Defending Literature Around The Globe.

In Publishing News this week,

 

Copyright received another blow in the United Kingdom this week, when the amended law supported by the Upper house was defeated again in the Lower house. That meant that the new bill will not have any transparency compliance from tech companies. Publishing Perspectives covers the implications and what publishing companies can hope for in the near future.

 

Canadian authors alerted the writing community to an AI scam that is happening on Amazon. Take a hot new title… change the cover a little bit with AI. Change the author name a little bit. Scrape the insides… and take advantage of the original books marketing push to make bucks. This kind of dupe gives authors a bad name and it’s not their fault! 

 

International tax and legal services firm, PWC has released a report on the impact of AI in the workforce. It’s surprisingly positive with employees who can use AI being valued more. Mark Williams looks at the report findings for the publishing community.

 

Meanwhile, Jane Friedman has written an article about What AI can’t steal from you which is your unique voice and perspective. 

 

Ingram Content Group has integrated AI tools into its marketing platform, Ingram iD. The tools will write blurbs and run campaigns across social media according to Publishers Weekly.

 

The Toronto Comics festival just wrapped up and the big talking points were how much the cross border attendance had taken a hit because of fear of gender challenges at the border. The festival has been a safe space for people from marginalized communities. Although comics are in good heart the people reading them may not be so confident.

 

The International Publishers Association’s World Expressions Forum (WEXFO) has just finished meeting in Lillehammer. The clarion call from the forum was the threat to Democracy from disinformation and censorship. They have released a report exhorting members to resist this. “World Expression Forum calls for resistance against authoritarian forces that undermine democracy and freedom of expression. Democracy is continuously under threat, and we (the undersigned) promise to strengthen our battle against disinformation, censorship and polarization–and improve literacy in our societies.”

Over in the middle east the Shajah Publishing Sustainability Fund has just helped 12 publishers to scale up their business and use new tools to make their publishing sustainable. They get so many business development goodies they must be the envy of publishers worldwide. Mark Williams dives into what is on offer for the lucky selected publishers. This is possible because of the countries commitment to literacy and education. 

 

Seth Harwood writes on Jane Friedman’s blog about the perils of Diminishing Returns in Revision. Do you know when it is time to let go. This is one of my biggest problems…if only I had another five minutes to put in that comma and take it out again four times before I’m finished… .

 

The fantastic Jami Gold is back with an excellent post on writing stand alones in a series. Yes, you can do it. It takes some creativity but we’re writer’s aren’t we? Jami has some great tips for thinking outside the series box.

  

In The Craft Section,

3 act analysis of Star Wars- Gabriele Pereira

Chekhov’s Gun- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

When the 2^nd draft feels like a step back- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Different character arcs for the same character-K M Weiland- Bookmark

Dual Protagonists- Terry Odell- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

Conquering limiting beliefs- Kimberly Grabas- Bookmark

10 Free Book Promo ideas- Sandra Beckwith

Monitoring your author brand- Dave Chesson – Bookmark

21 marketing tips- Writing Oasis

How to define a strong marketing brand- Jenny Hansen- Bookmark

 

To Finish

It’s halfway through the year and my thoughts turn to the current novel and if I will ever wrangle it into submission. It didn’t help that I wrote out of sequence. Jenny Hansen has an excellent article on the non linear writing process. Some writers work best when the manuscript looks like a mess. 

How often do you start a writing project knowing who the audience for it is? Liz Alterman has an article on The Dynamic duo’s website about pitching the concept to yourself before you write the book. I can’t help thinking that if we did more of this we wouldn’t have half-finished novels in the bottom drawer.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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The Courage To Be Creative

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

A new press has launched reports The Guardian. Conduit books seek to only publish books by men as they are being “overlooked with the perception that the male voice is problematic.” The founder hopes the press will help to change the narrative that boys and men don’t read. Anything to get people reading, I say.

 

The fan run Science Fiction and Fantasy conference called WorldCon is under a massive cloud at the moment. At issue is the use of ChatGPT to vet authors and panelists. Cora Buhlert, who will be on a WorldCon panel virtually, explores the problems of using AI for programming in her article, Robot Hallucinations. She uses her own name and prompt as an example of the problem the organisers overlooked. It is a minefield. If you are planning a conference- do your own homework, don’t rely on AI.

 

The attack on the arts in the United States continues. Next on the block are the National Endowments for Arts and Humanities. These two organisations have stopped or rescinded funding for Literary grants and awards amongst other important funding for the literary sector. Publisher’s Weekly reports that they fought back in the first Trump presidency, but they may not be able to fight back this time.

 

The UK Publishers Association have been reminding people of the soft power they wield in the UK economy. Their study puts the figure in the billions of pounds reports Publishing Perspectives. It all hinges on literary tourism. 

 

Spotify is retiring its Findaway Voices by Spotify, arm in August. They have sold this part of the business to INaudio. Spotify will continue with Spotify for Authors its dedicated audiobook distribution business. Dan Holloway reports on the changes for authors.

 

Recently UNESCO released a document from a trio of European organisations entitled A Call For Transparency Regarding AI-Generated Books. Publishing Perspectives reports on the document and the 3 key points UNESCO is asking for. Developing critical thinking is top of the list.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard looks at the old model of publishing regions and why it has taken so long for the publishing industry to realise that eBooks are global and you don’t need regional publishing distinctions.

 

Publisher’s Weekly reports that Young Adult trends in books being published this year are bouncing between light and dark. A recent survey shows that its either frothy romance or dark academia that are the stories of the moment. What is there for the teen in the middle?

 

Lit Hub has an article on The Rise of The Submission Industrial Complex, or how journals are increasingly asking for fees to submit work. Some journals are using this to weed out AI written stories. But others are seeing it as a cash cow.

 

David Woghan writes an interesting article on Jane Friedman’s blog about whether you really need Ingram Spark. Print On Demand has come a long way from its beginnings. At issue is print quality and availability. In my experience IngramSpark have been excellent down under. 

 

I love researching…it’s the writing I find hard. The urge to go down the rabbit hole is something I battle every day. Kate Woodworth has a great article on how going down the rabbit hole opened her up to a whole different narrative.

 

Kathleen Schmidt has a great article on book publicity. It’s not a contest. There are many factors that help your book make a splash, having money to spend on publicity is not the only way to get a book noticed.

 

In The Craft Section,

Voice revisited- Terry Odell- Bookmark

Thriller words of wisdom- Dale Ivan Smith- Bookmark

10 things I learned teaching children to write- Tari Jewett

How readers react to reactions- Donald Maass- Bookmark

Writer Better Action Scenes- K M Weiland - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

8 strategies to boost reader engagement-David Lewis- Bookmark

Stock Photos for Book Covers-Jonathan Green- Bookmark

How to revive a dead email list- Emily Enger- Bookmark

How much does publicity cost- Kathleen Schmidt- Bookmark

Book promotion ideas- Bookbaby

 

To Finish

Joanna Penn interviewed Pia Leichter, a publicist and writer about her new book Welcome to the creative club: Make life your biggest art project. This is a wide ranging interview on being a creative director and taking those skills to apply them to writing and your own life. Changing your own narrative can happen with making small changes in your life. 

Diana Stout writes about persevering through failure. How the writer reacts to failure will show whether they will ultimately be successful. 

Creative Courage to keep writing is what we all strive for.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

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Speaking Up for Reading

 

 

In Publishing News This Week

Another week, another news story on the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this time it’s an open letter to Harper Collins. Everyone else has made the campaign to save the Institute a priority- why haven’t they?

 

In the UK, a new survey on reading finds that nearly half of the adults surveyed struggled to finish a book. This should be ringing all sorts of alarm bells. Most reported that they had seen a significant shift in their lack of reading in the last three years. 

Barbara O’Neal’s article on Writer Unboxed about The War of Attention is a timely reminder to be proactive in carving out reading time. 

Sara Hildreth also has a great post on types of reading slumps and how to fix them. If we all share these articles around we might get some people reading again. It can only be good for us.

 

Recently I was out with family, and we were in a pub that had been decorated with old Reader's Digest books. You know the ones, four abridged stories in one volume. I had to explain to the teen what they were. Book subscription boxes are on the up reports The Guardian. In fact they are becoming so popular as a curated reading experience that they are starting publishing companies.

