Legally Spotted

What a week in the publishing blogosphere.

Cockygate and the GDPR have filled my news feeds. They both have some important takeaways to consider.

Cockygate is the term writers and industry pundits have applied to a situation involving a romance writer who has trademarked the word ‘cocky’ in relation to her romances. Yes, a word can be trademarked. Will it stand up in a court... that’s the big question? The can of worms has got bigger because in addition to the trademark the author has been sending cease and desist notices to other authors who have the word cocky in their titles. It all gets very emotional with authors and lawyers and lawyers and authors and RWA and lawyers etc. Jami Gold boils it down to branding- The right way and the wrong way - This is a must read.

G.D.P.R. is the new regulations from Europe, which take effect on the 25^thMay and affect anyone who has or operates a mailing list. That includes authors who have newsletters and mailing list sign ups on their websites. 

Seth Godin has written about the GDPR and the marketer’s dilemma very neatly and succinctly. This gives you an overview. Nick Stephenson engaged a lawyer to talk him through what changes he had to make on his website. 

Another excellent resource is Mark Dawson and James Blatch’s latest podcast which goes in depth on the topic.

Sharp eyed readers will notice a small privacy policy notice on my websites. I’m still working through all the ramifications so this policy may change in future.

Now armed with all your knowledge of GDPR you can read Nicholas Erik’s huge post on everything to do with mailing lists.

Joanna Penn is talking about critical mindsets this week. Do you have the right mindset for your author business. And yes, if you are writing it is a business.

Kris Rusch takes it one step further looking at growing the author business too fast and not having the right people in place to help you when you need it.

And have you ever thought about copywriting... In the Alli blog this week was an interesting post about fiction writers making money on the side with their writing skills.

Natasha Bajema talks about creating 1000 reader superfans from zero. In the article she references David Gaughran’s new book. (I think it’s 5 star)

Anne R Allen features a lot in this week’s blog... mainly because she consistently puts out great stuff. Check out this post on 10 tips for getting your novel off to a good start.

In The Craft Section,

The eternal question- what should I write- Chuck Wendig

100 scripts to download and study- Go into the story- screenwriting - Bookmark

3 writer guide sites examined- Writers Digest

How to measure your success as a writer- Bibliocrunch

9 ways to keep your writing safe- Alexa Bigwharfe- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Write an Author bio for any occasion And Publishing business tips- Anne R Allen- Bookmark Both

Seven new books for writers- WrittenWord Media

Platform building and related terrors- Draft2Digital

Bookbub ads readers want to click- Bookbub- Bookmark

Not sold in stores- ways to excite readers- Bookfunnel- Bookmark

To Finish,

Chris Fox is an Indie Publisher guru and so I was interested in his short video about shortcuts... and how sometimes they are a massive mistake for the writer.  This is an excellent motivation video. Let’s be careful that we are dotting i’s and crossing t’s.

Maureen

@craicer

My monthly newsletter is due out soon. I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you appreciate the blog, hit the coffee button up top and feed my addiction  LOL. 

Pic: Flicker Creative Commons- USFWS Mountain Prairie

Swimming With The English Babel Fish.

This week an article from Publishing Perspectives caught my eye.

Non English speaking countries are seeing the tech revolution and rather than being left behind are encouraging their populations to learn English. It got me thinking about how many of these new readers we must be overlooking. Do we think to market in Turkmenistan? This is a fascinating article on diversity and the new lingua franca- English

Publishing Perspectives also had an article looking at a subscription model for children’s books. Amazon is offering a curated selection of PRINT books to be sent to your child on an ongoing basis.

Kris Rusch writes about cultural change this week. What happens when you are flavour of the month and then the flavours change? How many writing careers have been sabotaged by this thought?

This week Cambridge Analytica closed its doors... and authors wondered if was safe to dip their toe back into the FB water. With all the problems of author pages needing to be boosted all the time to get visibility two posts crossed my path this week on how to circle around this. Facebook Groups seem to be the answer. Joel Friedlander has an interesting guest post from Frances Caballo exploring 10 ways Authors can grow Facebook groups and Lois Hoffman has a neat article about how to build your author platform with Facebook groups

The Alliance of Independent Authors have a wealth of information, check out their recent conference page.... They also have some great articles like this one from John Doppler on piracy and impersonation and what you can do about it.

