Little Details

 

 

This week in publishing news

 

Subscription seems to be on everyone’s minds and not in a good way.

If you are in the Entertainment Business and writers are, you will have heard of the stoush between Neil Young and Spotify. Spotify refused to listen to complaints about Joe Rogan peddling covid misinformation. J R has a show that appeals to the male 25 + bracket and Spotify probably wants to stay in their good books. Neil Young took exception to this and pulled his music from the  Spotify site. Neil survived polio as a child but it left its mark so no one cares more than him about life-saving vaccines. Many musicians came out in support of Neil. 

However other musicians are caught between a rock and a hard place. If the biggest game in town is Spotify, can you afford not to be on it even though they pay appallingly? 

This goes to the heart of fixed-term pots of money for creators. The more creators, the less the slice of earnings available. Tiktok has just added a creator fund pool. Watch for things to get a bit   more dynamic in the Tiktok quarter. 

Recently, Mark Williams looked at the creator fund from Amazon which is the KU payout, and mused about similar issues. Subscription services may be the most contentious topic of 2022 for creatives.

 

Derek Murphy has flagged a potential problem with Amazon and the glitch in their sales reports and rank listings. If you are publishing on Amazon check it out it is getting a lot of comment.

If you haven’t tripped over to Creative Indie recently you really should. Besides interesting articles, Derek has some great free resources for writers.

 

Writer’s and Time management seem to be a theme this week around the blogosphere.

Zoe McCarthy has 5 great tips to keep all your writing-related tasks straight.

Kris Rusch muses on time management and when not to jump on shiny new things and Now Novel blog has a great article on writing rituals and how they can start good habits.

Penny Sansevieri has a great post on the best way to market books in 2022. This comes from her podcast which is short and full of great tips.

 

Congratulations Joanna Penn on achieving podcast number 600. It’s a phenomenal effort and shows the value of consistency as Joanna is one of the most trusted voices in the Indie Publishing World.

Litreactor has an article that made me laugh and then think – hmm why not? The top ten insane things no writer has done but maybe someone should.

 

Jane Friedman has some great guest posters on her site. This week Joe Ponepinto has an excellent post on using telling details to describe your characters.

 

In the Craft Section,

Identifying your characters fatal flaw- Becca Puglisi

Thirteen books for writers- Writer Unboxed

Backstory versus the past – Donald Maass- Bookmark

Strategies to incorporate agent/editor feedback- Good story company Bookmark

Creating a series bible- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

10 secrets to successful book marketing- Bookbaby

Free book promotions- Frances Caballo

 2 great posts from - Rachel Thomson Easy blog calendars and the best way to grow your social media following - Bookmark

7 ways to blow a media opportunity- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Unique marketing ideas for February- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Ruth Harris has a great post on clothes. Yes, choosing the right clothes for your characters can be a great insight into their personalities without you having to spell out all sorts of details. This is a fun read and a great insight into how little details can make the reader fall in love with your story.

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 or go here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

 

Bring Out The Whips

 

This week in publishing,

Publishing Perspectives reports on a great initiative by Poland to ensure artists get paid pensions and other benefits. Are we seeing the start of a movement to value artists with a Universal Basic Income? 

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has an interesting report from Brazil on the resilience of their publishing industry. They report a growth of 29% and Mark reports that these numbers are being reflected in other countries where they have committed to digital publishing along with traditional models. 

 

Traditional publishing relies on paper and printers being able to access ink and paper. The Bookseller reports a worrying trend. Publishers are noticing a hike in printing prices of almost 40%. It is coming down the track fast so if it hasn’t got to your publisher, it will soon. This tightening is going to see book prices rise, which will impact all other strands of the industry.

 

Jane Friedman has an interesting post on what film agents look for when they want to option a book for the screen. She shares information gleaned from an international panel she attended at Bologna.

The Alliance of Independent Authors has just put together a comprehensive article on how to negotiate an option agreement.

 

Kris Rusch has another post in her year in review where she looks at new tools that have popped up to help authors publish. She talks about the overwhelm that authors can face with all the ways you can publish now. You don’t have to do everything! But being aware of what’s out there is probably a good place to start.

