What is your goal?

Around the publishing blogosphere this week...
What is the biggest threat to the print industry at the moment? Ho hum you think... another article about digital or audiobooks... NO. The lack of paper for printing is starting to make itself felt.  Publisher's Weekly reports that at the recent BISG conference, it was the number one topic.

Somebody hasn’t told Wattpad that there is a shortage of paper... They are steaming ahead with their print publishing arm. Their first offerings are off to a great start after being chosen by an AI.

Amazon this week trumpeted that you could contact them and talk to a human... They meant Alexa... who isn’t human. However, this raised an interesting point. What happens to copyright if an AI writes the book? Passive Guy took a look at what’s happening in the music world with AI scores.

If you have parted ways with your agent, how much should you disclose about the relationship to another agent? Bookends Literary talks about agent baggage.

Meanwhile, in the print distribution business... the only US competitor for Ingram has just thrown in the towel with their retail wholesale division. The industry pushed back when Ingram wanted to buy Barker &Taylor last year, because of the power one distributor would have in the marketplace. Who is laughing now? Not the publishers.

If you are wondering how Bookstores are doing this year check out this comprehensive article by Nancy Herther for Against The Grain- a blog site for bookstores, libraries, and publishers. If indie bookstores are struggling why is Amazon opening up more bricks and mortar stores? Are Indie bookstores really taking a hit? 

Every time I turn around Streelib seems to be doing something interesting... (Hmmm their  goal could be world domination outside the US/ UK.) They are getting into Apps. Their press release this week announced they had partnered with Stary which has over one million users in the 10 months it’s been operating. Stary is just like Wattpad and we know what happened there... 

Jami Gold has a great article on The Power of Character Arcs. If you were one of the many who saw Endgame this week. This discussion on drive and focus is the article for you. (There are no spoilers.)

In The Craft Section,

Making a big revision- Jami Gold- Bookmark

How to treat your setting like a character- Kyle Massa- Bookmark

7 tips to make your monsters meaty

Stay on target - Janice Hardy

7 thoughts about collaboration- Dan Brotzel- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

How to reduce marketing anxiety- Booklife

Author publicity for the camera shy- Bookworks- Bookmark


Ten reasons to run your writing like a business- Leigh Shulman- Bookmark

An informal guide to understanding facebook ad jargon- Digitalgal

No one is born famous- Penny Sansevieri

How to write effective facebook sponsored posts- Social Media Examiner- Bookmark 

To Finish,

Kristine Rusch has a very interesting post on goal setting this week. How often do you set little goals? This is a mindset shift which may end up changing your work life completely. My To Do list has To Do Lists on it... I’m off to break it all up.

Maureen
@craicer

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Pic; Flickr Creative Commons - Jesper Sehested and PlusLexia.com The PlusLexia team inspire Dyslexics by finding stories of success from people with Dyslexia. Way To Go Jesper!

Champions

April arrives and now suddenly we are heading into the last week of the month. The Easter break seemed so much longer when I was a kid… 

In the publishing blogosphere… Nora Roberts has filed legal proceedings against the person responsible for #CopyPasteCris. For those of you who missed this earlier in the year. As of the filing, more than 40 authors had over 100 sections of books lifted and pasted into someone else’s novels. The person responsible is claiming that the ghostwriters she hired did this, but it is looking pretty murky. Nora is going into bat for the authors that haven’t got the money to do it themselves. (sainthood beckons)
There is a small light on the horizon for those authors who can prove that their work was ripped off. Amazon has a claim form… where you can get all the royalties that were paid to the scammer. 

Joanna Penn has a great interview with a TV and Film producer on how to get your work in front of production companies. If you think you have a story that would translate well check out this interview.

Publishers Weekly have reported a second month of dismal sales in bookstores. Everybody is still chasing the next big thing… on the up are Young Adult titles.

Anne R Allen has a great post on using Social Media effectively and thereby avoid the cesspool. This is timely as April has been a shocking month for all things horrible on social media. 

Kris Rusch has been hunkering down and dealing with her critical voice. She has worked out how to use this persistent nay-sayer in her life. Give it a job. This is a great post!

Katie Weiland always has great posts on her blog about scene or structure (Her Marvel series ones are epic.) She put together a great structure blog post which has a way to calculate how long your book is going to be. Smart cookie, Nadine Avola, has worked up a brilliant template for this post, just plug in the numbers.

Jami Gold has a great post on revising verses completely rewriting your manuscript. At what point do you throw the whole draft in the bin and start again. I have writer friends who have trashed whole novels. Is there another way?

In The Craft Section,

What can you do when you don’t have time to write?

More than a happy ending- Jami Gold- Bookmark

How to write a perfect scene- Bang2write- bookmark

2 great posts from Scot Myers- Character driven storytelling and Story Types-Bookmark

Working with a large cast of characters- September Fawkes

Master list of copy editing skills- Jami Gold

In The Marketing Section,

5 tips to spice up your Amazon author profile- Joanna Penn

Marketing tips for debut authors- Bookbub

Seasonal book marketing- Debbie Young - Alli Blog

6 gadgets to take to your next book fair- Janice Hardy -Bookmark

Newsletters for the reluctant author- Elizabeth Craig

5 tips for making videos- Bookmark

Series pages- IndiesUnlimited- Bookmark

To Finish,

Every now and then you read a feel-good story that just combines everything the world needs in a cute package. Sick of your job... Love books... want to make a difference in kids lives... I give you the amazing traveling bookshop.

Maureen
@craicer

My monthly newsletter, where I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links is due soon. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. I appreciate virtual coffee love so if you like the blog hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Gandhi- Matt Brown

Creativity

Around the writing blogosphere this week the talk was all about the Writers Guild suing the big talent agencies over shonky deals with writers. I have been hearing over the years the grumblings from the screenwriters over Agencies practice of packaging which has torpedoed careers and projects. It’s an insidious form of creative accounting. NPR explains what is happening and why. 

Wattpad has been moving from being an online publisher of fan content to being a TV and movie studio... to being a 'proper' publisher. They have a new imprint for the country from which their biggest supporters come from. It's not who you think... 

Amy Shojai has an interesting post on the Alliance of Independent Authors blog on audiobooks. This format has been increasing in leaps and bounds over the last year with some new players on the block shaking things up. Also well worth trawling through is the Alli conference website with all the fabulous goodies from their recent 24-hour online conference.  

We are heading in Easter weekend and writers everywhere will be wondering how much writing they will get done over the weekend. Here are three really interesting posts on the creative life.
Creativity and discipline- 3 ways to cultivate it by Nathan Wade, guest posting on The Creative Penn

Creative life boundaries by Scott Myers from Go Into The Story

The critical voice- Kristine Kathryn Rusch- Excellent blog post!

E J Runyon has a guest post on Anne R Allen's blog on writing what you know as a starting point for writing. She discusses using sense memory as a creative kick start. Great Post! 

In The Craft Section,

Story structure explained- September Fawkes- Bookmark

The understory- Stephen Pressfield- Bookmark

Struggling with flashbacks?- Sara Letourneau- Bookmark

Are writing prompts helpful- Savannah Cordova- Bookmark

Ctl Alt Del 3 act structure- Go Into The Story

In The Marketing Section,

How to promote with your posse- Pauline Wiles

Focused goals help sell books- Penny Sansevieri

How to use your book cover to sell more books- A D Starrling- Bookmark

Metadata and Book distribution resource checklist- Alli Blog- Bookmark

Creative resources for making the most of Instagram - Frances Caballo- Bookmark

To Finish,

Collaboration is a beautiful thing. The most fun I've had is when I've been involved in a team planning a project. There's something about creative energy in a team that magnifies your ideas and kick starts your own creativity. I'm lucky to belong to the Fabo team of writers who started quite a few years ago writing story prompts for children in the winter terms of our school year. We kick off again at the beginning of the next school term. However, read this little gem of a story which takes the collaboration model of writing and kicks it up a notch.

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. I appreciate virtual coffee love so if you like the blog hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Tristan Schmurr