Are We Really Scoring?

 

In Publishing News this week...

The fall out from the Hugo Award controversy has continued (see last week) and now members of the committee have been pushed out the airlock. Locus Magazine has the news release on who and why the award committee members have got the chop.

 

Gobbling up smaller publishers is still a menu item. Publishers Weekly reports Greenleaf partnering with Wonderwell. Partnering implies equal status … No. If you read between the lines they’ve dumped everyone, kept the name and boss to ‘run’ the imprint and terminated the authors. 

 

Goodereader has an interesting article on Spotify paying tens of millions to audiobook publishers. Everybody is waiting for someone to announce they got paid from Spotify streaming their audiobooks. Any numbers? Is it worth it? Mark Williams has his usual acerbic take on whether Spotify is good for publishing- If it takes chunks out of Audible he is all for it. Meanwhile, Audible and Storytel are tightening belts.

 

Lithub comes out on the side of Lana Bastašić who had a blistering response to a German Literary Festival dropping her letting over comments about the war in Gaza. They reprint the letters in full. Ouch!

 

Simon and Schuster are celebrating 100 years in the business. In 1924 they started with a crossword puzzle book to take advantage of the puzzle craze sweeping the world. They are profiling the most influential books they have published in 100 years. (Their founder, Richard Simon also gave the world Carly Simon - So they can be vain this once.)

 

Debbie Burke reminds us there is always more to learn about publishing, right when you think you know it all. Elizabeth Craig has a great article on Keeping up with Writing and Business. You can’t have one without the other so figure out how to use your time. She has great tips.

Sue Coletta has a great article on Mindset- writing is like turning an elephant… 

 

Ruth Harris has an interesting article on Sex. When should it be used? Is it overused?  Should you just leave the door closed? 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write Fantasy Characters- Krystal Craiker- Bookmark

Picture Book Critique questions- Mindy Weiss

Characterize with clothing choices- Becca Puglisi

How to generate powerful story conflict- Angel Ackerman- Bookmark

How to show emotion in characters who hide their feelings- Eldred Bird- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Improve your book rank by updating book descriptions- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

5 key areas to check to boost sales- Top Author

7 simple steps to start building your brand- Chase Neely

Book marketing overwhelm- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Back cover copy formula – Sue Coletta - Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Recently Draft2Digital hosted a heavy hitters podcast looking at the publishing world of 2023 and forward into 2024. Mark Coker, Orna Ross, Jane Friedman, Joanna Penn and Dale Roberts all shared their thoughts about the big things to think about in publishing and the changes occurring. Joanna termed 2024 as Year Zero. It’s a great podcast to get you thinking about your writing and publishing career going forward.

 

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.

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

 

Pic Photo by Joppe Spaa on Unsplash

Getting The Office Ready

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The US Copyright office has been thinking about AI copyright and has now stuck a stake in the ground. Copyright applicants must disclose when their work contains AI created material. Previously, AI created work could not be copyrighted, however now the office wants to know how much AI was used before allowing you to copyright something. Will other countries follow suit?

 

Ethical AI Publishing has an article on how AI is disrupting white collar jobs, fueling the anti AI debate. Where were they when it was blue collar jobs on the line? AI is a classism debate. 

 

Jane Friedman has an interesting article on how Wattpad kickstarted some older authors careers. Before everyone leaps into Wattpad the news out is that Wattpad is laying off staff due to the changing economic environment.

 

Netflix is changing their streaming model. The lowest tier will be ad supported. First off the block with their ads is Cornerstone Publishing advertising … books!

 

Have you enjoyed any web comics lately? Which way did you read them? If you shook your head and thought aren’t they formatted left to right, then you might be surprised to find that the comic publishers in Europe are looking seriously at vertical formatting for smartphones.

 

Draft2Digital eBook aggregator recently moved into providing print books to a limited range of countries as a trial. This week they announced they were opening up to authors everywhere with free conversions eBook to print, free wraparound covers and lots more goodies. This will shake up the Print On Demand model. 

 

Reedsy has collected together a list of writing communities that authors can join to find like minded writing buddies. You also might be interested in time blocking tips from K M Allen.

 

Anne R Allen has a great guest blog from lawyer Joseph Perry about negotiating a literary agent agreement. Some literary agents are happy with a verbal agreement but you shouldn’t be. This is a great list of tips and things to think about.

