Reflecting, Educating, Planning, and Celebration

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Those pesky kids books. How dare they have dubious morals. 

Writer organisations are watching the lawsuit in Virginia, filed by Republican lawyers on behalf of a Republican Congressional Candidate who claims obscenity, against two authors and their publishers. The two books in question, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, published in 2019 by Oni Press, and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maass, published by Bloomsbury in 2016. It doesn’t matter how old the books are…. Will other states follow suit? First they came for….

 

Mark Williams notes that the Shanghai Children’s Book Fair has been postponed again. While everywhere people think the shocks of Covid 19 lockdowns are over. They are not. Is the publishing world ready for another China lockdown?

 

The Guardian looks back on how The Costa Book Awards changed reading in the UK. With the shock withdrawal of the awards what is left to fill the gap?

 

Spotify finally closed the deal over Findaway’s acquisition and took the moment to announce what they have in store for the future. It’s going to be very big!

 

Cory Doctorow always has interesting things to say about Tech and Big Business and shonky companies and he is generally out there trying to educate people on their rights. This week he pointed the finger at magazine writers contracts. Oh boy do they not make good reading. So if you are a writer just what are you having to sign in the fine print and how much are you liable for? Once you read this, you will be more educated than most. 

 

Rolling right after Cory was Kris Rusch who detailed just what is happening her in her town about Elvis and Intellectual Property. And then there is the Top Gun potential lawsuit where the heirs of the writer, whose original article the movies are based on, did everything right. Will Big Business blink?

 

Joanna Penn had a great podcast this week with guest Katie Cross on selling books direct from your website. What are all the things to be aware of? Tax? Currency? Getting paid immediately?

 

Dean Wesley Smith has a huge library of teaching videos and courses on his website for writers. Recently he was looking at gaps and came up with a whole new list of potential courses which are now in the pipeline. If you are looking to upskill in any area check out the new courses.

 

In The Craft Section,

2 Great articles from Becca Puglisi-Subterfuge in dialogue

and Character talent skills- Bookmark Both

Character Arcs in the Karpman Drama Triangle- K M Weiland – Bookmark

What does authenticity mean anyway- Lucy V Hay- Bookmark

Creating conflict and resolution in your novel- Now Novel - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Should authors use video to promote their books - Transcript Alli Twitter chat

Get more author and book publicity-Sandra Beckwith

Top 5 social media strategies- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Sell Sheets- Carolyn Howard Johnson- Bookmark

Free ways to build an author platform- ALLI podcast transcript.

 

To Finish,

It’s Matariki weekend. It’s a big deal here in NZ as it is the first indigenous holiday weekend for our country. The first time in law that the whole country will celebrate the New Year according to Maori tradition. Everybody is talking about how to celebrate it- what traditions should we have - what does it mean for us as family or communities. Matariki celebrates the rising of the Pleiades- which happens around Winter Solstice which makes much more sense for big family dinners and planning New Year’s resolutions. In the Northern Hemisphere around Winter Solstice you celebrate with big family dinners and New Years resolutions while Down Under it’s Summer, it’s hot and we just want to go to the beach. We’re in the middle of Summer holiday’s trying to figure out New Year’s Resolutions at late night BBQ’s which means they will all be broken by January 3^rd.

So here’s to a New Year in Winter. May it be fruitful, blessed, and full of Joy for your family and your writing community.

Kua haehae ngā hihi o Matariki.

The rays of Matariki are spread.

 

The rays of its stars are thought to carry messages for the people. Matariki is a time to share stories, reflect on the past, and plan for the future.

 

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 Matariki- or The Pleiades – Fraser Gunn 

How to Find Matariki

Look on the Dawn horizon. Find Orion’s Belt.

Look left to Aldebaran (red star) and left again to Matariki/Pleiades cluster of stars.

 

Fishing for the Muse

 In Publishing News 

Recently Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed his shareholders and talked about their audiobook strategy. Spotify, known for its streaming and subscription models may be trying something different for audiobooks, a marketplace where you can buy the audiobook, not just stream it. 

