Are There Icebergs Ahead?

I sent out my newsletter yesterday, where I complained about the heat.
Sorry Northern Hemisphere writers. But while you are getting polar blasts we are getting
record breaking heat waves.- A sign of things to come.

Kris Rusch has been musing on signs of things to come and they make unhappy reading.
Based on Simon and Schuster’s end of year report from their happy CEO,
writers had better be understanding all the contracts that they sign.
THIS IS A MUST READ. (cue sirens, hooters and bells… if you don’t understand IP
then you really really need to read this.)

In news around the publishing blogosphere....
The Man group are pulling out of the MAN Booker Prize.
Hints and rumours are already suggesting they have a replacement sponsor.

Events on the near horizon… WriteOnCon!
Next weekend be prepared for the 3 day online Kidlit writers conference.
Every year I wonder how I can get away from the house and dive into all the goodies on offer
in an exclusive writing cave where I can binge watch presentations. Check out the schedule…
and the price is sooooooo  Cheeap!

Meanwhile in happier author news- Draft2Digital has rolled out a schedules promotion tool for authors.
If you drop the price on all outlets and then have to race round manually requesting a price drop this is for you.
You can check out the link here on The SPA Girls podcast page.
(This is a cracking good podcast for Indie authors.) Dan Wood of Draft2Digital was their guest this week.

Reedsy has a nifty blog with interesting articles.  If you are thinking about your 2019 goals take a look
at How To Start A Publishing Company then read Joanna Penn’s guest Bonnie Baguley on
Why authors should throw out their timeline to success. 

Shaunta Grimes has 25 habits that you must acquire if you want to be a writer.

Harper Glenn has an interesting post on Writer Unboxed- Are you tethered to the wrong story?
This is one of those posts that make sense of that niggly feeling when you open your word doc and frown.

Bang 2 Write has a great website on all things script for authors. This week they had a great article
on why lack of structure is killing your characters and a recent nifty one on Productivity.

Jami Gold has a great article on How Pantsers Develop Characters. If this is you- it’s a must read…

In The Craft Section,

Writing for an audiobook- Writer Unboxed- Juliet Marillier

Tension building elements for characters- Becca Puglisi and

Check out the Character motivations as well.

5 essentials for opening scenes- Mythcrants- Bookmark

All the fantasy character tropes- Reedsy Bookmark

Story Planning - which way is best -Jane Friedman- Bookmark

Writing a novel top editing tips - Joanna Penn

In The Marketing Section

How to setup and edit your Amazon author profile- Nate Hoffelder

How to create eye catching Bookbub ads- Insights- Bookmark

How to get Book Reviews- The Ultimate Manifesto- Archangelink-Bookmark

Using Microsoft Sway - WordDreams

How to check that your books fits accepted industry norms- IBPA- Bookmark

12 Book marketing tips- Marketing for Writers- Bookmark

How to reduce marketing anxiety and confusion- Publishers Weekly

To Finish

If you are looking at your Manuscript and wondering if it is an iceberg on which your writer boat might hit.
A few words of wisdom from Stephen King via Ruth Harris on Anne R Allen’s excellent blog
might be your life saver. The 10% rule and the secret power of …..

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, coming 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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee- hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic : Flickr Creative Commons Christopher Michel

Crimes or Opportunities

Down Under it is Summer and everyone is hunting shade or staring at unusual weather phenomena. This week in the publishing blogosphere many authors in the Northern Hemisphere were getting hot and bothered for a different reason.

Author Sherilyn Kenyon was in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. Reading like a plot from a novel, poor Sherilyn was in court as the victim of poisoning... in a crime of passion. Many writers wouldn’t have used this plot device because of the cliche nature... but in real life...

What do you call it when someone scans your book, creates a PDF, and shares it around?
What if that someone was a library?  Do the same rules apply? The library says no. They are sharing information. The Authors Guild and the Society of Authors (UK) say... Cease and desist or we bring in the lawyers. Who is in the right? This is an interesting case given that author incomes have been falling lately.

Hot on the heels of this story comes a timely post on Jane Friedman’s site from author and intellectual property lawyer, Brad Frazer about the Public Domain. Every year on January 1st new works enter the public domain... If you are hazy on what it means... read this very interesting post. (I’m off to find my Kahlil Gibran... there are some merch opportunities...)

