Creator Imposter Syndrome

 

 

In Publishing News this week

 

As you read this the Shanghai Bologna Children’s Book fair gets underway in Shanghai. It is billed as the largest Asia Pacific region book fair dedicated to children’s books. Looking at the geographic representation… there are a lot of Asian countries quite a spread of European countries but none from the lower Pacific Rim. Is it geopolitical politics that is keeping them away?

 

African publishing is having a geopolitical publishing problem, reports Publishers Weekly. The problem is Wakanda. This mythical nation is being seen as the default African experience by international publishers There are 53 nations in Africa, apparently they all sound like Wakanda, and look like Wakanda. African publishers are trying to separate themselves and be true to their own voices.

 

Scotland libraries have highlighted a real crisis happening at home and across the world, the closure of libraries. They are calling for more financial and contextual support for libraries. What happened to the billionaires who funded libraries? Where are they now?

 

Mark Williams reports on Audible’s huge investment in Harry Potter, specifically a full dramatized audiobook production. A cast of hundreds, a fan base of millions, a match made in heaven or at least the accounting ledger. He sounds a warning to others who might think this is a good idea.

 

Publishing’s survival depends on data, says the Elsevier chairman Y S Chi. He was speaking at Sharjah Publishers Conference and knows what he is talking about. This is a fascinating article from Publishers Weekly. He gives publishing five years before it is irrelevant if they don’t take action now with their proprietary data. I wonder how many publishers still have their head in the sand on this. Data and what you can learn from it is one of the big discussions in the independent publishing community.

 

Amazon has a news release that they have Kindle Translate in Beta. They are just looking at Spanish and German translations at the moment. I wonder if they picked those two because of the huge book selling markets they have.

 

There are still 200,000 books unclaimed in the Anthropic settlement. Writer Beware is warning of scam law firms who want to help you get your payout. This is really annoying the actual lawyers who are overseeing this case and the payout. Not every law firm is your friend especially if you might be coming into money. 

 

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad imposter syndrome crisis writes Rachel Toalson for Writer Unboxed. (I don’t know a single good writer who doesn’t suffer from this.) Why is this such a problem in the writer community? Rachel suggests we get out of our own head.

 

Anthologies. It’s lovely to be asked to contribute to these. But there are some pitfalls out there for the unwary author. Matty Dalrymple and Mark Leslie Lefavbre have a chapter from their excellent short story writing craft book on Jane Friedman’s blog. Before you say yes to the anthology.

 

Joanna Penn recently had a great interview with Wendy Dale on Memoir and why structure matters more than you think. For anyone writing or editing a memoir, this is a must read.

 

In The Craft Section,

The art of intimacy in writing- Sarah Hamer- Bookmark

How to mine early memories for children’s stories- Marilyn June Janson

Secondary characters should have motivation- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

Stop labeling the process and trust the story- Yasmin Angoe

Is your writing good enough- Suzy Vadori- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

How I use Bookbub ads to market full price books- Mathew Holmes -Bookmark

The Instagram Glow Up – Sandra Beckwith

The power of the prequel- Written Word Media- Bookmark

Book Promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Wither Social Media -James Scott Bell- Interesting 

 

To Finish

 

Rachel Thompson’s posts on book marketing are always must reads for me. Her latest post Why Creators Fear Bad Reviews and How That Fear Makes Us Better is one of her stand out articles that all writers should read. She explores the psychology behind creator fear and how we can harness it to turn it into creative fuel. 

Creative fuel comes from many sources. The Storybundle collection of writing craft books is only available for another three weeks so go check it out. You will kick yourself if you miss out.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Standing Out

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Sharjah Bookfair is on. As Publishers Weekly explains it centers on the Global South, Africa, Asia, India, and the Middle East. That’s a fair chunk of the world catering to a young demographic. Over 118 countries and over 2,300 publishers represented. It’s a networking extravaganza.

In an interesting side event at Sharjah the PublishHer- Women In Publishing, networking event was held over three days. Publishing Perspectives reports that the mood was upbeat. ‘What a time it is to be a publisher,’ said Gvantsa Jobava, president of the International Publishers Association.

 

Dan Holloway reports on the European and International Booksellers Federation’s new AI charter. They have a list of 11 points that they want to make clear to the technological industries. Dan makes a good point about the confusion between assistive AI and generative AI. The 11 points are easy to understand and a good guideline for the publishing industry.

 

Everybody seems to be launching a website company for authors. Publishers Weekly reports that Tertulia book discovery platform is launching a website building platform for authors that will instantly populate their books and sell them using Ingram for shipping. It’s in Beta at the moment, but with the current move to direct selling it looks like a good solution to an author problem.

 

A while ago (Before Covid) I delivered a big speech on the future of publishing where I talked about the potential of blockchain technology. At the time many people shook their heads and muttered that it was all too much for them to understand. It was interesting to come across this company who want to take the concept of books on the blockchain and run with it. Publishing Perspectives writes about the Written site. It’s a pity that their website is so horrible though. 

 

Writer Beware has the best guide to the Anthropic AI case. This is a what you need to know, all the links you need to claim compensation, timeframes etc. If you still are wondering how to claim your $3000 from the settlement this is required reading.

 

Kevin Kelly, of 1000 true fans fame, has an interesting take on AI. Paying AI’s to read my books. This is a completely opposite idea to the prevailing concerns in the publishing industry. If AI is going to be the search engine for everything don’t you want your books and ideas inside the box being discovered? A fascinating point of view here.

 

Gabriele Pereira has a great article on DIYMFA- Two Things AI Can’t Take Away From You. This is a good reminder that the importance of your voice and how you write is what distinguishes you from every other writer out there.

 

Agent Richard Curtis has an interesting article on the Droit Moral clause and what happens when you waive it in a contract. This is eye opening. This is a clause that is in contracts for film rights. If you waive the clause – the film can do anything they like to the story.

 

Rachel Thompson has a great post on writers block. If you are settling in for Novel November this is the last thing you need. Rachel writes that it’s not your muse that has gone missing but something else in your life.

Ellen Buikema continues this theme with a look at writer self doubt. She has some great tips to get over your fear of not being good enough.

 

Chelle Honniker of Indie Author magazine has a sideline in devising author automations. She is an expert at streamlining author business with innovative uses of software. I was intrigued with her post on branding. She dives into things I never thought of before on author branding. 

 

Cathy Yardly writes on The Art of Propulsive Fiction for Writer Unboxed this week. This is the fiction that sits between pure commercial and literary. Is it plot driven or character driven? Cathy writes that this is the wrong focus. It’s about the goal of the main character. Sometimes that gets lost in the story.

 

In The Craft Section,

Five commandments of Storytelling- StoryGrid- Bookmark!

Connecting points keep the story moving- K M Weiland- Bookmark

6 tips for creating great character chemistry- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Crafting real relationships between characters- C S Lakin

The fastest way to make a character sympathetic- September Fawkes

 

In the Marketing Section,

3 common book marketing tactics that are useless- Sandra Beckwith

Book marketing Blueprint- John Kremer- Interesting

Author event ideas that sell books- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Adventures at book signings- Terry Odell- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Elizabeth Spann Craig has been writing great articles for years on her author blog. It’s a great blend of her cozy mystery books and her articles for writers. Recently she had an interesting article on the importance of author promo instead of book promo. She writes “Readers remember the author who taught them something or made them laugh, not the author who just posted cover reveals.” This is a great mantra to remember as we head into the Christmas selling season.

Maureen

@craicer

 

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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.

 

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