It’s All Subjective

.@ardit_haliti You think I should write something where nobody dies? Hmm... it wouldn't be easy. I'm all about the death.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 18, 2015

This week I have been mulling over the perfect conference program. This is highly subjective. Why do you go to conferences? Some people say networking. Some say up-skilling in your craft. Some say to learn new approaches to old ideas. That’s my ideal, learning. I’m not into great big crowded rooms where everybody is glad handing and I know no one. So planning the perfect writers conference for me has to have plenty of learning opportunities and meet and greet without being overpowering. We are in the middle of refining our program for Tinderbox2015 and I have a big problem. I want to go to everything!

As I look through this week’s links for you it is amazing how many of them link into something in our conference program.

Passive Guy has linked to two posts this week that have people talking. Do publishers really understand SEO (do you?) and Authorpreneurs. from The Economist which has weighed in saying what authors should be doing regarding their business which is finding influencers and publishers should be publishing celebrity authors to stay afloat. Reading the comments on both those articles is entertaining. And in breaking news Pharrell is writing a series of children’s books... about being HAPPY.

Porter Anderson takes a good long look at publishing terms everyone gets wrong and the implications for planning your writing business. Do you really get royalties if you self publish? And why you need to know the differences.

Publishing Perspectives has an interesting opinion piece about whether agents and publishers want authors that know about the publishing business. Do MFA programs want clued up authors?

Darcy Pattison talks about her last 18 months. This is chock full of information about the decision to Indie Publish and what she has learned. (this is a bookmark post!)

Today was a #MSWL day on Twitter. Agents and Editors write on Twitter what Manuscripts they wish would come across their desks. Type #MSWL in the search bar. If you do query an agent or editor from this, mention the tweet. Another cool search on Twitter is #tenqueries. Agents and Editors going through their slush pile will comment on ten queries live on Twitter and their immediate response. This is a great heads up about what grabs and what doesn’t.

In the Craft section,

The great James Scott Bell has a new post on story and structure and how they must love each other.

Author Biz has a great interview with Editor Shawn Coyne who is working on a story grid book for editors. This is a bookmark post! (and a print out the Storygrid and stick it on your wall post.)

Jeff Goins on overcoming writers block.

Jody Hedlund on the 5 point character checklist (great revamp of her website)

When do you rewrite an old manuscript and when do you let it die...

Ava Jae on what she’s learning as a publishing intern

How to make the most of a writing retreat

In the Marketing section,

55 digital branding tips for Authors

Lindsay Buroker has been sourcing covers from fiverr for short stories - she explains how to do this.

7 must do tactics for promotional tweets. (please don’t spam... the 90/10 rule should apply- thats 90 pieces of interesting stuff for every 10 promotional tweets)

7 things you learn when your book is published.

Moderating panels – How to be rude in the nicest possible way

Writelife interviews four authors about the real cost of self publishing

Website of the Week

Bibliocrunch is an interesting hangout. Not only do they host chats on Twitter but they have lots of resources for the Indie Authors.

Here are two of their recent articles- Using Skype to organize a virtual writing groups and

Tshirts with memorable book quotes on them...

To Finish,

John Green is known for a lot of things that he does well. However today he found out something he doesn’t know well - The quotes from his books. This made for a great confessional post to his brother about how he always assumed that the quote memes were from his books...oops 

If you are interested in finding out more about Tinderbox 2015 - The National Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference in Wellington, NZ, October 2-5^th  send us an Email to 2015tinderbox AT gmail DOT com and we’ll put you on our dedicated mailing list for updates and news.

maureen

John Green's confession below.

Tweet from a conversation thread with J K Rowling.

Scrubbing Up

This morning parts of New Zealand were declared officially in drought. (finally…)

The kids have gone back to school. 

The floor still needs scrubbing. 

I’m still trying to find my desk under the summer onslaught of papers, Christmas wrappings and other detritus that has to be put away. 

Business as usual.

I need to change my mindset.

Scott Berkun has descriptions of 3 writer mindsets that he switches through.

I need to revisit the story that makes me have nightmares.

Mark Wisniewski has 3 pieces of advice that he should have given when he taught writing.

I need to understand my history as a writer and view my books as an annuity.