 

Richard Charkin writes on the existential threat to publishing. Which one I hear you mutter. Yes it’s all of the above but the biggest threat according to Richard is the publishing industry itself.

 

While we are lamenting reading with our eyes, perhaps we could take some time to look at reading with our ears. The rise of Spotify and its commitment to audiobooks, especially the launch of its short form audio this year, has reaped a big industry prize, says Dan Holloway. 

Authors are taking advantage of the short form audio boom and reaping a nice pay day with 2000 word novellas. Revenue exceeded $2Billion in podcast advertising writes Mark Williams.

The Alliance of Independent Authors writes on how to use short form audio to your advantage. Meanwhile, over on The Creative Penn, Joanna has an interview with Derek Slaton on how he is using short form audio as serialized chapters on YouTube. This is a fascinating look at another form of storytelling with podcasting and YouTube.

 

Anne R Allen has revised her post of 10 pieces of bad advice new authors get from their unhelpful friends.- Hands up if you have received more than one of these gems of bad advice.

 

Terry Odell has a super post on the very underrated super power that every writer has. It has nothing to do with structure and everything to do with voice. 

 

In The Craft Section,

2 great articles from Becca Puglisi-6 tips for creating chemistry between characters and Effective dialogue techniques- Bookmark

How to use asides- Arthur Plotnik

Writing a fall arc- K M Weiland – Bookmark!

Villains vs Antogonists- Debbie Burke- Bookmark

Unforgettable villains- Masterclass

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to define a strong author brand- Jenny Hansen- Bookmark

Teachers guides with AI- Darcy Pattison

How to talk about your book ahead of publication- SamMissingham

Crucial elements to an author website-Carlyn Robertson- Bookmark

Prize ideas for promotions-Bookbub- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Dan Blank takes the concept of the writers voice and expands it in this great article on the incredible power an author has to take us out of our daily life and into another world. He writes about how to use your writer friends to challenge yourself to go deeper as a writer. We all have a unique voice, are we using it in our writing?

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox, subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

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Little Gifts of Change.

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Richard Charkin, commentator on the publishing industry, is walking the talk by having his press go to Print on Demand with Ingram Spark. With calls over the last three years or so for publishing companies to be more sustainable this is a move that will hopefully herald a lot of other publishing companies following suit. Along with POD, Richard is using the new kid on the block Shimmr to handle the book promotion. Shimmr uses AI to scan the book pull out the tropes and selling points and then crafts media ads to target ideal readers. Changes might be happening. 

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that Germany has taken the falling stats in reading skills among German youth to heart and they are going to embark on new strategies to help keep young people reading.

 

It’s time to wheel out the big lawyers. In litigation news, Democrat members of Congress (US) introduced a bill to stop the surge of book banning in schools. Their bill is for federal funding to fight the book bans.

 

Dan Holloway has an interesting news roundup for the Alliance of Independent Authors. This week he looks at all the news surrounding the various court cases being brought by authors against AI. There seems to be one law firm spearing the charge. Dan has some interesting things to say about whether these court cases are useful or not. 

 

Meanwhile, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) is sending strongly worded statements to the copyright office about the Tech companies use and abuse of Fair Use which is what the Tech companies are pinning their defense on. 

 

Jane Friedman has a very telling post on how publishing professionals can sometimes screw up a writer’s career. She has an interesting case study, that a lot of writers can probably empathise with. I have heard variations on this problem for years. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.

 

Anne R Allen has a great post on query letters. If your manuscript hasn’t had any bites, it could be that you are screwing up your query letter. She has a run down on best practice.

 

Katie Weiland has compiled a lovely list of writer gifts that you can share around to your loved ones if you want something particular and they need ideas.

 

December is commonly referred to as NaNoEdMo or the time when writers who managed to write a novel in November take a step back and look at the editing of that novel. Michel Leah has a great article on what to do now. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Story Tropes to avoid or not to avoid- Jami Gold

The 10 most common editing mistakes- Natalie Hanemann- Bookmark

Brainstorming words of wisdom -Dale Ivan Smith- Bookmark

Why the protagonist must be a problem solver- September Fawkes- Bookmark

FBOBA The fragile beauty of being alive- Donald Maass- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Marketing Outside The Box- Terry Odell- Bookmark

20 ways to promote during holiday season- Thomas Umstattd- Bookmark

Publish as an audiobook with Scott Sigler- Thomas Umstattd-Bookmark

Parts of a book- Reedsy- Useful Info

It’s not about You- Kathy Steinemann- Bookmark

How to find time for book promo- Sandra Beckwith

 

To Finish,

As we head into December, many writers start thinking about their goals for the year. Have they been achieved? Are you thinking about next year? Are you setting goals?

Kay DiBianca has a great post on acknowledging your accomplishments and planning for the next year.

 

In personal news – I have ebooks on sale all over the place. If you are looking for kids books You can check out my maureencrispbooks website or hit this link for a group sale promo. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

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

 

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Where Is The Money?

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

A few weeks ago Spotify announced they were trialing audiobook access within the Spotify premium subscription with 15 hours a month free access in the UK and Australia. It must have worked as they announced this week, they are rolling it out to the United States.

 

Kobo is rolling out new devices for the Indian market. They are hoping to scoop up readers, but Mark Williams points out Kobo are falling into the same trap Amazon did with their initial Amazon India rollout. 

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that PRH India is committed to 100% recycled paper for its books. After a few years of the publishing community talking about being sustainable this is the first big publisher to walk the talk. Hopefully the rest of PRH will follow. After all if the biggest publisher does it… .

 

Penguin Random House has issued their first ever diversity report on the makeup of their non warehouse employees in the US. As you will have guessed the employees are mostly white, but they are changing and are happy that they employ above average diversity than other publishing houses. 

 

The Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone has unveiled a nice exclusive package of business deals for publishers wanting to do business in Publishing City, reports The New Publishing Standard. I never thought about publishers navigating their way around local laws etc until I saw this package. Sweet deal.

 

The Wall Street Journal has dropped its best seller lists. With best seller lists falling by the wayside or being dubious about how they count book sales are there any lists we can trust anymore? 

 

Many in the industry are waiting to see what the courts say about various lawsuits involving the provenance of Artificial Intelligence and creativity. Three artists were disappointed when the judge handed down the verdict that AI wasn’t infringing on their rights. 

 

Goodreads are asking their users to help combat review bombing. Finally, they do something about this. It couldn’t be because of the bad publicity they got when review bombing hit Elizabeth Gilberts new book before it had been released. This caused the author to pull the book with many critics crying shame on Goodreads. 

 

Darcy Pattison has a must read post on author income accounting. There are good tools out there to help you integrate all your sales and expenses. You don’t have to stick with the back of an envelope.

 

Kay DiBianca has an excellent post on project planning. This is a helpful list to think about all the tasks you need to do when you write and publish a book. Do you have a checklist?

 

Jan Sikes has an interesting post on going back and revising an old novel. Should you? In positive spin she learned it’s a great lesson for seeing how far you have come as a writer. 

 

How invested in your book is your reader? Are your stakes high enough? A great article from Suzanne Dunlap on keeping your readers turning the pages.

 

Anne R Allen has a great post on tone in writing. This goes hand in hand with voice. You can make the gruesome funny with the tone of your writing. It is all in the word choice. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Should you revise as you go – Jessica Strawser

What are antagonist proxies- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Breaking writer rules- September Fawkes

Story pacing- Florida writers- Bookmark

8 qualities of a great book editor- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Plotting with Michael Hauge’s 6 stages- Janice Hardy -Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Lead magnets for authors- Inkerscon- Bookmark

How to write a powerful about page- Sandra Beckwith

Make a good impression with cover design- Lexi Greene

Unexpected things your author platform can do for you- Colleen Story -Bookmark

Head shots- Terry Odell- Bookmark

Pinterest for book marketing- Joann Penn interview with Trona Freeman- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Writing is a business. It’s entertainment. It’s escapism. It’s knowledge. It is a business. Hopefully money is flowing to the writer. That is a helpful tip if you get a publishing deal. Are you paying for it? Reputable publishers/agents don’t charge you. 