 

If you have been getting up from your writing desk in some pain you might want to check out this article from Colleen Story on the 5 types of writing related pain. Colleen offers some solutions.

 

Are you staring at your characters and wondering why they are so flat? Lynette Burrows has the answer. Making flat character genuine in 8 easy steps.

 

In The Craft Section,

Character arcs making a long story short- Jami Gold – Bookmark

Chekov’s gun and the writer- Anne R Allen

How to craft interesting minor characters- J D Harlock- Bookmark

Using the But Therefore method of plotting- Literary Architect- Bookmark

The most common writing mistakes agents see- Mary Kole

 

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 interesting posts from Jane Friedman Author websites and  Authors who launched careers on Tiktok- Bookmark Both

How authors can engage on Instagram- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Book advertising- The Alliance of Independent Authors- Bookmark

Category Data- Kindlepreneur- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Writer Unboxed has a great article by Kelsey Allagood on spring cleaning your brain. Of course down under we are heading into Autumn so perhaps we could call it preparing to hunker down for your writing brain.

K M Weiland has a great article on the best places to write. Have you tried different places to write? Changed your office? Changed where you are most creative? Katie offers some tips to keep everything fresh and productive.

 

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 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 or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Owing The Writer

 

In Publishing News this week,

The merger of Draft2Digital and Smashwords was announced this week and everyone is talking. Each company has made a significant noise in the Indie Publishing world. Smashwords was first making ePublishing accessible to everyone in 2008. Draft2Digital followed them in 2012. Each publishing portal has its own specialties and exclusive deals. Many authors belong to both, to get as wide a coverage as they can along with access to accreditation, coupons, print deals etc. Together they will be a force, a complete one-stop portal for Indie publishers. Read the Press release from D2D and the commentary from Publishing Perspectives. The two companies are merging staff and senior management with Mark Coker of Smashwords joining the board. Both companies have a wide reach into Europe and it will be interesting to see if they can crack Asia. Now that Amazon has closed down their Asian publishing arm there might be expansion room.

 

Leipzig Book Fair happens 2 weeks before London and is a useful indicator on whether Book Fairs are back to normal. Last week everyone was happy, Leipzig will be in person. 6 days later Leipzig is canceled. A week is a long time in publishing and Covid 19 is not done yet.

 

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware took Wattpad to task over the rules to their latest contest, which has caused a huge controversy in that part of the publishing blogosphere. The overreach in rights being denied authors entering the contest was excessive. Please read this article from Victoria on the language used and what it means. Publishing contracts and Contests are increasingly using this language. Grabbing as many IP rights as you can is highly profitable for publishing companies. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

Anne R Allen has a great article on 10 dangerous critiques that can scuttle your book and your mental well-being. This is an article that anyone involved in workshopping manuscripts needs to read.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed John Kremer over on her podcast and it is a fascinating read/listen on ways to market books long term. John authored a successful book on the subject now in its 7^th edition. The two of them talk about new markets, new ventures and co-op marketing.

 

David Gaughran has a great article on 15 rules for Book Advertising. David has a wealth of information at his fingertips and all over his website to check him out and pay attention to what he says.

 

Jane Friedman has a great guest post  from Janna Maron on the 3 shifts you need to finish your book. I was fascinated by the sanctuary idea. Do you have a mental sanctuary for your book?

 

The Dream team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have come up with a great article on treating your writer self this Valentine’s day.

 

In The Craft Section,

Do you begin at the beginning- maybe not- Barbara Lynn Probst

5 Steps to becoming a nonfiction author- Nina Amir- Bookmark

The zigzag plot arc- Marissa graff- Bookmark

Antagonist motivations- K M Weiland

The rule of three- Anne R Allen

 

In The Marketing Section,

Leverage someone else’s network- Sandra Beckwith

Which comes first the marketing or the book- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Infographic for March marketing- Penny Sansevieri-Bookmark

Best promo sites 2022- David Gaughran- BOOKMARK

An introvert’s guide to an online presence- Tessa Barbossa

Prize ideas for giveaways and promotions- Bookmark

 

To Finish, 

Writer Unboxed has all sorts of interesting articles and this one caught my eye this week

Who does an author owe?

Before you start looking at your bills, this article is about owing energy, owing creativity, owing your story to … your reader.

 

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 or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Give Me The Money!

 

This week in publishing...

