In Publishing News this week.
Long time readers of the blog will remember that I used to feature the writings of publishing commentator Mike Shatzkin in the first 12 years of the blog. Mike retired but occasionally would pop back to make a interesting observation on current changes in publishing. He had been around publishing in one way or another his entire life. His recent death has been marked by many across the industry. Publishing Perspectives has a great obituary of his life and times. R.I.P. Mike.
The UK Guardian has an article on yet another celebrity who has written a children’s book. Children’s Authors Frustrated By Rise Of Celebrity Penned Titles. Speaking as a children’s writer, yes, it is frustrating. What more do they need for validation? A children’s book. – it’s easy to write and you have a built-in marketing factor for the publishing company. Right. Publishers taking a punt on a celebrity is a no brainer. The bare minimum of editing and all the TV shows will book them so that’s the publicity sorted. Pity about the reading quality and the longevity, but there will be another celebrity author next year.
If you look at the latest surveys like The Guardian last week, they report that children are reading less than ever. This has sent shivers down the spines of writers and publishers. After all, if we can’t get kids reading for pleasure when they grow up they won’t be reading adult books either. The last writer who had a huge impact on children’s reading was J K Rowling whose series positively impacted a generation. Since those heady days of 1997 when the first book was published quietly until 2000 when the juggernaut took off every publisher has dreamed of finding the next big children’s book.
The Hollywood Reporter has an article on TV shows using AI to script children’s television that resulted in a hot mess of awfulness. However, the AI tools that are developing are finding favour with the creators.
The big children’s fairs of Bologna and Shanghai are collaborating, sharing ideas and resources in this weeks Shanghai Children’s Book Fair. Publishing Perspectives writes about their partnerships.
Elsewhere in the UK the GLL foundation which funds writers has created 20 children’s author bursaries for residencies in libraries across the UK. The programme aims to help writers develop their business as well. This is a fantastic initiative.
Publishers Weekly writes about initiatives to rebuild libraries in conflict zones.
With the rise of Print on Demand publishing, Princeton University Press has opened up an office in China offering their backlist in English. A canny financial move that is paying off.
Meanwhile, Hachette is bleeding employees who are disgusted with their new imprint Basic Liberty which is following a conservative publishing agenda. It looks like Hachette launched the whole enterprise in a hurry to take advantage of election outcomes.
Two great writing craft articles caught my eye this week. Antagonist vs Villain- what’s the difference by Katie Weiland which is a must read. Sue Coletta writes an in depth article- Does your story have a full circle moment? Cue slot machine sounds as your brain makes connections.
In the Craft Section,
4 things that make your writing boring- Suzy Vadori- Bookmark
Balancing your cast of characters- September Fawkes – Bookmark
Don’t make this conflict tension mistake- Janice Hardy - Bookmark
5 common reasons your hero is too powerful- Oren Ashkenazi
Four dialogue tips- James Scott Bell- Bookmark
In the Marketing Section,
Ultimate guide to festival success- J Alexander Greenwood-Bookmark
9 key reasons your book is not selling- Laurence O’Bryan
2 excellent posts from Sandra Beckwith- Finding Beta Readers and Boost your author brand- 31 tips- Bookmark
To Finish
Recently, social media sites have been churning with change. People are ditching their accounts and setting up new ones on different sites. The publishing world is no exception. In the beginning Twitter was the publishing industry water cooler meetup place for everybody. If you are trying to find the social media literary community Bluesky has had an influx of publishing industry people. It feels a lot like Twitter in the good old days.
Maureen
@craicer
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Pic Photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash
