Finding The Sweet Spot

In Publishing News this week,

 

What happens when a TikTok influencer tries to find a book that impacted them as a child? Publisher’s Weekly talks to the publisher of a 40 year old vocab book having another outing in the sunshine of book sales.

 

What is the biggest event this summer in the northern Hemisphere… Could be FIFA world cup… or a Swift wedding. Publisher’s Weekly reports that publisher GP Putnam have created an anthology of YA love stories based on 13 Taylor Swift songs. Swoon all the way to the bank.

 

Publishers Weekly took a walk through last week’s Beijing’s International Book Fair and noted down some of the trends that are top of mind in one of the world’s biggest countries. It’s worth noting that the government has pivoted towards a reading oriented society. An interesting article.

 

With the demise of library distributors, publishers have been trying to figure out how to help libraries get their books. Penguin Random House is working with Ingram to mine their backlist and produce Print On Demand Hard Covers of 200 PRH authors. This is interesting because back before eBooks and POD, a publishing contract could revert back to the author if the copies were out of print. Now with eBooks and POD hardbacks this means the book is never ‘out of print.’ (Authors who have large print and hardback are very library friendly. Don’t forget every format needs its own ISBN.)

 

One of the side effects of war is the destruction of a nations culture and literature. Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article on a literary movement that is trying to save the Palestinian culture. 

 

Chelle Honniker has an interesting article on where AI and copyright now stands. With various law suits underway or finished, copyright on works using AI is still fluid. It has been established that AI cannot be an author. But what about using it as a tool? 

 

Meanwhile the Book Industry Study Group is surveying the book industry in North America to see how much they are using AI. The survey is anonymous so people should be honest. This is the second year they have run this survey. I will be surprised if the the numbers haven’t increased.

 

Earlier this month I highlighted an article from James Blatch on how AI was affecting search and what it means for authors. Edie Melson has an article on how GEO and AEO affect how our websites get found by AI search engines. If you are closing your eyes and covering your ears, relax. Edie’s article is very easy to understand. (It is an important topic so don’t leave it too long before coming to grips with the subject.)

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a great essay asking what type of author you are? This is an article on author values and the way you can structure your author business. Great Reading.

 

Tawny Lara has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog on Finding your voice as a writer in the age of AI. Voice is the one thing that distinguishes you from every other writer out there and is the one thing that AI can’t really do as the algorithm smooths out writing until it is bland. Mine your own experience.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write Found Family tropes- Rhea Dionne

Differences between anti-hero and anti-villain- Joe Yamulla- Bookmark

Tell don’t show- P J Parrish- Bookmark

Mastering microtension- CS Lakin

11 chapter endings to keep readers turning pages- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

AI prompts for Book Marketing – Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Generating Buzz for your Book- Bookbaby

Simple Sample Strategy- Bookfunnel- Bookmark

The Access Marketing Funnel- Video - Alliance of Independent Authors - Bookmark

 

To Finish

I was reading Lisa Cohen’s article on Existential Dread – The Kickstarter edition and nodding away at some of the fears she expressed. The thought of telling anyone I have a book out and they might like it or God forbid asking people to back a Kickstarter, sparks a queasy feeling. Lisa talks about the need to market if you want your books read and how she survived doing a Kickstarter project even though she was way out of her comfort zone.

Marketing a book is where the hard work really is. However, there are a few lifelines out there. Check out Cassie Mannes Murray on 40 alternatives to the book event that is not a reading or conversation.

You never know you might sell a book as well.

 

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 free Substack version.

 

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

 

 

Photo by Ulysse Pointcheval on Unsplash

Proclaiming Our Intentions

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

After nine years in operation and beginning the modern serial publishing format Radish has announced they are closing their doors at the end of the year. Commentators have been noting the quiet demise of serial format sites lately. Many have linked it to the initial great payouts for authors that became unsustainable for the company.

 

Does anyone read New Adult? After the great publicity about this format a few years ago there was a cooling off stage. Publishers are back looking at the cross over from the Young Adult category. They are even merging imprints. Publishers Weekly looks at Penguin’s new imprint for New Adult books.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on a new move by French Independent Publishers. Their annual prize winners to be translated into English and published in a rights catalogue. Let’s make it easy for English language publishers to pick up the best stories. 

 

Dan Holloway from The Alliance of Independent Authors reports on a new service from Cloudflare which will allow publishers and news companies to charge for AI scraping of their content. It has the potential to be game changing financially for publishers.

 

As we roll into eighty years since World War 2 ended, a Dutch publisher is increasing the amount of holocaust stories that they publish. Publishers Weekly talks with the editors to find out why they think this is important now.

 

The Commonwealth of Nations, representing 2.7 Billion people, has appointed their first Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala Marsh, a pasifika poet and scholar. The New Publishing Standard reports that this highlights the role of literature in diplomacy and cross cultural understanding. (Selina is based here in Aotearoa New Zealand and is fantastic.) Her appointment is for two years. 

 

Literature Hub reports on an open letter from writers to publishers about the use of AI in publishing. The writers are asking publishers to not publish any books written by AI. This feels like a last ditch effort to show the real concerns in the industry about the use of AI for creativity. Didn’t we want all the drudgery to be done by AI robots leaving us more time to create and have fun? 

 

Katie Weiland has a must read article Why Intentional Storytelling Matters in An Age of AI and Algorithm Driven Content. Katie looks at what we lose if we follow formulaic on demand content models. As writers we should be using our power of intentionality to make our writing stand out. 

 

Alissa Butterworth writes on Jane Friedman’s blog about Using a Workshop Experience Inventory When Workshops Go Wrong. This is a powerful exercise to help make writing workshop critiques useful and beneficial to the writer and not a bloodbath arena.

 

Kathleen Schimdt has a great article on media opportunities. What are good media opportunities? How do you get media coverage on your book.

The SPA Girls interviewed Erin Wright on going wide strategies in book publishing and marketing. This is a fantastic podcast interview about all the ways to get your book out there.

 

Rachel Toalson has an excellent article on finding the heart of your story. What makes a story unforgettable. The heart of the story is what keeps you and the reader emotionally invested in the story. She uses the letters of HEART to explain the important touchstones you should be aiming for.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write an unforgettable first line-Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

Understanding story theme- Tammy Burke- Bookmark

3 reasons why writers procrastinate- Colleen Story

Write like you are an endurance athlete- Miffie Seideman

Owning your voice the ultimate power move- Sarah Hamer- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

August book promotion ideas- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

How to make a book trailer- Reedsy- Bookmark

Busting Bookbub myths-Bookbub

A guide to press releases- Written Word Media

Using multiple identities- Alli - Bookmark

 

To Finish

I have been struggling to come to terms with the news that hit the children’s literature community in New Zealand like an earthquake. New Zealand has withdrawn from the opportunity to be Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2027.

 

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the biggest gathering of children’s publishing people in the world. Some of our publishers have won awards at the fair for excellence. 

Behind the scenes many groups and individuals talked about this amazing opportunity for globally showcasing our Maori and Pacifica voices, to each other, and to government representatives. It is going to be epic we told everyone. As a pacific nation we have been leading the way in indigenous storytelling in translation, language programmes, comics, animation, and gaming. All things children love. We couldn’t wait to show off our fantastic writers and illustrators. Children’s books are about reading and empathy for others and cultural awareness and all good things. We can represent pacific voices and everything that makes us special to the rest of the world. It will be epic.

Our books are world class. Government support for us should be a no brainer. We only want $350,000 that’s $210,000 US dollars or 150,000 GB Pounds. It’s not much. They spent half that fixing the parliament playground. The All Blacks probably spend that on afternoon tea. Norway spent 40 times more than that and promoted literature programmes in their country. In 2012 when we were guest of honour at Frankfurt Book Fair the government spent $6 million dollars with $1 million directly going to writers and publishers for it. It was epic. 

But alas- our government didn’t agree with our vision. 

The lack of interest from the government to celebrate their children, their writers, their illustrators, their publishers, librarians, teachers, reading advisors, and the kids on the parliament playground means there is no money for us to show the world how epic our industry is. 

One of our best writers for children wrote a sad essay in response to this news today. His words were thoughtful and measured. Inside he is probably as angry as the rest of us who work in and love Aotearoa New Zealand children’s literature.

Our actions or lack of them show our true intentions. We tell children this all the time. We show it in our words and actions and in our children’s literature. 

We lift you up. We have your back. We support you. We celebrate you because you are epic. 

Our government had a chance to be known around the world for their support of indigenous children’s literature. Their proclaimed intentions to us about being supportive of the arts are not backed up by action. 

It is an epic fail.

 

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.

 

Pic Private Eye satire on children’s publishing. (Which is closer to the truth than you realise.)

