Christmas Craic-er

This is the last roundup for the year. 2016 has been a bit of a rollercoaster with world events. Hopefully 2017 will be more settled.

Last week the folks at the Future Book conference were looking forward to publishing in the future. This is a gathering of publishing industry movers and shakers who try to do some crystal ball gazing for planning. Porter Anderson writes about what issues were discussed and the way that the ‘book’ is making a comeback. An interesting read.

Kris Rusch talks about unexpectedly getting her rights back on some books and what that means for rejuvenating a series. This is a hot topic for authors who are often abandoned by their publishers in mid series. (All the reports I’ve read is that series traction is on Book 5 and publishers are bailing by Book 3 just when it gets interesting.)

Two great posts on the Killzone blog this week.

Larry Brooks on the Bestseller code- he examines that new book about how to make a bestseller and James Scott Bell on the Three Stooges of writing. Yes it is the Three Stooges!

Have you gone on a writing retreat? I go to a friend’s house twice a week to write. No internet...  no housework... no phonecalls... no distractions... It has been the best thing for my writing. Melanie Bishop writes about going away for long writing retreats and what happens to your brain, your soul and your writing.

Kelly McClymer talks about how and why you should be protecting your writing time. Sometimes it’s really hard. (This is why I leave the house... I dream of a little office every time I do the laundry.)

In The Craft Section,

Planning Character arcs- Mythcreants. This is a fascinating look at how to strengthen your characters. Bookmark

Rival Archetypes for your novel –Who’s the best antagonist for your protagonist C S Lakin- Bookmark

Writing while traveling- best tips- If you are traveling this Christmas break- Do some writing on the side.

Developing themes in the inciting incident- Excellent discussion by Sara Letourneau- Bookmark

10 ways to write better plots- Now Novel- Bookmark. Also 50 Creative Writing prompts- Bookmark and Print out!

How to make readers deeply connect with your character –Jeff Gerke (Hijack their emotions!)

In The Marketing Section,

Bookmark the Subscriber Newsletters Report by Virginia King on Molly Greene’s site. Virginia studied author newsletters in depth and found out what works and what doesn’t.

Writers Win has a great roundup of Author Cross Promotion ideas – Get a group together and have fun! Bookmark

Tara Spaldings Book Title generator- for that Christmas writer game that just might generate plot ideas.

Joanna Penn talks to J Daniel Sawyer on audiobook rights. If you thought there was only one right to exploit... think again... and they talk about how overseas authors can get into ACX. (yay!!)

To Finish,

Janice Hardy and Jami Gold are two smart cookies and they have blogs with EXCELLENT writing advice. This week Janice posted a great blog about ways to fight the end of year writing fatigue.

Jami has an exhaustive list of great writer gifts. I’ve got some great inspirations from this list to give myself... and others. Check it out!

I wish you a Happy and Festive Christmas Break... with lashings of plot ideas and laughter and friendship.

I’ll be back halfway through January 2017.

This year's christmas video. Enjoy! 

Merry Christmas,

Maureen

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons All Is Possible/wheatfields

Give yourself a Christmas present every month with the best of my bookmarked links by subscribing to my newsletter.    

The Masks We Wear

This has been a topsy turvey old week. Chuck Wendig has written a very thoughtful post on what it means to be a writer and how writers can process the momentous event that happened this week.

Sarah Stonichava-Finch has an interesting article on embracing a pen name and an alter ego. If you ever wanted to live a different life, read this.

Reedsy looks at the rise of Literary Fiction Self Publishing. I often remind people that Literary Fiction is a genre. It has its stars just like Crime or Romance. It is building a niche in self publishing.

Jami Gold has written an excellent post on whether stories should be set in stone once they are published. If you have ever looked at a glaring error in a book and wished to fix it – should you?

Anne R Allen has an excellent post on things new writers can do right now if they want that dream writing career.

Nina Amir has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog on how to set achievable and meaningful goals. Yes, NaNoWriMo is still going on. The world is still turning.

Emily Harstone of Authors Publish has written an interesting article on the 8 trends she has seen in publishing this year. A couple of things surprised me.

