Surviving 2020

Sometimes I feel like every month lasts a year. It seems so long ago that we were brightly predicting what might happen in publishing in 2020. Boy, were we wrong…

In publishing news this week....

This week Bertrams, the second largest book distributors in the United Kingdom went into receivership. The Bookseller shared the news and its possible impact on the book industry for the UK going forward. Monopoly anyone?

Subscription services are getting a lot of love in this Covid 19 era. One monthly fee – Unlimited Entertainment but how can we find out how our books are doing in there? Bookbeat is a subscription service in the Nordic countries and they are offering publishers all sorts of data- like where do readers stop reading? What trends are the best-selling? Could be a watershed moment says TNPS

Publishers Weekly have been taking a look at the way publishers have been tackling their business throughout the pandemic. As was predicted some are ditching their New York offices, others are getting creative to get the word out about their books. It’s going to be an interesting next six months for the publishing industry.

The Alliance of Independent Authors has been looking at the facts and figures of self -publishing and the impact this has had on the overall book market. The last decade has completely changed the publishing landscape… and we are not finished yet with 2020. 

When you see all your writing friends succeed it can be pretty hard to feel positive about your writing life. Meg Dowell has written a great post on the 10 survival tips you need to cope with your friend’s success.

Anne R Allen has a bracing post on how to cope with a bad review. I am a member of a high powered writing group on Facebook and not a day goes by when someone isn’t celebrating a bad review. Yes, you read that right. Read Anne’s post to understand why.

Jami Gold has written a great post on choppy writing and how to fix it. I’ve been staring at my manuscript lately and wondering if the writing is bad because I’m going backward and forwards with dictating or whether it’s my unconscious mind picking up on the state of the world. ( or it could just be bad…) This is a must-read to get some craft perspective.

In The Craft Section,

Foreshadowing, Symbolism, and Payoff- Tyrean Martinson

Getting past Hard To Write Scenes- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

6 tips for avoiding repetitive conflict- Mythcreants- Bookmark

 2 great posts from Lucy Hay -What’s the difference between horror and thriller?

 And How to develop your structural toolbox- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

How to create 1-minute videos in 4 easy steps-Joseph Kunz- Bookmark

Fourteen ideas for what to put in an author newsletter – Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

13 ways to increase your email open rate – David Gaughran- Bookmark

Amazon discounted my book – why this is a good thing (Brilliant ideas here)

July unique content ideas from Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

To Finish,

As I was looking over my selection of articles for you I was thinking about the theme of Survival. Who could predict 10 years ago which publishers, bookselling chains, or distributors would still be around in 2020? When the dust settles on the other side of Covid 19 how will the publishing landscape have changed? Is it survival of the fittest or the most nimble? How can writers be creative in the midst of unrelenting negative news? Kristine Rusch has a timely look at survival and forgiveness for writers. This is a great post to mull over and apply to your own writing life. 

Maureen

@craicer

I round up the best of my bookmarked links and other assorted tips in a monthly newsletter.

Go on and subscribe and 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 –  Virginia State Parks

Lockdown Blues

Here we are still in the middle of the pandemic and thoughts and discussions abound on-line as to how the world will be when we get out of this. Will life be the same as before? Will we be able to go back to our local bookstore or will it have disappeared? What will the book industry look like on the other side?

The New Publishing Standard posted an interesting article on what publishers need to understand about the new normal of publishing that is fast evolving. 

Meanwhile, Anne R Allen had a great wake up article on getting your social media affairs in order just in case…Do you have a social media executor? (This also is a time to contemplate literary estates.)

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a great article on how to run online conferences or workshops. Yes, this could be the new normal for the rest of the year with conferences and book fairs transitioning online.

The ever trusty David Gaughran has an extensive article on Author Platforms. They are now more important than ever. And no, it is not just your website. It is who you are!

This week Kris Rusch talks about keeping sane as a writer in this mad mad world… She is also running a Kickstarter for writing craft bundles… with some good giveaways so you should check it out. 