In related news Spotify has just bought an AI voice platform…specifically the one that recreated Val Kilmer's voice in the latest Top Gun movie. I wonder what they want to do with it? Audio narration anyone?

 

The closing of the Costa book prize (previously The Whitbread) has sent a small shock wave through the literary community. Once the dream of many- the world's richest book prize, validation galore. Will there be anything to take its place?

 

This week Anne R Allen had a Writer Beware post on film scams. Yes, a new scam is on the horizon with scammers reaching out to say they can get your book into Netflix or Hollywood. Read the great article and Be A-Ware of the sneaky way they reel in the unsuspecting.

 

Staying with fish hooks Writer Beware’s Victoria Strauss has a close look at some copyright language that is so contradictory you don’t know what you are actually agreeing to in the contract. 

 

When the writing life gets you down the writer can be heard whimpering if only someone paid me to do this my troubles will be over. A fantastic dream? A hedge fund in the UK wants to give writers a salary to just write. The Alliance of Independent Authors looked into it and found there were some good points in the model. If this sounds like you, check it out. 

 

Kris Rusch continues her learning from the licensing expo series. The publishing industry is fixated on the latest releases, however, the money is in the backlist. That’s what the licensing expo is all about mining the longevity of your IP. The longer the better. Quite fascinating.

 

Writer Unboxed continues their PR and Marketing series with Ann-Marie Nieves. This week Ann-Marie delves into the differences between them and gets advice from some big writer names on how to make the best of book marketing communication.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to make your character sympathetic- Mythcreants- Bookmark

7 questions about your first chapter- Abigail Perry

7 essential tips to plan your novel- Beth Barany

They’re all going to die, why does it matter- Jami Gold- 

Bookmark

Make sure the reader knows who’s talking- Emma Darwin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Paying for a professional book review- Patti Thorn

Promoting a book with hybrid author events- Penny Sansevieri- 

Bookmark

PR and Marketing tips for authors- Ann- Marie Nieves- Bookmark

How to succeed as a non-fiction author- Penny Sansevieri-Bookmark

Instagram reels strategy- Good ideas for book marketing

 

To Finish,

Sometimes, the muse, packs their bag and leaves town. This can leave the writer struggling and feeling like a fraud. Good News. You are still a writer. Dargan Thompson has an article that picks you up, dusts you off, and gives you a pep talk about how you are still in the game.

 

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 Clark Young 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.

 

 

Moving Quickly

In Publishing News This Week,

Audio – the hot growth area for publishing. When the news broke of a potential move by Spotify into the audiobook business, there was a collective gasp. One of the biggest music subscription services taking an interest in audiobooks, how would it change the audio publishing landscape? Today, Storytel one of the fastest movers in this area partnered with Spotify. If you have an exclusive with Audible… you may want to reconsider.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has some great podcasts/ transcripts available. This week they looked at non-disclosure agreements and how these are being used as a weapon against authors' free speech.

 

Hugh Howey has put together a Self Published Science Fiction Competition. It’s all about eyes on books. 300 books to make the cut… and then the competition is on.

 

Anne R Allen has been fielding some plaintive emails from concerned friends on what to do when someone they know looks like they have been sucked into a publishing scam. Anne points out that friends don’t let friends do this but we all know how tricky it is. No one wants to burst their bubble. Read Anne’s excellent blog for tips on how to have these awkward conversations.

 

Roz Morris is a super resource for great writing advice. This month she wrote a great post on why writers have such difficulty ‘killing your darlings.’ If you haven’t come across this phrase it means when you have written a fantastic scene or dialogue and find that you have to cut it and you just can’t. She followed it up with a great post on the 7 steps to a long-haul novel.

 

Jessica Conoley has an excellent post on Jane Friedman’s site on creative stewardship. What do you owe your story when it goes out into the world? This is where many writers feel paralysed. Sometimes all you need is to make a tense change from My story to The story. 

 

Kris Rusch is writing a new series of blog posts on decisions made from fear. What do these decisions look like? This week it’s fear vs growth. How can you navigate through the emotional minefield to make a good publishing decision?

 

Have you ever read fan fiction? That is a story set in a familiar fictional world. These stories are written by fans of popular books. C M McGuire has an interesting blog post about using fan fiction to experiment and try new styles without pressure. It is an interesting idea.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to outline a series – K M Weiland

Character building - Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Editing down your words- Kathy Steinmann- Bookmark

Know your audience- Melissa Donovan

The multi-layer book edit- Michael Gallant- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Two posts from Sandra Beckwith - 9 things you wish you knew before the TV interview and Author branding

Four rules for designing your book cover- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

How to promote your seasonal read- Penny Sansevieri

Two interesting posts from New Shelves- Using a Dear Author letter for marketing  and Market your book in 10 minutes a day – Bookmark Both

 

To Finish,

Michael Lucas has a book in the Storybundle curated by Kris Rusch. He wrote an entertaining roundup of the books in the bundle and why you should buy the collection of writing business books. If you have been meaning to check out one or two of the books on the list grabbing the bundle will get you some bonus exclusives and it pays the authors directly with a cut for charity if you want. The Storybundle is available only for another week so don’t miss out.

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 – Brian

 

The Right Mindset

 

 

In publishing news this week,

 

Mike Williams of The New Publishing Standard recently had an interesting opinion piece on audiobooks. As you know audiobooks have been the hot new thing in publishing and the audio wars are about to begin with Spotify aiming to be the one-stop-shop for audio subscription.

 

Another Mike has also been looking into subscription models. Mike Shatzkin takes a look at some of the innovative ways Amazon raised the subscription bar. 

Meanwhile The Washington Post takes Amazon to task about its lack of support for libraries. Just what is going on here. Do Amazon think the subscription model of Kindle Unlimited is better than putting books in libraries? This is an interesting story from the Washington Post given that Jeff Bezos owns the paper. 

 

Recently David Gaughran reposted the comprehensive article on Author Solutions he wrote a few years ago. The Author Solutions company is a predatory publishing entity with many different names and imprints, some of which are owned by big five publishing houses. Their “boutique” publishing arm demands huge sums of money to newbie authors for minimal publishing services. Just because you haven’t heard of them lately means they haven’t gone away. Some of their scams get a new twist every year. Recently there was an agent promising a bestseller list placement for $10,000 as part of a package deal. Forewarned.

 

Mindset plays a big part in the creative process. Being in the right headspace to create. Being in the right mindset to plan a project. Being open to criticism, rejection, and disappointment are all part and parcel of living the creative life. Recently I was reminded by a friend that imposter syndrome was insidious. I had let it take over my thinking. Instead of seeing the opportunity, I was seeing the failure before I had even tried. I didn’t trust myself. These two posts on mindset resonated with me today.  3 traps that subvert our ability to accept feedback by Lisa Cooper Ellison and The Book Promotion mindset by Penny Sansevieri. Penny takes a good look at the mindset that stops you from giving your book, good promotional love.

 

Co Authorship anyone? If you have been thinking about sitting down with someone to write a story check out this little series on how to do it from Story Empire. It could be the start of a beautiful friendship…

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write genre story- Karen Woodward

Archetypal character arcs – The Queen- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Two great posts on editing -25 editing tips – Alexis Grant and  Trimming your word count- K M Weiland- Bookmark Both

5 pieces of writing advice- Lauren Sapala

 

In The Marketing Section,

The Authors guide to ebook preorders- WrittenWord Media- Bookmark

Amazon algorithms for authors- Reedsy-Bookmark

Best day of the week to discount ebooks- Bookbub

5 ways to solidify your branding- Penny Sansevieri

Develop your book sales strategy and tactics- Brian Jud

 

To Finish,

How often do you find yourself scrolling down your social media feeds and feeling despair. You have to be seen to be engaging… because your fans want you or your publicist told you or the publishers said establish a media presence. Sometimes we can get wrapped up in the social media whirlwind and not see what it is doing to us. Judith Briles offers some very good advice in her Bashing the Myths of Social Media.

Colleen Story also examines the hit creativity takes when you fall into a doomscrolling loop.

Let’s be careful with ourselves and our mindsets. 

Look for all the kitten and puppy pictures to give us the right mood boosters. 

 

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 – Johnathan Kritz