In The Craft Section,

Red flags in Editing- Meg Latorre-Snyder

Two ways to use misdirection- Roz Morris-Bookmark

5 world building tips- DIYMFA

7 remedies for writer apathy

How to nail your inciting incident- Pamela Hodges-Bookmark

Passion, the best fuel for writing- Writer Unboxed

Mastering stylistic tension- September Fawkes-Bookmark

Creating powerful images- C S Lakin - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

When your book isn’t selling-Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Ways to target readers using bookbub ads

50 ways to kickstart publicity- Molly Greene - Bookmark

Audiobook options for writers- Lindsay Buroker

3 marketing success stories- Bookmark

Own your author business in seven steps-Carla King- Bookmark

Book Marketing Mistakes

To Finish,

The election this week highlighted archetypes and caricatures. Many believed that the voting public would see through the buffoonery to the straw man beneath and so they did not prepare for the unthinkable result. There are positive archetypes to identify with. Paul Minors has 8 productivity archetypes that might help you find a way to turn dross into gold.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Chris H

It’s nearly time to send out my monthly newsletter. If you want a handy collection of the best of my bookmarked links and other interesting items click here to subscribe!

On The Journey

It must be the season for figuring out how to get people reading again. Here in NZ our Book Council published a report that said Kiwi’s weren’t reading their own fiction. Why aren’t they? Everybody has opinions. Maybe it’s because they can’t find the books in bookstores.

Hugh Howey talks about the dismal earning reports of B&N and then goes into detail about how Indie bookstores are changing the face of bookselling. This is a fantastic read and for extra reading credit check out what Hugh would do if he owned a bookstore... highly likely in the future.

So what are Bookstores selling? The Guardian wrote about The Secret DNA behind Bestsellers and talked with the writers of an algorithm that attempted to find out. They have published their findings in a ... Book.

To make the bestseller... you need word of mouth... marketing... advertising budget.. etcetc or you can just get some pods. Jane Friedman has a fascinating guest post about street teams/ mini marketing brigades of fans

What about the contracts of all those people helping you to get published. Kris Rusch winds up her deal breakers series with a comprehensive list of who and how to deal with foreign rights requests.

And that brings us right to the beginning.... The writing.

Rebecca Solnit has Ten Tips On How To Be  A Writer. They are all good.

In The Craft Section,

Is your tone in tune with your novel- Roz Morris

Easy tip for developing story ideas- Janice Hardy

Giving your characters backstory- K M Weiland Bookmark

Inciting incidents – Stephen Pressfield- Bookmark

How to self edit- Now Novel-Bookmark

The pantzer outlining method – Molly Greene- Bookmark

Sharing your protagonists deepest feeling- Angela Ackerman

Shelters for homeless characters- Go Teen Writer

Sara Letourneau has a great series on character evolution

In the Marketing Section,

Developing your online relationship plan- Romance Times

Self publishing vs Traditional- Joanna Penn- Bookmark

4 steps to selling books on Social Media – Anne R Allen

Writing The End is only the start- Alana Kirk

Do writers need a FB page- Kirsten Lamb- Bookmark

How much does a book cost – Digital Book World

Social Media Care- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

To Finish,

While we are figuring out how to get our book out there... it’s a fact of a writers life that they will be spending time alone trying to figure stuff out. Daphne Grey Grant has a great post on how to work alone. Self care tips for the stressed writer. I’m off to find a warm drink... chocolate...

Maureen

@craicer

Pic : Flickr/Creative Commons /Jogendra Joshi

Get a selection of the months best links and other thoughts on the writing journey when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Striving for Gold

This week the news is all about some big sporting event... meanwhile in publishing...

Mike Shatzkin was interviewed recently by Teleread and they asked him to make some predictions for the future. Mike believes that the biggest changes have already happened in publishing but he did have five events that if they happened would be just as big a game changer as the Kindle.

Jane Friedman has written two excellent posts on using pop-ups on websites. I hate them but apparently they work. Jane comes from the same viewpoint but she has delved into why they work and what her experience of using them is. A very interesting examination of a modern website feature.

