Thursday, October 29, 2020

Discoverability




 

This week in Publishing News…

Europe has been hit with another round of business closures as the country shuts down again in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. In France, the publishers are pleading with the government not to close the bookstores because it will affect the cultural life of the population. 

The Guardian reports that in the UK – online library lending was up. Apparently, everyone was turning to fiction to cope with isolation.

 

One bookstore has seen the need to give shoppers the bookstore experience while they send them to their online store. You can take a tour of the bookstore to get your virtual fix of bookstore love… It makes me want to visit this bookstore in person… what a great shop!

 

Staying with visibility in the marketplace Vietnamese publisher Ehomebooks has introduced a new global children’s book prize for an unpublished manuscript. They want to share the love with illustrators and authors who are trying to break into the industry.

 

For some publishers who thought the sky was falling six months ago… their balance sheets are not reflecting this. Bloomsbury (saved by Harry Potter in the ’90s) has seen a huge boost to their ebooks sales. Who knew there was money in them thar digital books? But interestingly the profits have spilled over to print as well.

 

Audiobooks continue to look like the next stealth battleground amongst publishers. Podcast sites (and their ability to host audiobook content) are being moved on by the likes of Spotify but this week another player entered the podcast market. IHeartMedia is bringing its considerable heft to publishers with a seismic shakeup according to The New Publishing Standard.

 

Kristine Rusch has part 3 in her series on discoverability in this new weird world we are finding ourselves in. She has a great article about thinking outside your writerly box and writing what you want to write because the publishing landscape will never go back to the way it was before. If you have been stuck in a niche now could be the time to break out. 

 

Over at Jane Freidman’s blog, Susan DeFreitas writes about what publication means. It is a great post on the wisdom of writing for yourself and the discovery that when you started on the publishing journey the core reason to do this hard, challenging, fascinating, drudgery… is the yearning to be seen.

 

Reedsy has an interesting post on Freytag’s Pyramid 5 Act Structure of the story… another way of tackling the first draft. 

 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to improve a story with action beats- Jami Gold- Bookmark


Developing an idea- Roz Morris- Bookmark


How to raise the stakes in your story- NY Book editors


Multiple points of view- Reedsy- Bookmark


Five writing mistakes- Krystal Craiker


5 ways to make your character hate you – Janice Hardy- Bookmark


In The Marketing Section,

How to find your books target audience- Miblart


5 most common mistakes in book cover design- Written Word Media- Bookmark


Favourite author marketing tools- Judith Briles- Bookmark


Maximising your author central page and 

November Unique content ideas – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

I came across this interesting post by K M Weiland today- On how your age affects your writing. As I was reading I was reflecting on the issues that I was interested in way back twenty-plus years ago when I started taking my writing seriously (said to myself), and what I am interested in now. Yes, your age and life stage does affect how you think about writing, and also the topics you tend to gnaw on as you write. Always keep learning about this frustrating, challenging, creative, business. 

 

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.

 

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Thursday, October 22, 2020

Book Identity Crisis



This week John Scalzi turned his blog over to an Icelandic writer who wrote an article about the difficulties of translating his own work. You might think it is just a standard article on translation but Alexander Vilhajalmsson was translating from old Icelandic, made up Icelandic, and new Icelandic fantasy ideas. So why am I linking to it? I was thinking about the shrinking globe effect. Bestsellers get translated and have a whole new life. Publishing houses get swallowed up by global behemoths. How does a writer stand out in a global entertainment industry? By being your authentic self apparently. 

 

Kris Rusch has the second part of her post Writing in the 21st Century- Find your own voice… carve your own path. This is a great post about giving yourself the power to run your business your way

 

All we can know about the future of book publishing is that it won’t look the same as now.

The recession is starting to bite in publishing land. News is trickling out that Macmillan is closing their children’s imprint. Mike Shatzkin takes a look at the rumours of Penguin Random House buying Simon and Schuster- What does this mean for the shrinking trade market? How much power is in the back list? Is this the end of general trade publishing?

 

A few weeks ago, I had an article about Spotify possibly moving into the audiobook space. So here is another stealthy move by them… commentary on your playlists. I was thinking hmm how can authors use this as a marketing idea?

 

Written Word Media has a report on how reading has changed in the Covid months. (I was about to write Covid years- sigh-looking into the future) This is an interesting look at what genres got read the most. WWM run Free Booksy and Bargain Booksy Newsletters so they have a lot of data at their fingertips.

 

If you are worried about podcasts cannibalising your audiobooks – don’t be. Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard tells why they are mutually reinforcing factors for good.

 

Paul Dinas has an interesting article on the worth of freelance editors… (Worth their weight in gold) however he ties this to the changing acquisition structures of the big publishers. Will an editor even edit your book if they accept it?

 

Ten essential tips to eliminate distractions from your writing. (A great checklist for organizing your writing time)

 

The fabulous duo of Angela and Becca have made their collection of images and tips available for NaNoWriMo so check out this fantastic resource. Don’t forget the Storybundle of Nano books. All the authors get paid and so does charity.

 

In The Craft Section,

Compassion fatigue is it relevant for your characters?- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark


Writing Synopses and trimming words- Linda Clare- Bookmark


Learning from mistakes made by big writers- Bonnie Randall


Motivation and the writing life- Elizabeth S Craig


Writing Tools for NaNoWriMo- Angela Ackerman BOOKMARK


7 ways to disguise a didn’t see it coming plot twist- Cutsceneaddict


 

In The Marketing Section,

How Can I promote my book for free- David Kudler


Author platforms – Learn from the kids- Michelle Melton Cox- Bookmark


7 mistakes to avoid when promoting on Social Media - Shayla Raquel



Smash through creative blocks- Angela And Becca 


How to Write a killer Amazon bio and Seeing the good in a Goodreads giveaway- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark both


Consider translating your work- Angela Ackerman

 

To Finish,

Recently Netcredit decided to gather the most popular books from each country into a list so that while you were stuck at home you could read around the world. It is an interesting list full of country defining books- Thornbirds anyone? Not sure I agree with the NZ one tho. I’m happy to take suggestions for the book that defines our country. Overseas readers check out your country’s suggested books Do you agree?

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. Why not subscribe and 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 – Joe Shlabotnik

 

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