With the recent surveys on author income and the sad reality that many writers can’t make a living The Alliance of Independent Authors has a comprehensive blog post on embracing a positive money mindset. Money is not a dirty word if you need it to pay the bills. Every writer would like to not worry about money. So, look at the article. Cultivate that mindset, and money might begin to flow into your author bank account.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter to go out. If you want the best of my bookmarked links, you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

 

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

 

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.

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Writers and Readers

 

In Publishing News this week,

I received a couple of interesting emails this week pointing to interesting moves by companies working for publishers and readers. 

 

Draft2Digital has acquired Selfpubbookcovers.com continuing their quest to be the everything store to Indie / Trad publishers. They bought Smashwords last year and are busy amalgamating the best bits. They introduced print (POD) to their eBook store. Now they have an Indie Book Cover Designer marketplace. 

 

The next email was from my local bookstore. They have partnered with Libro.fm to market audiobooks. This was news as the bookstores email to me came out at the same time as I found a reference to it on a global publishing website. Libro.fm are inviting indie bookstores to partner with them in return for a slice of the subscription pie. Libro.fm promises a portion of your sub can go to your favourite bookstore and you get to own your audiobooks instead of just a one time listen. Win/Win

 

Publishers Weekly highlights the movers and shakers in the Trad publishing world and they think Simon and Schuster may have a buyer. It’s all in who is making the big cash moves in publishing.

 

Meanwhile, in the continuing saga of America’s book banning court cases, booksellers in Texas have clubbed together to try to defeat a new Texas law that wants Bookshops and Publishers to rate their children’s books on a sexually explicit rating scale. The scale isn’t set out. The famous I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it judicial statement may be used here if the court case fails. On the other side of the pond, France is grappling with its first book ban of a children’s book over sexuality. They haven’t banned it just made it an R18. (I wonder how the sales are going, probably very well.)

 

Mark Williams from The New Publishing Standard pointed out that the UK’s much improved print sales numbers were hiding some unwelcome news. Numbers were down. Prices were up.

Mark also looks at the UK’s Independent Publishers Guild offer to help publishers navigate the AI landscape by delivering training sessions in how to ‘harness the power of AI driven technology.’ 

Remember AI is a tool. It is not a creative replacement.

 

Kris Rusch continues her great posts on niche marketing. This week she gives examples of thinking small to nail the niche market.

 

James Scott Bell explores writing rules and why you should know them and the reason for them before you break them- and then break them creatively. This is an excellent post from a writing craft master.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to create a scene outline- C S Lakin- Bookmark

What is an inciting incident – September Fawkes- Bookmark

How to meet cute in romance-Lindsay Elizabeth

Find characters energy motivators – Deborah-Zenha Adams

The Rhetorical Triangle for Writers- Sue Coletta - Bookmark

Improve your writing in 5 minutes- Mini videos-Angela Ackerman Becca Puglisi- Check it out!

 

In The Marketing Section,

8 things book promo companies wish authors understood- and 8 mistakes you are making on your website- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Who are your key influencers- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Have you checked your author goals lately?- Judith Briles

Using Books2Read as a Marketing tool- Terry Odell- Bookmark

Nothing matters until something matters- Jody Sperling- Interesting!

 

To Finish,

Readers and Writers. Writers are Readers. The two are wound up together in mutual need relationships. Need to read. Need to write. Need to read in order to write. 

Written Word Media have the results of the survey they asked their reader newsletter subscribers on how they pick their next book. It’s not the cover….

Gazebo Girl, Christy Cashman, talks about the struggle in finding the right place to write and why sometimes you need to change it up.

Jerry B Jenkins writes about the author career. Did you know how many careers are out there that are writing but have another name? How do you plan a writing career? Has any writer planned one? 

Sometimes I think The Alice in Wonderland story is a metaphor for the writing career. Going down rabbit holes, taking suspect potions, ending up where you didn’t want to be or ending up somewhere completely different from where you thought you were. Add in the weird characters you meet along the way and it’s time for a lie down. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

 

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.

 

If you would like the blog in your inbox you can subscribe to the Substack version.

Pic John Tenniel Illustration