Bob Mayer has a pair of interesting articles on why he thinks publishing hasn’t plateaued and what he thinks authors can do to thrive in publishing now. Niche is where it is at. Carve out your spot.

Mediashift have an interesting article on bringing in Beta readers much earlier in the publishing process. They are trying to eliminate the reason why books don’t earn out.  What do readers want to read? Then commission the book. They decided to give it a go with kid’s books. Do kids want to read about Vampire Cinderella? (Start with the cover and then write the book to go with it. Advice I have heard from the SP podcast guys.)

The Alli Blog has some great articles so have a trawl around when you stop off to read this little gem on short print runs and why they can be very valuable.

In The Craft Section,

Recently I had to do a novel synopsis in a hurry. Here are two excellent resources to Bookmark

Jane Friedman – Novel synopsis. and How to write a novel synopsis from Glen Strathy.

The single best way to write powerful themes- K M Weiland Bookmark

5 great writing tips from J K Rowling – Now Novel

How to write from the opposite genders point of view

12 questions to ask your character about the setting they are in- C S Lakin-Bookmark

What is arch plot and classic design- Ingrid Sundberg- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Facebook ads that reach niche readers

Elizabeth Spann on preorders

4 things you need to know about Hybrid publishing

Molly Greene on going wide in sales

10 low cost ways to market your book

Why you need to learn to create visuals for marketing- Rachel Thompson

To Finish,

The Olympics... you can’t get away from them in a sports mad country. As they are happening overnight for us a lot of people are bleary eyed in the morning here. Joanna Penn pulled out a piece she wrote when she was in the thick of the Olympics in London. It’s still relevant for authors. Ten things the Olympics can teach writers.

Maureen

@craicer

Get a selection of the months best links and other gold medal extras when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Socially Speaking

This week I’ve been thinking about social media, mostly because I’m away from it, visiting family. Every now and again it is good to get out and meet people face to face whom you only spend time with on Social Media. Shared laughter and hugs stay with you longer than emoji’s. And often the gossip is better in person.

When you spend a lot of time on line sometimes you forget to take a step back and figure out the best use of your time on line. Molly Greene has a great list of 45 ways that you may be sabotaging yourself on Social Media.

Back ups... Back Ups... Back ups...

There are so many ways to lose everything. If you are storing your work online make sure you have a copy off line too. Google just took 14 years of an artists work in an accidental deletion. Please read the comments - it could be you!

Think Longterm. Create a Body of Work. This is a key chapter in Joanna Penn’s latest non fiction book, The Successful Author Mindset. Joanna shares this chapter on her blog this week. It Is Gold!

Jane Friedman has an interesting guest blog this week from Gabriela Pereira about the value of an MFA. This is always an author discussion point. Do you need an MFA to be a writer? Genre writers say NO BUT.... Read this excellent article on the myths and realities.

Catherine Ryan Howard has just had a successful book launch of her first traditionally published book. But the second book deadline is looming up... and Catherine found it difficult to focus. This is a very honest look at how fear of the second book can hold us back. How to write a novel when you’ve forgotten how.

Janice Hardy is an absolute treasure. She always has solid advice for writers. It is rare for me not to link to some gem of hers every week. She has a great blog post on writing accountability. This is a great way to progress your projects...

In The Craft Section,

How to work on more than one book at a time- James Scott Bell

Checklist for critiquing a novel and 7 quick ways to whip your novel into shape - C S Lakin -Bookmark Both!

Writing Character thoughts- Darcy Pattison- Bookmark

Plotting with the Heroes Journey- Janice Hardy

Query Letters – The Pitch- Writer Unboxed

15 Character creation tips- Now Novel - Bookmark

The burden of knowledge- or how to get your thoughts on the page- Jennie Nash-Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

The basics of Print Interior Design- Janice Hardy

6 tips to drive traffic to your author blog - Anne R Allen

How your Author Platform impacts your book sales.- Rachel Thompson-Bookmark

Social Media in 30 minutes a day- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

How to promote your work without being pushy.- Writers Alley

How to give away free books and why you should – Book Funnel and Joannna Penn-Bookmark

To Finish,

I’ve been thinking for a while about writing a monthly author newsletter.  I write for children but I blog about writing, marketing and publishing book trends for adults. This does make for a confusing brand according to the marketing experts.

When I get together with other children’s writers we always ask each other what we’re working on and we share interesting ideas. So as I can’t sit down and have a coffee with you in real life why don’t you subscribe to my monthly newsletter. I’ll share some of the best bookmarked links and some interesting (death defying) research from my current writing projects. You can ask me questions on Twitter or Facebook. I love to chat.... 

Maureen 

@craicer

Pic from Flickr Creative Commons / MySignAG

Publishing This Way or That

July has stumbled in stomping its feet about the weather and cursing about never getting a clear run at being jolly cold. (Why are my jonquils out? Its not Spring yet!)

In the roundup this week,

 Porter Anderson chats with Jon Fine on the perceived curatorial mark that Traditional Publishers bring. Jon has interesting points to raise because he has worked on both sides of the fence. He points out that Indie publishers can rise above the herd if they pay attention to all the details.

Why is Dystopian Fiction popular? Are we living in a dystopian future now? This is an interesting article from European publishers about why Dystopian fiction sells to their teen audience but at the cost of their own countries voices.

For the Typography buffs out there, some good news. Google has reorganised its Font Library for the web.  You can find fonts easily and they have a nifty comparison widget. Why is that interesting... because they have a whole lot of free fonts and you can use them on websites and other places where people might read interesting stuff online written by you.

Kris Rusch has another Deal Breakers post. This looks at Contract termination language. In these days of ebook perpetuity how can you negotiate a termination clause and what should you ask for. This is really interesting, as the term out of print in the digital age now has no meaning.

James Scott Bell has a great post on writing advice you should ignore. That doesn’t mean ignore the post. James has written quite a few excellent writing craft books and is one of my go to craft book gurus. Here he takes issue with some of that tired old writing advice and explains how you can break the rules

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with 3D designer about how writers can utilise 3D design. No they aren’t completely opposite. Children and Young Adult writers will be able to see the value straight away. 

In The Craft Section,

Subtext- How to write what’s not written- Bookmark

Combining genres- Stephen Pressfield

Multi-dimensional lead characters

15 tips to increase your productivity- Molly Greene

Choosing the right story setting- KM Weiland Bookmark

151 Plot resources- Now Novel

The 5 key turning points- C S Lakin- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

4 ways to respond when someone bugs you online

Book promotion – Do this, not that – The Book Designer- Bookmark

10 ways to build your author mailing list

How to prep for author events- Janice Hardy

How Goodreads can grow your readers- Frances Caballo

Create a box set bundle- Joanna Penn-Bookmark

To Finish,

If you are looking into a publishing future that is starting to have overtones of a dystopian landscape and you aren’t quite sure about self publishing, an Australian print company has a step by step overview of what you need to know. Google has a lot of answers to questions. Read widely about how others are doing it before you you leap in.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic from the AMAZING Debbie Ridpath Ohi/ Comics for Writers

Where Is The Money?

Yesterday the big news in New Zealand, the finalists of the new combined NZ Children’s and Young Adult Books And NZ Librarian and Information Services Children’s Book Awards were announced. This combines the Elsie Locke Medal for Non Fiction and the Russel Clarke Award for Illustration with the annual National Book Awards. It is a big deal. Along with the standard categories there is a children’s voting component sponsored by a Pizza Chain. Voting is now open for those schools selected as judging schools. The finalists have a nice mix of established practitioners and newbies. And I notice that we are continuing the 20% mark of finalists being Indie or Boutique published books.

This week the latest Author Earnings snap shot was being digested. And it has some interesting information. Around 50% of all publishing sales in the US are on Amazon. The Author Earnings team are looking across all publishing formats now. There is a significant difference in earning capacities if you debuted traditionally or Indie in the last three years. Porter Anderson looks at some of the stand out claims and compares them with Joanna Penn’s publishing disclosure.

While you are digesting that have a look at Jane Friedman’s article on the myth of the print revival. Yes, children’s authors have been saying for years that it’s only the Young Adult franchises propping up print publishing... With no big YA blockbuster what’s holding up print at the moment...