Longtime readers will know how interested I am in co-operative publishing. I keep saying that the model is a smart way of working. Sri Lankan data science author, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, has a fascinating post on this popular publishing model (think James Patterson) and the increasing dominance of Indies in this area lately.

Two fabulous podcasts caught my ear this week. No surprises one of them was Joanna Penn interviewing Paul Jarvis on how to effectively be a Company of One. This is a great interview on being in business by yourself. The other was the latest episode from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marking podcast. If you haven’t caught any of their shows you are missing out. The team interviews great guests about real marketing ideas every week. This week they chatted among themselves about all the different tools they use (and why) to conduct their various author empires.

Jami Gold has a great post on the aftermath of the move to KDP from Createspace. If you were waiting for the dust to settle to find out what the problems are this is the post for you!

Kris Ruch continues her excellent series on what to watch out for in 2019. This week she turns her laser eyes onto all the recent mergers in publishing. There were a few that slipped in over the Christmas break that will be quietly unsettling the industry in the next few months.

Mike Shatzkin has been down under recently... (he wandered through my home town this week.) While down under he popped into Lightning Spark – Ingram's print on demand printer arm, to see what they were doing. Eyes were opened. Mike is a publishing futurist commentator. He has a few things to say about where publishing and POD might head in 2019 especially for Aussie and Kiwi publishers.

Rachel Thompson has a list of ten excellent books for writers... there are a few I haven’t heard of which look very interesting- however one book she missed was The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. (The book that started their publishing empire...) They have updated it. This is a great writing craft resource book. Jami Gold got her hands on an ARC and she is wowed with all the new updates!

In The Craft Section,

All about subplots!- Elizabeth Spann Craig – Bookmark!

What does your hero want? Michael Hauge- Bookmark

How do I get the main character involved with the plot?- Mythcrants

What to do when there is no bad guy- Janice Hardy

Courting the modern muse with Tarot- Writers In the Storm

In The Marketing Section,

7 steps to build your brand from scratch- KevinTumlinson- Bookmark

10 great strategies to monetise an author event- Janice Hardy-Bookmark

How to get going with mailchimp and email marketing and Pinterest for writers- Frances Caballo

Are you losing money on KDP Delivery fees- Bookmark

To Finish

Katie Davis has a guest post over on Anne R Allen’s blog about that terrible writer syndrome... Procrastination. This afflicts many writers and there are many causes of this terrible disease. Katie outlines some of the reasons why you might be suffering this and what to do about it. (Summer holidays anyone?)

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, coming 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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee- hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Benny 457

The Same But Different

Another New Year... Another set of Writing Relating Goals and Publishing Predictions... reach for the last of the New Year’s party wine. 

Last year predictions were that Audio would start to take off. – This year continues that prediction- we haven’t seen the end of the beginning of the explosion in audiobook sales...  AI technology is ramping up. Chuck in publishers making audio-only deals and everyone in publishing is starting to take note of the gold in them thar hills....

Mark Coker always has an interesting perspective on what the new publishing year might bring. He’s more often right than wrong so take a look at what he considers to be the big issues going forward.

Joanna Penn dashed down under to catch up with family but still had time to make sure that her great podcasts were ticking over. Two recent ones that are well worth checking out are Creative Goal setting trends for 2019 and a great interview on 21st-century lessons for a creative mindset with Mark McGuiness.

Agent Laurie Mclean has also dipped her toe into the prediction pond for this year. Her big message – people reading (and finishing) a book is declining... we must encourage the eco system of books if we want publishing to survive. 

Kris Rusch and her husband Dean Wesley Smith have seen too many new publishing years to count. Kris is doing a great series on planning for the New Year. The longer I have been watching this industry (coming up to 11 years soon) the more I value Kris and her insights into what is going on. Start with her Boxing day post – The Current State Of Disruption... follow up with Part Two- Sales ... Part Three - on libraries and Part Four- Audio

Over The Christmas Break...when everyone was recovering from Christmas dinner Amazon changed tack again. Gone are product display ads... and in are Lockscreen ads. As everyone is commenting it’s a pay to play world out there.

