxed has a new kid on the roster Yasmin Angoe who writes about the eight lessons she has learned as a debut author.

 

Penny Sansevieri has an interesting post on Indiereader about baking in book marketing strategies as you write the book. A whole different way of thinking as you write, identifying angles for marketing.

 

Bookfairs are full of resources for the publishing professional but down at the coal face what does the writer rely on? Ruth Harris has organised an impressive list of resources to make research easy for the writer. Need a name, an historical detail, or a date… Ruth has you covered.

 

In The Craft Section,

How To Write A Blurb- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

Cliffhangers not just for the end of the book- Jami Gold

Character states- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Writer life inside and outside story universe- Seth Myers- Bookmark

Dealing with backstory- Janice Hardy

 

In The Marketing Section,

Step by step guide to author websites - Jane Friedman

10 ways to blog about your book- Amanda Zieba- Bookmark

Author press releases- Sandra Beckwith – Bookmark

Amazon ads for Traditional authors- Dave Chesson- Bookmark

Unique branding for April- Penny Sansevieri -Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The first quarter of the year is over and we should be all back in the writing groove. If you are struggling check out Now Novels collection of group writing exercises.

The Alliance of Independent Authors celebrates its ten year anniversary at the London Book Fair. They have gone from strength to strength and have a huge international membership now. The founder, Orna Ross, had an enlightening article on the Author and The Creator Economy. It’s fascinating and full of mind food.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here. (You 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.

 

Pic: Photo by Hamza NOUASRIA on Unsplash

 

  

Little Details

 

 

This week in publishing news

 

Subscription seems to be on everyone’s minds and not in a good way.

If you are in the Entertainment Business and writers are, you will have heard of the stoush between Neil Young and Spotify. Spotify refused to listen to complaints about Joe Rogan peddling covid misinformation. J R has a show that appeals to the male 25 + bracket and Spotify probably wants to stay in their good books. Neil Young took exception to this and pulled his music from the  Spotify site. Neil survived polio as a child but it left its mark so no one cares more than him about life-saving vaccines. Many musicians came out in support of Neil. 

However other musicians are caught between a rock and a hard place. If the biggest game in town is Spotify, can you afford not to be on it even though they pay appallingly? 

This goes to the heart of fixed-term pots of money for creators. The more creators, the less the slice of earnings available. Tiktok has just added a creator fund pool. Watch for things to get a bit   more dynamic in the Tiktok quarter. 

Recently, Mark Williams looked at the creator fund from Amazon which is the KU payout, and mused about similar issues. Subscription services may be the most contentious topic of 2022 for creatives.

 

Derek Murphy has flagged a potential problem with Amazon and the glitch in their sales reports and rank listings. If you are publishing on Amazon check it out it is getting a lot of comment.

If you haven’t tripped over to Creative Indie recently you really should. Besides interesting articles, Derek has some great free resources for writers.

 

Writer’s and Time management seem to be a theme this week around the blogosphere.

Zoe McCarthy has 5 great tips to keep all your writing-related tasks straight.

Kris Rusch muses on time management and when not to jump on shiny new things and Now Novel blog has a great article on writing rituals and how they can start good habits.

Penny Sansevieri has a great post on the best way to market books in 2022. This comes from her podcast which is short and full of great tips.

 

Congratulations Joanna Penn on achieving podcast number 600. It’s a phenomenal effort and shows the value of consistency as Joanna is one of the most trusted voices in the Indie Publishing World.

Litreactor has an article that made me laugh and then think – hmm why not? The top ten insane things no writer has done but maybe someone should.

 

Jane Friedman has some great guest posters on her site. This week Joe Ponepinto has an excellent post on using telling details to describe your characters.

 

In the Craft Section,

Identifying your characters fatal flaw- Becca Puglisi

Thirteen books for writers- Writer Unboxed

Backstory versus the past – Donald Maass- Bookmark

Strategies to incorporate agent/editor feedback- Good story company Bookmark

Creating a series bible- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

10 secrets to successful book marketing- Bookbaby

Free book promotions- Frances Caballo

 2 great posts from - Rachel Thomson Easy blog calendars and the best way to grow your social media following - Bookmark

7 ways to blow a media opportunity- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Unique marketing ideas for February- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Ruth Harris has a great post on clothes. Yes, choosing the right clothes for your characters can be a great insight into their personalities without you having to spell out all sorts of details. This is a fun read and a great insight into how little details can make the reader fall in love with your story.

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 or go here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.