Striving for Gold

This week the news is all about some big sporting event... meanwhile in publishing...

Mike Shatzkin was interviewed recently by Teleread and they asked him to make some predictions for the future. Mike believes that the biggest changes have already happened in publishing but he did have five events that if they happened would be just as big a game changer as the Kindle.

Jane Friedman has written two excellent posts on using pop-ups on websites. I hate them but apparently they work. Jane comes from the same viewpoint but she has delved into why they work and what her experience of using them is. A very interesting examination of a modern website feature.

Bob Mayer has a pair of interesting articles on why he thinks publishing hasn’t plateaued and what he thinks authors can do to thrive in publishing now. Niche is where it is at. Carve out your spot.

Mediashift have an interesting article on bringing in Beta readers much earlier in the publishing process. They are trying to eliminate the reason why books don’t earn out.  What do readers want to read? Then commission the book. They decided to give it a go with kid’s books. Do kids want to read about Vampire Cinderella? (Start with the cover and then write the book to go with it. Advice I have heard from the SP podcast guys.)

The Alli Blog has some great articles so have a trawl around when you stop off to read this little gem on short print runs and why they can be very valuable.

In The Craft Section,

Recently I had to do a novel synopsis in a hurry. Here are two excellent resources to Bookmark

Jane Friedman – Novel synopsis. and How to write a novel synopsis from Glen Strathy.

The single best way to write powerful themes- K M Weiland Bookmark

5 great writing tips from J K Rowling – Now Novel

How to write from the opposite genders point of view

12 questions to ask your character about the setting they are in- C S Lakin-Bookmark

What is arch plot and classic design- Ingrid Sundberg- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Facebook ads that reach niche readers

Elizabeth Spann on preorders

4 things you need to know about Hybrid publishing

Molly Greene on going wide in sales

10 low cost ways to market your book

Why you need to learn to create visuals for marketing- Rachel Thompson

To Finish,

The Olympics... you can’t get away from them in a sports mad country. As they are happening overnight for us a lot of people are bleary eyed in the morning here. Joanna Penn pulled out a piece she wrote when she was in the thick of the Olympics in London. It’s still relevant for authors. Ten things the Olympics can teach writers.

Maureen

@craicer

Get a selection of the months best links and other gold medal extras when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Waiting For The Sun

This week I attended the NZ Children’s Book Awards. As in recent years Indie publishers were 25% of the finalists and winners. Some of the small publishers from a few years ago are growing, which is good news. This year’s winners came from a group of writers who have consistently produced great work but have never won big awards. We all celebrate their moment in the sun.

I have been thinking about stickability, especially from the writers that keep producing good work year after year. They barely make a living yet they still keep writing and contributing their time to the writing community. All of the winners of the children’s book awards this year exemplify this. Finalists have to take unpaid time off work to visit schools and libraries as part of an awards roadshow. Kristen Lamb has a great article on embracing the grind. Ann Kroeker also has a wonderful article about writers seeing the 3D sound effects movie in their heads and the feelings when this translates as 2D flatness of their writing.

We’ve all been there. We are there still. Someday we will crack it!

Chuck Wendig wrote an interesting blog post this week, 25 reasons why I put down your book. This is a great list to remind authors that first and foremost you have to entertain the reader. (Warning it is Chuck so be prepared!)

From the writers point of view sometimes things can get a little dicey in your head. Stuart Nadler has written a moving tribute to all the characters he has killed off who haunt him still. Every writer has struggled with their conscience as they killed off a character... but sometimes the ghosts live on....

Writer Unboxed had an interesting article from Jo Eberhardt that garnered over 290 comments. The problem of female protagonists. If you look at your bookshelves how many of your books have Female protagonists or are written by women? Jo highlights recent research into the myth that we are writing gender balanced books. A very interesting read.

Jane Friedman has an interview with two literary agents on hybrid authors and how they can navigate their way in the publishing world.

David Gaughran reminds all authors to research who you are working with and go in eyes wide open.