William Kenower has an interesting article on Writers Digest about the cold open. When you are staring at the blank page. How do you get into the story and engage your creative mindset. He shares some tricks of the trade…

In The Craft Section,

2 great posts from Janice Hardy- 5 ways repetition is hurting your novel and plotting in 3 simple steps- Bookmark Both

How to submit to magazines- Writers Digest

Evoke reader emotions with surprisingness- C S Lakin

Active vs Passive voice- Jami Gold Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Rachel Thompson- Promoting your books right now and Get ready for 2020 NaNoProMo- Every May Rachel hosts and teaches book promotion- Bookmark both

18 questions to ask when refreshing your author website- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

Book Promotion during a pandemic- The Book Designer

To Finish,

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a great website for authors. It is chock full of great resources. I often link to interesting articles on their blog. Today Angela wrote a great article on goal setting for writers during a pandemic… Great advice

I have been thinking about how much this pandemic has been showing us what is important in life. The unsung heroes (usually the lowest paid,) that keep the food arriving in the supermarkets… that clean the hospitals and streets… that work long hours doing essential work but never getting the good recognition they deserve. While these people are out there, the rest of us are consuming creative content to keep entertained. Entertainment also created and delivered originally by unsung heroes (also usually the lowest paid.)

The Romans were right. Bread and circuses… Marcus Cicero 

Maureen

@craicer

(LD Day 22)

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.

Looking For The Silver Lining

This week the publishing industry was trying to catch up with all the cancellations as the Covid 19 virus is now a global pandemic. Publishing Perspectives announced a roundup today of what’s been canceled. 

Meanwhile over on Amazon, there have been scams taking advantage of people’s fear. Let’s rip off some scientific articles dress it up with a salad of opinion and badly formatted or just scanned pages of tips and sell it to frightened people. 

If you are thinking it’s all a big conspiracy theory and the virus isn’t that bad you need to read this detailed article on the statistics of the pandemic thus far. 

I was hoping to find some silver linings I could share with you this week. This became especially important for my mental health as I investigated the contents of our emergency bag and discovered expired food. Hmm. What would a writer need to get through some forced isolation time? A separate workroom from children and spouses for a start. (The laundry- I’m always in there.) Lay in a stock of pain killers, cough medicine, your favourite chicken soup, wine, chocolate, pens, and paper and get in a stack of books from your local bookshop.

When you are all settled in, channel Mary Shelley. She wrote Frankenstein during a pandemic. You too could write a novel that changes the literature landscape. 

(N.B. You might have to handwrite it just like Mary if the internet goes down because everyone is working from home.)

This could be a great time to do some computer spring cleaning says Litreactor- Have you ever spent twenty minutes going through the files of your manuscripts trying to find the latest version where you didn’t make that stupid change that resulted in the hero heading to Antarctica? Clean up your hard drive.

The Portalist caught up with some pandemic apocalypse writers and asked them why people were searching out their books. First of all, Chuck Wendig apologized for writing a book about a pandemic in an election year….

If you were planning on attending a book fair or conference that has just disappeared there is light on the horizon. The Alliance of Independent Authors online conference is still on. Attend virtually and soak up all the great information for free this weekend.

A ray of sunshine amid the gloom for UK writers. Their government is dropping the VAT on books.

Go Into The Story has a link to an interview with the screenwriter of Emma- Eleanor Catton

Kris Rusch examines the double-dealings of Hachette this week when their staff walked out to support Ronan Farrow’s protest over publishing Woody Allen’s memoir. It’s ok to enforce these clauses of non-compete to authors but not when the shoe is on the other foot.

In the Craft Section,

39 writing tips to take seriously- Zoe McCarthy- Bookmark

Test your story concept- Scott Myers- Bookmark

What’s the right pace for your story?- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Killer plot twists- Tom Corson Knowles

Children’s writer's biggest challenge- Sherryl Clark- Great Read!