Jami Gold is aptly named because she dispenses craft writing tips that are pure gold. Head hopping in a story can be problematic for both the writer and the reader. Jami takes a look at how to avoid it. A must read.

Anne R Allen looks at writing a great first sentence. Here she details 22 first sentences that caught her eye and why they work. A must read.

In The Craft Section,

Rewriting a children’s book series- Heather Moon

The secret to journaling -Wicked cozy authors

How to info dump without info dumping- September Faulks- Bookmark

Point of view- Reedsy

World building in Science Fiction- The Creative Penn

Plot isn’t story- K M Weiland- Bookmark

27 writer’s residencies... Go On Take A Look

Why you need grit- Aliadventures- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Book cover design fundamentals- The Creative Penn

How to get Amazon reviews- Lisa Tener- Bookmark

How to survive the DIY Book tour- Writer Mag

May inspirations for author marketing – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

When to submit to a publisher without an agent- Nathan Bransford

7 fool proof marketing tips for your blog- Nicholas Rossi

6 ways to make your book more discoverable- Alli- Bookmark

To Finish,

The inventor of the original Babel Fish, Douglas Adams, was a unique writer. If you loved Hitchhikers guide or Dirk Gently take a look at these top ten writing tips.

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you want who hit the coffee button this week... feel free, I appreciate the virtual coffee love.

Pic: Flicker Creative Commons- Anna-Maria Olehn

Leaping The Fence

This week I’ve been dipping into the wonderful content from The Alliance of Indie Authors Online conference held last week. There are some really outstanding sessions so if you haven’t checked it out you must do so.

With Amazon tightening up on reviewers (throwing the baby out with the bath water) Anne R Allen has written a thoughtful post on Reviewers and the Amazon problem and why Reviewers are leaving. This post has been updated twice with new information since she wrote it earlier in the week. This is a must read.

Today was a DV pitch day on Twitter for children’s books. #DVpit is for writers who are pitching #ownvoices manuscripts to agents. Recently Bran Ayres guest posted on Jami Gold’s blog about the #ownvoices movement and what it means for authors and readers. (I learned a new word/term- catfishing.)

I try to watch or listen to a podcast a day as part of my own up-skilling in the publishing industry. Joanna Penn’s podcast this week was on The London Bookfair and what’s coming in the future... or next week. Joanna is a futurist and she has been pretty spot on over the last decade. Be aware that publishing always thinks in the long term... so you need to be thinking long term for your career too.

Someone who is definitely thinking long term is Marie Force. She is gathering together a group of Indie Authors to advocate on behalf of Indie Authors. Check out the new Indie Support Network

While we are on futurist ideas, this little video crossed my path this week. Drama audiophiles this is for you... Once you watch it... your mind will open up to all sorts of possibilities.

From voice to video, where Diana Wink recently guest posted on Joanna Penn’s blog. Diana explains how to make a book trailer like a Hollywood director. If you are thinking video is too hard- take a look... maybe the time is right.

Two authors I have huge respect for are Kris Rusch and Melinda Szymanik.

Kris recently had to move towns for her health and found herself floundering in the upheaval. That’s when she made an important discovery- schedules and how important they are to the full time writer and why.

Melinda has been thinking lately about the barriers to writing. What barriers is your brain putting up and why? She offers some solutions and some practical advice... read it and conquer!

In The Craft Section,

How to use Adjectives wisely- Jane Friedman

The destructive power of the lie- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

How to keep writing against your inner critical voice- Jami Gold-Bookmark

Why you must perfect the first 30 pages- Nathan Bransford

Deepening story theme- Jami Gold- Bookmark

How watching movies changes your writing – Diana Wink

Emotional Shielding- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

10 Platform Building strategies- Positive Writer

How to promote your audiobook- Build Book Buzz

How to connect with book clubs- Funds for Writers

15 reasons your book isn’t selling- Joel Friedlander

What marketing is- Career Author

Write a Killer Amazon Bio- IndieReader- Bookmark

How to produce Book Promo Video- Writers Digest- Bookmark

To Finish,

I have recommended Canva every day this week to someone. After the third time I began to take note. All the requests were differently phrased so it wasn’t a hot new problem that needed a Canva solution but just general stuff... and Canva was the best solution. David Gaughran thinks so too. He has a great post on making killer promo graphics in Canva. If you haven’t checked it out- you should... best of all ... it’s free.

Maureen

@craicer

I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces in a monthly newsletter. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons / Alan Levine