Who Really Wins?

 

In Publishing News this week…

 

The Judge has decided. There will be no sale of Simon and Schuster to Penguin Random House. As everybody was celebrating and Marcus Dohle CEO of PRH was airing his views about this at Sharjah, Mike Shatzkin reflected on how this would change the publishing world going forward. This is a food for thought post, a must read. While publishing may not be amalgamating into one giant publisher, has anyone thought about the power that Ingram is getting?

 

Publishers Weekly has an article about Ingram entering the ‘business to consumer’ space with all sorts of goodies that they are now going to provide for publishers.

 

Publishing Perspectives has a run down on the main talking points at the Sharjah Publishers Conference. It’s all about being more visible globally. This reflected a session I watched in the SelfPubCon conference from the Alliance of Independent Authors last weekend. Ingram is rolling out POD into the Middle East, this will open up access to translation markets. 

 

The Bookseller has an article on literary festivals having a hybrid element to them to allow for inclusivity. The pandemic has taught us to up our game with virtual events running alongside the in-person ones. This needs to be kept up for all those who cannot attend in-person events safely.

 

The New Publishing Standard has an article on Amazon’s new move to add 98 million music titles to Prime. If Spotify can have audiobooks, we can have music. The first shots in the new subscription wars.

 

In more backlash for AI art, the anime creators are up in arms over AI sampling. Apparently, the AI’s are really good at it. This is ringing alarm bells with creators. 

 

Building a new world is the title of Kris Rusch’s blog post this week and I was struck by her analysis of the long view of History and how events like the pandemic cause a reset in the wider world. There has been a lot of comment on falling book sales everywhere lately. Kris is more optimistic.

 

If you are like me and struggle with Goodreads… is it really worth your time, this article has me thinking it is worth taking another look. For instance – Did you know you can talk about your latest book while you are writing it and have people add it to their TBR stack. 

 

Litreactor has 10 NaNoWriMo tips for success from Editors and Agents.

 

Jane Friedman has a guest post from Michael Mohr on the secret sauce to being a good writer. It could be slightly controversial but the basic premise of needing to be a reader is absolutely key!

 

 

In The Craft Section,

Write Great First Sentences- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

How to write 500 words in 15 minutes- Colleen Story

3 tricks with flashbacks- Marissa Graff-Bookmark

Writing about a culture that isn’t yours- Sam Cameron

9 Positive character arcs in enneagram- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

5 ways to promote long after launch – Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

How saleable are short stories- Sarah Dahl

How to make an audiobook – Kindlepreneur

How to promote globally- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

TikTok works for all genres- Sue Coletta- Bookmark and read comments!

 

To Finish,

Having a climate change researcher in the house over the last decade has given me a ring side seat to despair. As writers, we believe in the power of story to change hearts and minds.  Today I was told of a collection of writers across all genres who are dedicated to doing just this with climate change. Check out this fabulous organization if you write CliFi, Solarpunk, Dystopian, SciFi, Non-Fiction – anything to do with reimagining a better world and how to go about protecting this one. 

Let’s change the narrative for the future. 

 

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 Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

The Rise Of The Machines

In Publishing News this week...

Frankfurt Bookfair opened this week with an almost return to normal programming.

The opening press conference had comments from the Fair director about the challenging times we live in and how important it is to keep the lights on in publishing houses. With the war in Ukraine stepping up, the price of heating is going through the roof in Europe. It is going to be a tough Winter. 

A reminder that SelfPubCon is on soon. A free 24 conference focused on writing and marketing from The Alliance of Independent Authors. 

 

Just what is going on around returns and unlimited subscriptions? It’s a constantly changing landscape. European companies like Storytel are experimenting with tiered access. Amazon is not… or are they. Mark Williams takes a look at what model will come out on top. (If you are a children’s writer thinking about audio this may help.) 

 

Recently Joanna Penn interviewed Derek Murphy about his experiments with AI-generated art. They talk about the wide-ranging nature of the AI’s and how they learn to produce the picture you want from your prompts. This has been contentious as the AI’s can reproduce pictures in particular artists' styles. This is causing disquiet among artists as reported in Business Insider. Will they be able to opt out? With Microsoft ready to roll out Dall-E to everyone this space is rapidly changing.

 

Kris Rusch explains the idea behind her 39 days 39 stories Christmas advent calendar. This is when you get to be wildly creative as a writer because you can and you bring your fans along for the ride. 

 

Writer Unboxed has another in their series of marketing posts from Anne Marie Nieves- Do You Twerk? This is an interesting post on how much social media is really authentic you or your online persona. As ever, I recommend reading the comments as well.