Seth Godin on The truth about Sunk Costs and Mark Coker on treating your ebooks as annuity earnings.

I need to relook at my print book project.

Elisabeth Spann Craig on why we still need print copies of our books.

Conference planning is underway with my great team. News will be coming soon. If you found yourself instantly linking to some of the above for a different way of looking at your career ... you may want to keep October 2-5^th free and come to Wellington.

In the Craft Section,

Every one of these is a bookmark post...

How to place turning points on a beat sheet

What your first 250 words is telling your reader

11 secrets to character description

The art of story - when telling trumps showing- Angela Ackerman

4 ways to think about narrative architecture- (Warning-ChuckWendig)

What are the needs and goals of your character- Jami Gold

What it means when they say the story is didactic.

In the Marketing section,

40 questions to ask an agent

The one page synopsis- Killzone

Giving the people what they want

12 book marketing tips

How to send review copies

How to use Facebook to help other authors

Tools for writers.

To Finish,

Joanna Penn revisits her favourite craft books for writers... and I’m nodding my head as I own about half of her list... Now do I dive into a craft book or scrub the floor…(save the water…)

maureen

Pic from Flickr/Creative Commons- Nick Perez

Ranting On

This week I have been working hard on a funding application for our national conference to our national arts funder, Creative New Zealand.

When you work on a funding application, it gets you thinking about what you really really wish for and how limited the funds actually are out there in the arts world.

While I was finalising the last bit of number crunching our Man Booker winner Eleanor Catton was being interviewed live on Indian TV. She was voicing some of my thoughts about arts funding... we could do with more of it here. Unfortunately her comments annoyed a talkback radio host here and suddenly he was off on a rant calling her a traitor... to New Zealand. 

I found this very hard to swallow coming less than two weeks after the Paris attacks on free speech. Yes I disagreed with a lot of the religious attacks in the Charlie Hebdo comics but we live in a free speech democracy. The radio host has his right to free speech too. But can’t we be grown up and debate the issue of whether our arts funding is adequate. Of course, we in the arts community will say it isn’t. It would be nice to have the forum where we could show the rest of New Zealand exactly why we think it isn’t adequate and not be penalised for speaking our minds. We need to have a healthy forum for debate instead of having the whole thing reduced to competing soundbytes, as our NZ Society of Authors president Kyle Mewburn so ably said this morning on Breakfast TV.

The cartoonists have had a great time this morning illustrating the backlash.

Due to my week being spent crunching numbers... I haven’t got my usual 30ish links or so.

This morning Author Earnings released another report... and it makes interesting reading. Passive Guy highlights main points but a stunning revelation is the high percentage of books that don’t have ISBNs. These ‘shadow’ books aren’t counted in any official book statistics.

Jane Friedman comments on stats from DBW conference (which may be in doubt now that the new Author Earnings report is out) and she lists the best bits of Seth Godin’s session. This makes interesting reading for authors about where you should be aiming for in marketing.

The wonderful Kris Rusch was interviewed on her new book –Discoverability, This is all about passive marketing which authors need to understand. Worth taking the time to listen!

In the Craft Section,

Ava Jae on finding critique partners

What kinds of basic story plots are there

Janice Hardy on avoiding unnecessary internal question in 3rd person.

In the Marketing section,

Making free 3D book covers

Daily Dahlia has a post on Agent red flags... with examples... must read if you are looking for one.

Jane Friedman on platform building for authors. This one is a must read/listen. I am always saying that groups of authors getting together to market themselves, and talk about writing, is the way forward. And here Jane is saying the same. Can’t argue with that!

To Finish,

One of my illustrator friends commented that she was sick of ignorant writers thinking that illustrators would illustrate their manuscripts for royalty splits when they hadn’t even got a publishing contract. Illustrators have to pay mortgages too. Picture Book illustrations can take up to a years full time work. Publishers pick the illustrators and most are paid flat fee and/or royalty. Please share this information around with your writing friends or you might encounter illustrators going off in Wendig inspired rants.

and on another note...

Terri Ponce has a nice little article on success and failure... worth printing and sticking above your writing desk  (especially this week...)

Maureen

P.S. When I have more details to share with you about the National Conference of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (A.K.A Tinderbox 2015 - Wellington October 2-5) I will share them.

(hugs self and chuckles gleefully)

pic from Todays New Zealand Herald

Number Crunching

Another week of hot weather and crunching numbers... here in my house. 

I’m doing budgets for our National Conference and pulling my hair out over funding requirements. 

Over on the other side of the world Publishers and Commentators are kicking through the snow and crunching numbers trying to make sense of the latest Neilson figures to get a snapshot of the health of the Publishing industry.

So far this week I’ve seen statements like Adult Fiction is dead. Ebooks are dead. YA is being read by Adults. Children’s publishing is growing. Where is fiction for Grown Ups?

Depending on where you live inside the publishing world... You are in a time of great opportunity or 

famine or change or growth or decline or flux or... business as usual.

After the Digital Book World conference last week, where the Neilson figures were discussed, people are still trying to figure out whether they should be happy or sad.

Porter Anderson takes a close look at the figures for print and ebook and what sells... and a nice surprising figure came out... the growth of Juvenile Non Fiction (print). Makes recent NZ publishing house closures look premature.

Publishing Technology breaks down some Neilson figures and finds that ebook success and adult fiction success are intertwined.

Philip Jones of The Bookseller compares the UK and US figures and looks at the main conclusions, one of which is that the book industry is not dependent on the e-reader being sold at Christmas, it is now an everyday item... not a game changer.

Moving away from number crunching these great posts caught my eye.

Rachelle Gardner on the Imposter Syndrome- yes every writer suffers this.

Why writers don’t write sometimes... This post highlights the writer’s life now.

Publishers Weekly has a breakdown on Self Publishing success in 2015 (I thinks this makes Self Publishers legit now.)

Porter Anderson takes a look at the annual author survey DBW always releases at their conference. Last year was full of controversy...this year was all about Author ROI (Return On Investment) Is it worth it? (great comments!)

Joanna Penn has another brilliant interview and learns a great tip for Email lists and newsletters.

Over on Copyblogger Johnny and Sean do a quick breakdown of a publishing funnel (Get their Book!)

The magnificent Kris Rusch has a brilliant post on business speaking to all those Authors with backlists... and her stellar partner Dean Wesley Smith has a great post about failure being an option. (Bookmark both!)

12 x 12 is open (1 month only) for all those people interested in writing Picture Books. Such is the popularity that Julie's site broke after the first day... Every year I say to myself I must have a go... alas I’m still trying to take back 2014.

In the Craft Section,

Who is your Narrator talking to

Utilise Tension more effectively

Writing Characters of Colour

The do’s and don’ts of adding more description

Writing in multiple genres

7 deadly myths about book editing

In the Marketing Section,

Make your own Indie Authors Fair

Start a Blog

Build Your Writer Career

Writing the KickAss Query Letter

8 tips to liven up an Author webinar

Grow your email list

Website Of The Week.

The One Hundred Best Websites for Writers has been announced.

Regular readers will see many sites that I often refer to...Congratulations to Janice and Katherine and Rachelle and Dean and Joanna and Elizabeth and Debi and Jami and James and Angela and Becca and Jane and Joanna and Kristen and Casey and Michael and Joel and Chuck and....

To Finish,

Chuck has a new ramble about making Art in 2015 (definitely comes with warnings...) It strikes a chord with me as I wrestle with conference timetables and budgets. Every two years we get a chance to throw ourselves wholesale into this creative art business, try to understand it, up skill in it and get inspired at our National Conference. I’m doing my best to make it worthwhile coming to.

maureen

Pic from Flickr/Creative Commons  -Mervyn Chua

Breaking The Container

This week in the publishing blogosphere...

If you have any interest in the global publishing world you will be aware of the new VAT rules coming into the EU. This is where the governments of the EU finally get tax off Amazon... or rather Amazon tells all authors who publish with them that they will add the tax on.

The ongoing saga of Maurice Sendak’s estate is back in the news. He had collected some amazing paintings folios and first editions. Then the executors pulled 10,000 original items from the Sendak collection held at a Philadelphia library. Is it in accordance with his wishes? There is quite a debate on as the executors are not writers...

Boy books.... Girl books.... Book books!

A seven year old girls complaint about a non-fiction book being promoted as a boys book has prompted a change in policy from a publisher.

The news that over 60,000 UK boys have failed in their literacy by age 11 has galvanized a children’s writer. But he has an interesting way of going about it. Build some free gaming apps to go alongside his novels. Is there buy in from his publishers... YES. (This reminds me of a proposed idea along these lines here - No publisher buy in.) This is all interesting in light of a recent study on the use of tablets in schools.

Where are the books exploring conflict for children and teens from the other side. One writer is appalled that they are the only one writing with middle eastern protagonists.

New Zealand writers have been reeling lately with a string of publishing houses closing their NZ offices. Writer Beware has posted a warning, that writers taking their own rights back after disputes with publishers have to be very careful.

Jane Friedman has a guest on her blog sounding a note of caution on signing up for Kindle Unlimited.

Rachel Gardner details the kinds of rejections from editors she gets as an agent. (These are for books that went on to do well –we are not alone)

In the Craft Section,

What makes your characters uncomfortable- Janice Hardy

Double your Story Conflict in seconds. –K M Weiland

Are Series worth it if you are not published? –Ava Jae

The brutal truth about Beta Readers

20 ways to become a more productive writer

Plotting the non plot driven novel

Scenes - and how to write them

New ideas on how to plot

10 tips for short story writing

In the Marketing Section,

Social Media- how to toot your own horn without turning off your audience

How to develop a business mindset- Rachel Gardner

Juggling multiple projects – Elisabeth S Craig

Update on the ACX alternative in audio books. (I linked to this a few months ago, so the update makes interesting reading.)

5 ways to start building your fan base

To Finish,

Two big projects that made the news this week.

One of the biggest YouTube sensations in recent years is a teenage girl blogging about her life. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg was released as a book this week and broke all sorts of records for a first book. How did this happen?

Serial, a podcast sensation, finished its first season... and asked its listeners for donations to do a second. How can publishing learn from this success? The Bookseller asks.

The power of the storytelling transcends the container it is delivered in.

maureen
Pic from Flickr/creativecommons/Joanna Bourne

Big Ideas...

Two weeks to go before NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which has become a rallying cry for the would be novelist mostly in the U.S. 

Of course come December all the agents and publishers then wade through tonnes of unedited manuscripts. Last year Editors were calling for December to become NaNoEdMo.

If you are contemplating transferring your big idea into a novel ... read this very good piece by writing guru Larry Brooks on how to decide if your concept is good enough.

A lady who has concepts that are mega bestsellers, Barbara Freethy, stunned the publishing world this week with a new deal announcement.

Barbara, an Indie author, has sold nearly 5 million eBooks. She has just partnered with Ingram for a print only deal.

For those of you who don’t know, Ingram are the biggest distributor of books in the U.S. They do print and distribution for the big 5/4/3 plus a host of smaller publishers. Now just contemplate the ramifications of this deal. Then go and read Porter Anderson for some details.

Occasionally people ask me what I think of the whole Self Publishing/Indie movement... I mostly reply that when the Indie authors can crack print distribution the landscape will be forever changed. (This is that moment!)

Yesterday Hugh Howey wrote a plea to the whole writing community that it was time to stop arguing with each other and just get along. Everybody is sick of the Them vs Us rants between Trad and SP. It’s a very well reasoned argument and as you read it... some parallels are immediately evident with our own political landscape.

Frankfurt is over for another year... what was the main talking point in the literary world? Subscriptions and their impact on publishers. The success of this model for those publishers who have bought in to it is fueling the idea that maybe they can do it on their own.

Translators in Germany are getting a raw deal… Publishing Perspectives takes a look at what it’s like for them.

In this neck of the woods an Australian editor got a grant to spend 10 weeks researching

Y A trends with publishers and agents in New York and Bologna. Her report is fascinating. It’s a big read so make yourself comfortable. I was very interested in the way books were marketed as either Block Busters OR Award Winners.

Catherine Ryan Howard, one of my go to gurus about Self Publishing has just updated the tax section in her helpful blog. Maybe you won’t need a US tax number after all.

Another guru Susan Kaye Quinn also has updated information on using Amazon pre order buttons... this is gold advice for those people who have a series in the works.

In the Craft Section,

Vital prep steps for NaNoWriMo

Principles of the Inciting Incident

Editing your own writing – K M Weiland

James Scott Bell pulls out 10 essential plot and structure tips from his phenomenal book Plot and Structure.

In the Marketing Section,

6 hot trends in Indie Book Marketing

9 ways to promote your audio book

Book cover design

Rachel Gardner on tools to make your author life easier

Ava Jae on querying Agents

How much should you charge for your eBook?

To Finish,

After your big idea session... you need to relax… Check out this handy infographic on Yoga positions for writers...

I would add a good stretch for the wine bottle to it.

 maureen

Pic: Cool use of keyboards.... Shawn DeWolfe

Thou Shalt...

It has been a funny old fortnight (do you still use that word in daily speech?) I had to take a break from my regular weekly blog due to the recovery dance going backwards.

In the publishing blogosphere it is Frankfurt time! Frankfurt is one of the worlds biggest book trade fairs. This year Frankfurt nodded towards self-publishing with a who’s who line up of speakers for a dedicated two day conference tacked onto the main event.  Along with the many book deals being done at Frankfurt there is lots of discussion about industry trends. ISBN’s are in the spotlight. Porter has been looking at the increasing dissatisfaction with ISBN’s. Are they necessary? (N.B. NZ provides free ISBN’s through the National Library for NZers.)

Just when you thought bookstores were on their way out... Faber (Lit publishers) decide to operate a pop up store selling Faber titles. Other publishers are watching that space.

Amazon announced this morning that they were going to have a store in Manhattan... So the store idea is not dead.

In a little rumble that may herald an earthquake is on the way... Adobe has been identified as scanning people’s digital bookshelves without their consent... this may be the straw that breaks DRM. Publishers may feel that DRM won’t be worth the lawsuits...

Futurebook has an interesting article on Bookbridgr. This is a site that teams up book bloggers with publishers. With the increasing loss of book review pages in print this looks like an interesting option. (Could be room for a NZ option...)

I’ve always thought India was a market to watch... 1billion people... many who speak English... EBooks India has just interviewed Mark Coker on what it takes to self publish there.

Writer Beware has an interesting post on how to ask publishers about rights reversion. This is an important clause in your contract...

Karen Inglis walks her readers through converting a Picture Book to an ‘Enhanced eBook’ through iBooks.

In the Craft Section,

Two great links from Ava Jae. How to write effective betrayal and How to make up your own language for your WIP.

How to write a page turner.

Screenwriting tips for novels, 3 act 8 sequence.

Showing or Telling

Anne R Allen - Are your dreams getting in the way of your writing goals?

Creating characters readers care about.

Multi - coloured heroes... diversity in your characters.

How to destroy your initial idea to make it better.

Chuck - what you need to know about your second draft. (Great article! Usual Chuck warnings)

In the Marketing Section,

Neil Gaiman's clever bookclub trick

Jane Friedman interviewed Bella Andre... and learned 5 tips for success.

Using Goodreads to its best advantage for Authors

10 book marketing mistakes

Killzone- ten tips to self promote like a marketer.

If you are interesting in the self-publishing revolution, Lateral Action interviewed Joanna Penn about her new book Business for Authors.

Writer Unboxed has 5 tips from Joanna to consider when you look at your author business.

15 terms every Indie author should know

To Finish,

The ongoing battle of should you/ shouldn’t you over author blogging is always a weighty tussle.

Here it takes another twist with a guest article on The Book Designer website... Thou shalt blog.

Of course I don’t follow the proscribed rule... in my weekly (ahem) blog but if you want to click on the book covers in the side bar you can get a taster of my writing.

maureen

Branded

Real talk about author branding: concentrate on your voice and your craft, not your "brand." Let your voice be what's consistent.
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) September 23, 2014

Amazon love/hate fuels a lot of debate in the publishing blogosphere. Each side of the argument has its passionate adherents. What you can’t do in publishing is ignore Amazon. If they are not bringing out a new device (described as a game changer by a kids lit agent this week) then they are changing the game in publishing with a new publishing innovation.

Rumours abound as Digital Book World reported chat from authors who are part of an Amazon focus group. Are crowd-sourcing manuscripts and covers the next move?