Also in the news was the highlighting of a new trolling behaviour that is targeting successful sellers on Amazon.  They target the reviews and tell Amazon that you paid for 5-star reviews... The Zon comes down with their big sledgehammer... meanwhile the originator of the false claim reaps rewards... It’s a long process to get back to square one.

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to get a handle on Social Media you are not alone, Fae Rowan writes about the pain she feels when she contemplates Social Media marketing. Drop into the Writers In The Storm Blog to join in the conversation.

Penny Sansevieri has decided that 2019 should be the year of the vlog. Writers need to get a handle on using digital media as search becomes increasing image driven. And it is so easy, says Penny....

Anne R Allen highlighted a tidy list of ... new writer scams for 2019. They don’t stop trolling for newbies as we hit another new year. If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know who to avoid and where to go to find out more... don’t forget to tell the newbies out there that there is heaps of information if they just search for it. Google is your friend. Typing ‘to-good-to-be -true-offer and scam in a search bar is the first thing they should do. Remember anyone who wants you to pay them to publish your book... tread really really carefully!

Keren David over at an awfully big blog adventure ( children’s writer's blog) throws down the gauntlet to publishers about diversity... getting out of London and seeing what’s happening in the smaller centers etc etc. She has a list of great things she thinks they should do this year... after all, it is 2019. Has anyone in publishing heard of Skype? 

In The Craft Section.

How to get emotion on the page- Lisa Cron-Bookmark
The different types of editing- Writer Unboxed
Resources for writers- June Takey- This is an all you can eat blog post Bookmark!
8 writing tools to get the words flowing
Setting up a kanban board to reach writing goals in 90 days. Organise and win at writing...

In The Marketing Section,

What to include in your marketing strategy
Follow these steps when you publish your first book
Bookbub ads- David Gaughran- Bookmark
Using Pinterest to market children’s books- Jane Friedman- Bookmark
Amazon Advertising for KDP authors in 2019- Chris McMullen

To Finish,

Over my summer break, I had some fun trying different dictation solutions. Google came out the clear winner with almost 100% accuracy... except for the lag in voice capture which meant I lost the beginning of every sentence. All the words it caught were 100% accurate tho. At the huge Consumer Electronics Show (CES) The big tech giants were showing off their snazzy voice everything applications... including translations.
In 2019 will we be able to dictate content and have it automatically translated including social media posts to become a truly global publishing consumer and provider... 
Fasten your seatbelts...  

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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee- hit the coffee button up top. Thanks. I appreciate the virtual coffee love.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Davity Dave

The Epic Roundup of 2018…

This will be my last post for 2018.
I’m having a few weeks off over Christmas. And it’s a day late too…. So what exciting things can I draw your attention to…
I thought I’d look back over the year and see what happened…

In January everyone was processing all the changes of 2017 and making predictions for 2018. Let’s see how they did. Joanna Penn had a list of coming tech trends for authors. Imposter syndrome- (Warning it’s from Chuck) and layoffs at Createspace had authors wondering what’s up?
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles 
The eyes have it- A fascinating look at how people view the Amazon buy page 
Katie Weiland’s fabulous infographic on Storytelling nuts and bolts.

In February
Scandal in the Children’s Lit community, Apple and Google playing with their book store fronts and the first inklings of how big Audio was going to get this year. Author Solutions has been pinged for predatory practices on newbie authors so much that their other name is shark. But did you know how many aliases they operate under?  
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles 
Killing Writer Perfectionism and Reverse Engineering Your Editorial Calendar

March was the month of… Death. With the deaths of Stephen Hawking, Ursula Le Guin and the news about Harper Lee’s estate… How prepared is your literary estate for after your death?
Findaway voices offer serious competition to Audible and writing podcasts – a source of information and creation for the modern writer., with serial novels. Don’t forget to stretch at your writing desk.
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles 
Seven strategies and Ninety-four tools to find readers 
Anne R Allen- Plot holes and Pot Holes

April had…my eleventh-year blogversary. Reviews disappearing left, right and center around the internet. The rise and rise of AI- Get Siri or Alexa to buy the books and then read them to your child. (I wouldn’t have predicted that eleven years ago!)
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from 
Larry Brooks- Everything you need to know about story structure and 
David Gaughran- Canva- the author Go To for graphics.

In May   
Literary Embezzlement, the demise of Kindle worlds and implications thereof and GDPR and what it means for authors were the huge talking points in May. Take control of your author business and sell direct. Responsible use of mailing lists is a must.
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from
Jami Gold - Why head hopping is lazy writing
SFF Marketing podcast- Cultivating a rabid fan base.

June followed up with Book Stuffing scandals and the implications for writers regarding copyright that Cockygate is highlighting. Patricia Cornwall jumps to Amazon and Writers and learned helplessness. Audio publishing- The next big thing!
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from
Jane Friedman’s guests this month.
What does it mean to write a scene that works and The psychology of Author Marketing

July… When agents are found to be crooked.#daniellesmith and other predators in publishing. Why the literature Nobel was not awarded. Author income surveys and Wattpad the new go-to source for publishers to find the next big thing.
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles 
Sell your books, not your soul
Procrastinating productively

In August Walmart and Kobo teemed up… Is there serious competition ahead for Amazon? Createspace was shut by Amazon in favour of Kindle Print – (They are still ironing out the problems of this move.) Audible, owned by Amazon, changed their contracts… not for the better. And remember Cockygate?
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from
Anne R Allen-Troubled Characters and their personality problems
Roz Morris- Building readership – a quiet rebellion

In September Bookstores were bought and sold. 
Contracts were contested and explored and Amazon put up the price of their Ads.. catching everyone on the hop. How will Brexit affect publishing? The days of nice booksellers are on the wane.
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from
Bookbub- The biggest Ad mistakes
Go Into The Story- Protagonist vs Nemesis

October saw… a global and future focus with the Future Book conference. Publishers are looking at Asia as their next big markets to tackle and you should be too. Blockchain in publishing was talked about as the next big change to negotiate. And everyone everywhere is looking into book serialisation either Audio or subscription streaming. October is also the month where you plan for NaNoWriMo.
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles from
Katie Weiland has a magical post about the power of language
Joanna Penn Interviewed Dave Chesson about keywords for Amazon ads.

November, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo…. Craft articles were the flavour of the month. In publishing news- Amazon changed their systems and glitched a whole lot of writers. Now you really need to advertise as the organic discovery writers used to be able to do has disappeared. Viral sensation The Scottish Granny elevated a children’s book from 7-year-old obscurity to marketing sensation. And China is hunting for children’s books. 
Standout Craft and Marketing Articles 
I guest posted over on Jami Gold’s blog on leveling up your craft learning.
70 plot twists and examples – Reedsy
Bookcover Zone - seriously addictive

And now we get to this week in December 
Publishers Weekly had an article on Hybrid publishers and how authors are redefining success and failure in publishing.
Nate Hoffelder comments on how often Publishing hit USA Today’s list of big job layoff’s in the last decade.
Bookmark worthy posts
Make your own book video trailers for free... 
Writing intuitively - September Fawkes
Writing beats and meaningful actions- Women on Writing

As I’ve rolled through the year’s blog posts I discovered that 2018 was the year of the book cover for me. I bought six and commissioned three. I finished Book Three in my Starlight series and discovered that I have to add another book to that series.  I launched the first two books in The Circus Quest Series. (On sale over Christmas if you need some great books for your child's new Tablet /eReader.) and I was part of the Judging team for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. (Waves Hi to the current crop of judges who will have their first onslaught of books about now!) It’s been a full 2018.

Have a safe and relaxing Christmas break filled with love, laughter, and great writerly thoughts.
I’ll see you back in mid-January 2019 with all those goal planning posts.

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 like the blog and want to shout me a Christmas coffee, hit the coffee button up top or Buy a Circus Quest Book for the creative quirky kid in your life.   

pic: Flickr Creative Commons Lindsaye Eyink

Are you giving books this Christmas?

If you want the industry to survive and thrive say Brazilian Publishers, you had better step up and buy some books. This plea from the publishers struck a chord with Booksellers everywhere reports the Guardian. Unfortunately Barnes and Noble seem to have missed that memo.