In The Craft Section, (A fabulous list today)

13 ways to add depth to your novel- Victoria Mixon- Bookmark

How your characters failures are a recipe for self growth- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Choosing your antagonist- Blood Red Pencil- Bookmark

How to write a synopsis- Bookmark

How writers can stretch their creativity- CS Lakin- Bookmark

When Theme smothers premise- Larry Brooks- Bookmark

How to write stronger characters- SheNovel- Bookmark

Sequel scenes- K M Weiland - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section

Do Indies have to do print- Digital Reader

7 tips for blog traffic- Anne R Allen – Bookmark

Marketing a book after the buzz dies down- Bookbub

Tips for branding your book series- Book marketing tools – Bookmark

How I launched my book and sold 20K copies- Daniel Arenson- Bookmark

2 Goodreads features – Frances Caballo

Indie publishing paths- Janice Hardy

To Finish

Angela Ackerman has written a fabulous article on influencers. How to find them, what they can do for you and more importantly what you can do for them. This is a must read! All authors need that helping hand... and big mouth to spread the news about your latest book.

You can’t rely on winning an award right off the bat. It takes years of crafting relationships and being prepared for the long haul before  the sun comes out. Then it will feel absolutely blinding if the reaction from one of my friends who won this week is anything to go by.

Maureen

@craicer

Get a selection of the months best links and other interesting extras when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

 Pic From Flickr/ Creative Commons/ John Taylor

You thought I was going to post a picture of the sun.... hehehe. TA DA!

From Space.com

Living To Write

Some weeks in the publishing blogosphere the focus seems to be all on one particular topic.

This week everywhere I turned it was on writing craft.

The Atlantic put out a story about a computer analysing 2000 stories and coming up with the six main arcs of storytelling. The most popular one involving a glass slipper. This is an interesting read.

Then Neil Gaiman’s advice to authors popped up all over my Twitter feed. Neil has cult status out in publishing land but hasn’t made it onto the bestseller list for the worlds richest authors (who are making a tidy sum off kids books and movies.)

Now Novel had a great post on writing advice from Nobel prize winners. You can’t beat that for excellent craft advice. (And then a whole lot of great craft articles went into my Craft Section.)

Joanna Penn had a fabulous interview with Ellen Bard on writer self care. This is a must read as every author I know can relate to this. As the weather has turned super cold here, looking after your self and your mental health is timely.

Teleread has an interesting article on Amazon Author accounts and how to make sure that Amazon doesn’t close you down over something trivial.

Joel Friedlander has an interesting article by Judith Briales on Book Piracy. Judith has a list of things you can do if your book ends up on a nasty site.

The biggest children’s writers and illustrators conference is over for another year and a good time was had by all. Those of us who live vicariously through the SCBWI LA16 Conference blog have got some excellent reading ahead with quick outtakes from every session.

In The Craft Section,

Agent Kristen Nelson continues her series on 9 story openings to avoid

Janice Hardy- On putting your five senses in. - Bookmark

Jami Gold- When is a shocking scene necessary or gratuitous- Bookmark

Roz Morris- You know what your book means but does your reader?- Bookmark

Two standout posts from KM Weiland on structure- What the mouse can teach you and Don’t make 

this structural mistake- Bookmark both.

How to evoke wonder in your writing- Writer Unboxed – Bookmark

Abbi Geni On using description in your settings- Bookmark

From the Writers helping Writers website- a comprehensive list of writer tools- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section

7 marketing trends that no longer work and what you can do instead- Penny Sansevieri Bookmark

How to market the 99c ebook sale – Molly Greene

The best ways to use Amazon Giveaways

How to get more traffic on your author website

The latest Facebook changes and what they mean for authors

To Finish,

Jane Friedman has a guest post from Jessica Strawser on 5 ways to keep writing when life intervenes. This is one of those thought provoking articles where you reflect on your writing life and think about your writing goals. Are they pushing you over the edge or keeping you from falling.

