Shopping For Ideas

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

In a surprise move this week Small Press Distribution closed its doors. This came as a shock to all its clients who just 24 hours earlier were being told of their great new partnership with Ingram. Publisher’s Weekly reports on the news and what clients can do now to save their books.

 

Also making surprise moves is the Indigo Books and Music chain in Canada. They have sold the publicly listed company back in house and are taking it off the stock exchange. Indigo has been losing money and got hit with a cyber-attack that crippled them for months. Publisher’s Weekly reports that they are going back to the basics of bookselling which means selling books, not merchandise.

 

Spotify is continuing to roll out its premium audiobook service to customers. This week Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand are being wooed to sign up.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that China’s publishing industry looks in good shape with kids’ books leading the way. Also, they have been experimenting with short form video to drive sales. I wonder where they learned that trick….

 

Italy has had a great culture card that they gifted to their 18 year olds to spend on books and theater experiences for a year. This propped up their publishing industry through Covid. Now Italy is tweaking the eligibility criteria and publishers are nervous. 

 

Fast Company magazine examines how Harper Collins has become more sustainable by tweaking their font and saving paper. 

 

Joanna Penn has been updating her Book Launch Blueprint  and she shares the chapter on Book Marketing. Meanwhile, Penny Sansevieri has some interesting thoughts on how to navigate book marketing when there is a tsunami of books being published.

 

Ruth Harris has a great post on listening to your subconscious. The muse has a thousand faces. But sometimes you have to get out of your own way to tap into that story telling gold.

 

Angela Ackerman is talking psychology this week. We are all hardwired for stories. Angela explains that writers need to tap into reader psychology and cognitive dissonance to write an unforgettable story.

 

Kristen Hacken South writes an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about emotional resonance. How much emotion is too much. How do you find the balance between flatline and melodrama. A great article.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to write a gripping inciting incident- Angie Andriot- Bookmark

Vonnegut’s rules for writers explained- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

How to choose story settings- K M Weiland - Bookmark

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

Set your intention first.- Sarah Hamer

 

In The Marketing Section,

Booktips to save money- Penny Sansevieri

Connection over promotion- Katie Sadler- Bookmark

Pros and cons of book giveaways- AJ Yee- Bookmark

Lead generation landing pages- Convertkit- Bookmark

How effective is social media?- Rachel Thompson

Easiest way to get Book Reviews- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

A couple of times a year Kris Rusch curates a writing craft book collection on Storybundle. You pay what you like to get access to some great ebooks. If you pay over a particular threshold you get the whole bundle with exclusives, extras, and support a worthwhile charity. The money goes directly to the authors, so this is a win/win/win. It is a limited time offer so check it out and score some bargains. I have filled up my Kindle with great craft books from these bundles over the years. Don’t forget, you can claim writing craft books on your tax.

 

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.

Pic: Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash

 

Writing Good Stuff

 

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

This week Publishers Weekly reported on the state of publishing in 2023 now that the numbers are in. The sales figures were slightly up on last year but only because of a strong showing in religious books. The other numbers were down slightly. Life is good if you are a theological university publisher. 

 

Publishing Perspectives looks at the 2023 Canadian book buying trends showing a snapshot of key buying trends. Are book buyers buying from physical stores or online? Are they embracing digital or print only? Are Canadian buying habits reflected around the world?

 

Mark Williams reports that on the other side of the world, Thailand is about to have its first rights fair. Publishing is a global business and often people forget that Asia and the Middle East have over half the world’s population. The western centric book fairs don’t reflect this huge demographic and a lot of them want English language books. Are publishers missing a market here?

 

Victoria Strauss from Writer Beware has a list of the agents, editors and publishers who are being impersonated at the moment. This kind of scam is on the rise so if you get a nibble from someone check out if its legit before celebrating.

 

The writing business can be a lonely one. Where would we be without our writer friends. If you are new or trying to figure out how to find your literary community read this great guest article on Jane Friedman’s blog from Star Wuerdemann.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed Matthew Holmes this week on how to advertise on Meta. (Facebook) Matthew shares what is working now and tips on Going Direct. 

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors had a well-attended panel event at the London Book Fair on the future of publishing and it was filmed. Check out the video if you want a little slice of bookfair hustle along with some great commentary.

 

Writer Unboxed has their craft guru Ray Rhamey examining first pages and wondering if they would be an instant buy. 

 

Suzanne Lakin has a great writing craft blog. Her latest excellent post,  How can you get a character to self describe themselves without it sounding like a shopping list. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Why rough drafts should never be perfect- E S Foster

How to build powerful character relationships- Angela Ackerman

Best books for editors- Bookmark

Using beat sheets for memoir- Lisa Cooper Ellison -Bookmark

9 types of personalities writers can use for characters- Ken Miyamoto- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to promote a self published book- Derek Haines

Indie book marketing plan- PublishDrive

Tips for growing a worldwide audience- Mark Lefebvre- Bookmark

8 best book marketing strategies- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Visual Branding- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

 

To Finish

 

Give a writer a long weekend and they will invariably be thinking about their Work In Progress and how to carve some time to work on the craft of writing. The letters W.I.P. act just like the homonym to lash the back of the writer. Get some proper words down! (All that is missing is the H word.) James Scott Bell is a great writing craft teacher. In this article he takes a first page and edits it explaining what he is doing. This may be the Help you need to get stuck into your own craft learning.

 

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.

 

pic Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Writing Mindset Problems

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Lee and Lowe published their latest survey on the diversity in publishing. Has anything changed since the covid years… only a little. It is a bit disheartening to see that a survey done every four years doesn’t show the bar shifting that much across the data points. 

 

Italy is preparing for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and their guest of honor status at Frankfurt. Publishing Perspectives looks at their industry figures and what is on offer for Bologna. In a nice touch one third of books sold in Italy are children’s books.

 

Staying with kids books- Oxford University Press has launched an app called Little Oxford for parents to give to their children. It is full of educational content and subscription based. Now if one press can do it will others follow suit? (If you are a press, I know an App maker in this field looking for content.)

 

If you are trying to keep tabs on all the moving lawsuits to do with AI, drop into the Passive Voice blog. Passive Guy who runs it is a lawyer and he has been watching with interest the counter suing going on with Open AI- Someone hacked their AI for a lawsuit? Or did they?

In further Open AI news, they have just released an AI that can make a video based on text. This is next level and in Beta but already its worrying commentators. 

 

Writer Unboxed has an interesting article from a children’s publisher about the rise in AI manuscripts that they are seeing. They are begging for an assurance that your work is written by a person. This is what Joanna Penn was talking about when she said to double down on being human. Joanna has a whole section of her website on how to navigate a fast changing AI world for authors.

 

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has a post on Writer Scams and how to manage your mindset when you feel overwhelmed with all the scummy behaviour out there. All Is Not Lost!

If you are a fan of the Emotion Thesaurus group of books by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi- There is another one on the way and it looks like a great addition to the bookshelf.

Are you looking for a comparison list on what is the best book formatting software out there? Check out this list.

 

Trisha Jenn Loehr has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog about tropes. This is a great overview on when using them is good, when having too many is bad and what the downright ugly looks like.

 

Ruth Harris has an excellent post on getting past writer’s block. She has 7 hacks that will get the writing muse working again.

 

In the Craft Section,

Important Do’s and Don’ts for writing novellas- Kobo team

How to write conflict without bad guys- Angela Ackerman

What makes a good action scene- Terry Odell- Bookmark

How to use dynamic and static characters- C S Lakin- Bookmark

How to use antagonists in your story- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

A guide to welcome emails for authors

Fictional characters on Social Media- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Advertising book tips- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Improve author website SEO- Debbie Emmitt- Bookmark

How to make a short animated ad for your book.

 

To Finish,

Recently James Scott Bell (Writing craft teacher with excellent writing craft books) wrote about timeless writing advice. He was commenting on advice for writers written by Louise Parr in 1894 that could have been written today. Writers have struggled with the same challenges through the decades, how to tell a good story. We are hardwired for story - we love the ads that tell a little story rather than BUY BUY BUY. We crave the payoff at the end of a great novel/film/song. Writing is a solitary activity but you share it with writers through the ages who struggled with the same things you do. Seek out your tribe of online writer friends or a group of offline writer friends who understand the ups and downs of crafting stories. 

We will all be cheering you on.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links  and other assorted stuff 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 shout me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. It feeds my caffeine addiction. Thanks.

 

 

Pic Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash

Living Your Unique Public Life

 

 

This week in Publishing News,

I thought this was very last century but here it is again… Let’s put clothes on any illustration for children that might even hint that they are naked, including fantasy creatures. Yes, there are teams out there drawing clothes in books. Because In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak is worse than gun violence in American schools.

 

While we shake our heads at the above story – The Arts Council of England is laying down the law. No political statements. But isn’t it an artistic right to speak truth to power? And what kind of political statements do you mean? The Guardian has the artists reaction.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on the dates for the Shanghai Children’s Book Fair. They are working with Bologna Children's Book Fair and their creative team so it will be interesting to see how this develops. 