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone said 'here, have some money for your art?' If you work in the creative arts and live in Ireland you might be the lucky recipient of a trial Guaranteed Basic Income for artists from the government. It is being called a game-changer by the artists who receive 325 euros a week. Read the article and weep with envy.

 

Last week I mentioned a couple of news items on startups in the publishing sphere who didn’t seem to know what they were doing but had been given money to make an impact of some sort in publishing and book discovery. Ireland again is at the forefront in creating an Irish author website store. The website showcases Irish authors, provides them with a sales page the author controls, and sells print books directly. Author collectives can do this to take advantage of group niche markets or marketing but I haven’t heard of a country doing it. It’s still in start-up mode but will be interesting to see where it goes.

 

Author Ryan Holiday has taken a different route to get money- he has opened a small bookstore in a small town. He is offering a curated book store of his picks and he has an interesting drawcard. 

 

This week Richard Charkin wrote an interesting opinion piece on his experience of The Frankfurt Bookfair which has just concluded. Richard focused on the slogans that publishers use to try to differentiate and explain what type of books they publish. If only they were truthful, he muses. 

 

Last week Kris Ruch published part one in looking at IP and its value to a publisher. This week she continues the theme of value and compares publishers with Netflix et al. One phrase that struck me in this great article, “ readers don’t care about new. They care about new-to-them.” Netflix understands this, publishers don’t. Do you know the value of your IP and what you as the author and owner of that IP can do with it to make money?

 

Joanna Penn produced an in-depth article on IP this week to explain all the ways you can use and exploit what you create to make money.

 

Draft2 Digital has just added a nifty feature to its free reader links sell pages… you can now link print books.

 

Anne R Allen has a great guest post from William Hahn an audiobook narrator on audiobooks. If you were wondering if it is worth it- take a look. 

I listened to an interview today from Judith Briles from Author U with an audio producer who was reading picture books and using image descriptions for blind children and recording video with sign language for deaf children. The audio format is just a springboard to other audio innovations.

 

In the Craft Section,

World building basics- K M Allen- Bookmark

Common writing mistakes- K M Weiland

What are pinch points and where do they go- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Character traits that hike up tension- September Fawkes

How to make your characters' choices more difficult- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Author and Book publicity- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

5 tips for scoring more book reviews- Veronica Mixon- Bookmark

Best ways to grow social media following Rachel Thompson

Are you ready for book marketing- quiz- Frances Caballo

Publishing resources- Bookbub- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Angela Ackerman has a nifty newsletter full of interesting tips. This week she rounded up some great resources for authors – including a Pomodoro timer app and links to other great research resources. 

 

It is nearly November, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) If you are taking the plunge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, GOOD LUCK. If you want to find out more and register, check out the official NaNoWriMo blog. Check back over the last few posts to find great resources for planning and getting ready for November 1^st.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter of best bookmarked links and extras.  If you would like to 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 – Pictures of Money

 

 

The Price Of Fame

This week is the one-year anniversary of the countrywide lockdown for Covid 19. As a country, we closed schools and worked from home, where we could. We learned the value of a daily walk in the neighborhood by putting teddy bears in the window for little children to count. (We had a skydiving bear off our carport.) We all learned Zoom and Skype. We discovered new ways to work and consume entertainment. In the publishing world, conferences were canceled and books were delayed. 

One year on and the lockdowns continue in the big cities which host big publishing conferences. This week the Paris Book Fair was canceled and the company behind the book fairs is in trouble. The new publishing world might just be digital. Are publishers ready for this? The New Publishing Standard asks. Wattpatt is forging ahead with plans for TV shows and streaming services. 

Meanwhile, Kris Rusch has an interesting story about what happens when Hollywood comes calling and you discover that you signed a contract for all rights. Tom Clancy’s estate legal fight could be yours. Just who does own Jack Ryan?

 

Facebook is launching a journalism platform. It is aimed at self-publishing journalists giving them the tools and place to publish multi-media stories. But who is going to consume the content and how are they going to pay for it? Your FB author pages might just be the next money stream for them.

 

Draft2Digital a publishing aggregator introduced payment splitting a few months ago. That has been a boon for co-authors and groups publishing digitally. D2D does all the heavy lifting. Recently Kevin Tumlinson of D2D shared how authors have been using this new feature. Take a shared universe….

Of course, you can’t use D2D unless you are publishing your own work so to help you out Jane Friedman recently had a blog post on 11 signs you are ready to self-publish.

 

It is nearly tax time here in New Zealand. After last year, the taxman may not get much of a haul. Sacha Black looks at personal finance for Indie Authors.

 

Di Ann Mills recently wrote a guest blog on the most valuable writing advice she had ever received. I absolutely agree with her… 

 

In the Craft Section,

How to show not tell- Janice Hardy – Bookmark

Finding your way to the end of your story- Sharon Warner- Bookmark

5 reasons why you need a professional editor- Jim Demp

10 questions to help you set the stage- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Create Book Promo graphics- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark- Also Check out David Gaughran's latest video on FB ads- Making one in real time with Canva 

How to market Indie books - Ingram Spark

Free book promotions- Frances Caballo – Bookmark

 2 Great posts from Penny Sansevieri

5 essential book marketing strategies for mystery authors and

5 features of effective and engaging websites

 

To Finish,

Last weekend I attended a writing workshop for two days. We had a whiteboard where people could write questions that we answered in breakout sessions from writing. One of the questions which caught our attention was, what if you start to hate your story? 

James Scott Bell recently wrote an excellent blog on just this problem. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It is nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: 

 

Are There Icebergs Ahead?

I sent out my newsletter yesterday, where I complained about the heat.
Sorry Northern Hemisphere writers. But while you are getting polar blasts we are getting
record breaking heat waves.- A sign of things to come.

Kris Rusch has been musing on signs of things to come and they make unhappy reading.
Based on Simon and Schuster’s end of year report from their happy CEO,
writers had better be understanding all the contracts that they sign.
THIS IS A MUST READ. (cue sirens, hooters and bells… if you don’t understand IP
then you really really need to read this.)

In news around the publishing blogosphere....
The Man group are pulling out of the MAN Booker Prize.
Hints and rumours are already suggesting they have a replacement sponsor.

Events on the near horizon… WriteOnCon!
Next weekend be prepared for the 3 day online Kidlit writers conference.
Every year I wonder how I can get away from the house and dive into all the goodies on offer
in an exclusive writing cave where I can binge watch presentations. Check out the schedule…
and the price is sooooooo  Cheeap!

Meanwhile in happier author news- Draft2Digital has rolled out a schedules promotion tool for authors.
If you drop the price on all outlets and then have to race round manually requesting a price drop this is for you.
You can check out the link here on The SPA Girls podcast page.
(This is a cracking good podcast for Indie authors.) Dan Wood of Draft2Digital was their guest this week.

Reedsy has a nifty blog with interesting articles.  If you are thinking about your 2019 goals take a look
at How To Start A Publishing Company then read Joanna Penn’s guest Bonnie Baguley on
Why authors should throw out their timeline to success. 

Shaunta Grimes has 25 habits that you must acquire if you want to be a writer.

Harper Glenn has an interesting post on Writer Unboxed- Are you tethered to the wrong story?
This is one of those posts that make sense of that niggly feeling when you open your word doc and frown.

Bang 2 Write has a great website on all things script for authors. This week they had a great article
on why lack of structure is killing your characters and a recent nifty one on Productivity.

Jami Gold has a great article on How Pantsers Develop Characters. If this is you- it’s a must read…

In The Craft Section,

Writing for an audiobook- Writer Unboxed- Juliet Marillier

Tension building elements for characters- Becca Puglisi and

Check out the Character motivations as well.

5 essentials for opening scenes- Mythcrants- Bookmark

All the fantasy character tropes- Reedsy Bookmark

Story Planning - which way is best -Jane Friedman- Bookmark

Writing a novel top editing tips - Joanna Penn

In The Marketing Section

How to setup and edit your Amazon author profile- Nate Hoffelder

How to create eye catching Bookbub ads- Insights- Bookmark

How to get Book Reviews- The Ultimate Manifesto- Archangelink-Bookmark

Using Microsoft Sway - WordDreams

How to check that your books fits accepted industry norms- IBPA- Bookmark

12 Book marketing tips- Marketing for Writers- Bookmark

How to reduce marketing anxiety and confusion- Publishers Weekly

To Finish

If you are looking at your Manuscript and wondering if it is an iceberg on which your writer boat might hit.
A few words of wisdom from Stephen King via Ruth Harris on Anne R Allen’s excellent blog
might be your life saver. The 10% rule and the secret power of …..

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, coming soon, 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 Christopher Michel