Maureen

@craicer

Get a selection of the months best links and other extras when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Pic from Flickr /Creative Commons/Killa Bea

Playing Nicely In The Trenches

Today my Twitter feed exploded with agents who were appalled at a blog post written by a disgruntled author. Agents don’t talk about the abusive letters they get from rejected authors. But to write an abusive blog post naming the agent and pouring scorn on her was not a good idea for this writer’s career. 

You should play nicely online. The internet is long on remembering and unforgiving. Agents do search you online and on Social Media. If you get a rejection, wail in your own home over a wine. DON’T wail all over the internet!

Joanna Penn has worked hard at her self publishing business. She has fans all over the world for her podcasts and her books and her willingness to answer questions and experiment. Today she posted a tech survey of the tools she uses. A very interesting post.

 James Scott Bell asked the big question. Why do you want to be a writer?

This is a great blog post to sit with and maybe ask yourself. Then take note of the answer.

Publishing Perspectives takes a look at the publishing franchise of Bourne. How did they select writers to carry on the Ludlum legacy? It has to do with love...

Kris Rusch has another brilliant post on contract snags in her deal breakers series. This week it is on definitions. If you thought you knew what the terms meant, think again. This is a comprehensive post looking at Net royalties, time limits and other dastardly goodies.

Staying on Contracts, Susan Spann (lawyer and writer) has a must read post on short contracts. That’s when the publisher does you a ‘favour’ and sends a 3 page contract instead of a 30 page contract because you don’t really need much more than that. Just don’t worry your little writer head about those rights clauses....

In the Craft Section,

Turn on your creative spark with a different point of view

8 must read writing craft books (I have most of these and agree)

10 tips for writing in different styles - Now Novel

How to condense your writing without losing anything- Ava Jae -Bookmark

Creating layered characters- Jami Gold – Bookmark

How to write your villain scenes- Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

29 ways to sell more books

A hobbits guide to launching your book- Writer Unboxed

What do your analytics reveal about your readers- Frances Caballo - Bookmark

The definition of an author platform- Jane Friedman- Bookmark

Industry insights from RWA 16- Jami Gold

How to make the most of Goodreads- Rachel Thompson

Explode your following by doing these 7 things- Jen Blanchard- Bookmark

Website of The Week

Bookriot always has interesting posts and a ton of information all over their site. Recently they collected together a list of great writer podcasts. 

If you like to listen to podcasts while exercising or doing chores check these out. (You can hear the latest Writer’s Island podcast if you click on the tropical island pic in the side bar.)

To Finish,

If you are a writer you get used to rejection. Writing is subjective so not everybody will love what you bled onto the page. J K Rowling mega writing superstar that she is (with another Potter book out this week) decided to show some of her recent rejection letters. It does give hope to the rest of us bleeding in the trenches.

Maureen

@craicer

 Get a selection of the months best links and other ephemera when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Pic from Flickr/ Creative Commons/ Oran Viriyincy

Socially Speaking

This week I’ve been thinking about social media, mostly because I’m away from it, visiting family. Every now and again it is good to get out and meet people face to face whom you only spend time with on Social Media. Shared laughter and hugs stay with you longer than emoji’s. And often the gossip is better in person.

When you spend a lot of time on line sometimes you forget to take a step back and figure out the best use of your time on line. Molly Greene has a great list of 45 ways that you may be sabotaging yourself on Social Media.

Back ups... Back Ups... Back ups...

There are so many ways to lose everything. If you are storing your work online make sure you have a copy off line too. Google just took 14 years of an artists work in an accidental deletion. Please read the comments - it could be you!

Think Longterm. Create a Body of Work. This is a key chapter in Joanna Penn’s latest non fiction book, The Successful Author Mindset. Joanna shares this chapter on her blog this week. It Is Gold!

Jane Friedman has an interesting guest blog this week from Gabriela Pereira about the value of an MFA. This is always an author discussion point. Do you need an MFA to be a writer? Genre writers say NO BUT.... Read this excellent article on the myths and realities.

Catherine Ryan Howard has just had a successful book launch of her first traditionally published book. But the second book deadline is looming up... and Catherine found it difficult to focus. This is a very honest look at how fear of the second book can hold us back. How to write a novel when you’ve forgotten how.

Janice Hardy is an absolute treasure. She always has solid advice for writers. It is rare for me not to link to some gem of hers every week. She has a great blog post on writing accountability. This is a great way to progress your projects...

In The Craft Section,

How to work on more than one book at a time- James Scott Bell

Checklist for critiquing a novel and 7 quick ways to whip your novel into shape - C S Lakin -Bookmark Both!

Writing Character thoughts- Darcy Pattison- Bookmark

Plotting with the Heroes Journey- Janice Hardy

Query Letters – The Pitch- Writer Unboxed

15 Character creation tips- Now Novel - Bookmark

The burden of knowledge- or how to get your thoughts on the page- Jennie Nash-Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

The basics of Print Interior Design- Janice Hardy

6 tips to drive traffic to your author blog - Anne R Allen

How your Author Platform impacts your book sales.- Rachel Thompson-Bookmark

Social Media in 30 minutes a day- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

How to promote your work without being pushy.- Writers Alley

How to give away free books and why you should – Book Funnel and Joannna Penn-Bookmark

To Finish,

I’ve been thinking for a while about writing a monthly author newsletter.  I write for children but I blog about writing, marketing and publishing book trends for adults. This does make for a confusing brand according to the marketing experts.

When I get together with other children’s writers we always ask each other what we’re working on and we share interesting ideas. So as I can’t sit down and have a coffee with you in real life why don’t you subscribe to my monthly newsletter. I’ll share some of the best bookmarked links and some interesting (death defying) research from my current writing projects. You can ask me questions on Twitter or Facebook. I love to chat.... 

Maureen 

@craicer

Pic from Flickr Creative Commons / MySignAG

Classic Writing Challenges

This week there has been a lot of discussion on The Alliance of Independent authors (Alli) making a distinction between ordinary independent authors and ‘professional’ independent authors. Publishing Perspectives takes a look at what Alli are trying to do... Because we are all professional aren’t we?

Kris Rusch has another stand out post on Contract Dealbreakers... This week it’s Rights Reversion. This is an important post to read especially if you are looking at a contract where the publisher wants all rights... or no dice. (this is common in NZ.)

A few weeks ago I had a link to a post by Steven Spohn on Chucks Blog, on the nature of writing disabled characters. This week, Disability in Kids Lit, posted an article of terms to be familiar with if you are writing a disabled character.

This week Mike Shatzkin announced that he will no longer be programming the Digital Book World Conference as he thinks the big strategic questions facing the book industry have been answered. Mike shares an overview of the last decade. And what a decade it has been.

Writer Unboxed has an excellent article on dealing with Writers Block... In a choose your own adventure style.

Hugh Howey writes an excellent story. This week on his blog he talks about breaking ideas. Not just breaking but shattering them to find an unforgettable idea... and writing from there.

It just might be a new classic.

In the Craft Section,

Nailing Internal Dialogue- Jane Friedman Bookmark

Three steps to a smoother writing style- Roz Morris – Bookmark

The key to creating believable plots- CS Lakin

Two Bookmark posts by Janice Hardy, Creating unlikeable but compelling villains and False Starts.

Desire is the driving force- Michael Hauge- Bookmark

Getting the story out of your head- Jennie Nash

10 mistakes almost every rookie makes- Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

10 tips for how to get Book Reviewers- Anne R Allen Bookmark

5 steps for the killer book talk- Jane Friedman Bookmark

Optimal success in book pricing- Digital Book World

Before you self publish read this- Joanna Penn – Bookmark

Canva newbie guide- (Excellent overview of this tool)

Indie Publishing paths- Reader retention plans- Janice Hardy

Bookcovers

To Finish,

Today there was a spirited opinion piece in the Guardian taking issue with the tired old list of books being foisted on children as classics. The list came from the BBC’s Love to read campaign and was contributed to by the public. But modern children’s literature was missing. We know it's being bought so why doesn’t it make these classic lists?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is being made into a film. This book has won numerous awards and is the only book to win both The Carnegie (Patrick Ness for writing) and the Greenaway Medal (Jim Kay for illustration) It is absolutely a modern classic. Do we have to wait for a film to be made to validate this? (Trailer out today.)

Maureen

@craicer

Pic From Flickr/ Creative Commons/ Moyan Brenn

Publishing This Way or That

July has stumbled in stomping its feet about the weather and cursing about never getting a clear run at being jolly cold. (Why are my jonquils out? Its not Spring yet!)

In the roundup this week,

 Porter Anderson chats with Jon Fine on the perceived curatorial mark that Traditional Publishers bring. Jon has interesting points to raise because he has worked on both sides of the fence. He points out that Indie publishers can rise above the herd if they pay attention to all the details.

Why is Dystopian Fiction popular? Are we living in a dystopian future now? This is an interesting article from European publishers about why Dystopian fiction sells to their teen audience but at the cost of their own countries voices.

For the Typography buffs out there, some good news. Google has reorganised its Font Library for the web.  You can find fonts easily and they have a nifty comparison widget. Why is that interesting... because they have a whole lot of free fonts and you can use them on websites and other places where people might read interesting stuff online written by you.

Kris Rusch has another Deal Breakers post. This looks at Contract termination language. In these days of ebook perpetuity how can you negotiate a termination clause and what should you ask for. This is really interesting, as the term out of print in the digital age now has no meaning.

James Scott Bell has a great post on writing advice you should ignore. That doesn’t mean ignore the post. James has written quite a few excellent writing craft books and is one of my go to craft book gurus. Here he takes issue with some of that tired old writing advice and explains how you can break the rules

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with 3D designer about how writers can utilise 3D design. No they aren’t completely opposite. Children and Young Adult writers will be able to see the value straight away. 

In The Craft Section,

Subtext- How to write what’s not written- Bookmark

Combining genres- Stephen Pressfield

Multi-dimensional lead characters

15 tips to increase your productivity- Molly Greene

Choosing the right story setting- KM Weiland Bookmark

151 Plot resources- Now Novel

The 5 key turning points- C S Lakin- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

4 ways to respond when someone bugs you online

Book promotion – Do this, not that – The Book Designer- Bookmark

10 ways to build your author mailing list

How to prep for author events- Janice Hardy

How Goodreads can grow your readers- Frances Caballo

Create a box set bundle- Joanna Penn-Bookmark

To Finish,

If you are looking into a publishing future that is starting to have overtones of a dystopian landscape and you aren’t quite sure about self publishing, an Australian print company has a step by step overview of what you need to know. Google has a lot of answers to questions. Read widely about how others are doing it before you you leap in.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic from the AMAZING Debbie Ridpath Ohi/ Comics for Writers

The Classic Blunder

It has been an historical week. There was the vote that caused political turmoil in Europe and then yesterday the tragedy in Turkey.

Along with record temperatures around the globe we are facing change of epic proportions.  Porter wrote an article for Publishing Perspectives on what Brexit might mean for publishing in the United Kingdom. Already people are seeing royalty rates drop.

Writer Beware has an update to a story about a publishing company in denial over the mind boggling law suits that are being brought against it. Reading through the list you get the impression they were taking a lot of lessons from Author Solutions.

Agent Janet Reid has written an interesting Blog post on Agents as Publishers. You should be very careful as these agents break the A.A.R. (Association of Author Representatives) rules. (If they ever belonged in the first place.)

Rachel Thompson has been working with authors for a while now and recently she sat down and figured out the secret to success. Authors already know it. But do they DO it?

A few months ago I linked to Agent Jonny Gellers Ted Talk on what makes a best seller. Jonny Geller has expanded his ideas in this article.(If you know the secret, please share.)

Ruth Harris has written a great article on First Chapter Blues. It is a must read. Just when you think of the old maxim of throw out your first chapter... Ruth comes along and offers some great advice.

The movie Me Before You generated lots of protests around the world about the portrayal of disabilities in books and films. I never commented because I feel there are far better writers living this reality that would say why they object far better than me. And so here is an excellent guest post from Steven Spohn on Chucks Blog. I do urge all writers to read it.

Over the years I have shared some amazing articles on the craft of writing. Today I read an article on rejections that turned everything upside down in my head. Just WOW.  Take some time to read this from LitHub.

In The Craft Section,

Writing Action Scenes- K M Weiland

Dialogue- getting rid of adverbs- Bookmark

Tips for self editing- Bloodredpencil- Bookmark

What makes a great blurb-

How soon do we show genre in writing- Janice Hardy

The trope police- Agent Sarah La Polla on what she often see’s

The 5 must read craft books of 2016 – Kayla Dean

In The Marketing Section,

Boosting Sales

Book marketing tips from industry experts- Frances Caballo-Bookmark

Checklist for cover redesigns- Roz Morris

Marketing to influencers- The Bookseller-Bookmark

4 easy things to do if you don’t want to market your book.- Penny Sansevieri

Email Newsletter content- Jane Friedman- Bookmark

To Finish

There are classic tropes and classic lines and classic blunders. Every writer hopes that they can come up with a classic line rather than a classic blunder.  If you love the classic movie The Princess Bride here are 15 quotes that explain the writers life.

If you haven’t seen the movie.... That is a classic blunder... like starting a land war in Asia.

Maureen

@craicer

Taking Sides

The news at the moment is all around voting. Britain goes to the polls tonight about staying in the EU. American senators are staging a sit in about wanting to vote on a gun law. Australia is gearing up for a National Election, the outcome of which may spell a real hit on copyright. What does it all mean for publishing? Porter Anderson takes a global litmus test on how the publishing industry may be faring in this toxic political landscape.

In the meantime independent presses are opening bookstores... This seems to be a move designed to increase a unique community awareness and maximise profits. After all if Amazon can do it with a third bookstore planned soon...

Bob Mayer speculated recently about what would happen if Barnes and Noble closed...

James Scott Bell has an open letter to a discouraged author.

Audio Books are being pushed into the mainstream- why? Digital Book World speculates about profits.

A lot of authors are concerned about the scammer attacks happening on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. However Amazon’s method of dealing with a book taken over by a pirate scammer was not helpful. Instead of dealing with the scammer Amazon closed down the hapless author’s account. This author and a few others may have got caught up in Amazon’s clean up of email blast services which were tweaking their bestseller lists. Hugh Howey explains how this happens. But will Amazon touch Bookbub- the most influential marketing list around...

Anne R Allen has another edition of her scamming watch out list targeting authors. This is a must read and share around post.

In a nice piece of good news Apple have begun to pay out their refunds from the price fixing case they were involved in.

In The Craft Section,

10 dialogue errors

Do’s and Dont’s for beginnings

The first turning point in your novel - C S Lakin Bookmark

Plumb the emotional depth of your setting- Bookmark

How to plot – K M Weiland- Bookmark

Glimmertrain essay on Description- Bookmark

The how of great openings- Bookmark

In the Marketing Section,

5 Online Marketing Trends Authors should consider

10 things you need to know about Bookseller lists

Email lists  and email list mistakes

5 Marketing tips for Introverts-diymfa

The care and feeding of your Blog -RachelThompson

How to nail Author SEO- Miral Slatter

  

To Finish,

Publishers Weekly highlighted the story of two children’s authors who were disinvited from school visits ... One of the authors seemed to be disinvited because he openly supported another children’s author who had written a ‘controversial’ book. As some children’s authors have said... you want to censor us because of what we ‘might’ say?

Good luck with all the voting...

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Alan Cleaver