 

Publisher’s Weekly reports that the Lawsuits authors have brought against Open AI for using their work have hit a snag with the judge.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard looks at the news the Spotify is paying out millions to authors. I haven’t heard of anybody getting a payment yet, but Spotify say they are paying rights holders… so you might want to check with your publisher and see if they are passing on this money.

 

Joel Pitney writes about publishing red flags on Jane Friedmans blog. He goes into the type of language used and how to spot the bad actors. This should be shared around your writing groups. There are publishers out there who are out to fleece your wallets while feeding on your dreams.

 

Writer Unboxed has their monthly Book PR blog slot and what you should focus on this year. Being authentic without being sleezy.

 

Orna Ross of The Alliance of Independent Authors talks to Joe Solari about the Author Nation conference- which replaces the 20booksto50k conference. Joe talks about what is changing and what is still going to be the same for the biggest writer conference in the world. 

 

Katie Weiland has a great post on how to rediscover the joy of writing if you are suffering from Writer Business Burnout.

 

Quill Magazine for journalists has an interesting article on Ghost Writing.

 

Book Riot shares the latest romance writing trends and Sarah McIntyre has a great article on Curtis Brown's website about what it takes to be a Picture Book Illustrator.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to develop your unique writing style- C S Lakin

Four must haves in your first two paragraphs- Suzy Vadori- Bookmark

Dumb little writing tricks that work- Scott Meyers

Crafting the sidekick character- Victoria Grossack- Bookmark

Deepening our story theme- Jami Gold- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Stop quoting yourself in social media – Sandra Beckwith

Your unique writing proposition- James Scott Bell – Bookmark

Have you found your best book marketing niche- Colleen Story

How to create tag lines and slogans - Judith Briles.- Bookmark

8 tips to entice readers- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

 

Have you got a brand? How big is your newsletter? Do you have loads of Social Media followers – Do Publishers really care about these questions?

If you are feeling tired and annoyed reading these questions- there is a small rainbow. Jane Friedman has a great post addressing the fact that author platform is not a requirement to sell your novel or children’s book. That said, an understanding of how to present yourself  and your book in public is a good thing. Don’t be like the author who recently asked Social Media influencers (mostly Young Women) to feature his book in nude photos. (See Writer Unboxed link.)

Instant Career Burn.

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 shout me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

 

Pic Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

Trends, Predictions, and More of the Same

 

And we are back… sweltering in the sun and through hot nights wondering if we can avoid the plague of jellyfish at the beach to go for a swim.

 

2024 – Where the predictions for writers and publishing are more of the same with bells on.

Lucy Hay has a THE post on what your writing resolutions for 2024 should be.

Anne R Allen has her regular publishing predictions post from Agent Laurie McLean. She talks about the trends she is seeing and the AI specter that looms over the industry. Let’s be Human out there.

Orna Ross backs this up with her predictions for the Indie Publishing community for this year. A great read from the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Written Word Media takes a look at the marketing predictions for authors in 2024. This is a comprehensive post looking at the 10 trends that they predict will be ones to watch this year.

 

In Publishing News this week

Ex Children’s Laureate and all round good bloke, Michael Morpurgo has gathered his fellow laureates together to demand a greater investment in early childhood reading. Every writer should be saying the same. If we don’t create readers we won’t have book buyers.

 

Publishers Weekly reports the creation of a nonprofit aimed at giving certificates to AI Copyright friendly entities. So far a lot of associations have signed up in support. I’m not sure whether they will eventually manage payments for licensing content to AI which some industry commentators think is where the AI trainers need to go.

 

Mark Williams reports on the landmark ruling of AI copyright law in China. If a human gave the AI a prompt then the human has copyright. This law only applies to China but as countries start to grapple with making laws everybody is watching to see how other countries are handling AI. New Zealand has a similar understanding according to a recent copyright workshop that I attended.

 

However, if you prompt your AI tool using known copyright and trademarked examples be prepared for the lawsuits. Spectrum has an eye-opening post on Midjourney and the Marvel movies it has scraped using very easy prompts. 

 

Jane Friedman has an excellent excerpt from Stephanie Chandler’s book, The Nonfiction Book Marketing and Launch Plan. Avoid random acts of content.

 

Dave Chesson has updated his comprehensive keyword strategy article again - ready for 2024. (Dave seems to be doing this every 6 months.)

 

This is the month for fresh beginnings so check out this article on productivity with a writing space make over.

Sharon Woodhouse has an interesting article on making every activity you do in your author business fall into the 3:1 ratio. It must do a minimum of three jobs for you.

Katie Weiland has an interesting post on 2023 and how it mirrored the flat arc for her.

 

Kathryn Craft has a great article on Writer Unboxed about fresh perspectives that sell. If your idea for the next novel seems far out that might be just what they are looking for.

 

In The Craft Section,

Smooth scene openings- Lisa Poisso

Words of wisdom on Short Story writing- Dale Smith-Bookmark

The moment of truth- K M Weiland

7 steps to writing a smart mystery- John Fox- Bookmark

Turn your readers into detectives- Marissa Graff- Bookmark

8 ways to hook readers at the end of chapters- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Two great posts from Rachel Thompson- How to market a book that doesn’t exist yet and Boost your marketing success-Bookmark

15 smart author marketing strategies for 2024- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Does your newsletter live up to expectations?- Collen Story - Bookmark

Where should I sell my book – Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

As we start another year in the publishing trenches the old noggin stares at the proliferation of Social Media sites that sprang up after the dumpster fire of Twitter/X and wonders if it is all worth it. I waited to see where the publishing people I follow went and they scattered like pigeons surprised by a cat. So, I picked two new alternatives and stuck with them. I didn’t close down my Twitter account because I wanted to keep control of my (hopefully,) trusted name in that boiling pot. Roland Denzel has a great post about not quitting Social Media but quit using it. And he’s right. You don’t have to spread yourself thin, just use it strategically. 

 

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 shout me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic:Photo by Lanju Fotografie on Unsplash

Crazy Writers

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The internet archive is back in the news with their appeal over their lost lawsuit. They want to scan ebooks and make them available for sale. Why don’t they just link to the print book?  Which is why they were taken to court in the first place.

Meanwhile, in other Internet Archive news, Cory Doctorow looks at the good stuff they have done in music and visual art. His latest deep dive is all about copyright and when things come into the public domain like Micky Mouse next year. (How will Disney tie this one up.)

 

In a case of I-can’t-believe-he-did-that… A fan fiction writer is being sued by The Tolkien Estate. This all started because the writer tried to sue Amazon for ‘stealing’ his ideas in his published reworked version, Return Of The King. This is head shakingly stupid. You don’t publish fiction using characters, settings, and plot belonging to other people. It is copyrighted. (See above article by Cory)

 

I really didn’t want to write about the Goodreads book review scandal but there are some new blog readers who haven’t seen this recurring drama over at Goodreads. This mess lost the writer her book deal and writing career. Every few years something like this happens because of clueless writers. The other writers are not your competition. Reviews are wonderful but don’t fake profiles to leave one stars. If you have nothing nice to say about a book don’t say anything, especially on Social Media. 

 

Joanna Penn has written about her fifteen years in the author business and how she is pivoting for the next fifteen years.

 

Jane Friedman has a great guest article from Christopher Hoffmann on Researching Literary Agents. Don’t take the first one off the block. Be discerning. 

 

Julie Hedlund has the 12 days of Christmas writing exercises/planning starting December 26^th. available. She calls it a great way to get bite size surprises to help your creativity and your business.

Lucy Hay has an excellent guest post over at Angela and Becca’s blog on how to smash your writing goals for 2024.

 

December is known as NaNoEdMo… or editing that novel you wrote in November. However, this is the month you really should put it away. Anne R Allen explains why.

 

In The Craft Section,

Adding cinematic sizzle to your fiction- C S Lakin- Bookmark

How to keep in touch with your writing when your routine is disrupted- Roz Morris

Redeeming your villain- Becca Puglisi

The wonderful spice of minor characters – James Scott Bell- Bookmark

What’s your book about - It depends- Barbara Linn Probst- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section.

Your Substack isn’t for everyone- Elizabeth Held- Bookmark

Newsletter tips- Linda Dunn

10 sneaky hacks for Draft2Digital- Kevin Tumlinson

Marketing your book without Social Media- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

The year’s top book marketing articles from Bookbub- Comprehensive

 

To Finish,

It’s been a turbulent year with AI, lawsuits, and book banning. Hopefully, I have kept you up to date with publishing news, and creatively inspired with Craft tips and Book Marketing links. 

If the blog has made you think or sparked ideas or given you information throughout the year feel free to buy me a coffee as a thank you. 

Reedsy have a comprehensive gift list for writers and Angela and Becca have some downloadable goodies for you.

The best gift you can give a writer is a book review. Go out there and make their day. It doesn’t have to be an essay, just a small paragraph. 

I have children’s books on sale in the Smashwords End of Year Sale. I also have my teen novel Starlight free at the moment in a teen book sale. 

It’s Summer holidays down under, so I’m taking a break from the blog.

I will be back in January 2024 with blog post number 762.

 

Wishing you Peace, in your homes, in your countries, in the world.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

The last monthly newsletter is about to go out. If you want the best of my bookmarked links, you can subscribe here to join our happy band in 2024

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

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

 

Pic:Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash