Showing posts with label NZCYA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NZCYA. Show all posts

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Facing The Music

 


This week Japan just jailed some copyright pirates. (Is that a cheer I hear from authors?). How much did publishing lose? The New Publishing Standard crunches the numbers and asks is it piracy if the pirates were just filling a gap in the market? 

 

The European Writers Council is looking sideways at EU member nations this week who have been dragging their feet over ratifying the Single Market Digital Copyright Directive. They have had two years. There are now some very nervous content providers out there looking at their disappearing copyright. Publishing Perspectives looks at implications.

 

Dave Chesson is on a roll with another comprehensive article on how to choose good book titles. This is a fascinating deep dive into the emotion of book titles… just in case you thought they were pulled out of a hat.

 

Kristine Rusch has another great post on fear based decision making in publishing. There is so much to mull over in here. Kris is writing mainly about the US publishing world but these things echo around. I know that print runs have been drastically cut in the last ten years here in NZ.

 

Anne R Allen has a very good blog that is chock full of interesting content. This week Anne has a mini-rant on self-publishing. It is not a childish game. This is not a let’s play at publishing dress-up. It’s a business and the choices you make at the beginning can make or break you. (Totally Agree)

 

I was interested to see an opinion piece on Forbes about micropayments and the continuing lack of a viable way to show one-time appreciation. It was big news about five years ago as everybody thought it would be sorted soon. And still we wait. A tip jar could make all the difference to writers whose work is stuck behind paywalls and subscription plans. How many subscriptions does one person need?

 

Brenda Copeland has an interesting article on Show and Tell. We often hear writing advice that emphasises the Show -Don’t Tell mantra. But sometimes you need some telling. Brenda shows where it is most effective.

 

In The Craft Section,

5 types of surprise and how to write them- September Fawkes- Bookmark


5 ways to get unstuck- Lisa Tener


2 great posts from Jami Gold -How we can avoid talking heads and Characters and Settings- make them interact- Bookmark Both.


Archetypes- The parent- (another in her excellent series) K M Weiland - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

FAQ on Lyrics In Books-Bookbaby- This question comes up all the time- You may need to bookmark it if it’s something you want to do in the future.


Book promotions- The long term- Anne Janzer


How to get awesome book cover blurbs and Who are the best Booktubers- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark Both


Podcasting as an Indie author- The Alliance of Independent Authors- Bookmark

 

To Finish

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults Finalists were announced today. Congratulations to all finalists. I have been a judge for these awards and it is no easy task. There would be many fine books that would have just missed the cut. We need a longlist. 

 

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 – Tim Green - Sax Maniac

 

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Getting Creative

 

This week in publishing news…

Publishing Perspectives reports on Penguin Random House India’s moves into the European market. Take one branch of a worldwide company… add a big distributor … Stir… and bake a new revenue stream.

 

This week I attended a virtual awards ceremony for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was an odd experience as groups of us gathered around the country to watch a semi-live streaming event and cheer on our colleagues and winners. There was a tremendous outpouring of love for our finalists online throughout the week. It was bittersweet to not be there in person. Kate Reed Perry wrote a recent article on how virtual book events need to change to bring in some magic. Let’s get creative with our events.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli) has pulled together a big post on Lockdown lessons for authors. With countries tentatively making a break from lockdown authors share what they learned and how they would do things differently. 

 

How much does the rest of the world know about the Asia Pacific publishing region? Mark Williams from TNPS has a roundup for Alli- Did you know that 50% of the people online in the world are in this region? What devices do they read on? Who caters to them? How do you reach 886 million online readers?

 

Have you been looking at your writing software and wondering whether you are missing something crucial? Author Media has a round-up of the writing software authors are using in 2020. Tech Crunch reports a new kid on the block aimed at creatives. Circle brings all your community engagement, courses, extra creator content into one space. Put together by the team behind Teachable.

 

How often have you seen a movie based on a book and wondered what happened?  There was a Twitter storm when the first pictures of BBC America’s The Watch, based on Terry Pratchett’s beloved books, were released this week. Not what the fans wanted at all.  Kris Rusch continues her look at licensing Intellectual Property and how they are working with a games company to take her books and characters into the gaming space. How much control should an author have over the product? Is it like films?

