Any Excuse

 

In Publishing news this week,

Heading into the last quarter of the year and Author social media has been commenting on the saga called Bad Art Friend. I don’t think there are any winners in the story of writers behaving badly. The real winner was the man who got the kidney.

 If you are going to write about a true event – change the details.

 

Dave Eggers is launching a new book. However, he has a caveat. He is only allowing certain bookshops to stock it. Maverick move or cunning publicity stunt- Check out the Guardian article and see who gets the new book.

 

Another publishing platform follows in Wattpad’s footsteps. Techcrunch reports that Inkitt has scored some big money to get into film, audio, and merch, all from an AI figuring out what the top stories are on their platform. While we’re on the tech side- StoryOrigin has launched a Beta reader model for authors.

 

If you have been trying to figure out just how we ended up in a paper – ink - labor - haulage- book shortage, read this explanatory article from Vox. And order your Christmas books now!

 

The New Publishing Standard has an interesting article on Podcastle- an AI podcasting production platform. I went down a rabbit hole checking them out and they really sound interesting. It seems like every week I have something about AI and audiobooks in my blog. This form of publishing is rising like a rocket.

 

Fiction has been renamed. I can see you all scratching your heads and saying To What?  Fiction is now ‘Upmarket Fiction’. Anne R Allen explains how this term became a catch all. I think I’m still firmly in the down-market fiction bookshelves…

 

Kristine Rusch has been musing on writer burnout. When everything gets too much, and you come to a screeching halt in your work what do you do? Do you take your own advice?

Be kind to yourself- We are living in interesting times.

 

Joanna Penn talked with Katie Weiland in the latest Creative Penn podcast. K M Weiland has been writing excellent blog posts on the craft of writing for years and has a series of excellent craft books. (I have some.) Check out the podcast and/or the transcript on outlining. Lots of meaty craft tips.

 

Do you need a Writing Coach? Jane Friedman has a guest post from Seth Harwood, a writing coach, on what it is they do and how to figure out whether you need one.

 

Now Novel has an interesting article on how to develop a story idea. This is chock full of advice so bookmark or print it out to study.

 

In The Craft Section,

7 ways to write pertinent antagonists- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Writing and the art of surrender- Lindsay Syhakhom

How to write conflict without bad guys- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Self editing tips- Write Life

How to kill your side characters- Sacha Black – Bookmark

10 ways to write better plots – Now Novel

 

In The Marketing Section,

Maintaining an Author blog is easy- Anne R Allen – Bookmark

How to be your own book publicist- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Don’t rely on Facebook- Miral Satter- Timely!

Be where your readers are- Frances Caballo

Promote your book before its published- Bookbub

3 simple ways to improve your platform- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The Alliance of Independent Authors collected a list of craft books that their members think are indispensable. There are some familiar titles on the list. If you are thinking of getting any of them for Christmas, order now.

Every year Kevin Anderson curates an excellent collection of writing craft books for NaNoWriMo. It’s out now and there are some hot off-the-press ones in this collection. As I said in my newsletter- It’s a win/win. The authors get the money directly, you get great books and for another win you get to support a charity.

 

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 – Daniel Oberhaus (2020)

 

Staying Connected

In Publishing News this week,

Following on from last week’s news on the rise of Artificial Intelligence Voices for Narration, Publishing Perspectives has an article on a new exhibitor to the Frankfurt Bookfair- Speechki. They aim to fill that gap of quick production of audiobooks. Meanwhile, Richard Charkin explains why he is looking forward to attending the fair in person along with 1500 other exhibitors. (If that raised a small chill, you are not alone. It’s going to be a while before we’re all comfortable again in crowds.)

If you are still curious about AI narration check out the Alliance Of Independent Author's interview with Bradley Metrock.

 

The New Publishing Standard has a short story on Bloomsbury and the acquisition of a video streaming service and their plans for it. Publishing- Are we looking at an all-media one-stop shop?

 

Jane Friedman has an in-depth article on supply chain woes where she details what is happening to the publishers and their print runs. It is a great backgrounder in how the consolidation of publishers and the demise of magazines has created this problem.

 

This week Kris Rusch muses on the omnichannel approach and what authors must remember as they get swallowed up in companies that operate this way. Don’t be a footnote in a Disney-style dispute.

