Imagine That

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

Publishers Weekly has a report from Booksellers in the Washington DC area about book sales slumping as a result of the National Guard being deployed in the city. In response some booksellers have quietly protested by getting creative with their front windows. 

 

KDP has just opened up Kindle Unlimited books to libraries. I haven’t found a proper link but the rumour is out there. 

 

Following on from the Anthropic AI case, Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has been fielding enquiries over what to do if your publisher hasn’t registered you for copyright in the United States. There is a time limit on copyright registry in the US. Yes, you can claim copyright from the moment the story is written but if you want to sue someone over your copyright it needs to have been formally registered. Many writers are discovering publishers haven’t done this. 

 

The Anthropic court case settlement does have implications for the Meta court case coming up. Mark Williams explores the out of court settlement news and how the publishing world might have missed a big opportunity. Suffice to say it won’t hurt Anthropic one bit.

 

Bookwire is hosting a conference specifically for the publishing community called All about AI. Just looking at the topics on offer –  this is a get familiar with this subject or get left behind, conference.

 

Eleven Labs, who are leaders in the AI cloned voices for audio space, have now opened up a direct sales store on their site, reports Publishers Weekly. They have a good royalty rate there too. I think Eleven Labs is the only place where you can license your own voice- which takes author narration to another level. No more hours in a recording booth with dodgy sound.

 

Spotify are flirting with enhanced content on their audio books- You can add video and visual extras to your books which will play on the screen. Publishing Perspectives writes about whether this is a good thing or not.

 

Maris Kreizman has an interesting article on Lit Hub about the Harper Collins staff strike and why publishers have been poorly paying their staff. A Series of Unfortunate Salaries or Fighting the Publishing Industries Elitism.

 

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with Clay Vermulm who writes short stories and collaborates with other authors in anthologies and podcasts. Check out the transcript for a different way of working.

 

Building a sustainable author future beyond GEO is a great article overview on how to remain visible in this AI search world. This is an article every author and publisher should read to understand how search is changing- then go for a deep dive into the subject with practical tips from Rachel Thompson on How to make AI work for you. 

(Remember AI is a tool- don’t use it for creativity. Many editors are refusing to touch AI generated books because they are so bad at writing.)

 

It must be the change of the season- I’ve seen my first ducklings down under. (Shakes head at the folly of ducks) And it’s back to school up in the Northern Hemisphere.

So, it’s time for the writing craft bundles. There are two different bundles of resources out there for writers for a limited time. They have different prices (both under $100) but are chock full of different courses, books, workshops, printables…etcetc. Infostack Writing Craft 7.0 and Masterstack-Writing Craft. (There are writing for children guides in this one too.) If you are looking for your next year’s learning resources they’ve got you covered.

 

Donald Maass has written one of those articles that have you thinking about the topic for days. What is Truth in Fiction. It may just change the way you write forever.

 

In the Craft Section,

The power of giving up- Greer Macallister- Bookmark

Plot as Utility- John Gilstrap- Bookmark

Story Structure as architecture- P J Parrish- Bookmark

Dissecting the creative guides- Lisa Miller- Bookmark!

Write where you know- Kirsten Oliphant- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

2 great articles from Penny Sansevieri-Basic elements matter more than you think and The genre mismatch problem with Ads- Bookmark Both

Transform your book into speaking opportunities- Stephanie Chandler- Bookmark

ACX review- Reedsy

Maybe I want authors to be celebrities- Interesting- Cassie Manns Murray

 

To Finish,

As I compile my list of articles, I’m always wondering what is the thread that runs through them. This week I was thinking about how publishing and writing is changing very quickly, and we may be running so fast to keep up that we forget why we started to write in the first place. Then I read this parody on publishing by Steven James  based on The Lorax by Dr Suess. 

 

Congratulations Julia Donaldson – The children’s author who has broken the record for all time book sales at 50 million according to NielsenIQ

Trust in your imagination!

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the free Substack version.

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

 

Pic  Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

 

Who Owns Your Rights?

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The EU accessibility act came into force this week. This is aimed at publishers who are selling into the European Union. All books need to be accessible. This doesn’t mean that they have to be widely available although that might help. They have to be accessible to the disabled community. Dan Holloway has a quick rundown on what that means for authors and publishers.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the recent court decision over book banning in favour of the parents and how this might impact the freedom to read going forward in the United States of America.

 

Publishers Weekly reports on the American Library Association conference and what the main topics of conversation were. AI and its biases. There was a lot of chat about the impact of new tech trends on libraries and on hand were child sized robots that helped children with finding and checking out books. (It is almost the age of the Jetsons- where is my flying car?)

 

This week Mark Williams looked at two news items that expose the current publishing models shortcomings. First was the news that the Bond franchise had been bought by Amazon who are bringing out modern James Bond books to tie in with their new game. So where does that leave the original publisher? Following right on the heels of this is the Romantasy juggernaut Sarah J Maass who has licensed her brand into a global marketplace and left her traditional publishers out of the mix. 

When I am asked what is the most important subject to learn in publishing, I always answer intellectual property and contracts. These two articles highlight the importance of intellectual property and who owns it. For decades publishers have been asking for sweeping contract rights and then not doing anything with them. Savvy agents and authors keeping these rights back have discovered other entertainment companies value these licenses. Will Publishers double down on rights demands? Remember authors, you can put time limits on rights in the contract and always put a rights reversal time clause in. 

 

Victoria Strauss has a great article for Writer Unboxed on bankruptcies and why the bankruptcy clause in your contract might not protect you. This is a timely article after recent publisher bankruptcies.

 

Richard Charkin muses on globalization and the publishing trade. Printers are now global, as are Newspapers. I wonder when rights by country will fall by the wayside. 

 

John Green has a nifty little video which breaks down What the #1 New York Times Bestseller List Actually Means. Sometimes it doesn’t take much for a book to make the list.

 

Gabriela Pereira has a great article on How to deal with Failure and Rejection. You need a writer angst jar. This is a great tool to get you over the hump.

 

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with Betsy Lerner this week. Betsy has decades of experience in the publishing world doing pretty much every job in it. She talks about finding your voice across the medium and loving book marketing.

 

Writer Unboxed has a new contributor (Gen Z ) Kit Aldridge who has an article on AI – The Big Bad Wolf or Quiet Assistant for Writers. All the comments are interesting, especially from the big names in the community. The article is generally not in favour.

If you are on the fence about this technology. You are not alone. However, the changes are so rapid that you may find that some knowledge is better than none at all. Joanna Penn’s recent Interview with Thomas Umstattd on Book Discoverability in the age of AI shows another side of this technology.  

 

It’s July and you may be looking at your goals for the year and wondering what happened. Robin Blakely has a great article on redirecting yourself and your goals.

If it is all too much check out the Frustrated Writers Colouring In Book

 

In the Craft Section,

Building believable alternate histories- Daniel Ottalini

When your draft is a mess- Stuart Wakefield- Bookmark

The playbook for antagonists- Becca Puglisi

The secret to writing witty characters- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Ending apostrophe abuse- Debbie Burke- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

TikTok marketing demographics for authors- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Writing an author bio (with AI)- Kindlepreneur

How to publish a children’s book- Reedsy and Karen Inglis- Bookmark

Creative hooks drive more ad clicks- Bookbub- Bookmark

Joanna Penn interviewed Simon Patrick about Eleven labs and Producing AI narrated audiobooks. This is an interesting insight into how Eleven labs works, and how authors can use them. 

 

To Finish,

Do you remember the Readers Digest books? Condensed versions of four novels bound in hardback and available mail order on a monthly subscription. Loads of homes had them. Folio Editions borrowed a similar concept but went the opposite way into high end productions. Publishers Weekly looks at how they have reinvented themselves starting with Public Domain books and are now into licensing Folio editions of in print books. It is all about Intellectual Property and what you do with it.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Free Substack version.

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

 

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Listen Up

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

Spare a thought for the publishing community on the American Continent. With the new tariffs kicking in this week, the publishing community has been looking at their supply chains and wincing. They can’t print in China, the tariffs will hit them. They can print in America, but the bulk of their paper supply comes from Canada. If you want a Spanish language book- it comes from Mexico. Publishers Weekly takes a look at what else is going to hit hard for the publishing and writing community.

 

The London Book Fair is next week, and the International Publishing Associations president will be talking about sustainability and the importance of books for today’s issues. Publishing Perspectives has a great article on the president who knows first hand how books are important in a repressed society. “Our weapon is our knowledge.”

 

In the audiobook world- The Audies (awards for audiobooks) have just been awarded. If you check the list, they have awards in all sorts of fields. Many actors are featured as narrators. 

 

While the dream of a full cast of characters with famous actors might be beyond the purse strings of many authors, the AI voiced audiobook is getting more attention. Eleven Labs has launched an app that publishes audiobooks on their own site. It’s almost a one stop shop. Also making waves is their new deal with Spotify which offers 100% royalties to the author. 

Eleven Labs has a voice cloning service which might be useful to think about. Clone your voice and then publish your audio books. It could be a good option if you can’t pay for studio time to narrate yourself.

 

If you have ever wondered how to get a look inside preview on your website, this article from The New Publishing Standard will be of interest. Bowker has partnered with Indie Commerce – the commerce arm of the American Booksellers Association to make Book2look widely available.

 

Have you spent long hours in the university library trying to track down source material for your professor? Spare a thought for those institutions whose job it is to provide you the wide-ranging collection of sources. Academic libraries are being hit with huge subscription fees to access research from publishers. Publisher’s Weekly reports that the move is destabilizing the library and university press market.

This new move is punishing…right when we need access to knowledge. Sadly, the altruistic reasons for the internet - where you would be able to access the worlds knowledge wherever you are - is now paywalled behind data bases who are charging $25,000 for access.

 

Are writers uniquely vulnerable to getting scammed? Victoria Strauss gets asked this question a lot. She has been writing about writer scams for over twenty five years and there is always something new. We are not alone but we may be an easier target.

 

When you are eyeball deep in your manuscript it can be difficult to figure out where you should put breaks in the story. You don’t want to confuse the reader but ramping up tension is better if you leave the reader hanging. What to do? Reavis Wortham recently tackled this dilemma, with the article Give Me a Break on the Killzone blog.

 

Katie Weiland has a great craft article on your character’s three choices. They must have a fundamental choice, a primary choice, and a secondary choice. This is a print out and study article for learning about crafting characters.

 

In The Craft Section,

The top 20 developmental mistakes- Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

Deep POV checklist- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

Scars tell a story- Sue Coletta

Section breaks and how to use them- Kathy Steinemann

Best ways to pace your story- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What to do with one star reviews- Sandra Beckwith-Bookmark

Bookmarketing planning and strategy- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Social Media for authors- Evergreen Authors

How to write an Author Bio- Penny Sansevieri

Marketing for introverts- Laura Gallier

 

To Finish,

Bands have discovered that playing live and selling merch is almost the only way they can make a living in these streaming times. Writers are now seeing the benefits of selling extra physical products, but you need to be discerning. You don’t want your brand on a crappy product. Check out this comprehensive article from the Alliance of Independent Authors about Author Merchandise. It can be a nice sideline along with audiobooks and writer’s special edition formats. It’s your IP. If it wasn’t important there wouldn’t be a clause in the standard publishing contract about it. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

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

 

Photo by C D-X on Unsplash