 

Rachel Thompson has an interesting article about self-publishing now and how authors have to understand all the ramifications of choosing this way of publishing. 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write, and what not to write about the family, in your memoir- Sharon Harrigan- Bookmark


2 great posts from Angela and Becca- 6 tricks to layer on the stakes and Conflict thesaurus- Losing one’s temper- Bookmark Both


Begin at the beginning – or maybe not – Barbara Linn Probst


The trials and tribulations of DIY audiobooks- I popped this into craft because it has audio craft tips.- Andrene Low

 

In The Marketing Section,

Social media might not mean what you think it means-Sadie Hartmann- Bookmark


Book Cover redesigns- Alexander von Ness


A deep look at reader guides- P H Solomon- Bookmark


7 Book Marketing mistakes authors make- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark


4 top book formatting mistakes to avoid- The Book Designer

 

To Finish,

We were doing so well… and then, as a friend said, Covid bit us on the butt again.  New Zealand goes back into lockdown. So to all those writers stuck back at home with the kids and the spouse and the pets and the mayhem… Here is the hacks guide to writing while the kids are at home.

 

Stay Safe. Be Kind. (Let’s rock those masks…)

 

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- Curran Kelleher Venice Mask

 

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Sunshine In The Gloom


This week there were two podcasting milestones. Joanna Penn reached 500 episodes of her podcast (11 years) and The SPA Girls reached 250 episodes of theirs, (5 years) These podcasts are super informative about publishing craft and marketing. They are must listens every week. If you haven’t checked them out at least once you are seriously missing out. They both have an extensive backlist of episodes… they have pretty much answered every question in publishing. Congratulations Joanna and Trudi, Cheryl, Wendy, and Shar.

 

Jane Friedman looked at the publishing stats from the U.S. Is there some silver linings in the gloom? Yes, print and ebook sales are up. We’ll take every ray of sunshine we can…

 

What is courage? Writers moaning about how hard it is to publish now, pushed Kristine Rusch’s buttons this week. If you are moaning instead of doing- This is a nice wakeup call to check your privilege credentials.

 

WorldCon is over. The first virtual event of its kind had some teething troubles. There was a huge commitment behind the scenes to getting it up and running. Hats off to the NZ Sci-Fi community for slogging through. However, the virtual community was left wondering where the NZ content was…. It was there but not prominent… or as this article says how NZ’s best sci-fi and fantasy writers got shafted on the world stage.

 

The New Publishing Standard published an interesting news story on its blog today. They were taking a look at why video can be streamed in subscription packages almost globally but books can’t. With Africa pretty much online through mobile phones, the ability to get subscription books is pretty low. What are publishers doing wrong? (I write this as Disney announces the new Mulan movie release streaming on their channel.)

 

This week many authors winced when the news that a reference to a dye recipe in an historical novel was uplifted from a google search that was a fake recipe. John Boyne’s new historical novel has now had loads of extra publicity but is it the right publicity?

 

Scott Myers has a great post on Deep work vs Shallow work. How often do you sit down to write and have about five tabs open on your browser at the same time? Clear the decks first.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to create tension in writing- Now Novel- Bookmark


Dumb little writing tricks that work- Scott Myers


2 great posts from Mythcreants- How do I describe fat characters respectfully and Introducing otherworldly elements.


When you have extra POV characters- K M Weiland- Bookmark


A quick reminder on Transitions-Elizabeth Spann Craig- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What should go on your Copyright page- Bookbaby


Book proposals – what should they have- Jody Hedlund


Two interesting posts on Book Titles- Good story titles from Ride The Pen and Picking a bestselling title from Barbara Delinsky- Bookmark


Email newsletter for authors- Jane Friedman- Bookmark


3 reasons authors need a content strategy- Abbie Mood

 

To Finish,

Next week is the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. I was privileged to be a judge two years ago. It is a big night in the small world of New Zealand Children’s publishing. However, this year it will be a virtual ceremony. This decision was made some time ago before we came out of lockdown. We still need to celebrate so I’ve been part of a team organizing a local bookstore live streaming party. The next best thing to joining with your tribe and celebrating altogether in a big venue. Angela Ackerman pulled out of the archives a post on the 6 smart ways authors can collaborate for marketing. This type of advice is gold in 2020 when there are so many virtual book events in the present COVID-19 publishing world. Go and gather your author friends… let’s get innovative in our celebrations.

 

Kia Kaha Beirut- Stay Strong-

 

Hiroshima- 75 Years- When will we ever learn…

 

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- Mark Lee

 

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Promoting Good Ideas


This week has felt like a year. The protest marches in solidarity with the BLM movement have gone around the world. Again, questions are being asked of the publishing industry about how diverse they really are? Author Celeste Ng is sponsoring publishing internships to help address the lack of diversity in publishing and is calling on other authors to speak up.
Meanwhile, Frances Caballo has written a great blog post on using a variety of races in your social media posts. Have you taken a look at your default colour perspective? Can you lead by example?

Here in New Zealand, the news today was the announcing of the shortlist for the New Zealand Children’s and Young Adults Book Awards. It was a great moment when I counted up that our biggest Maori Language publisher had scooped the most finalists. As a former judge, I know how hard it is to get our indigenous language books published at all. I am happy to see so many great stories getting their moment in the sun. It is also neat to see the new breadth of Indie publishing houses popping up. Now we just need to promote them!

Kristine Rusch looks at the background of book promotion and muses about the death of the traditional book promotion. What do we do now? 
Dean Wesley Smith, (Kris Rusch’s other half) goes further and takes a critical look at whether Traditional Publishing has moved on at all.

In global publishing news, The New Publishing Standard is taking a critical look at the Frankfurt Bookfair. The big publishers are running away- Can the book fair really carry on?
Publishing Perspectives have got the numbers for what happened in publishing in Europe over the last four months or so. Who knew that reading habits formed during lockdown are still continuing as everybody struggles out the other side? Non-Fiction is a winner in the reading stakes.

Joanna Penn has added another article on the basics of an author presence. This is turning into a nice little series of solid practical advice.
If you are struggling with distractions that get in the way of writing take a look at the fabulous tactics from the Prolifico writing coaches. 

Ruth Harris has a must read post on patience and persistence being the key to the writing life. This post is resonating with a lot of writers. Take a look and inhale the goodness.

In The Craft Section,



100 questions to evaluate your manuscript- September Fawkes- Bookmark!


Ask yourself WHY- Terry Odell- Bookmark


In The Marketing Section,


Grow a more fertile author platform- Eldred Bird- Bookmark



Using keywords in your kindle description – Dave Chesson – Bookmark

Who knew there was a national mud day? Unique content ideas for June – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

To Finish,

I was thinking a few days ago about how often authors have to perform for marketing purposes. Children’s authors are particularly saddled with this. They are invited to Book Fairs only to entertain children, not really to talk about their work or process. It is hard to switch on the performer when for most of the year you are in your own head. Scott Myers has a great post on Pitching- which is about finding your in-public persona that can take over and pitch the story. Find the courage to step out of the comfort zone and act the performer to promote your ideas. Be Like Bowie! 

A note about the picture above. 
This was taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in Minneapolis over the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Eric’s last words as he was held down by police in an arm lock around the throat- ‘I can’t breathe’. Sadly, six years and many more deaths later the story repeats again. Same actions. Same words. This time George Floyd died in Minneapolis. There are worldwide protests this time. It is past time for a change in the treatment and value of the lives of all people of colour.

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.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Finding Your Tribe


This week the publishing world paid tribute to one of the outstanding writers of the last century, Toni Morrison. Toni’s work inspired many writers and readers. Her spirit lives on in her words and the way she became a touchstone inspiring a new generation of writers to tell their stories. R.I.P. TONI MORRISON. 

The Jabberwork, Sarah McIntyre, is often asked by aspiring illustrators about how to find a style and how to begin to be an illustrator. This week she decided to write a full blog post answering these questions. If you know an aspiring illustrator pass this very good instructional post along.

This week Passive Guy (who is a lawyer and a writer) took a look at morality clauses. 
Morality clauses never used to be in contracts. Recently writers have been caught out with publishers enforcing morality clauses and killing careers. Passive Guy notes that wording is very loose… even if there is no evidence but hearsay it can be enough to kill your contract.

This week Anne R Allen wrote a much-shared and talked about post on the decline of mainstream fiction. Since the 1980s mainstream fiction has started to disappear. Where has it gone? Into genres. Book Club Fiction anyone?

Kris Rusch continues her deep dive into all things licensing this week. This is a fascinating series of posts. This week Kris talks about Taylor Swifts licensing woes and what she may or may not be able to do about them.

Joanna Penn has been on a journey exploring content marketing. If you know Joanna’s site all the work she does is content marketing. She has a fascinating interview on content marketing with Pamela Wilson. Joanna is exploring content marketing for fiction… a whole ‘nother ball game.
One of the other strings to Joanna’s content marketing bow is audiobook narration. Joanna has a great article on making an audio booth at home. 

This week Elizabeth Spann Craig wrote an interesting post on the practice of writing. How often do you practice writing? Do you find it hard to get back in the groove after a break? Elizabeth talks about ways to manage your practice. 

In The Craft Section,
Depicting characters held back by fear- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

4 ways to write gripping internal narrative- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Can common writing advice be wrong- Jami Gold Bookmark

Improve your writing with plot threads -Bookmark

7 rules for picking character names- Elizabeth Sims

In The Marketing Section,
Before you market, set objectives- Boni Wagner-Stafford- Bookmark

Seven mistakes to avoid when recording audiobooks- Alli Blog

Navigating book promo with effective strategies and

125 Book promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri- BOOKMARK!!

Top book advertising tips from RWA2019- Bookbub - Bookmark

To Finish,
Last night I attended the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was a fabulous night. I got to catch up with lots of writer friends and have interesting discussions with publishing industry people as well as celebrate the fabulous books. On my way home, late, I was reflecting on the children’s book community and how supportive they are to each other. Many times the winners of the awards said how much they had enjoyed their fellow finalist's books and couldn’t believe their book had been picked over others. It is a great thing when you find your tribe and feel that you truly belong.

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: Toni Morrison - Getty Images BBC Obituary

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Winning At Productivity


Earlier this week I attended the New Zealand National Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Every year I try to pick the winners and end up with about a 50% strike rate.  Book Awards are subjective. What might be your jam could be the judge’s tripe stew. I often think that just making the short list is a major cause for celebration. However it was great to catch up with old friends, celebrate their success in being shortlisted and catch up on gossip.

In the writing blogosphere this week Smashwords introduced a special deals extra for their online store and revamped their coupon codes.

David Gaughran tells a cautionary tale of marketing gone wrong at Amazon because of a rogue publishers mistake. If you advertise on Amazon you need to read this.

With the melt down in international politics Anne R Allen helps everyone out with a timely reminder of good online author etiquette.

Joanna Penn has an interesting post from Zsofia Macho of Publish Drive on publishing in other countries. PublishDrive are a service like Draft2Digital but based in Hungary and cover Asia and Europe.

How do prolific writers stay productive? Check out these writing strategies. This is a fascinating insight into the world of the master writer.

If you are a traveling writer... Daniel Smith has some productivity tips to help you enjoy your travels and still do the work.

Kris Rusch talks about negotiating TV and movie deals. It helps if you know exactly what you want. A very interesting post on this market.

Johnny B Truant has an interesting post on Book Covers. Yes they go out of fashion and yes you need expert design help. Johnny shows his cover progression and why they were mistakes.

Since I figured out how to listen to podcasts in the car. I have been dipping into some interesting writing ones. Jennifer Laughran is going from strength to strength with her new podcast on kidslit publishing. Check out this one on publicity.
Lorna Faith has an interesting podcast interview on marketing plans with Nick Thacker and four part story structure.

In The Craft Section,

Two great posts from Go Into The Story- The 3E’s of scene description and


When you lose the desire to finish- Jane Friedman- Bookmark


Character motivation- Rescue a loved one- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark


In The Marketing Section,


Book Design Chapter Openers- Joel Friedlander


4 social media productivity tips – Frances Caballo - Bookmark



16000 preorders in 6 months- A case study- Gwynn White

To Finish,

It’s been a week of highs and lows. Productivity has taken a beating. Sometimes you just need to stare at cat gifs... or you can get creative and come up with a Periodic Table for Villains.

Maureen
@craicer


Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Rob Schofield

I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces every month. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. I went down a rabbit hole this week but I promise the newsletter will go out this weekend... with pictures...



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