With Amazon striding like a behemoth across the publishing landscape what are its competitors doing? If you are watching Apple then this news for publishers may be what you have been waiting for. Just remember writers you are content creators. You choose what medium your content will be delivered in. This makes more sense if you publish Serials on Apps or by subscription or Picture Book Apps etc etc. Apple may be quietly game changing your future here.

While you are thinking about content creation spare a thought for podcasting and audio books. Podcasting is another sort of content creation and this article looks at where it might be going and who might be poised to make an awful lot of money.... If you have been flirting with the idea of audio books, Jane Friedman has an interesting interview with a rising competitor for ACX.

In The Craft Section,

The Scene Outline Template– Bookmark also Fine tuning your writing style by  C S Lakin

The 10 beginnings that turn readers off

Character development –credibility- Michael Hauge (who is at NZRWA this year)

How to map out your fight scene

Turn your setting into an obstacle course- Angela and Becca -Bookmark

Mixing it up in your books using alternative media- Bookmark

Going deep with a series character- James Scott Bell

In The Marketing Section,

How successful authors are using social media-

Creating a Single Author Boxed set- Molly Greene

Are you ready to be an Entrepreneur- Bookmark

Creating your Author Brand

How Young Adult authors are using Tumblr- Bookmark

5 best apps for writers

Website of the Week

Taking a trawl around Katie Weiland’s website is always a rewarding experience. Whether it is a great blog post like this one -How to write faster and why you shouldn’t to her fantastic video writing craft tips to finding out she has written helpful workbooks to go with her Craft Books on Structure and Outlining. Check it out!

To Finish,

Molly Greene hosted an Estate attorney on her blog. This blog post looks at estate planning basics for the Self Published writer. However Traditionally published writers should be eyeballing this as well. There is lots of information to think about. (As an aside NZ has free ISBN numbers – which works like a US Copyright office- you should use them.)

Slipping under the wire is a standout post on Non Compete clauses from Kris Rusch. This is a must read! (Yes these clauses appear in NZ. Especially from foreign owned publishing companies.) 

Being aware might just save you money. 

(P.S. The Write Stuff Story Bundle has only one week left to run. You can get to it from Kris 
 Rusch's site. I've filled up my kindle with writing craft books... and saved money!)

Maureen

@craicer

Pic : Flickr Creative Commons/ khrawlings

Motivation

I’ve been racing around the country on a lightening tour dropping in at all sorts of stunning places and meeting all sorts of amazing people. Meanwhile the publishing world keeps ticking on.

In case you didn’t know... Amazon owns Goodreads. This didn’t matter so much as Goodreads continued to do their thing... until today when they launched a hand picked also recommends eBook deal service. (They know all about you... so it was inevitable.)

Writer Unboxed has an interview with Magdalene Thomas about the secrets of how to work the Amazon algorithms. This is going to mean much more now that Goodreads is doing the same thing.

Steven Pressfield has an interesting article on the steps you need to think about to find a great title for your book. 

Publishers Weekly have an article on how to update a children's book.

 Kristine Rusch has an interesting article on option clauses. These are important in a contract but authors often don’t understand how important. The choice of words in an option clause confers power in a contractual relationship. Kris points out the pitfalls. This is a must read!

Getting motivated after having time away can be a struggle. Chuck understands and so he has written a great post on the toxic myths that ambush the writer and stop them from writing. (Warning, its Chuck so be prepared!)

Kristen Lamb has also been looking at the hard truths of being a professional writer. She offers some words of advice about getting over the first draft.  

Elizabeth Spann Craig has a useful article on tech tools to help with promotion.

If you drop into Twitter chats, sometimes the hour goes so fast that you miss some of the gems under discussion. Rachel Thompson has a popular Twitter chat on Book Marketing and she posted a link to the Storify version of the chat today. Take a look- So much great information there.

In The Craft Section,

How to write for teens without sounding like an Adult

The pre edit checklist- Bookmark

How to create your own galley proof- Janice Hardy

7 ways to write crisis scenes- Bookmark

Two Bookmark posts from C S Lakin 5 tips to make writing adaily habit’ and ways novelists can 
break structural rules.

Using the right word to breathe life into stories

Plot Obstacles and Character reactions- Jami Gold-Bookmark

Turn your setting into an obstacle course- Angela Ackerman

In the Marketing Section,

Jane Friedman on getting started with email lists- Bookmark

Molly Greene –Using Fiverr- the author’s secret staff

Tips for marketing a Memoir

Engaging with your readers

Fantastic author newsletters - Bookmark

7 Tips to grow Pinterest followers

How YA authors are using Tumblr

Penny Sansevieri has two great posts on Marketing for Self Publishers and Part Two Bookmark

To Finish,

The wonderful Maria Popover from Brain Pickings was invited to give the commencement speech at her Alma Mater. She has an inspiring speech on Cynicism and Hope. Just the ticket if you need to re focus yourself.

Our culture has created a reward system in which you get points for tearing down rather than building up, and for besieging with criticism and derision those who dare to work and live from a place of constructive hope. Don’t just resist cynicism — fight it actively, in yourself and in those you love and in the communication with which you shape culture. Cynicism, like all destruction, is easy, it’s lazy. There is nothing more difficult yet more gratifying in our society than living with sincere, active, constructive hope for the human spirit. This is the most potent antidote to cynicism, and it is an act of courage and resistance today.

Maureen

@craicer

Holiday pics...

This is where I went... and Yes it looks like this!

Failure Planning In This Writing Business

This week I was discussing the abuse of interns with an economist (as you do.) He was highlighting how tech interns are offered lots of unpaid work as a leg up in the industry. Its not a leg up... it’s a leg shackle. This morning The Bookseller had an article pointing the finger at unpaid internships in publishing. (Arrgh – not in my own industry! I thought we were better than that...) I have seen Internships advertised now and again on Twitter... and they ask for writers mostly. So go in with your eyes open!

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has sideways jumped with her blog series on Contracts and Deal Breakers. Prince’s lack of a will raises some huge issues for any creative legacy. Recently Kris was editing an anthology and saw at first hand what a mess some writers literary estates were in. This is an important issue. And yes it applies to you! Take the time to read her article and think about what you can put in place in the unfortunate event...

If you are thinking like a business owner... and you should be... Molly Greene has an excellent article on Business Plans for Authors this week. This is a quick run through of the basics that you should be covering.

Anne R Allen has a great post for new writers about ways they can derail their writing careers before it even starts. This is a good post to share around. I have come up against these attitudes from writers and I just wince.

This week Catherine Ryan Howard had her first Traditional Fiction book published.  Catherine Caffienated has been a popular go to blog for anybody learning about self publishing. She is funny and honest as she learned in public and helped countless others on the way with her non fiction books. So why go traditional with fiction? As part of her promotion she has an excellent blog post on killer twists.

The Marketing SFF podcast is always a great learning resource to dip into. This week the team interviewed best selling series writer Garrett Robinson and it was a cracker! Garrett writes in public on YouTube. It’s almost performance art... Spend some time with this podcast and get mind blown!

Audible is doing an interesting thing. They are allowing subscribers to gift an audible book for free. I’m trying to see the catch. You get to still own the book. The creators still get paid as if it’s a real sale... you don’t have to buy the book again. Sounds wonderful!

In the Craft Section,

How to avoid sagging middles

How to write deep POV- Ava Jae- Bookmark

6 rules to keep Critique Partners golden

Take your reader to another world- Writer Unboxed

How to avoid plotting mistakes

Colouring in scenes

What writers may not know about the 3 act structure- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Building the movie in our minds- Jami Gold - Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

5 Marketing ways to revive your series- Janice Hardy

How to podcast – Joanna Penn

21 ways a reader might find your website

Susan Spann has written an excellent series on right in contracts. These are Bookmark posts! 

Subsidiary rights and Merchandising rights in publishing deals. Read and have your eyes opened!

Penny Sansevieri has a great post on live streaming on Facebook- and other epic Facebook marketing tips- Bookmark

To Finish,

If you are a fan of writing inspiration quotes, a few children’s writers explain their secrets to writing successful books.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Abductit