 

William Hahn has an interesting guest post on Anne R Allen's blog this week dealing with Writers Block. Writers Block brings out the worst to ourselves. – How we beat ourselves up over our inability to write words can just prolong the agony. He has some great advice- and examples for how to diagnose the problem then treat it.

 

Writer Unboxed has a similar message from Kelsey Allagood – four ways to silence your inner comments section. This is the insidious little voice that sabotages you right when you don’t need it. 

 

It’s January and that means it is time to drop into the 12x12 picture book challenge. If you have been wanting to challenge yourself and write in this medium – Take a look.

Draft 2 Digital has 5 tools to help you reach your writing goals.

In The Craft Section,

Editing tips- Kristen Lamb

Do’s and Dont’s of story beginnings- Story Empire

Two halves of the inciting incident- K M Weiland - Bookmark

4 tips for writing trauma disclosure- Lisa Hall-Wilson - Bookmark

Writing magic in a real world setting- Liz Keller Whitehurst- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

3 image types to boost social media- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Reach more readers through guest posting- Joanna Penn

Using back matter to sell books- Bookbub- Bookmark

Cover design mistakes – DIYMFA- Bookmark

How to get more publicity- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Cory Doctorow has been vocal leader and advocate of using the internet for the freedom of information. He was part of the team that came up with Creative Commons licenses and has written popular books exploring digital literacy along with his technological thrillers. This week he wrote a warning to everyone who uses creative commons pictures about a new type of super predator who is exploiting a loophole in the creative commons license. The warning is serious and accordingly, I have begun to remove some of my blog pictures. I have always tried to source creative commons pictures and link back to the original site. Until the situation is clearer, I will just have a generic text picture on my weekly blog. Boring, I know. I feel for Cory – whom I’ve met, and how incensed he must be that his most excellent gift to the internet community is used in this way.

Meanwhile, I received an email today to say that cloned pages are alive and well and targeting major publishers here in NZ. See my September 2021 blog post about these scummy scammers.

 

Just imagine a picture of an old-time circus wild animal trainer as the heading picture this week.

Bring Out The Whips. 

 

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 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.

 

 

2022- Wrestling the year into submission

 

 

Annnnnd we are back for another year of watching the publishing industry shuffle through the interesting times we have been cursed with.

 

In Publishing News…

Authors win a global piracy lawsuit and get awarded damages of over $7million… Everybody is hoping that the judgment serves notice to book pirates that their time is up. The pirates were tried in abstentia and are somewhere in Ukraine. However, I guess it will continue to be a case of pirate whack-a-mole.

 

The growth of library eBook lending far exceeded everyone’s expectations when Overdrive, the biggest library eBook partner, published their annual review. Half a billion library ebook downloads show that eBook lending is here to stay.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard published two interesting articles recently. One on the upcoming Cairo International Bookfair where they are playing with hologram technology and books and another on the split nature of India’s publishing industry-  half of which is embracing digital and surviving, the other half … not so much.

 

The beginning of another year invites predictions of what we should expect from 2022.

Literary Agent, Laurie Mclean kicked off the new year with her predictions. Mergers, Unions and Work From Home will change the publishing marketplace. Streaming will change the reading space.

 

Written Word Media identified eight trends to watch in the coming year. As their business model helps writers advertise their books they focus on the big trends that will affect the writer bottom line- advertising will be going up. 

 

Over January Kristine Rusch continued writing her 2021 year in review. She has written six blogs on this topic as she looks back to how digital reading has been embraced in the pandemic years and how the publishing industry has been completely changed by it. In this week’s article she makes some bold predictions on how indie publishing will be changing the whole publishing industry going forward. It is well worth a read.

 

Penny Sansevieri examined global reading habits in 2021 and produced an interesting infographic that gives writers some markets to keep an eye on. She also has 22 awesome book marketing promotions and predictions for 2022.

 

Jane Friedman took a look at what were the big sellers in the children’s book industry and made some predictions for the upcoming year. She also has a great article on how to plan and host online author events.