Picking Winners

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Guardian reported that there was no magic fairy that would help fund Literary Festivals in the UK. Here in NZ we are also facing this fact head on. There is no money. With austere government retrenching across the board the arts are seen as nice to have if we can afford it, but we can’t. The majority of our arts and science funding comes from profits made from government lotteries. The wish to win the big one is the poor man’s dream and the poor artists and scientists dream as well. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the jackpot could be arts funding for ten years or new research labs. The winner could have their name on the trust fund to administer it. Not bad for a $10 lucky dip ticket.

The UK Creators Rights Alliance is gathering steam. The alliance claims to represent more than 500,000 creatives who don’t want their work used by AI companies. There are some big organisations here, but will they see any traction? This could be a last rear-guard effort to man the barricades. 

 

Mark Williams lives and works in Africa. He explains what it is like to watch technology leaps in Africa that other countries had to live through. Remember dial up? Africa went straight to 5G. Is AI going to be the same?

 

Staying with AI- Don’t believe that it is reliable. Randy Ingermanson (Snowflake guy) recently tried using Chat GPT to do some writing for him and discovered that every quote was made up by the AI bot. What to do?

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that on one of the hottest days in the UK the Publishing Association’s sustainability pledge reached 200 company signatories. Publishing without waste, it just makes sense.

 

Story Empire has an interesting post on going to tertiary research institutions to get reliable information. – This is not just universities but also archives and museums. 

 

Dan Holloway of The Alliance of Independent Authors ( Alli) reports on Substack expanding its reach and making it easy for anyone to have a newsletter.

Alli are rejigging their podcasts, if you are a regular listener, and they have just published a super in-depth article on Marketing Strategies.

 

The Insecure Writers Support Group (fantastic group) have a great article on putting together short story collections.

Jeff Goins has an article on 10 steps to writing a book.

 

Katie Weiland has the next installment of her structure series. This is a great resource and well worth following along for some great craft teaching.

 

In The Craft Section,

The art of the outline- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

Story Structure as a fractal- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Use your theme to trim content- Suzi Vadori- Bookmark

7 tips for opening in media res- K M Weiland

5 mistakes writers make in fantasy stories- Lucy Hay

 

In The Marketing Section,

Amazon A+ content- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

What does your marketing data say- In depth teaching on data!

Amazon book description generator- Dave Chesson – Bookmark

15 Book promo ideas – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Audiobook marketing using virtual voices- Penny Sansevieri

 

To Finish

Last night I attended the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was great to celebrate with this very supportive community the fabulous books published in the last year. A striking feature was the emphasis of the winners in telling our indigenous stories. Out of seven major categories, five were won by books with indigenous main themes. The evening was enlivened by speeches entirely in Maori with many in the audience able to understand the main themes. For many years we read and copied stories that had an American or British style, to tell us who we are. This century I think we can say the national book awards finally reflect us - a pacific island nation with our own unique voice and heritage. It’s been a long time coming and its fabulous to see.

 

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.

 

Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash

Sending The Wrong Message

In Publishing News this week,

Frankfurt is often touted as the biggest book fair in the world. This is where countries get invited to showcase their literary works and deals are done in rights trading and translations etc. It is a general book fair covering all genres. It opened yesterday. Everybody had high hopes that it would be a standout year after the pandemic years. The wheels started falling off yesterday with a mass walkout of nations over the withdrawing of a prize ceremony for a Palestinian writer. 

 

Scholastic is in hot water with writers after they put together a diversity box for school bookfairs. (These are a big deal in American schools. Scholastic provides all the books for display and kids buy.) It’s not that they put a box of diversity books together it’s that they made it an opt out option bowing to book banning groups.

 

Staying with Kids books- There is a distinct drop in sales in the mid-grade and teen categories or as some librarians insist a non-existence of books for the 12- 15 age group. Everybody has been waiting for a breakout hit and they are still waiting.

 

The New Publishing Standard has a look at the subscription numbers for audiobooks in Europe and the news that Spotify is rolling out subscription in the UK. Subscription is here to stay says Mark. He has other pithy observations to make on audiobook subscription and how consumers are using it. If 30 % of the listeners are speeding up their playback speeds does this mean they can listen to more books in their subscription hour? And would they notice if it was an AI voice?

 

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has been shining a spotlight on the shonky payment systems of Cricket and its associated children’s fiction magazines over the last couple of years. She updates the post to tell what one writer did to finally get their money after 3 years which might help others in the same boat. 