The FutureBook conference was held last week in London. Among the topics discussed were the rise and rise of Audiobooks, voice technology, and podcasts. Can we make publishing rival Netflix was the cry… With Google entering the audio market we could be seeing interesting times soon.

While you are contemplating the news from FutureBook, Richard Charkin was issuing a list of Don’ts to traditional publishers about 2019 in Publisher’s Weekly. If you read the two articles together you will have a fair idea of the state of play in the publishing world going into the new year.

While Joanna is down under, (Hope the weather in Auckland is nice Joanna!) she is continuing to put interesting articles on her blog. Here are the two latest that I found interesting. Money management for authors and Tips for keeping in a Creative Routine while on holiday.

WriterHQ also has an interesting article on how to stay motivated in the Summer holidays… Tip one- ignore kids and don’t do housework… Roz Morris also has a great blog post on staying in touch with your writing project while navigating your way through Christmas madness.

Jami Gold has a great post on writing rules- what rules? - We don’t need those stinkin’ rules and don't forget to check out the writing gift Advent calendar from Becca and Angela! 

Reedsy has started a podcast for writers. The focus is on writing craft. Bang2Write reinforces this focus on writing craft by taking issue with the words aspiring writer. (Remember to expunge the word aspiring from your vocabulary at your next Christmas party.)

This week was my last week running away to my creative happy space for the year. I love it because I’m not faced with laundry, dishes, phone calls, etc. (Everybody needs a creative happy space.) My writing buddy and I spent our last day for 2018 studying Suzanne Lakin’s posts on vision and strategy for 2019. These are well worth doing. Check out all the posts in the series and grab your planner. 

In The Craft Section,

Plotting on Notecards- AR Beckert

Lessons from a lost novel- K M Weiland

The pitfalls of writing a series- Gordon Long

Inciting incidents- Reedsy- Bookmark

The hero’s journey- Joseph Campbell- Bookmark

Writing technique- Euphonics- Bookmark

Taking character relationships to the next level- Mythcreants- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Visibility- Nicholas Erik- Bookmark

Nate’s big list of free and paid book promo sites- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

Twitter advertising infographic- Barb Drozdowich 

Bookbub ads- David Gaughran- Bookmark

Best Book Covers of 2018

14 Twitter apps/tools for writers- Frances Caballo

Indie Authors – empowered

To Finish,

The Christmas decorations are up everywhere you look. The sun is beating down!  It’s a struggle to get the kids out of bed in the last week of school. Let alone make sure all your present buying is done by then. Writer’s gift lists get updated
so you can buy for yourself... always a good idea. But Tara Sparling has the definitive article on what 
a writer really wants for Christmas.

Maureen
@craicer

My monthly newsletter will be hitting inboxes in the next few days. 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 like the blog and want to shout me a Christmas coffee, hit the coffee button up top or (Look Right) buy a book for your favourite 6+-year-old. My books are available in print and ebook- and you can feel good about buying books for Christmas.   Next week will be the last blog post for the year... 

All I want for Christmas is....

This week around the blogosphere articles about what to get the writer for Christmas were jostling with trends to watch in 2019. I just wish I was still in November. Every year December comes faster. Things I thought I would have finished by now still linger in the To Do pile. 

December is Na No Edit Mo. The time where you take stock of your NaNo project and give it some editing love. Anne R Allen has a list of Do’s and Don’ts to consider as you embark on editing your novel.   

Ingram must have an interesting To Do List for Christmas... Rumour has it that they are looking to buy Baker and Taylor- their competitor in the Book Distributor business. This could mean a jolly shake-up in the print book world for 2019.

Also making plans for 2019 Frankfurt Bookfair are introducing a new section – Rights trading for Book Tech  

Barnes and Noble are still hanging in there so the winds of change must be blowing snow down the back of their necks. Speculation that this Christmas book buying season could be the one that seals their fate.

It’s been ten years of The Creative Penn blog. I can’t imagine a blogosphere without her. We got started at the same time blogging. She has become a huge influence and a force in the indie world for her lay it all out approach. This week’s post on what ten years has taught her... a must read. I’m also keen to try dictation over the summer. Joanna has a great post on that too.

The fearless duo of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi always have great ideas of paying it forward in the author community. They are running an advent calendar style giveaway for authors. Check out their great prize draws.

Kris Rusch has an interesting blog post on generations this week. Do the older generation of writers fear or embrace the newer writers in their genre. Do the newer writers learn from or imitate the elders. When are you an elder...? 

Dutton are experimenting with book sizes. They are bringing out limited edition phone sized flip books... starting with John Green’s books – all aimed at the YA market. Just like a phone but in print...

Now Novel has two excellent articles on scenes and character. Every year or big project I choose an area of craft to focus on. 2019 is the year of the Scene for me and this article on Scene is just the perfect one to launch into a year of craft study. And the one on character is pretty good too. Over Summer I hope to play with dictation so this article from Joanna Penn on the best way to do it is a good start.

In The Craft Section,

How to cope with large casts of characters?- KM Weiland- Bookmark

Publishing trends/tropes

Beginnings and Backstory- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

The sample permissions letter- Jane Friedman- Bookmark

The pitfalls of self-editing- Writer Unboxed.

Do’s and Don’ts when creating villains Pt2- Kassandra Lamb- Bookmark

2 great posts from Go Into The Story- Learning the craft in 2019 and how to write one hour TV drama. Bookmark!

In The Marketing Section,

Two great posts from Penny Sansevieri- Marketing a book on Social Media 2019 and  Boost your pre-order strategies - Bookmark

What can authors get out of video content- Kevin Tumlinson- Bookmark

Top book blogs to build author brand – Dave Chesson

5 social media marketing trends to watch in 2019

How to process feedback

To Finish,

It’s the time of year when all the gift lists come out. For writers, there is always some new gadget or programme that might make writing the novel easier. Wearing Jane Austen socks and noise-canceling headphones while writing with a new rollerball pen on pristine paper in a beautifully embossed journal and sipping Writers Tear’s whiskey...Hmmmm Just needs chocolate and it would be perfect! Check out what other gifts you can ask for from these two writer’s gifts lists.

Maureen
@craicer

It’s nearly time for 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 like the blog and want to shout me a Christmas coffee, hit the coffee button up top.  I appreciate the virtual coffee love.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons/ Marita

Are You Chasing Literary Glory?

As we head into the last few days of NaNoWriMo… remember that December is 

Na No Edit Mo. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for getting to the end with something written! Take a break and check out some other stories… These are the ten best podcast fiction websites.

Writers Beware is a fantastic website that doubles as a consumer watchdog for writers. Worried about an agent? Think your contract maybe shonky? Check out Writer Beware. This week they have an interesting article about what happens when your agent or publisher files for bankruptcy. And yes this is very important. If you think you get your rights back....

While that is in your mind check out Kris Rusch’s latest blog where she talks about the Sears company. They have filed for bankruptcy. If you think it is not relevant to writers... read Kris and her examination of the Sears business model and how it has been the blueprint of other successful bookselling behemoths in the business world. What happens if Amazon fails? 

If you are wondering about whether a potential publisher or service is scammy... You can check them out on the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli) review. They have recently updated their A-Z list of publishing providers.

Mike Shatzkin always has his eye on what is happening or about to happen in publishing. In his latest blog he looks at the success of Lightning Source and the mind shift publishers need to make about just in time printing. Readers will be aware that the recent success of Wonky Donkey on the global stage 7 years after it was published illustrates perfectly what Mike is talking about. (Mike will be in NZ in January if anyone wants to catch up with him.)

Penny Sansevieri has leapt off the block with the first of the what to do in 2019 regarding book marketing. What is really interesting is how book marketing is changing and what worked in in the first half of 2018 isn’t working now. This is a must check out list of great ideas.

Dave Chesson has been busy doing guest blogs around the blogosphere. This week he popped up on Jane Friedman’s blog and wrote an interesting article on the SWOT analysis for writers. Have you ever looked at your writing this way? Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats...

Recently Joanna Penn interviewed Michael Brent Collings and it got writers talking about mental health and writing. Today I came across Michael’s ten steps to overnight success. This is one of those posts that is a must read (all the way to the end).

In The Craft Section,

Avoiding he said she said dialogue

Radical revision- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

How do we create realistic villains- Kassandra Lamb- Bookmark

The delicate art of character folding- Aerogramme Studio- Bookmark

Screenwriting and the need for original hooks- GoIntoTheStory

When your NaNo project is a hot mess-10 minute novelist- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Your book needs a presale period- Steven Spatz

How to make pretty facebook pages- David Gaughran- Bookmark

How improving your website sells more books- Book Designer- Bookmark

5 tips to rock your next open mic reading- Sarah Letourneau- Bookmark

How to write better marketing copy- Jane Friedman

5 Book Marketing myths- Rachel Thompson

To Finish,

The New York Review published this interesting article today. Is Literary Glory worth chasing? As you read it, you are struck with so many parallels about life today and the pressures of being a writer in the modern age. Which is pretty neat considering it was written in 1824.

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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee hit the Kofi button up top. 

Pic- couldn't resist when I saw it...

Are you part of the resistance?

Hands up if you have listened to a podcast lately.

Hands up if you have read a book or a long-form essay on your phone.

The rise and rise of audiobooks and podcasts are making traditional publishers sit up and take notice. Publishing trends reports on the voice first generation. With the rise in voice AI assistants such as Alexa and Siri able to take on audiobook narration, publishers need to be thinking about audio books first not last.

I was interested in an article this week from Publishing Perspectives about the rise in children’s publishing in China. This was an almost non-existent market fifteen years ago. In the usual China fashion when the behemoth makes a decision the market can change almost overnight and so it is with children’s publishing. Stop and think what an opportunity awaits the savvy entrepreneur who markets into their school system.

Mailchimp is a popular email newsletter provider. If you have ever subscribed to an email list chance are high that you have received it from Mailchimp. Many authors use their platform to send out newsletters. (myself included) Mailchimp has recently teamed up with Square to offer a point of sale shop on a landing page. For any author who has wondered about direct sales, this is an interesting development.

Staying with tech tools for writers- Dave Chesson has pulled together his favourites. There might be something in there for you.

Joanna Penn has an interesting article on 7 mistakes that Non-Fiction writers make. How do you know if your idea is a good one, is one of them? 

Kris Rusch has a great article on resistance. Are you getting in your own way when it comes to making a decision about projects? If you have ever second-guessed yourself or put writing projects away because someone else told you it wouldn’t fly... READ THIS ARTICLE! 

Anne R Allen has two great pieces of writing advice. Confessions of a slow writer... and  Stupid writing rules. They are both timely for NaNo and important just for the freedom to write without a nagging sense of doubt. Share them around with your writing groups.

In The Craft Section,

Can you put lyrics in your book- Bookbaby - Bookmark

Showing vs Telling, how do you choose- Jami Gold - Bookmark

What makes a good story - Now Novel- Bookmark

Finding your unique planning style – Megan Barnhard on Joanna Penn’s site-Bookmark

Writing the small town setting - Elizabeth Craig

Classic Story Structure- Jess Loury on Jane Friedman’s site

Resources for NaNoWriMo

Deliver critical backstory using setting

How to focus on writing right now.

How to power through the 30k slump

Don’t forget to check out the Storybundle Nano collection. There are some great books on offer here going very cheap!

In The Marketing Section,

How to throw a book launch party that’s not a waste of time- Bookbaby

8 tips to give a book talk like a pro- Bookbuzzr

Creating promo copy that works – Marcy Kennedy Bookmark

5 questions on book production and marketing- Joel Friedlander

Easy template for writing query letters- Debutanteball- Bookmark

KDP vs Ingram Spark Paperbacks- Bookmark

To Finish,

The first of the holiday gift lists for writers have appeared with Write Life first off the mark this year. As it’s Thanksgiving in the US there are lots of specials on hand for writers in the tech scene Nate Hoffelder has the list. 

If you relaxing after stuffing yourself... Take a look at this iconic Thanksgiving song by the master storyteller Arlo Guthrie. 

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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee hit the Kofi button up top.
Apologies for being late this week...

Pic Flickr Creative Commons – Paul VanDerWerf