In The Marketing Section,

Blogging consistently helps readers find you- Rachel Thompson

Bookbub reviews- an alternative to Goodreads – Anne R Allen- Bookmark

Book sales techniques- Sarah Bolme- Bookmark

7 expert tricks to improve author newsletters- David Gaughran -Bookmark

Grow your email list with a quiz- Author Media

Prepare for public speaking like a pro- Chrys Fey

Making an editorial calendar- Willow Woodford- Bookmark

To Finish,

One of my young friends suffered a concussion at work and she was at a loss as to what to do for the compulsory week off. She couldn’t look at screens or bright lights. Audiobooks I said. It’s a form of reading with your ears. It takes you right back to reading with Mum. The light switched on, and we went on to talk about Stephen Fry’s superlative reading of the Harry Potter series. There are reading snobs out there who say that reading anything outside of the printed page is wrong… however, science now backs up that audiobook listening is reading. 

Yay for Science! 

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 - Sean Freese 

The Plot Thickens

Digital Book World is on and straight after it is the 24-hour free online conference put on by ALLI – The Alliance of Independent Authors. Register NOW so you can have 3 days perusing all the info before it is gone! 

In Publishing Business News…
Canada Independent Booksellers report a rise in print revenue according to Publishing Perspectives. This is good news if you have just launched a bookshop. (see last week’s post)

Meanwhile, Publish Drive have changed their author fees. They had introduced a flat fee for handling all the distribution in exchange for 100% royalties. Now they have a four-tier model. It still might be worth considering if you have quite a few books.

The French Military, taking a leaf out of the US military playbook, has put out a call to Science Fiction writers to write scenarios for them. Who better than a bunch of authors to come up with plots that might actually happen. (Debt of Honour by Tom Clancy published in 1997, 4 years before 9/11)

This year the Frankfurt Bookfair has a pavilion dedicated to Romani Gypsy literature. I first read of ethnic minorities becoming nation-states without borders in a Science Fiction novel. This pavilion recognises an ethnic minority, without a nation-state, and their literature. Literature is above borders.

Kris Rusch has published the next installment in her rethinking the writing business series. It’s all about money and licensing. How do you know how much to charge for each license?
(BTW Dean, her husband, is speaking on this topic in the free Alli conference if you needed another reason to register.)

Dean Wesley Smith is annoyed with the misinformation out there about how much it costs to Indie Publish. In his dumbest new myth blog post he points out it is relatively cheap… so anyone charging you $2000 plus you need to give the side-eye to. As ever, read the comments!! Some of the commenters added new resources to Dean's list that make it even cheaper!

Agent Janet Reid sends out a warning of a scam that she recently came into contact with. People who offer to represent you to agents… her thoughts… BURN.

The Alliance of Independent Authors has updated their publishing business reviews. If you are thinking of working with anyone in the publishing world it worth checking out whether they have a good review from ALLI.

Kathy Steinemann has a nifty list of ways to record the fabulous plot ideas that arrive in the middle of the night.

Amanda Rawson Hill gets a rave review from September Fawkes and just reading this guest post on How Theme and False Theme affect your protagonist, you can see why. 
This is a knockout… print this out and pin it on the wall post!

In The Craft Section,

Setting the scene- NowNovel Bookmark

Emotional mastery for fiction writers – C S Lakin- Bookmark

How to approach writing a villain protagonist - Scott Myers- Bookmark

The inner struggle- Janice Hardy

How to tell if you have too much plot and not enough character- K M Weiland - Bookmark

How can we make our conflict stronger- Jami Gold- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Behind the scenes of an author newsletter- DIYMFA -Bookmark

Forget what you learned in Kindergarten, copy Madonna- Janet Reid

Promote your book hacks-Reedsy- BOOKMARK

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri, Easy SEO for author marketing and 5 quick ways to ramp up 
your author central page-Bookmark Both.

On producing my own audiobook- James Scott Bell

To Finish

Do you call yourself a Bookworm or a Bookshark? Lit Reactor can tell you the difference. I was nodding my way down the list… so I know what I am.

Today is a day that haunts many people. Inevitably it has filled the internet with sad stories. So maybe we need to turn to Roald Dahl for the perfect quote (collection)
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like,
So long as somebody loves you.
Roald Dahl- The Witches

Maureen
@craicer

It’s nearly time for the monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links, why don’t you subscribe? Then you can also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you.
I appreciate the virtual coffee love so if you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top.
Thanks.

Pic : Flickr Creative Commons- Rab Driver-  Cat Plotting Revenge

Creativity

Around the writing blogosphere this week the talk was all about the Writers Guild suing the big talent agencies over shonky deals with writers. I have been hearing over the years the grumblings from the screenwriters over Agencies practice of packaging which has torpedoed careers and projects. It’s an insidious form of creative accounting. NPR explains what is happening and why. 

Wattpad has been moving from being an online publisher of fan content to being a TV and movie studio... to being a 'proper' publisher. They have a new imprint for the country from which their biggest supporters come from. It's not who you think... 

Amy Shojai has an interesting post on the Alliance of Independent Authors blog on audiobooks. This format has been increasing in leaps and bounds over the last year with some new players on the block shaking things up. Also well worth trawling through is the Alli conference website with all the fabulous goodies from their recent 24-hour online conference.  

We are heading in Easter weekend and writers everywhere will be wondering how much writing they will get done over the weekend. Here are three really interesting posts on the creative life.
Creativity and discipline- 3 ways to cultivate it by Nathan Wade, guest posting on The Creative Penn

Creative life boundaries by Scott Myers from Go Into The Story

The critical voice- Kristine Kathryn Rusch- Excellent blog post!

E J Runyon has a guest post on Anne R Allen's blog on writing what you know as a starting point for writing. She discusses using sense memory as a creative kick start. Great Post! 

In The Craft Section,

Story structure explained- September Fawkes- Bookmark

The understory- Stephen Pressfield- Bookmark

Struggling with flashbacks?- Sara Letourneau- Bookmark

Are writing prompts helpful- Savannah Cordova- Bookmark

Ctl Alt Del 3 act structure- Go Into The Story

In The Marketing Section,

How to promote with your posse- Pauline Wiles

Focused goals help sell books- Penny Sansevieri

How to use your book cover to sell more books- A D Starrling- Bookmark

Metadata and Book distribution resource checklist- Alli Blog- Bookmark

Creative resources for making the most of Instagram - Frances Caballo- Bookmark

To Finish,

Collaboration is a beautiful thing. The most fun I've had is when I've been involved in a team planning a project. There's something about creative energy in a team that magnifies your ideas and kick starts your own creativity. I'm lucky to belong to the Fabo team of writers who started quite a few years ago writing story prompts for children in the winter terms of our school year. We kick off again at the beginning of the next school term. However, read this little gem of a story which takes the collaboration model of writing and kicks it up a notch.

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. I appreciate virtual coffee love so if you like the blog hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Tristan Schmurr

Trudging Forward

It’s April already?
How did that happen? 
I feel like I’m sludging through treacle at the moment. One foot in front of the other battling forward on the twisty road to getting another book out. If you battle imposter syndrome... read this timely post. 

I’m finally catching up with the fabulous content from the Alli 24 hour conference. Check out Adam Croft’s video on spreadsheets or just trawl around the conference blog and dip into great things.

Mark Williams from The New Publishing Standard has an interesting post this week on where China sits in the overall publishing world... This makes fascinating reading.

The Guardian published a plaintive piece about Aussie publishing professionals being paid poorly. It wouldn’t happen here... ( of course not... never crossed my mind... oh look a flying pig...)

Bookbaby has a post on 8 ways to reach readers through mobile marketing this week. Some cool resources in here including a free app builder.

Lit Reactor is singing the praises of Bookstagrammers and Writer Unboxed is examining which features you really need in Scrivener.  William Hahn has a great guest post on Anne R Allen's blog on sneaky world building in your manuscript.

Joanna Penn recently had a great podcast with Damon Suede about jazzing up your words. It’s an instant injection of word energy. 

In The Craft Section,

Pulling weeds from the writer garden- Laura Zimmerman

How to write a book in 8 steps- Leigh Shulman

Character vs Plot -Drive vs Focus- Jami Gold- Bookmark

What does your hero want- Michael Hauge- Bookmark

How do you show age?- Janice Hardy

5 ways to use theme to create character arc- K M Weiland- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Author brand protection- Bookworks

Use book excerpts to promote your book- Bookbaby

Content themes for blogging- Blogging wizard- Bookmark

10 ways to get reviews for your book- Joanna Penn- Bookmark

Bookmarketing – The five foundations- Alli Conference video-Bookmark

To Finish,

Kris Rusch has an interesting post on outrage fatigue. Another day, another instance of clueless writers being scammed. This time it’s Indie Press dubious practice. Write for us (flat fee paid- lose your IP.) This is especially horrible when it’s your world creation you are giving up. If you are contemplating a ghostwriting deal be very clear on what and why you are doing it.

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, which is really late… I have a story to tell tho… I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. I appreciate virtual coffee love so if you like the blog hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Goproo3

Go Global - Resistance Is Futile

It’s March and that means the publishing industry wakes up and announces new things…

Streetlib the Italian based digital book provider has expanded again
and is now in every country in Africa and enabling authors to publish in their own languages.
They have also expanded down under, this month opening up in Samoa. (last month it was NZ and Fiji)
They are on a super roll to enable authors to publish globally in their own languages. This is a big thing
in terms of readers.
Did you know there are more people online in Nigeria than in the UK? Think of the new readers…

Bookbub decided that as Audio is the big thing they better get involved and so they have launched
a new service called Chirp with Findaway voices. Where they showcase featured audio… for very CHEEP.

Recently the Guardian wrote about the world of academic publishing. That is where the author
of the article has to pay a huge sum of money to the journal to publish their academic findings.
Then the journal goes on to charge huge sums to the university libraries for subscription fees
to read the article… after the university paid for the research in the first place.
Someone is making heaps of money.
However Cengage an academic subscription service for students have quietly been circumventing
huge textbook fees and have just enrolled their 1,000,000 subscriber.

StoryTel, an online everything entertainment subscription service, have also been expanding.
They have opened up in Poland and they write about how subscription to an all in one service works…
Instead of spreading your love between Netflix, Itunes, Amazon, Spotify…. Get it all in one handy package.
This is the future… and books, newspapers, journals, etc are write in amongst it...    

The world is available to you in 24 time zones… which is a good thing because it doesn’t matter where you are
in the world you can attend the London Book Fair Alliance of Independent Authors conference
which is 24 hours of amazing goodies for authors and all FREE.
Conference organiser Sacha Black was just interviewed on The Creative Penn on Villains and Heroes
and it is a craft must listen.

Meanwhile another week another predator… Mark Coker, CEO and founder of Smashwords, found it
an interesting experience when he was contacted out of the blue by a publishing company that wanted
to make him a household name…. Hmmm.

Last year I reported the author disquiet around the handling of Harper Lee’s estate.
Now there are problems with all the theatre productions of To Kill A Mockingbird.
How to kill a golden mockingbird….

Roz Morris has been writing her blog for ten years. That’s a lot of content. She reflects on how she got
started and what she has learned along the way.  Anne R Allen has a great post this week on
how to write web content. Something I struggle with…

In The Craft Section,

12 signs it’s time to say goodbye to your writing project- Meg Dowell

How to write humour- WritePractice-

Effortless writing- Copyblogger

Should you give non humans marginalized traits- Mythcreants- Bookmark

Unsnagging your plot- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

How to avoid repetitive sentences- Janice Hardy - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

10 mistakes authors make in their online presence- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

Email newsletter examples- Hubspot- Bookmark

2019 Literary Calendar- Build Book Buzz- Bookmark

8 marketing tips- Writer Unboxed

5 reasons author tribes will make you a better writer- Dr J

To Finish,

Creative resistance is a thing. It is the nagging little voice that tells you all the words you’ve just written are awful
and you may as well give up. There are some great books out there to help.
The War of Art- Steven Pressfield is a great book or you can read Chuck Wendig’s latest blog on Self Rejection

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee- hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic Flickr Creative Commons- Kevin Gill. What the world would look like if the polar ice sheets melted.