 

I sent out my monthly newsletter with the comment that every lead story in September was on AI. Poets and Writers magazine has an article on the AI lawsuits and how suddenly you can’t get excerpts anymore of famous writers work (but they are probably still there.) Joanna Penn has a great transcript on a how to double down on being human. This is your point of difference from an AI

 

If you have been mulling over whether to try yet another social media site Anne R Allen has a timely post on social media etiquette for any social media site.  Great advice.

 

I’m often surprised when I come across writers who don’t really understand what copyright means. There are so many layers to a piece of intellectual property. For an introduction masterclass on the subject read this piece by Dean Wesley Smith.  

 

Barbara Linn Probst has an excellent article on Why We Write. Artistry, Identity, Legacy.  She explores the art and the craft of writing, finding your tribe and bearing witness. It’s a must read.

 

If you are looking for some inspiration for short stories- have you tried mining the lyrics of songs. They are chock full of emotion and little moments that are really stories in disguise. 

 

In The Craft Section,

10 signs your plot is weak and how to fix it- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Navigating inner conflict- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Getting beyond stereotypes- Now Novel

Foreshadowing vs spoiling what’s the difference- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Printables for NaNoWriMo- Payton Hayes

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri - Preorder strategies and 7 genius AI strategies – Bookmark Both

Marketing and promo plan for indie authors - Emma Lombard

3 things your author newsletter should do - Colleen Story

The best free marketing tool is in your head- Lisa Norman – Bookmark

 

To Finish

The Alliance of Independent Authors is running their next 24 hour free conference starting October 21^st The sessions will be up for 3 days. Check out the agenda and feast your eyes on all the fabulous speakers. This conference is on Mindset. Do something for your writing mind and sign up.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

 If you want the best of my bookmarked links and some extras you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter here. Come and 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.

 

Pic Photo by Lee Soo hyun on Unsplash

Reading: It’s all in the mind

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

The Writer’s Strike is over (provisionally.)

Many Film and TV writers are hailing this as a landmark ruling for the way it is putting constraints on the use of AI in their industry. As the news filters out, everyone is eager to look at the terms and commenting on why the networks and producers only started to negotiate 10 days ago. 

 

The Atlantic published a search database you can use to see whether your books have been scraped to train an AI. Many writers have discovered their whole catalogue on there. SSF writers have been especially hard hit. But today I learned an academic family member had two of her textbooks scraped. The Authors Guild has got their lawyers onto it and have published a template take down notice as well as a What To Do Now statement.

 

Meanwhile, in other AI news the AI industry is looking for poets or anyone who has an MFA to teach their AI’s how to write lyrical language. 

 

There is a publishing world outside the western centric one. Nairobi is about to have their International Book Fair and they have added a rights market into their programme. Guests are coming from around the world. Publishing Perspectives looks at what is on offer.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard takes a look at the new sales pot for Kindle Unlimited and compares it to the Print figures which have been sliding.

 

Staying with Amazon, the book business applauded when the Federal Trade Commission of the United States began an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Take 17 state attorneys and 172 pages and stir in the words “uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power” and you get a lawsuit that will take years to unravel. At least it’s a start.

 

You have finished the book and now you have to edit it. Where do you start? Kobo has the answer. How to edit your first draft.

 

Kris Rusch is a power house and there is nothing in publishing that she has not done. The big chat around the Indie publishing community is owning your own store and selling there first before going out to the online distributors. This week she talks about merchandise and all things store related with the launch of her first series store. Take a look and have your mind blown.

 

When an Indie Press ceases to be, it makes the publishing world a little gloomier. Louise Walters writes about the hard decision to shut her press and her thoughts on why Indie Presses need more love from bookshops.

 

Are you struggling with Social Media? Ambre Leffler has an interesting post on managing your energy and your posts.

 

Have you been asked to Beta read or are you wondering about how to set up parameters for your Beta readers. Jae from Sapphicquill has a great checklist for authors to use.

If you just need a reason to read, check out Molly Templeton’s 21 thoughts about reading habits.

 

The Bookbub website is chock full of interesting articles on writing and marketing books . This week they have a comprehensive 140 tips for book marketing from AJ Lee

 

In The Craft Section,

3 ways to use Theme to deepen your story- Sharon Skinner

Changing the hero’s goal- Michael Hauge- Bookmark

Tropes as a jumping off point- Richard Thomas- Bookmark

Tips for writing a character that you hate- Sue Coletta

Transition sentences- Ruth Harris- Bookmark 

Using Description- Kathy Steinemann

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri 7 creative ways to boost local book sales and

Holding book events in non-traditional venues- Bookmark

Identifying the 5 core ideas of your book- Judith Briles-Bookmark

3 design secrets for captivating book ads- Teresa Conner-Bookmark

How to glo up your Instagram- Lara Ferrari

 

To Finish,

Every year The Alliance of Independent Authors run 3 virtual 24 hour conferences. Each of these conferences are themed around a different skillset for authors and are filled with a wealth of information. The next conference is on Mindset. They have a great line up of speakers well known in the author community. (Spot the Kiwis.)

Sign up. It’s free. 

 

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, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

Being Human

 

In Publishing News Today

Artificial Intelligence and the misuse of it take centre stage. Another week another lawsuit. This time it’s the big guns taking on AI. Authors Guild has a class suit with John Grisham and G.R.R. Martin among the plaintiffs. They allege that their work was used to train AI. They know this because suddenly there appears to be extra books in their popular series which they didn’t write. I wonder how AI would finish the Game of Thrones series? Apparently you can now find out as it’s on the internet somewhere. Of course going and looking just plays into the scammy nature of the person who decided to use AI to write these books and make a quick buck.

Stephen Fry is crying foul over AI Narration. He was alerted to an historical documentary that he supposedly narrated. Except he didn’t. He suspects AI was trained on his audio narration of the Harry Potter books and then unleashed. AI can de-age actors and now they can mimic voices that even the original owner has problems believing it’s not him in an alternate universe. We are teetering on the edge of Deep Fake becoming ubiquitous unless we get some rules up pronto. Which is why we have all the lawsuits.

 

Over at The New Publishing Standard, Mark Williams is looking at upcoming book fairs and reminding the western publishing powerhouses that they may think they have the biggest book fairs but things are about change. Sharjah is positioning itself to be all things book in the foreseeable future. This is an interesting take. Can publishing equal the revenue that oil and gas bring in to Sharjah?

 

Publishing Perspectives has a run down on the latest news from Frankfurt as they gear up for the big Frankfurt Buchmesse starting on October 14. A record number of booths has been booked.

 

Publishers Weekly has data on the book challenges so far this year and yes they are increasing and they are all aimed at books by and about people of colour and LBTGQ identifying. Where will it end… historians could tell you. 

 

The Guardian has a great article written by Kathleen Rundell on Diana Wynne Jones. Diana was like a beautiful fountain in the desert of books when I was growing up. She had big ideas and her books were and are amazing.  Every author will relate to the story of the Charmed Life manuscript.

 

Kris Rusch has an interesting post on platform this week. With the meltdown of the writers original water cooler many wordsmiths are fleeing to pastures new. Then you risk losing all that work of building up your readership /business on a new platform which will be disrupted in time. So is there a win /win situation for writers?

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a comprehensive post on slow release strategies for authors… You don’t have to release a book a month for a writing career. The SPA girls podcast recently had a great episode on reverse engineering a bestseller. Can you do it? 

 

Rachel Toalson has a great post on Writer Unboxed about writing sprints. She used ten minute sprints to write a book. Even if your life is chaotic you can find ten minutes. Read Rachel’s post for how chaotic life can get. She has great tips for finding moments of time to write.

Mythcreants has a good post on the value of critique and why it is important for writers. If you don’t critique you don’t learn.

 

James Scott Bell has a great post on the Killzone blog about bleeding on the page. There are so many adages out there for writers. Some of them are untrue. However emotion from the writer is never wasted in a story.

 

 

In The Craft Section,

Writing and Time management- Story Empire

Acting vs reacting in your writing career- Colleen Story

Is your protagonist too comfortable- Australian Writers Center

What are antagonist proxies- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Why a manuscript critique is a critical step- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

 

In The Marketing Section,

5 unique book marketing ideas- Rachel Thompson

Book signings that wow- Rochelle Melander

Strategies to secure reviews on Amazon- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Author Success tips – Judith Briles- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Jim Denney writing on Anne R Allen’s blog sums up the ideas in this weeks blog post. Yes AI is here, it’s out of the box it’s only going to get more powerful. Yes the AI tools are useful for shortcuts and editing and marketing and prompts but in the end AI is not human. Only a human can write emotion and connect with reader on a deeper plane. The future for writers in an AI world is to be more human and mine the human condition. 

After all, an AI can’t bleed. 

 

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, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Photo by Volha Milovich on Unsplash