 

This week Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre released The Relaxed Author. This is a book that aims to give you tips and plans to get your writing business wrangled so you can enjoy writing. They have a great podcast interview on how they came to write the book. As ever, Joanna provides a transcript to her podcasts.

 

It is nearly October and that means checking out all the neat ways to jazz up your social media posts with October themes for Book Marketing. Penny Sansevieri has a great collection of fun dates to play with.

 

Writer Unboxed has a great guest post from Deanna Cabinian who writes on the Time vs Productivity paradox for authors. What is it about squeezing time to write that makes you productive?

 

Ruth Harris has a great post on the four deadly writer sins. How many are you guilty of and can you recognise them when you see them? Clea Simon has an interesting post on what playing in rock bands taught her about writing.

 

In The Craft Section,

Choose your story plot points- K M Weiland - Bookmark

What are character arcs- Chelsea Hindle

12 writer woes and the books to cure them- Roni Loren

How to get emotion onto the page – Lisa Cron- Bookmark

How to snag the best freelance editor- Jodie Renner- Bookmark

4 secrets to making unlikeable characters work- Plot To Punctuation

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri- Key strategies for book marketing online and Book Marketing strategies for older titles- Bookmark

5 secrets to writing book marketing copy- Casey Demchak and for extra credit listen to this fabulous SPA 

Girls podcast with Jacob McMillen on copywriting for book marketing. Bookmark.

Why your hard sell is a fail- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

It is nearly time for The Alliance of Independent Authors FREE online conference. The alliance is a great organisation that hosts 3 big online conferences every year in conjunction with the big Book Fairs. The last one of the year is dedicated to Craft. Jump over and look at the speakers. Something for everyone here.

 

Even though we may all be sick of Zoom – there are some great conferences out there with virtual components. This can at least keep us feeling like we are still connected to the wider writing community. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. 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 – Damian Gadal

 

Knowing the Why

 

This week in publishing,

Beijing Bookfair has now opened after a delay due to the pandemic. Publishing Perspectives takes a look at what is on offer in the face-to-face fair. Honoured guests to the fair are either zooming in or flying in. Either way, the success of Beijing will probably set the pattern for other book fairs going forward.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has their craft conference soon. It’s a free 24 hour conference with great presentations from excellent writing teachers. Check out who is speaking and what is on offer.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard writes about Audibles' expansion into new markets with their unlimited subscription model. Will the expansion of their territories tempt the big publishers into Audible finally? With supply chains in peril, digital might hold out the lifeline.

 

Kris Rusch has a great post this week on the supply chain and how it is going to impact booksellers, especially the Christmas market. All the rumours are true. Buy your Christmas books now.

If you are not sure how a book gets from acquisitions to the bookstore, Nathan Bransford has a guest post on this very subject. When you put this together with Kris Rusch's post you see what traditional publishers are up against with their supply woes.

 

Publishers Weekly talked with some agents about the Middle-Grade book market. What do they see coming up and how is the genre changing. One thing they talk about which was a talking point at my dinner table last night was the expansion of Middle Grade into lower Young Adult – Big issues stuff without the romance aspect. 

 

Jane Friedman has a guest post from Jennie Nash about the why of writing a book. This is a great post that asks an important question. If you can’t answer it you shouldn’t be writing. Knowing your why means digging deep. This is a must-read. Jennie also has ten tips to write a book worth reading.

 

In The Craft Section,

Going deeper into structure- Jami Gold- Bookmark

2 great posts from Scott Myers- Franklin Leonards advice on screenwriting and Scene Descriptions

How to use archetypical arcs in your stories- K M Weiland – Bookmark

5 ways your story hurts your novel- Janice Hardy - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

17 Book Marketing quotes to inspire- Sandra Beckwith

How to be a great podcast guest- Joanna Penn

Creating a prelaunch strategy for your book- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

All you need to know about Book sizes- Dave Chesson- Bookmark

How Bookbub ads drive sales- Bookbub- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

This month Joanna Penn celebrates 10 years as a full-time author - entrepreneur. This is milestone anniversary. Joanna has documented her journey to being a 6 figure Indie author and sustaining this career for many years. Her podcast backlist is phenomenal as is the depth of the information that she has shared with her guests to the author community every week. She is excited for the future. I’m always interested in where she thinks the tech will go as she is an early adopter. Heres’ to many more years of fabulous learning from The Creative Penn.

She definitely knows her Why!

 

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 – Buzz Farmers

The Sinners And The Saints

 

In Publishing News this week,

The UK publishing industry is in turmoil this week over a controversial book that was called out by commentators, who then found themselves targets in a social media pile-on. The book has been pulled for a revision but the apology over the mess has created more controversy with well-known authors tweeting their support citing free speech without checking the facts. There is an open letter being circulated about the treatment of the commentators. 

N.B. If you hold an honoured position in the industry, be very sure of all the facts in the story before making public statements. No one will believe you made the statement as a private individual. As my journalist friends say, Nothing is ever off the record!

 

News broke this week of depths of parsimony attributed to one of the wealthiest entertainment companies on the planet. The comic book creators for the Marvel Movie franchise are being paid a flat fee of $5,000 and if they are lucky, a seat at the premier.

Yes – You did read that right. Check your contracts people and learn what all the terms mean.

 

Here in New Zealand, we celebrated the best children’s and young adult books of the past year. A fantastic night was had at the NZCYA awards by all as we gathered in person after last year’s virtual gathering. We are very mindful of the privilege here in NZ. In a nice touch, we applauded last year’s winners who were present. Congratulations to everyone who were finalists and winners on the night!

 

The New Publishing Standard takes a look at how the first year of subscription with Kobo+ shaped up. Every week there seems to be something about subscription plans as big players and not so big players jostle for room. This is our publishing future, as Mark Williams points out. You can’t ignore it you have to learn to work within it.

 

If you create comics you might need to look at a rapidly growing comic distributor platform which has just raised a substantial chunk of cash to expand with AI.

 

The stellar human being, Dolly Parton, is writing her first fiction book with James Patterson.

In an interesting creative addition, Dolly is also writing a companion album of songs that explores the themes in the book. 

 

This week Time magazine published the 100 best Young Adult books of all time. It made for interesting reading and a lot of Twitter congratulations to living authors. How many books have you read?

 

Nathan Bransford has a guest post from an acquisitions editor detailing all the steps that go into acquiring a book. Interesting reading.

 

In The Craft Section,

Don’t let excess baggage bring down your characters- Marissa Graff- Bookmark

Write like you are in love- edit like you are in charge- James Scott Bell 

Dual points of view- E J Wenstrom- Bookmark

Every hack needs an ideas file- Bill Ferris

Which story structure is right for your book- Savannah Cordova- Bookmark

The flat archetype of the child- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to give readers a direct amazon review link- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

10 ways to handle bad reviews- Indie Author News

Book marketing success and 5 top Twitter tips for authors- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Personal branding for authors- Kimberly Grabas- Bookmark

Book Release Checklist – Elizabeth S Craig- BOOKMARK

 

To Finish,

When chatting to the supreme winner at the New Zealand Children and Young Adults Book Awards, Tania Roxborogh, she recounted a familiar story of feeling utterly demoralised as a young writer. James Scott Bell has a great article on advice for the demoralised writer. 

Success is sweeter after a long agonising climb to the top.

 

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 – Steve Snodgrass

 

Reading Between The Lines

 

In publishing news this week,

Last year when the pandemic began to bite there was worry that bricks and mortar bookshops would fail and fold. Enter a smart organization that created Bookshop.Org which gave bookshops a digital storefront. A year on- the pandemic is still with us, but shops are beginning to open up. Publisher’s Weekly reports that Bookshop.org is still going strong and growing and how the digital storefront is essential.

 

Meanwhile The New Publishing Standard reports on a savvy move by a Danish publisher that has been buying up world language rights for audiobooks. This is a fascinating story from Mark which resonated with me here in New Zealand. We have a similar visionary who bought up English rights to award-winning European children’s books and founded an international award-winning publishing company on the strength of it. Digital format is open to the world and a small publisher from a tiny country can become a major player. Audiobooks are growing really fast- to the nimble go the spoils.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the European and International Booksellers federation report of 2020. This is a numbers report showing how bookselling fared in different countries. Booksellers in countries without a strong government response had a hard time. If bookshops had a digital presence they managed to stay afloat. The publishers who think everything will go back to the way it once was, before the pandemic, have badly misread the tea leaves. The digital change is here to stay.

 

Recently Maggie Lynch wrote about why she created an NFT book collection to sell. If you have been wondering about Non Fungible Tokens and why there is so much interest in them in the creative community- Maggie’s article is a great place to start. It is an interesting and informative read on provenance certificates and anti-piracy methods to protect your work.

 

Every month Orna Ross, the CEO of Alliance for Independent Authors (Alli) chats with Joanna Penn on what’s happening in the global world of indie publishing. They often talk big picture stuff and have opinions on the speeding trains coming down the track towards authors. This month they have a fascinating chat on how nimble authors are, and need to be. One comment caught my eye in the transcript- With Richard Branson going into Space this week – has anyone thought to license their work for onboard entertainment for off world transport?

 

Amazon Kindle Vella launched to the public yesterday. In the last three months authors based in the US have been uploading episodes to the serialized fiction platform. Engaget looks at the new shiny platform.

 

Jane Friedman hosted Intellectual Property lawyer, Kathryn Goldman on her blog this week. Are fictional characters protected under copyright law? Kathryn writes about the legal case being argued over Jack Ryan and how writers have got into trouble using character names from movies and TV. When is a name a character, and not a name?

 

For a while now authors have been encouraged to write newsletters and to grow a fan base that they can tap into for author book promo, sales etc etc. Many authors have a love hate relationship with their newsletters- not knowing how to use them effectively. Fiction authors particularly struggle. The Passive Guy has an interesting piece on his blog about newsletters being their own genre.

 

In the Craft Section,

Action beats for authors-Krystal Craiker

The inherent nature of story structure- Jim Dempsey- Bookmark

Plot you way back from an unruly idea- Kristin Durfee- Bookmark

How to end a story- Reedsy- Excellent 

How to tell if your story has too much plot and not enough character- K M Weiland - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

10 Amazon changes authors need to know about - Rob Eager- Bookmark 

Using your back cover well-Bookbaby- Bookmark

5 tips for fitting book marketing into your schedule- Penny Sansevieri

SEO for indie authors- ALLI- BOOKMARK

How Authors are using Social Media platforms- Diana Urban

 

To Finish,

Today I struggled with my computer, searching to find a missing file. Every time I think I have cleaned up my file labeling structure something always slips up. There I was getting frustrated and thinking this is not a good use of my time- low and behold up pops an article on 10 tools to make you a more productive writer.

I just want a computer that knows what file I’m looking for and gets it for me regardless of where I stuffed it in the system. 

 

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 – Jon Evans (Guess Who Won)

 

The Healthy Author Business

 

Two interesting posts from Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard have bookended my week. 

The first was an examination of the new digital publishing and subscription 'Kid On The Block', Legible. They have launched with bold claims about publishing to the world, but Mark thinks they’ve tripped up by focusing on North America first. 

The other post, out today, is the realisation that some of Australia’s literary treasures are out of print and lost. They won’t be the only country where this is happening. Don’t publishers have a duty of care to their nations?

 

The London Book Fair is on the horizon. This year’s virtual fair offers up three weeks of virtual workshops for writers for the author HQ area of the fair. Publishing Perspectives takes a look at the program.

 

Recently, Sotheby’s were about to auction off rare Bronte manuscripts until various Bronte societies and libraries heard about it. They want them preserved for the public. Sotheby’s has agreed to delay, which means the libraries have to come up with some cash soon. 

 

In the various author groups that I am part of, there is huge respect for Kristine Kathryn Rusch. She writes valuable posts about the business of writing. This is where many writers come unstuck. Business is hard. This week she turns her spotlight on the raft of laws about to go through congress aimed at taking apart tech firms. What will happen to authors if Amazon is forced to sell off its publishing arm? This is an important read for anyone in the Amazon ecosystem.

 

The long-running joke in writer and reader circles is when the next book in Game of Thrones might be published. Spare a thought for George R R Martin who is struggling with regret and writing a book that the TV show changed direction on. 

 

Nate Hoffelder has written a great article on Anne R Allen’s blog on introverted authors. Yes, some of us struggle with the public face of being an author. Nate has some great tips to overcome fears.

 

How many of you are curled up like a pretzel when you write? (Guilty, right now.) You know that you need to build healthy writer habits. Here are a couple of posts to jog you into some good habits. Why writers need healthy habits. and Why walking is the best exercise for writers. And don’t forget your mental health too. Writing can be such a slog that it is tempting to quit. Here is a helpful post on when it all gets too much.

 

My comfort books when ill are Georgette Heyer- her historical research was gold standard. A family member is a regency writer and I often dip into her extensive library of research books from the period. If you are venturing into historical fiction – know that your readers are going to be looking to see if you got your facts right. Check out 5 tips for creating a fully realized historical setting. (Georgette was often in a rare tweak when other writers would crib her words for their novels- the effrontery!)

 

In The Craft Section,

What to do when you can’t connect to your characters- Ellen Brock

What is your characters emotional shielding- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Trick yourself into finding time to write- Suzanne Henshon- Bookmark

What is an unsympathetic character-  Anne R Allen- Bookmark

The 7 laws of successful villains- Lisa Voisin

 

In The Marketing Section,

Choose the perfect pen name- Lewis

Use your email signature for book marketing- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Indie author marketing and promotion plan- Emma Lombard – Bookmark!

10 books to help with your writing life- Rachel Thompson

2 Great posts from Penny Sansevieri- 10 minutes or less to a polished author brand and Monopolise your indie author real estate- Bookmark Both

 

To Finish,

Back at the beginning of April, we struggled with articulating the loss of Beverley Cleary. (OK 104 years -we need to let go.) Vulture writer, Kathryn VanArendonk, has examined the mastery of emotion that Beverley exhibited in her Ramona stories. I think she has put her finger on just how brilliant Beverley was at close 3^rdperson writing and evoking emotion in adults and children.

Oh to write half as well.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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

 

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

 

Playing Catch Up

 

In interesting news for writers from The Guardian, a couple of second-hand book merchants have been working on a scheme where writers can get a small payment if their books get on sold. Hopefully, the idea gains traction and goes worldwide. 

 

Mike Williams of The New Publishing Standard takes a look at the German acquisition of Print On Demand business Bok2. Lessons learned from the pandemic – The Backlist keeps your publishing business afloat and this means Print On Demand is important. 

 

When you read Kris Rusch’s latest post on fear in publishing and how, even with credible data on backlist, it's hard to believe that publishers are still hoping a magic reset button will be pushed and everything will go back to the way it was before. The pandemic is changing entertainment. Now it is all about subscription- How many subscription services do you pay for? 

Diana Urban of Bookbub has just published the key Marketing and Sales takeaways from the virtual U S Book show hosted last week by Publishers Weekly. It’s all about the power of the backlist. – There’s gold in there and some savvy publishers are now putting dedicated teams on to mining it. 

Writer’s Digest has an excerpt from a new book, Book Wars by John Thompson, on 3 crucial changes that have impacted the book industry. John sees a publisher move to a reader-centric model as being the next big change in publishing-but have the publishers left it too late? 

 

Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article on how the Arab world is changing its book buying. Most books are sold in big book fairs but with the pandemic Arab booksellers have had to develop online stores.

 

Dave Chesson has been working hard on an interesting and comprehensive article on How To Format A Book. It is chock full of information (A mini book's worth!) This is the go-to article for anyone who wants a little bit more information before dipping their toe in. Dave’s site is full of other great resources so take some time to check it out.

 

Briefing a beta reader- Brenda Pollard has an interesting blog post on how to educate your beta readers to get the most out of them. Beta readers are the readers who get the book before it’s published when you still have time to fix any errors.

 

In The Craft Section,

A beginners guide to structure- writing cooperative

Archetypes- The King Arc- KM Weiland – Bookmark

When to break the rules – Karel Segers

Rewriting your novel - Linda Clare- Bookmark

Tips on writing the boring stuff- Jenna Harte-Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Ten ways for authors to waste money- Nate Hoffelder

The ultimate guide to selling children’s books- Karen Inglis – Bookmark

What is a soft book launch- Sandra Beckwith – Bookmark

Book marketing- 14 tips- Bewrit

5 types of video for social media marketing-Joe Forte

100 Facebook promotion groups for writers – Kathy Steinemann- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Sandra Beckwith has reviewed Ricardo Fayet’s book - How to market a book. Ricardo is one of the founders of Reedsy and has had a ringside seat to the changes in the book industry over the last five years. Reedsy has a lot of free courses and resources and this book is Free as well. 

 

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 – Steven Pisano