 

If you want to start 2022 off with some writing craft books, StoryBundle has a great collection available for a limited time. It’s a pay what you want deal and there are some good books on offer. 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to ace the time skip in your story- DIYMFA

How to decide what story to write- Scott Myers

Best writing resources of 2021 from Now Novel- Bookmark

The role of causation and plot structure in literary fiction- Harrison Demchick

What are the 10 different types of stories- Joe Bunting- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to sell more books in 2022- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Book cover designers- Resource from The Creative Penn- Bookmark

Clever ideas to promote sequels and series-Bookbub

Choosing a book title in the e-age- Anne R Allen

5 social media trends to watch in 2022- Kris Maze

 

To Finish,

If you have been mulling over your goals for the year ahead and getting hopelessly confused or overwhelmed – Drop into the ALLI podcast to listen or read the transcript on how Orna Ross and Joanna Penn plan their upcoming years. Orna has a great phrase, Maker, Manager, Marketer. She splits her work and goals between all three. Or check out Elizabeth Craig’s great article on making mini plans and goals for the year.

This may help when you wrestle 2022 into a workable plan for yourself.

 

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: Flickr Creative Commons – RumpleTeaser

 

The Year That Was

The last post of 2021.

We made it. It was supposed to be better than 2020. There was a vaccine. Now a new variant is on the march. Make no hard and fast plans for 2022.

 

This week the posts that have caught my eye 

 

Joanna Penn’s great post on productivity and finding time to write. This is a post to reflect on as you make plans for 2022. Joanna is down under and soaking up the sun. *waves Hi*

 

Anne R Allen on taking all writing rules as guidelines. This is the post that reminds you not to stress about your work.- 

 

Kris Rusch – the 3^rd in her year in review posts. I was tempted to just put the link to her post in the middle of my page… and leave it at that. She says important things for you to think about for the writing publishing business going forward.- A must-read.

 

In the Craft Section,

A good article on dialogue- Writerswrite

 

In The Marketing Section, 

Bookbub posted their best articles from this year…

 

In the meantime here is my rundown of the year with interesting links for you.

 

Jogging through 2021 

 

In January Wattpad was sold to South Korean company Naver and a hedge fund bought Overdrive 

The Fabulous Spa Girls had tips on how to set goals for your writing year. 

Then we dropped into Michael Hyatt’s website to learn about SMARTER goals, to put them into place.

 

In February- Audiblegate…where Audible encouraged subscribers to return their listened to audiobooks for a credit which they clawed back from the author because it was a ‘returned book.’

David Farland warned about new contract terms in an interview with Joanna Penn. David mentioned in passing seeing contracts that asked for All formats existing now and to be invented. Deal Breaker Alert.

 

News: D2D is now offering Payment splitting for collaborators!

In March, Audio is big was the theme and about to get bigger. 

Dr. Suess had some books pulled from reprinting because of racist stereotyping. 

Tom Clancy’s estate discovers that they don’t own the rights to Jack Reacher due to a shocking contract signed early in Tom’s career. 

 

10 questions to help you set the stage- C S Lakin

How to market a book with smart planning- Penny Sansevieri

April- to be renamed Rest In Peace

Harper Collins bought Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

Beverly Cleary died aged 104 

Amazon Vella launched

#Disneymust pay launched- (who knew that buying companies also meant buying their assets and if it is royalties, also their obligations?)

 

Tips for dividing your story into chapters- 10 minute novelists

30 days of Social Media content Infographic- Barb Drozdowich

 

In May, The Book Designer, Joel Friedlander died (but his excellent templates live on.) 

Storytel partnered with Spotify- That’s the audio ears of Europe wrapped up and a warning that Spotify was on the audio hunt- price no object.

 Amazon responded and bought MGM- The Backlist of films is there to be exploited. (Just remember your backlist has value even if your publishers don’t exploit it. Get limited terms of use and get your rights back)

Joanna Penn interviewed Gail Carriger on the heroine’s journey and how it differs from the hero’s journey. This is a deep dive into craft and fascinating reading /listening.

June

Some second-hand book dealers felt sorry for writers and launched a scheme to get some of them paid when their books were on-sold. 

The Pandemic began the rise of the online bookstore, now everybody has one.

Japan jailed Book pirates.

What is an NFT? Joanna Penn took a deep dive to find out. 

Christie's auctioned an NFT from Tim Berners Lee of the original source code from his invention of the internet. It was for events like this that publishing contracts now contain legal clauses like ‘universal rights in all formats existing and to be invented.’ 

 

In July Amazon introduced A+ 

Overdrive bought Kanopy , a video streaming service for public and academic libraries.

