Are Writers Conferences Worth The Hassle?

 

 

In Publishing News this week… money, opinions, and craft.

 

As writers and publishers are waiting for the cheques to arrive from the Anthropic settlement, The Authors Guild is calling on the publishers to share the wealth around. 

Many publishers are claiming for out of print books where they have had no correspondence with authors for decades. Is this fair? asks the Guild.

 

Ed Nawotka reports on a study by the Book Industry Study Group on their survey of AI use by publishers. This was the second year the survey was run. As expected, publishers are using more AI, however there is a marked slowdown amongst their employees, causing a clear fault line. Interesting reading.

 

Publishers Weekly has an interview with literary tastemaker, Jordan Moblo. This book influencer’s day job is an IP buyer for Universal. How does he decide what books will make films and TV series?

 

When I attend author events, here in NZ, I often get asked what writers should keep an eye on overseas. Occasionally I send links to publishers and booksellers, interesting ideas I find in research for the weekly roundup. The recent Sharjah Booksellers conference had some interesting ideas that I have passed on to some booksellers.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the recent Babelica conference of independent publishers. The focus this year was bibliodiversity.  Publishers from 60 countries took part and there were six language tracks. The Alliance of Independent Publishers will be celebrating 25 years next year.

 

Mark Williams of the New Publishing Standard wrote another of his strongly worded essays on the London Book Fair. With the recent news of other conferences joining the fair will LBF grow, or get swamped by all the competing players in their space?

 

The Alliance of Independent Author are looking into the 2027 crystal ball and noting the four trends they see sticking around from this year. Their upcoming conference is future focused so this essay is a great lead in.

 

Becca Syme has a great essay on why you can’t find any good workshops at writing conferences. It’s not the conference, it’s you. She deep dives into competence building and how the closer you get to mastery the less you learn at workshops. Fascinating stuff.

 

Ines Johnson writes about why she still goes to conferences… it is all about the networking. How often do you talk to the vendors at the conference? She explains how their insights have improved her business. 

 

Craig Martelle, of 20booksto50K conference and short video writing craft tips fame, recently wrote an interesting essay on writing series books. It should be the reader who determines series length. 

 

Tim Grahl of The Story Grid has an epic 144 writing tips learned over 15 years. He has recorded this in a video. Click on the pinned post under the video to see each time stamped chapter. Make sure you have a large drink and lots of time. A writing conference in miniature.

 

In the Craft Section,

Dialogue Beats- Michelle Barker- Bookmark

Before you publish eBooks- Indie Author Training

Specific characters equal Universal Characters- Tiffany Yates Martin

The Virtuous character doesn’t need to be boring- Vaughn Roycroft- Bookmark

Character misdirection tricks- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What does your swag say?- Amy Reade

2 interesting posts from - Kimberley Grabas-How can authors elevate their brand and

A comprehensive guide on branding using AI- Bookmark

3 keys to running a successful author business-Audrey Hughy- Bookmark

Time savers for serial fiction writers- Simon Jones

 

To Finish

 

As I write this, children’s authors will be packing their bags and heading towards the New Zealand Storylines Hui for Children’s Writers and Illustrators. It is a big commitment in time and money to attend an author conference. You want to go to everything to get your moneys worth. 

Having organized a few of these conferences- The sleepless nights and hair pulling behind the scenes to make sure that attendees do get their money’s worth is also top of mind, along with where is that important thing which I can’t remember the name of… why can’t I find pain killers, and who drank the wine?

It is a juggle to provide a program that informs the newbie and stretches the seasoned professional. Time spent with other authors is important. Nobody understands writers like other writers and some of your best conference takeaways will be outside the sessions, just chatting with other writers. 

If you can’t make an in person conference, check out the Alliance of Independent Authors conference happening in October. There is a great line up of speakers and it’s free.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Searching For A Market

This week in Publishing News,

 

This week Techcrunch published an article on how publishers will be able to opt out of AI searches due to new laws in the UK. The law states that AI search engines must offer a way to opt out, but with everyone using Chat GPT for search now, is that a good thing?

 

The recent US Book show examined the big movers in publishing, AI and Audio. Publishing Perspectives reports on some of the discussions and the importance of data when making decisions.

 

Publisher’s Weekly reports on an Author Guild survey on why author incomes are in decline. It’s all subscriptions fault, and libraries. People are still reading. So how do we get people to pay us for our stories?

 

Reading is a social activity. That’s the latest trend. (I can hear introverts screaming right now.) Publisher’s Weekly reports on a Frankfurt Bookfair virtual event discussing the global trend of reader social engagement that is bypassing publishers.

 

Kobo’s CEO Michael Tamblyn has a feature article on Publishing Perspectives about the office discussions on whether they would publish AI books. As he writes “This AI moment… is revealing a lot about what we believe to be important.” This is an inside look at what publishing companies are wrestling with.

 

If you want to lure a kid into the library, give them Manga. That’s the popular opinion of librarians according to Publishers Weekly who went out and surveyed them. From being very niche, it is now mainstream. It’s all down to librarians who nurtured those weird kids, giving them space to read, and now Manga is for the cool kids. 

 

Mark Williams calls out the hypocrisy from publishers as they publicly bemoan the use of AI while using it in their offices. I have some sympathy for the argument. He rightly calls out the double standard and how people are losing their jobs because of AI. It’s not, our office is more efficient as our staff are using AI tools. It’s our office replacement for staff are AI tools. 

 

Which type of Social Media is best? If you have been struggling with this question the latest article from the Alliance of Independent Authors is for you. Some social media brands work better for different genres. 

 

Alexa Bigwarfe has an interesting article on writing for AI search engines. How Is Your Next Reader Finding You? The Economist is already writing articles just for search engines. She explains about new marketing search and how authors can make their book findable in all the search noise.

 

Rachel Thompson has a great article on marketing. The Absolute Best Time To Market A Book Is Before It Exists. If you are scratching your head over that, you need to read the article. Do you want your readers to remember you?

 

The Indie Author magazine has an interesting interview with Deborah Wilde about the transition from screenwriter to books, navigating the publishing world, and reinventing yourself. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Meeting reader expectations- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Do you know Why?- Kathleen McCleary- Bookmark

How to choose the right character arc- K M Weiland -Bookmark

Writing the best twist- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Interiority vs Visceral reactions-Susan Watts- Indepth article

 

In the Marketing Section,

Sending merch with ARC’s- Sandra Beckwith

A pitch is not a strategy- Kathleen Schmidt

Three leaks that are costing you- Alexa Bigwarfe- Bookmark

10 tips for setting up Direct Sales- Indie Author Mag- Bookmark

Give readers a clear way into your writing- Dan Blank- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The shortlist for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children’s and Young Adults is out. I’ve judged these awards and it’s always a thrill to see what my peers have been up to and how creative our industry is. I’m especially noting how many great books are in the Te Reo section. Ka pai. It’s going to be another tough call picking the winners!

 

I’ve been thinking about the many hats that Writers wear. We can be cheerleaders for others, marketing apprentices with our own products, researchers of obscure things, and the biggest imposter syndrome badge holders. And we write as if we are separate from all those other identities. Recently I read Mark Leslie Lefebvres essay on trying to reconnect the different sides of his author life at Stoker Con. He writes so well about our dual lives and how sometimes one life takes over and crushes the other life. Food for thought. 

May you crush all your writing demons this week!

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links and other tidbits, 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.

 

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The Writing Business- Shaking Hands with AI

 

 

In Publishing News this week

Publisher’s Weekly reports that Readerlink will stop distributing mass market paperbacks this year. With Readerlink responsible for distributing 30% of all the books into big chains in the United States that is a big revenue hit. Will the cheap mass market format disappear? 

 

Bologna Book Fair names their licensing awards shortlist for 2025 and for the first time licensing for video games makes an appearance. It’s all about the merch in the children’s world. And if you aren’t sure, this is Intellectual Property (IP) based on a creators idea. Smurfs are still a big thing. I wonder how many of their original creators are getting a dividend.

 

The UK government has wrapped up ten weeks of submissions on their copyright and AI proposed law. They finished with a big campaign on the covers of Newspapers asking if AI was fair. It wasn’t just UK associations making submissions. Many overseas publishing organisations also submitted on the bill. Publishing Perspectives writes about what is happening next. Many are calling for transparency and licensing deals. Will the law take this into account? 

 

While the UK is grappling with writing a new law, across the pond Meta is in court trying to justify their theft to train their AI. I’m not sure their arguments- everybody is doing it, and apologise later, are good ones to make to the judge.

 

Mark Williams has his own particular take on the use of AI. Consumers love it. Therefore, we need to embrace it. This could be problematic when your contract arrives, and you have to state whether you have ever used AI or not on the project. Publishers are looking at ways to indemnify themselves from accusations of plagiarism.

 

The way forward into the AI forest looks dark and winding and it might be years before we see the sunlight on the other side. Shining a torch is Debbie Burke of the Killzone authors who explains how the Author’s Guild Human Authored campaign of registrations and stickers work.

 

Jenny Hanson has a great article over at the Dynamic Duo’s blog on Book Structure for Disorganized Writers. Remember writing and plotting is unique to each writer. Jenny offers some handy tips to make sense of your process.

 

Russell Nohelty has the mega post/tutorial on Book Marketing. There is absolutely something for everyone in this post. Bookmark it! 365 simple ways to talk about your writing and keep readers engaged all year. 

 

Carol Michel has updated her very popular post on Jane Friedman’s blog about How to market a book without social media. Also on Jane’s blog is a great article by Lisa Cooper Ellison on Memoir Mistakes. When the backstory derails your narrative.

 

 

In The Craft Section,

9 ways to originalise your story idea- Becca Puglisi

Circling conflicts- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Alternatives for Speechless – Kathy Steinemann- Bookmark

The backstory balancing act- Marissa Graff

How to avoid flat characters in your story- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

3 ways to get amazon reviews- Bang 2 Write

Your voice, your narration- Cindy Gunderson - Interesting article!

5 handy tips for book marketing- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Article ideas for book publicity- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

The author media kit- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish

James Scott Bell always has wise words about writing craft but he has a good business brain for writing as well. It must be the lawyer training. He has an interesting take on the writing business and what is happening in traditional publishing. Remember that publishing is a business, and you should understand this with every contract you sign. One of the most important clauses now for a writer is the rights reversion clause. The old out of print clause doesn’t cut it now with eBooks, so put a time limit on it. 

It's all IP and that’s what the publishers are buying, as much of your intellectual property as they can get. It is a pot of gold if they can on-sell your merch rights to the video game developer before you get the rights back.

 

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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