Thursday, October 1, 2020

The Art of the Dare…


 

 

In The Publishing Blogosphere this week,

 

In rare book news today… The BBC reports on the find of year- The lost rare books that were stolen from an auction house. The heist was the stuff of spy movies.

 

How much do you know of the Romance Book Industry? If you asked the average reader, they might say not much. But do you know how big it is? Why don’t we hear about it? If it was on the stock exchange it would be as big as Apple…

 

Publishing Perspectives reported on an alliance between three nations, and opening up to anyone else, for a new green book consortium dedicated to the publishing industry supply chain. They intend to promote and publish books and events in the publishing industry to do with Climate Change. (Remember Climate Change?) This looks like an important stake in the ground for amplifying ethical practice and collaboration.

 

Mike Shatzkin took a deep dive into the interview BISG did with James Daunt on the plans he has for Barnes and Noble. Mike looks at what he did say but also what he didn’t and that should be more worrying. Has James missed a few important facts?

 

Recently Joanna Penn interviewed David Gaughran on her podcast. Any time these two get together is full of golden tips and ideas. Do yourself a favour and check out the interview. You can read the transcript here or listen to Dave’s Irish voice in the podcast.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard (Happy 3rd Birthday) has been writing a nifty series on global publishing for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Recently he wrote about the big global book distributors, Apple, Google Play, and Nook and their reach across the world. This week he turns his attention to the biggest global book player… Kobo. If you want to learn about publishing around the world, start with these articles.

 

Recently the talk was Amazon wanting to start a bookclub. It seems that these are becoming a virtual rage. A startup has launched a Bookclub which they are basing around the popular Masterclass model. Techcrunch took a look. 

 

Rachel Thompson has 5 strategies to help you squeeze more out of your writing time. 

 

In The Craft Section,

A hack for getting to the heart of your story- Sharon Bially


Writing the fight scene- David Farland


Inciting incidents and climactic moments – K M Weiland – Bookmark


Image tips- Angela Ackerman – Bookmark


Climax and tension- H R D'Costa


Writing Flash fiction with a twist- Charles Stross- Bookmark


How to write a plot twist- Reedsy video - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Create content in less time- Sabrina Ricci


Updating your cover 101- Melinda Van Lone


Author branding Secrets and October content ideas- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark both


Plan for publishing success- Orna Ross- Bookmark


How to get reader reviews – Anne Meick


How to do honest and legal giveaways- Chrys Fey- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Dean Wesley Smith has been writing for years. He has done everything you can think of in publishing, so he has a wealth of experience. He is most known amongst writers for his writing in the dark, style of writing, which many find useful. Here he shares his secret to why he is so prolific- Dare To Be Bad.

 

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 – M01229

 

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Ear Wars

 


In the publishing blogosphere...


This week Mark Williams from The New Publishing Standard shone a light on a new move from Amazon. Audible launched an unlimited audiobook subscription in Spain. This looks like a big test of audio subscription and the beginning of subscription wars in audiobooks.

Amazon is also making moves on the podcasting front – adding podcasts to Amazon music.

 

Cory Doctorow is an astute observer of the tech space and an award-winning writer of cyberpunk and surveillance novels. Over the years he has been a high profile anti DRM campaigner. He is holding a kick-starter to get enough money to independently produce the third audiobook in the Little Brother series away from the Amazon system. Kickstarter profiled why he is taking on a corporate monopoly. 

 

Jane Friedman is an astute observer of the publishing ecosystem. This week she published two in-depth articles looking at the publishing printers supply chain and Amazon’s increasing power in the bookselling market across the world.

If you were wondering when your printed book might show up or why Random Penguin is acquiring other publishers, check out these articles.

 

Publish Drive – EBook distributors to the rest of the world, have looked at what the best selling genres were in August across the world. Do we all read the same books in times of crisis?

 

The New Statesman has taken a close look at Goodreads and wonders whether the time is ready for some disruption here. Does Goodreads even do what it says it should on the box?

 

If you need a shiny landing page, without a website attached, check out Carrd. They offer a neat website page that you can customise for free. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Discipline vs Enthusiasm- K M Weiland


Struggling through the first draft- Heather Webb


The power of facial expressions- Almost an author


Tips for the historical writer- Sue Coletta- Bookmark


Setting elements- Now Novel – Bookmark


How to write a kissing scene- Ride the pen - Bookmark


Ten editing tricks to make your writing better- Gabino Iglesias

 

In The Marketing Section,

Email marketing – Miblart- Bookmark


Selling kindle books internationally – Dave Chesson- Bookmark


The power of author collaborations- Sandra Beckwith


No excuse for not knowing where your books sits- Nathan Bransford


Going against the flow -reflowable book layouts- The Book Designer


30 scary author website mistakes- Pauline Wiles

 

To Finish,

With the fight for our ears going on in the publishing world I thought I might share the podcasts I listen to fairly regularly on the publishing business and other tricks and tips to do with writing and marketing. These podcasts are published weekly. 

The Creative Penn. (The BEST!)

The Self Publishing show. (NB: Mark Dawson’s self publishing 101 course is now open.)

6Figure author. (Jam Packed Tips!)

The SPA girls.  (Brilliant Kiwi Indie Romance Writers)

The Sell More Books Show. (News and Tips)


I also drop into Alliance of Independent Authors and Stirling and Stone every now and then and visit great writing podcasts like - Sacha Black and Mur Lafferty.

There is a writing podcast for everyone....


Grab your headphones!

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. 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- Jeremy Segrott

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