History Lessons

February is Black History month in the United States. With diversity or the lack of it in publishing on everyone’s minds there are numerous ways publishers and booksellers seek to show they are listening to the people at least in one month. Unfortunately, sometimes they can get it so wrong. Barnes and Noble and Penguin Random House believed the world was ready for classic white literature to have new diversity style covers…. PR Disaster.

As POC writers pointed out, they could have just highlighted or even published our books!

Elsewhere in the world, the Taipei bookfair has been postponed. This week more than half a million people would have been attending one of the largest literary events in the world. The New Publishing Standard points out that this will probably not be the only casualty to the Corona Virus.

London Book Fair is still on… and they are ‘amping up the profile of audio books and all things audio related at this year’s fair. Publishing Perspectives looks at what is on offer. They also have a report on how many Wattpad stories have been picked up for film, television and book deals.

Anne R Allen has a timely reminder that some readers will persist in believing that you wrote about their lives in your books. This is upsetting for everyone. How can you solve the problems when life imitates fiction?

Kris Rusch has been writing about optimism and the writer. This is a great read for the writer who maybe staring at the bank balance and wondering why we do this thing called writing.

Jami Gold looks at editing and life challenges and puts the two on the same level. An interesting shift in mindset here.

Iva Cheung beautifully demonstrated a problem, in comic form, that she is seeing in publishing houses. Many new editors have no idea what a style sheet is. Her comic does highlight a basic knowledge gap. For a dive into what style sheets are check out this post from Ruth Harris.

Two interesting posts caught my eye today on craft. James Scott Bell on the curse of expository dialogue and Copy Blogger and their tools for editing – take 3 highlighters. As I was reading this, I was reminded of P G Wodehouse’s style of editing. He would pin each page of the novel onto his study wall in rows. Good pages went to the top row. All the others would move up and down the rows depending on how much editing he thought they needed. He wouldn’t send a book off unless every single typewritten page was on the top row.

In The Craft Section, (Bookmark All of them!)

Mental illness- the character is not their disorder- Whataboutwriting-

Writing a genre that is new to you- Writer Unboxed 

The ultimate guide to creating characters- 1000 day MFA-Shaunta Grimes BOOKMARK

10 ways to write a better first chapter with specific word choices – K M Weiland

The art and craft of the elevator pitch – Ruth Harris 

In The Marketing Section,

Bookmarketing advice for new authors-Emilie Rabitoy

5 Book promotion tactics that work- Rachel Thompson

What Amazons Ads dashboard changes mean for authors- Bookmark

21 resources for creating audiobooks and podcasts – Sacha Black – Bookmark

To Finish,

Today is New Zealand’s commemoration day. We remember the treaty that was signed between two very different peoples in 1840 and the subsequent ups and downs of this relationship. We are really only now coming to terms with the legacy of injustice. Now, after 180 years, it will be compulsory to teach our own history in schools. Having studied a little bit of New Zealand history in university this is going to be a wake-up call to the general population. If you want a quick primer on what the treaty was about check out this fabulous graphic novelization that was made for children by Toby Morris.

Ina kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe I hea kei te mohio koe, 

kei te anga atu ki hea.

If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going.

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 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 : The 1834 Independence flag 

The Grapes Of Wrath

Another week in publishing… another meltdown in publishing. Hopefully this is not a sign of a new normal for 2020.

So what is it this time? 

The novel American Dirt got rave reviews pre-publication. The book was compared to a modern Grapes Of Wrath and so it has come to pass that wrath has been visited upon the author for writing a story of Latin immigration - without being Latin.

The furore has been public and vitriolic. The author has disappeared. The publisher has tried to calm the waters, not sure if he just poured petrol on the fire with this press release.

Publishers Weekly is reporting the cancellation of the book tour in favour of Town Hall style meetings about the book. Is all publicity really good? (Can’t help thinking this would be the classic author nightmare.)

* Just edited to add in this great post from Jami Gold -What Do the Calls For Diversity Mean For Our Writing

Meanwhile in other publishing threats, The White House is trying to pull a book because of revealed national secrets that may be in it. Anybody who is close to National government has to have their manuscripts approved for release. Apparently this one was… weeks ago…

Also in a banning frame of mind is Digital Book World. They have banned Macmillan from attending the Digital Book World conference because of the way they are treating libraries. Is this a publicity stunt, a highlighting of the Macmillan/ Library issue or the building of barricades for the revolution…

This week Lee and Low published their annual baseline survey on diversity in publishing. Is the publishing world hiring a more representative band of people?

Writer Beware has a new collection of scams hitting the newbies and its Pay To Play or in this case pay to get profiles on magazines… sadly Publishers Weekly may also be in this camp.

Jane Friedman has updated her guide to Writers Conferences so if you are thinking about attending one this year – take a look.

I came across two great posts on plotting this week. An oldie but a goodie from Chuck Wendig and Story Arcs from Write Practice.

In The Craft Section,

Creating believable characters

Story Structure – Heroes Journey- Karen Woodward- Bookmark

15 keys to writing dialogue – Ruth Harris – Bookmark 

7 rules to cliffhangers- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

How to write a mystery novel- Huge collection of links- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Unique content ideas for February- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Nates big list of promotion websites- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark lots!!

Jacketed case printing – Ingram Spark’s new shiny 2020 goodie!!

To Finish,

As I come across interesting publishing links during the week I pass them on to people who are working at the coalface of any issue currently of concern. Our NZ Society of Authors is having a battle over what copyright means with government advisors. This week Joanna Penn had an interview with Rebecca Giblin on the importance of contracts and what to watch out for in publishing clauses. The interview is well worth a listen for the breaking news that an AI has been granted copyright. 

2020 is going to be an interesting year.

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 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: Henry Fonda

2020, Ready or Not

It’s 2020… another year in the always fascinating world of publishing and writing beckons. So what happened over the Christmas break while everyone was supposed to be drinking eggnog and contemplating the end of one decade and the beginning of the next?

This time, just as the offices are shutting, is beloved by governments and organisations who want to get something controversial or sneaky out in the open, secure in the knowledge that when people find out it will be a done deal. Enter the Romance Writers Association of America with an edict censuring one its most prominent members just before Christmas. Unfortunately for them members were still active on Twitter on Christmas Eve. There was nowhere to hide as the biggest romance association publicly crumbled. The last month has been a public relations nightmare of epic proportions. For a comprehensive rundown on events as they unfolded read Jezebel and then read Jami Gold for her ideas on how to fix the mess. (Today RWA has appointed a new executive director so hopefully they will be looking at the other suggestions as well.)

Of course being the beginning of a new year the predictions are out for what might be coming down the track for authors and publishers.

Written Word Media have ten publishing trends for authors which makes interesting reading.

Joanna Penn and Orna Ross got together to look out into the next decade and see what is coming down the train track towards us. Forewarned means being prepared to surf the change instead of drowning in it.

Kris Rusch writes a careful post of what happens in an election year to sales of books. Like it or not, American news has a ripple effect on entertainment sales. (That’s us, BTW)

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware looked back over 2019 and the scams and shonky deals that proliferated. She warns that the old scam artists are up to their tricks again… so do yourself a favour and glance over the list of what to be aware of going into 2020.

What happens when the publisher and the fans don’t want you to stop writing a character? Lee Child has been trying to get rid of Reacher for a while… and this time he may have made it stick by handing it all over to his brother….

Last year Audible got taken to court by the big publishers over publishing captions for their audio books which was seen as ebook publishing by another way… So what happened in court… They settled.

Meanwhile the ongoing stoush between libraries and Macmillan is continuing. Macmillan stopped new releases to libraries as they claimed it hurt their sales. (Libraries have to pay very top dollar for the books.) Libraries responded. Who is hurting the most? 

Meanwhile in your New Year planning you should be looking at business plans says Jane Friedman. Janice Hardy cautions about making the same old self-publishing mistakes.

The 100 best writing websites have been rounded up again...

In The Craft Section,

Tips for writing multi POV distinct voices- Kathleen Barber

How to write a killer villain-Christina Kaye- Bookmark

Authentic dialogue – Chris Fox

Two different types of lie that your characters believe- KM Weiland - Bookmark

The lies you tell yourself when you should be writing- Leigh Shulman – Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

How much copy should you write on your homepage- Infographic- Barb Drozdowich- Bookmark

Content Marketing - David Gaughran – Bookmark

Sales techniques to help you sell more books- Joel Friedlander

Build a street team- Angela Ackerman

How to choose an agent among competing offers- Barbara Poelle

To Finish,

Anne R Allen takes a look at Bookbub and discovers it can be just like Goodreads only much nicer! Remember the days of writing a review and recommending books?

Get your 2020 off to a great start and write a review for someone’s book. Good karma awaits.

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 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.

Looking Back On The Last Year Of The Decade

My last weekly roundup for 2019 and I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and look at the last year of the decade in publishing. What were the big stories? 

January 

Mark Coker released his annual predictions for the upcoming year. How well did he do? 
Amazon released lock screen ads.
Kris Rusch talked about all the mergers and consolidations over the 2018/19 Christmas break... and lo what do I see in my inbox today, Pearson sells all their remaining shares in RandyPenguin.

February 

Kris Rusch wrote one of most standout posts for author learning. Understanding Intellectual Property. Read it again. 
Young Adult debut author Amelie Wen Zhao got a pile on for having slavery as part of her book and asked her publishers to pull it because of the backlash. This is what happens when you fall foul of an echo chamber. The influencers crying foul had not taken into account that other cultures also have suffered/continue to suffer, slavery- not just the US. Amelie released her book last month and it is doing well. She talked recently to NPR about the controversy in February.
Scams reared their ugly heads. Publishing scammers prey on the clueless. Always check in on Writer Beware- they have a search function. #copypastecris burst on the publishing landscape. At last count 85 books and counting. Nora Roberts promised vengeance was hers.

March

Bookbub got into Audio and announced Chirp in conjunction with Findaway Voices. They are aiming to promote audio and grow the Chirp audience just like the Bookbub ebook audience.
Creative resistance became a byword for March – Check out Chucks very good post on how to overcome it

April

In April I ticked over eleven years of writing the weekly blog. 
Writer Guild decided that suing Talent agencies over the shonky deals for screenwriters was a good idea.
The New Publishing Standard shone a light on what China is doing in publishing.
April is the month of the Bookfairs and Kris Rusch told us to have fun with our writing even when our critical voice is trying to derail us.

May

Ingram became the only distributor on the retail book block after Barker and Taylor threw in the towel.
Google Play decided to make things difficult for aggregators, authors now have to sign up directly. However, they don’t make that easy. Mailchimp wrecked their goodwill with authors and David Gaughran eviscerated them.

June

Barnes and Noble were sold to a Hedge Fund that owns UK chain Waterstones, their CEO, James Daunt, took over almost immediately. 
Sharjah Emirates opened a TAX FREE publishing city. 
Kris Rusch discovered licensing and completely changed thinking about her writing business.
Publishers changed their terms to libraries causing widespread consternation about ebook lending rates. Macmillan recently stopped their ebook availability to libraries. 
You never discover a new author at a library and then go out and buy all their books SAID NO ONE EVER!

July 

Joanna Penn rattled brains with her mega-post on how AI will change the publishing industry. Since she published this some of her predictions became true faster than she thought. Then it was all about saving money, making money and scamming money. Pearson switched to lending textbooks to students- cue overdue fines! And everywhere there are subscription services.

August

The world lost Toni Morrison. Dean Koontz signed with Amazon. Morality clauses started to be enforced against authors and Google Play increased its royalty rates. It’s still difficult to get into though. Leapfrog nations are where the money in publishing is.

September

The Medium article by Heather Demetrios on how to lose a third of a million dollars without trying dominated the month.  Dean Wesley Smith took clueless writers to task about learning the business. Chuck Wendig pointed out that the first job of a newbie author is to ASK QUESTIONS.

October

The prep month for NaNoWriMo. 
Mike Shatzkin published his list of how publishing will change in the next few years.  Everybody was talking about how exploiting your backlist was the next big thing and Are you hanging on to unexamined beliefs that are holding you back. 
New Zealand lost Jack Lasenby, one of our most-loved storytellers for children.

November 

NaNoWriMo hit along with one of the biggest Indie Authors conferences around 20 Books to 50k. Dean Wesley Smith’s keynote is a must-watch. 
Big Bad Wolf is getting bigger and bigger. There is a huge market for Engish language books in Asian countries. Ruth Harris looked at the publishing rollercoaster and how to stay sane. Just who is really listening to audiobooks? An untapped market awaits.

December

I leave you with the inspiring post from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. How To Build A  Roadmap To The Author Future You Want.

May you have a Blessed Christmas and a Peace Filled New Year 
See you in January.
Maureen
@craicer

Get in quick and subscribe to get my last newsletter of the year All the interesting craft and marketing links from 2019. 
When you 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.

‘Tis The Season

As we steam towards Christmas there is a slightly frantic feel in the air. Did you achieve all you set out to do this year? This week many posts were looking at time management or scheduling or just getting to grips with your To Do List. 

Picture yourself at the Writers Christmas party- let’s listen in to the top conversations around the buffet.

Kris Rusch has an interesting blog this week talking about expectations on yourself. Are you being realistic with your energy?

Scott Myers continues his ten part series on writing goals for 2020 – This week it’s time management.

Melodie Campbell talks with Anne R Allen on her blog on the three things you need to master to stay in this writing game.

Sabaa Tahir asked a bunch of authors what their best advice was to people just getting started in publishing.  Meanwhile K M Weiland pulled out a golden post which still has relevance- The 7 stages of being a writer.

Janice Hardy checks in with the agent dating game for those of you trying to find the right match. 

Max Booth is tired of the embarrassing things writers say… Are you guilty of uttering any of these…?

Publishing Perspectives shares a great Christmas Carol twist story for publishers and Nathan Hoffelder asks everyone if they know about the changes in ISBN’s coming in the new year.

It’s time to go back into your writing cave but before you do you check out this fabulous collection of weird and wonderful websites that Shayla Raquel has collected- A writers research bonanza.

In The Craft Section,

The lie your character believes- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Using the enneagram to write better characters- K M Weiland- Bookmark

10 pieces of advice every writer should ignore- Litreactor

How To Come Up With A Title- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

The one magic exercise every writer needs- Leigh Shulman

How to write captivating protagonists- TD Storm- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

10 myths and facts about publishing a book- Penny Sansevieri

Worlds Shortest Marketing Plan – Joel Friedlander

Develop your author social media strategy- Sandra Beckwith

Five self publishing mistakes you need to avoid- Stephen Spatz - Bookmark

Book Promotion 101- Bookbub- Bookmark!-

Write an awesome blog template- Bookworks - Bookmark

To Finish,

Tis the season to be… thinking about writer gifts. Every week since the start of December there has been a neat roundup of gifts you can give yourself… or tell your family to get you.

This week Lisa Tener has a nifty gift list and Jami Gold has a link to the great advent giveaway by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi as well as a great bunch of discounted resources for you to snap up ready for 2020.

Next week will be my last blog post for the year. It’s the end of the school year… Summer… and Christmas madness. I’ll be doing my Christmas roundup for my newsletter and then it’s feet up for a while. 

Maureen

@craicer

If you want a feast of links and a chance to be in my subscriber Christmas draw go on and subscribe to my monthly newsletter. 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, or an eggnog, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual love. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – The Office Christmas pun- Thad Zajdowicz

Gifts, Goals, and Global Domination

NaNoEdMo is here, otherwise known as December. Where has the year gone? 

This week my writing buddy commented that we need to take stock of our year and celebrate all we have achieved. How often do we sit back and say ‘I’ve worked hard and achieved some things and I deserve this pat on the back I’m giving myself?

So as we enter into the last month of the year and decade- if you are too shy to acknowledge your achievements, here is my message to you. You Have Done Well, Grasshopper!

In publishing news... 

Smashwords had quietly been innovating in the corner and yesterday they announced a new service- Pre-Sales (Not to be confused with  pre-orders) You get dedicated links to give to all your fans or promo for the length of time you need and you get their emails as well. And Smashwords wants to extend this to ANY creator. The New Publishing Standard took a deep dive into Mark Coker’s announcement of how it will all work.

Streetlib in its quest to be THE Global Bookstore has partnered with Kobo and Bookbeat to distribute audiobooks around the world. This makes sense in light of the recent article from The Times about Deloitte forecasting that 2020 will be the year that audio will outsell ebooks in the UK. 

Have you thought about 2020 and your publishing goals? While you reflect on your year over eggnog, spare a few thoughts for the coming one. Bookbaby has an interesting blog on how to plan for the future and Scott Myers from Go Into The Story has a whole series of posts designed for you to take a deep dive into goal setting.

Penny Sansevieri has a great post on 2020 marketing goals- don’t forget that marketing is also something to be planned. (Take note, Maureen.) Anne R Allen has a great post on blog commenting. Did you know it is a quick and easy way to get your name out there? Something to add to your personal branding goal planning.

And now for something completely different…

The Dream Team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have put together the Annual Writer’s Advent calendar. This is where you have the opportunity to enter in a different great giveaway every day… Go Forth And Be Of Good Cheer.

In The Craft Section,

Five of the most underused settings in SpecFic- Mythcreants -Bookmark

When to consider theme Amanda Bennet

Quick and Tidy tips to streamline editing- Insecure Writers Support Group- Bookmark

The secret to writing fascinating Villains- Laurence McNaughton- Bookmark

Creating Plot Twists- Janice Hardy

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri -5 creative ways to highlight your book reviews and

Holiday Book Sales Strategies- Bookmark Both!

Organic Facebook reach for Authors- Maggie Lynch- Bookmark

Audiobook Narration with Sean Pratt and Joanna Penn

Working with Babelcube for translation- Alli Blog

To Finish,

Tis the season to be thinking about cool writing gifts for yourself… or others. Every Year Jami Gold puts out the Ultimate Writers Gift Guide. And yes it really deserves the title. This is chock full of fabulous gifts. I swooned over the bookends alone….

Nathan Bransford has a different take on the Writer Gift list. This is more tongue in cheek and will appeal to those who like to give the off the wall gift.

Maureen

@craicer

I’m doing a roundup of the year for my last newsletter of the year so if you want a feast of links and a chance to be in my subscriber Christmas draw go on and 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, or an eggnog, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual love. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons Guilhem Vellut- keen eyed Kiwi’s will see some interesting added features to NZ on the Globe.

Using Other People's Words

In Publishing News this week…

Spare a thought for the Australian women who, with the best intentions, decided that picture books celebrating famous Rap artists and using their lyrics as examples was a good thing. The Guardian explains that Jay Z is not amused.

This week Keynotes from the Future Book conference have been talked about in Publishing Perspectives. Alex Fane explained how staging spoken word events with famous authors are now becoming big business. He is the guy behind all the advertising for Margaret Atwood’s series of talks here early next year. Is this the way of the future for author events? I’m wondering how the conference organisers feel.

Future Book also had a session on audio books. I found the statistics reported of how many and who listened to audio books startling. I never would have guessed 3 out of 4 young men listened to an audio book. Interesting news for publishers who have never looked at this brand demographic and thought that’s where the readers are…

Earlier this month Writer Beware had an interesting story about one of the richest short story prizes on the planet and the rights grab inside of it. I was shocked when I read it. I guess I thought The Times would have been above all that… 

Ruth Harris has a great blog post on the publishing rollercoaster. Are we prepared for failure because it will happen and what about all those good times. 

Kris Rusch has been busy speaking at conferences. She talked about the pursuit of perfection and how the road to finding your best work is long and slow. You are in it for the long haul aren’t you? Are you like Beyonce and constantly raising the bar?

Did you know that writers can lose their fingerprints…. The implications for thriller plots abound. Of course it was a thriller writer who discovered this. Sue Coletta talks about it on The Kilzone Blog.

What are the necessary evils to a novelists life? Writer Unboxed guest Jael McHenry came up with two that sparks fear in every heart. Hat tip if you guess them! 

In The Craft Section,

Weaving Story Threads together – Rosie- Danan- Bookmark

Crime writing tips- Books by Women

How to Ground and Hook your Readers- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

How to outline a non-fiction book that readers can’t put down- Joshua Lisec- Bookmark

How to tell if you are writing in deep point of view- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

4 steps for perfecting one page and long form synopsis-Writer Digest

In The Marketing Section,

5 ways to sell more books in 2020- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Survival Guide to Facebook for authors- Debbie Emmitt- Bookmark

How and Why to Market Yourself- DIYMFA

Book Promotion for the Holidays – Written Word Media - Bookmark

How to make and animated book cover- Positive Writer

To Finish

I think of Terry Pratchett every day and regret the fact that there will be no more great satire from his pen. It’s easy to do when you wander through my house and stumble over a Pratchett book in a pile or put down somewhere odd because the reader was interrupted. They never rest for long collected on a bookshelf. So reading this article on Terry’s writing advice felt like visiting again with a master storyteller.

The Librarian would be pleased. OOOK 

Maureen 

@craicer

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? Coming Soon to an inbox near you.

When you 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.