This week Mike Shatzkin looked at the use of Amazon exclusives in the battle to get market share at book launch time. His article specifically looked at Hugh Howey’s public worry about whether to take a hit in sales for publicity over the 90 day Amazon exclusive. Just how powerful is the Amazon exclusive brand?

Hugh Howey has focused his laser eye on the worst kept secret of rigged best selling lists. The big brands NYT bestseller and WSJ bestseller on a book guarantee branding for the authors life... but are they being gamed by their own brand?

Dave Gaughrin has written a searing post on Big Name publishers and their use of Author Solutions. Publishing Is Rotten To The Core.This is a must read post. When the brand becomes rotten...

Michelle Huneven has written an essay about Writing and thetrouble with it... one of those bookmark posts that you just have to share!

In the Craft Section,

Ava Jae on playlists while you are writing

Brainstorming the hero before you start writing

Is killing your darlings murdering your book... great article

K M Weiland Are you writing your sentences wrong?

The 8 characters of comedy

John Scalzi on writing books for Hollywood.

In the Marketing Section,

Jane Friedman on Authors Social Media

Generating income by diversifying... great post from Writer Unboxed

Joanna Penn on author entrepreneurship

Agent wisdom

5 keys to pain free book promotion

Don’t sell a book – build a brand.

Self-Publishing

Molly Greene on how Self-Publishers can improve the industry.

Joanna Penn on The Self-Publishing Revolution

To Finish,

Writers are often asked what their brand is to distinguish them.

Chuck takes a look at Author Branding...in Chuck style! (Warning Chuck is not for the faint of heart... and you will need to put down your drink!)

Playing Nice

Sometimes life gets in the way of getting this blog out on time every week.

This week in the writing publishing blogosphere....

The Amazon/Hachette battle doesn’t seem to be going away and Forbes is now commenting on the next battle coming up... Amazon/ HarperCollins. What are HC doing to prepare for it?

Digital Book World looks at why Self Published authors may have a stake in the zon/chette battle.

James Scott Bell is commenting on Agents... and some practices to be aware of that disadvantage the Author. This is a must read! (and follow the Clare Cook link.)

Writer Beware is a must go to site if you are researching agents etc. They have highlighted some dodgy practices in the past like Clare Cook’s saga. They have redeveloped their site and now have a special section for self publishers and the scams targeting them.

The NY Times profiled a new practice by a publisher... crowd sourcing their next Y A project. This is an interesting development from the publishers/ readers point of view... not sure about the authors tho.

With the next big Y A film The Giver by Lois Lowry coming out soon... Lois talks about the change she would have made to the ending ifshe was writing it now.

An author collective who all went to SCBWI LA share their take-aways from this event. Great round up.

The Christchurch Word festival is about to kick off… In the UK a festival causing a lot of buzz is the virtual festival...run by a publisher.

In the ongoing who is better, Trad vs Self, publishing debate... The rabid parts of the self publishing community aired their views on a Lee Child interview on Passive Guy’s site and were surprised when Lee took them up on it. Worth a read for the stylish way he handled it.

Bibliocrunch has an interview with Lorna Suzuki... Lorna writes kidslit, self published it and then the film studio came calling.

Bob Mayer talks about keeping your expectations real in publishing.

In the Craft Section,

10 commandments for reading like a writer

Stephen Pressfield has a great post on work habits

The inner conflict of your characters

The plot whisperer has posted up a scene tracker... awesome post 

and how to plot the end that grabs your reader.

10 bits of writing advice from JRR Tolkein

Structure tips using Joseph Campbell’s mythology structure.

Keeping your characters believable

Writing resources... a huge list.

7 reasons writing a book makes you a champion

In the Marketing Section,

Chuck Wendig on how to market without looking like asleeze... (Usual Chuck warnings)

Kristine Rusch is always a recommended read... and here she is looking at the dangers of treating your book release as an Event! Read it for a fresh viewpoint.

Marketing your book through other authors brilliance...

Molly Greens 15 website essentials

To Finish,

Bookriot has an article looking at the bad press some  YA writers have got... you might not agree with who they are sticking up for... but should you be dissing your peers?

Ava Jae has lots of good writing and craft advice on her site. Here she tells her young readers about what Book Piracy means to an author. It is worth sharing this info around… so that we all play nice… 

maureen