 

The Insecure Writers Support Group has been around for a while and aside from the great name they have a thriving community. Recently they launched another anthology and posted about ways to market the books.

 

Anne R Allen has a great post on tropes and archetypes vs clichés. If you constantly get these mixed up this is the post for you. Anne breaks down the main genre tropes.

 

In The Craft Section,

Transitions- building bridges between your plot islands- P J Parrish- Bookmark

Creating Names- Janice Hardy

How to write a chapter- Now Novel- Comprehensive

 2 posts from Angela Ackerman -Brainstorming the hero and

How to use GMC (Goal Motivation Conflict) to test a story idea - Bookmark Both

 

In The Marketing Section,

Why isn’t my title selling- quiz-Penny Sansevieri

5 reasons to be a speaking author- Sandra Beckwith

Back Cover Copy formula- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Book signings that wow- Becca Puglisi

Cover design what works in 2022- Alliance of Independent Authors- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

It’s not long until November and the challenge of NaNoWriMo. Reedsy has put together a great prep document to get your creative teeth into. Don’t forget to check out the NaNoWriMo deals and the super Storybundle of craft resources. 

 

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 Possessed Photography on Unsplash

 

Looking Back

This week in publishing news…

Publishers Weekly had a long form article asking is the publishing industry broken? Every few years there is a variation on this theme that has everyone looking deeply into their coffee cups and pronouncing the end of print, or reading, or too much entertainment competition. This article looks at the plight of young publishing professionals and the less than sympathetic reactions of their bosses. Something has got to change. Will it be publishing culture? With an overwhelming monocultural workforce and the increasing consolidation of publishing houses, there is a real worry that the breadth of views and discourse is being lost. 

 

Meanwhile, Bertelsmann, the parent company of Penguin Random House, released their 6 month report for 2022. It was scanned extensively by the rest of the publishing world for the trends and directions which have affected the world’s biggest publisher. Backlist is king! Everything is OK.

Sort of. 

Supply challenges and currency exchange problems have hurt but audio is continuing strongly. Publishing Perspectives respectfully reports on Marcus Dohle’s rousing speeches to the imprint CEO’s. 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard brings his own more astringent view on the how the world’s biggest publisher is conducting business.

 

There are whispers of a new serialization app being developed that will bring together everyone’s backlist and be the solution that everyone has been waiting for, even if you didn’t know you were waiting for it. Publishing Perspectives has the scoop from the app developers involved.

 

The SPA girls podcast is appointment listening for me and this week the team were talking amongst themselves about how to find out what works for you. This is a great pep talk about not trying everything in writing, editing, and publishing.

Staying with the SPA girls – they recently interviewed Emilia Rose on how she is managing to be a 6 figure author through serialization. This is a fascinating dive into a different world of publishing where the young people are changing the game. 

 

Tom Bentley is guest posting on Jane Friedman’s blog about being persistent as a writer. Even if you are weary and feeling like you are creeping through treacle, just showing up for 100 words can add up to a book. 

 

Anne R Allen has a great article on short stories using advice from C S Lewis. This is an excellent article that got me thinking about the craft of the short form. 

 

In The Craft Section,

The conflict box- Jennie Crusie- Bookmark

5 similarities between your hero and villain- Sue Coletta

5 must-haves for a great ending- Gilbert Bassey- Bookmark

How to world build on the page- GoldenMay editing - Bookmark

One stop for writers resources- Angela Ackerman

 

In The Marketing Section,

Two great posts from Penny Sansevieri- 8 Essential recommendations for book launches and 7 reasons your book isn’t selling on Amazon- Bookmark

Twitter communities- Sandra Beckwith

5 reasons to use Amazon preorders- Dale Roberts_ Bookmark

Titles that sell have keywords and metadata- Darcy Pattison

 

To Finish,

Today is my 700^th post on the Craicer blog. I couldn’t have imagined my blog hitting this anniversary when I started posting weekly in 2008. Along the way I have published 10 books, run two national conferences, delivered speeches, judged the National Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, won The Betty Gilderdale Award for outstanding service to NZ children’s literature, been syndicated, learned and learned and learned about publishing and the international publishing world from my little corner down under. I am in constant awe of the many people who give their time freely to talk about this crazy addictive world of publishing. I don’t have much money but I have time and passion and interest in sharing what I’m learning every week. If you have been with me from the beginning I salute you. 

Let’s Eat CAKE.

 

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 Slashio Photography on Unsplash

 

 

The Publishing Business- unlike any other.

 

This week in the publishing world

 

At the moment the eyes of the publishing world are fixed on the court proceedings where the U.S Department of Justice is trying to stop the sale of Simon and Schuster to Penguin Random House. The live twitter feed from observers on how the court is trying to understand the publishing industry is illuminating… So, a midlist book isn’t as important as a front list book which you paid a lot of money for. Why do you have them then?

Stephen King testified for the State over the shrinking nature of independent publishing houses. S and S are his publishers, his books are just one of the reasons why PRH would want the sale to go through.

 

Staying with PRH, they have just published their diversity report where they look at their business and see whether it reflects the diversity of the country. They divided the workforce into warehousing and publishing. I wonder if other publishers would put themselves under such a spotlight.

 

I try to keep an eye on what is happening with new digital technologies as it relates to publishing. Recently Joanna Penn had a podcast interview on the blockchain and what it means for copyright and and intellectual property. Her guest was Roanie Levy, a lawyer who specializes in copyright and IP and is working in the blockchain field. If you are unclear what blockchain is and how copyright and smart contracts are going to change in the future, check out this great interview.

 

While authors are coming to grips with new technologies like NFT’s (limited editions of digital products) some publishers have figured out how NFT’s can make them money. Remember back at university and the huge price of textbooks? Many students buy second-hand textbooks or thirdhand. Academic publishers have figured out they can make money with these subsequent sales if they publish their books as NFT’s. (Will the author of the textbook get a cut?)

 

I am reminded of the words of a retiring publisher here in NZ. The business of a publisher is to stay in business. This week Kris Rusch puts on her publishers hat and examines the ways a publisher could be making money for their business. 

 

PEN America has issued a press release over a Utah school board banning 52 books under a new state law allowing books to be removed because of pornography issues. But what is pornography? When you look over the list you will be scratching your head like PEN.

 

Oh to have books to ban. Mark Williams looks at the difficulty faced by African nations just getting books. Digital books were supposed to be the answer but not if the publisher still sticks by regional rights. It is a reading desert out there with hope centered on the Middle East publishing community. Mark is hand making books for his school and they are one of the lucky ones.

 

Ruth Harris takes a look at decision fatigue. Just being a writer means making many decisions in your writing, let alone anything else. Ruth has some strategies for when it gets too much. 

 

Bang 2 Write has a great article on 5 examples of story structure. There is more than one way to understand the steps of the plot. 

 

In The Craft Section,

The intersection between Plotting and Pantsing- Litreactor- Bookmark

How to structure stories with multiple main characters- K M Weiland -Bookmark

Elements of a story- Reedsy – Comprehensive

Using backward design to plan your story- Angela Ackerman

Managing point of view and distance of time- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Backcover copy formula- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

What to do instead of a writer blog- P S Hoffman

How to use Amazon to market for free- NY Book editors

Getting your work noticed- Liza Taylor- Bookmark

Author strategy for Bookbub ad bidding- Bookbub- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Carmen Machado has an interesting article on taking the time to write when doing an MFA. So many writers are focused on trying to get an agent or a deal while doing their MFA that they miss the point that having time to write is the best thing you can do for your writing. One of her students forgot this and is now mired in a plagiarism scandal. Write first. Polish it until it gleams, then look for the deal. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links come on over and 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 Sean Pollock on Unsplash

Creating Money

 

In publishing news this week…

 

The Guardian reports from The London Book Fair on what the 5 biggest trends are according to the fair. Or according to the Guardian, what we will all be reading in the near future. Funny how they’ve missed all the other formats out there.

 

Meanwhile, YouTube is figuring out ways to monetise podcasts and provide analytics for podcast producers, Mark Williams reports. If YouTube thinks there’s gold to be had in someone else’s creative IP, what about the creator? Something to consider if you are thinking of podcasting… 

Mark also shines a light on the global nature of publishing which is often seen as very western-centric. Qatar has a bookfair underway for Ramadan, which is a first, and Middle Eastern bookfairs expect to attract millions of visitors in the near future.

 

This week I listened to Joanna Penn interview children’s author D Jude Miller and how he sells direct to libraries and schools. It was really interesting to hear his ideas and how he gets the word out. Also, how he runs his e-commerce business from his website. 

If you want to get some ideas for integrating your author websites and e-commerce, check out this article from Prowritingaid.

 

Staying with money, Debbie Burke has a great article on the Killzone blog about writing articles for money- Short term rewards for the long haul. 

 

Kris Rusch looks at the responses from other authors on Brandon’s Kickstarter. Is it a unicorn? Could it be replicated by other authors? Kris points out a few things that authors seem to have forgotten. Brandon is training readers to buy direct from the author, is this a bad thing?

 

Joseph Perry guest posted on Anne R Allen’s blog about legal issues that authors should be aware of and do their best to avoid.

 

Brian Feinblum posted a hard-hitting article, the truth that authors need to hear, because they were sick of fielding whining queries from authors. Any author that has been around for a while will recognize the truths in this article. We all get annoyed with people who expect to be granted all the keys and wisdoms of writing and publishing and don’t do any work to find out answers for themselves. There is a huge amount of information out there if you go looking. (If you read this blog for just six months you will gather all sorts of resources, imagine if you read it for 14 years…  my blog anniversary is next week. I know I can’t believe it either.)

 

In The Craft Section,

Two great posts from Jerry Jenkins -How to become a better writer- and Types of characters - Bookmark Both

Context, Text, and subtext- September Fawkes

What Are Story Beats? Tim Grahl

What is rhythmic writing -Sue Coletta - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

May promo days -Sandra Beckwith

5 ways to build an email list for authors- Written Word Media -Bookmark

PR and Marketing tips for authors- Anne Marie Nieves- Bookmark

Book marketing on a budget- Bookrescue

Instagram book marketing ideas- Bookbub

Author Branding with Mark Coker- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The music industry is humming with the court case that Ed Sheeran was involved in, where he was accused of lifting a section of tune from someone else. Cory Doctorow has a great article on how the music industry has created their own problems with copyright. As the publishing industry often follows trends in the music industry check out the article for a heads up of issues that might be coming down the track.

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 micheile dot com on Unsplash

It's All About The Money

This week in publishing news,

It is difficult to look away from the disaster unfolding in Europe. The call went out from the embattled president to the writers and other creators of Russia to speak out the truth of what is happening in Ukraine. In response came orders in Russia for the arrest of anybody who publicly dissented or protested. That is not stopping a lot of brave people. Publishing Perspectives reports on publishers and writers sticking their necks out, along with an article about a brave Ukrainian publisher continuing to work while in a bomb shelter.

 

Meanwhile on the other side of the world FastCompany reports on the way that book lovers on Tiktok are changing the publishing industry. If an economics magazine is taking notice something must be happening. (The trickle-up effect?)

 

James Daunt, CEO of Barnes and Nobel, has released his figures for last year and is optimistic about the future. It is an interesting interview on Publishers Weekly. James says he is in the business of selling reading and his main drivers are young people and Booktok. He also has a pick for the breakout hit everyone has been waiting for. It’s a mid-grade book about unicorns.

 

The biggest news this week has been Brandon Sanderson’s Kickstarter which I wrote about last week. A quick look shows he has 21 days to go… and he has ticked past $26 million. Kris Rusch breaks down the numbers and shows where Brandon did everything right.- Master class coming right up.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a great collection of articles. Recently they published another Ultimate Guide, this one On Multiple Streams of Income. If you want to succeed as a writer you have to be able to turn your hand at a few extra moneymaking things.

 

This week Joanna Penn Interviewed Dharma Kelleher on writer self-doubt and writer's block. Self-doubt about your work can be crippling. This is a great interview- gift yourself some quality time to read/listen to this.

 

Angela Ackerman is guest posting over on Katie Weilands blog-(2 powerhouses in the same website room.) Her topic 7 Tips For How To Write A Book When You Have No Idea What You’re Doing.

 

In the Craft Section,

2 great articles from Angela Ackerman- Know your character and Do you want your character to stand out- Bookmark Both

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

What makes a good protagonist?- Jack Smith

Author voice vs Narrator voice September Fawkes- Bookmark

Lies, Secrets, and Scars- Lynette Burrows- Bookmark

 

 

In The Marketing Section,

Five secrets to generating more sales- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

How to Pitch a Story – Now Novel- Bookmark

Social media for authors – Dave Chesson

Drive traffic to your website- Julien Bradley

1000 sign-ups a week? It’s possible- Ashleigh Renard- Bookmark

The business of writing- shorten your learning curve – Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

DIYMFA is an interesting site to trawl around for inspiration. Recently they had an article from Stephanie BwaBwa on Author goal setting using an authorial calendar. Stephanie drills down to the bottom line. Where is the money… how to get it…the steps you need to plan for how to get it.

An interesting tip from Seekerville on buying your own ebooks when they are on sale and then using them for gifts at a later date…

 

You gotta save money somewhere…

 

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 Josh Appel on Unsplash

 

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