And publishers paid eye-watering sums to grab books about the Trump presidency from the insiders.

 

Understanding the mirror moment- September Fawkes

 

A brilliant article on SEO for indie authors- Alliance of Independent Authors. 

 

August 

Subscription became the new go-to for academic publishers. 

Scammers discovered audiobooks. What you can do about it.

Authors behaved badly. – N.B. Remember nothing is ever off the record so if you don’t want it reported don’t say it.

 

Dave Chesson examined the A+ content blocks and has written a comprehensive article on how to get the best out of the new bells and whistles.

 

In September, the constant news item was the future of Bookfairs… will they ever be face to face again?

Scammers cloning author Facebook pages and destroying their social media.

Amazon offers Hardback format

AI voices start getting taken seriously. 

Netflix bought the Roald Dahl estate for $500M 

Supply chain woes start to bite. (A Local bookshop has just posted they got their September orders today, 3 days before Christmas)

 

Deanna Cabinian writes on the Time vs Productivity paradox for authors.

 

Should you sell your books from your website? Sandra Beckwith 

AudiO-ctober

Paul Simon released an audiobiography Like a documentary but audio-only. (Earlier in the year, I reported that Dolly Parton is working with James Patterson on a fiction book with a companion album.) 

Ireland is trialing a Guaranteed Basic Income for artists.

The American Department of Justice began suing Penguin Random House over acquiring Simon and Schuster citing their outsized influence on publishing and writers compensation if the deal goes ahead

Sacha Black on How to kill your side characters.

Joanna Penn’s primer on understanding Intellectual Property and the ways that authors need to use and exploit what they create to make money.

 

November

What is an NFT? The question was on everyone’s lips as they tried to make sense of it for writers. 

Kobo expanded its subscription service to Oz and NZ. 

Spotify bought Findaway (and life changed in the publishing audio sphere forever.)

Anne R Allen wrote a superb post on creativity wounds. The wounds you might not know you have. 

The literary calendar of 2022-  Sandra Beckwith

  

December

Where did the time go…  End-of-year reports show publishing is still making money but only in certain formats.

Viacom CBS partners with Wattpad and Webtoon.

Publishers paid out silly money to celebrities for books and watched those books tank badly.

 

And now I’m staggering gently to the couch for a lie-down and a cool drink. 

Have a safe and blessed Christmas season. I’m off until mid-January 

It’s summer…

 

Maureen

@craicer

  

The last newsletter for the year is going out soon with the best of, the best of my bookmarked links of the year and other goodies. 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  Christmas cheer hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate all virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: 

 

Drinks by Aperol Spritz

 

 

 

Remember When…

 

 

This week in publishing,

When you get to a certain age you notice that nostalgia becomes big entertainment business. *coughMarvelcomicsCough* Sometimes the reason for the reboot of these older entertainment properties is that the new executives are mining their childhood fads. The 90’s generation is getting its turn now. This week Vulture reports that Sweet Valley High is getting a TV show. The SVH books were written by ghostwriters back in the day. A popular choice for publishers who found a formula and pumped books out using a stable of writers to do it. This is why a backlist is so important. What if that small hit spawns a cult phenomenon?

 

Mark Williams at The New Publishing Standard has been looking at the Wattpad Webtoon moves as they partner with ViacomCBS and Paramount. Intellectual Property generated by Indie authors are up for grabs for new video streaming services as all the big entertainment companies try to copy Netflix. Soon everyone will be subscribed to an entertainment streaming service.

 

Meanwhile, Kickstarter sent out a press release this week announcing their move onto the blockchain to decentralise their operation.

 “As a first step, we’re supporting the development of an open-source protocol that will essentially create a decentralized version of Kickstarter’s core functionality. This will live on a public blockchain, and be available for collaborators, independent contributors, and even Kickstarter competitors, from all over the world to build upon, connect to, or use.”

This looks like bringing the blockchain more mainstream. Interesting times ahead for the creative and collaborative community.

 

Last week I mentioned the New York Times article on Publishers and their unrealistic expectations of profits from celebrity books. This week Passive Guy dived into the article and shared all the numbers. There are eye-watering hits that publishers are taking on these celebrities. However, getting the publishing deal could be just part of the merchandise income stream for these celebrities who might not be making much money from their main source of creativity. 

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has published their Year in Review. January seems so long ago. The publishing industry has grown despite Covid and supply issues. 

 

Kris Rusch continues her close look at the implications of various events in the publishing industry. She is now watching the widening of the ways between Traditional and Indie publishing. They are almost two completely different models now.

 

Tara Sparling is back on Anne R Allen’s blog with her annual funny Christmas story which pokes fun at the writer's life. This year visit Mr McGuffin’s Plot Device and Writer Unblocking Emporium where stirring events are taking place as characters complain about their stereotypes.

 

Writer Unboxed has a large group of great writers who contribute excellent articles on the craft of writing. This week Barbara Linn Probst has an excellent article on Trusting The Reader.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to make your character choices more difficult- Angela Ackerman – Bookmark

Common mistakes that pull readers out of stories Elizabeth Craig - Bookmark

How to develop a story idea- Now Novel- Bookmark

The future in stories- Jim Dempsey

8 scintillating rules for writing romance- Dana Isaacson-Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

How to build a platform when you have no idea what it means- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

3 ways to learn what your readers want- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Authors – Tiktok promo ideas- Bookbub- Bookmark

How will sharing book recommendations help me sell books- Shepherd for Authors

10 social media design tips – Infographic

 

To Finish,

We are moving into the last week before Christmas. The Writers Advent Calendar, organised by The Dream Team AKA Angela and Becca is on the last few days. If you haven’t checked it out – you can still put your name in the giveaways for some great prizes. 

 

Next week is the last blog post for the year. I’m ready to wave goodbye to 2021.

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter to go out, with the bumper edition of great links from the year. If you want to 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 eggnog for Christmas, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate all the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: 

 

Looking Back To Move Forward

 This week in Publishing news…

Most of the chatter this week seemed to center on a New York Times article about Publishers paying huge amounts to current celebrities and getting burned when their books don’t sell. That publishers were relying on the celebrity's social media following for sales seems to be shortsighted. Jane Friedman has a measured article in response to this craziness.

 

The Association of American Publishers released their last quarter snapshot. What do the numbers tell us? Publishing Perspectives takes the view that everything is in good heart and future sales look rosy. 

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard looked at the same snapshot and took issue with the eBook sales numbers being down. He breaks down the millions being made on untracked eBooks and suggests that AAP haven’t factored in subscription… a whole ‘nother beast.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed MichaelBrent Collings this week on writing book descriptions. It was interesting and informative. Do yourself a favour and listen or read the transcript.

 

Roz Morris has a great post on how to cope after getting a hefty developmental edit report.

This is not the time to run away and hide or drown your sorrows. Lots of good advice here.

 

Downunder- the end of the year is in sight. School finishes for Summer. It’s Christmas so there is a mad rush to clear the desk and prepare for the end of year review while in the midst of Christmas events. Kris Rusch is looking at her year in review. How was 2021 for you? We are in year two of the pandemic and instead of thinking the world will go back to how it was, maybe we need to look at a new normal.

 

Penny Sansevieri has an interesting post on the 10 keys to successful publishing. If you are putting ideas together for next year this might be a useful starting point.

 

Sometimes the end of the year brings pressure to complete all your writing tasks. It might not be good for your mental health. Writing and Wellness blog has a great article on when it is time to break the writing rules to boost your productivity.

 

Anne R Allen has a great post on the rule of three. Yes, every story no matter how small needs the rule of three.

 

 

In The Craft Section,

Editing – Redundancy quiz (12)- Kathy Steineman

Guide to Flash Fiction – Reedsy

2 great posts from Angela Ackerman- Bookmark Both- How to draw in the reader through character choices and How symbolism adds depth to the story

How to write great endings- Staci Troilo- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Best Apps and tools for writers- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Using magnets to attract readers- Terry Odell- Bookmark

2 interesting posts from Bookbub- Advertising Design Elements and Boosting revenue with audiobooks

How to launch your book and still have a life- Penny Sansevieri

 

To Finish

It’s the season of gift-giving or wracking your brains trying to figure out what to give others.

Here are two lists for you to study for gift-giving ideas for the writer.

13 unique gifts for writers, and Gifts for the work from home worker.

 

 

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: