In Publishing News this week,
If you are a comic book publisher by now you must be suffering severe stress at the uncertainty of the Diamond Comics distributor woes. They have a buyer. They haven’t a buyer. Their potential buyer is now suing them. Publishers Weekly tries to keep everyone up to date.
Also suffering is the Children’s Publishing community with the news that Albert Whitman and Co is in bankruptcy after 106 years of trading. After a series of disastrous moves and the failure to pay people, usually the first sign of a sinking publishing ship, the company has closed. But will anyone get their money back?
The money is being handed out by Spotify - $100 million this year already. Mark Williams looks at the symbiotic nature of podcasting and audio books and speculates what else Spotify might be doing with the spoken word.
This week Canada had a national election that highlighted what happens when another countries president tells you how to vote. Amongst the first laws that Canadian authors want fixed is the poorly worded copyright law that is hurting the creative community in Canada.
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) had their annual meeting in New York. The theme – Move Fast and Fix Things. Publishing Perspectives reports on the outcomes from the study group that identifies pain points in publishing and how to fix them.
Back in court are five well known authors challenging the legality of the book banning in Florida. Several states are waiting on the outcome as it will set a precedent on whether their book bans are lawful. It is slow going but the outcome is important. Luckily these authors have the financial resources to see it through.
Dan Holloway reports on moves to make AI generated films eligible for The Oscars. While you are pondering this, check out Wiley (Academic publishers) guidelines for using AI in book and journal writing. My thought is that by the end of the year most publishers will have specific guidelines like these. After all, if they are using it in their offices can they really demand others don’t?However, be very transparent in your AI dealings. Publishers won’t back you up if there is a court case. You are on your own, and they may just sue you to make the point.
Use AI as a tool to help creativity. Your author voice is original, and an AI is not. An algorithm can’t feel like a human can.
Amy Bernstein has a great post on Jane Friedman’s blog about using fiction techniques to make your nonfiction book better. Borrow From Fictions Toolbox to Elevate Your Nonfiction Book.
Andrea Grigg has an interesting post on Writers in the Storm about Emerging from Writers Block. When you have tried everything and beaten yourself up for having writers block it might be the permission to quit that frees you. Everyone’s creativity is different.
Two excellent craft articles caught my eye this week. Becca Puglisi’s Build Character Growth Milestones into your story and Katie Weiland’s impressive take on the Corrupt Character Arc. These are two outstanding posts on the craft of writing compelling characters.
In The Craft Section,
Trigger questions for world building- Jaime Buckley- Bookmark
Genres of writing – Storygrid- Comprehensive!
Building scenes with beats- C S Lakin- Bookmark
The 5-4-3-2-1 of scene setting- Diana Giovinazzo
Why you should avoid bored protagonists -September Fawkes- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
3 author mistakes when marketing- Sandra Beckwith
10 strategies to grow your author newsletter -Rachel Thompson- Bookmark
Where to find readers- Fussy Librarian
Is Kindle Unlimited right for you – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
Approaches to marketing – Story Empire- Bookmark
To Finish
A long time ago before we had children… my husband and I used to hold Port and Poetry nights for our friends. It was our version of a literary salon. Friends would arrive with Port… or something else and their favourite poems and we would read them out loud. Sometimes there would be a theme, or we would just gossip about world events. When the kids came along we didn’t hold so many, but they were allowed to read out their favourite poems when we did. The Guardian recently wrote about the new literary salons being held. Funny, Sexy, and a bit Weird- how the young are doing literary salons now. Take an odd venue, stuff it full of people- bring a DJ, and read anything you like.
Literature, always in fashion!
Maureen
@craicer
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