Every Wednesday at 2pm (NZ time) I try to tune into the Twitterverse for a Twitterchat.
For those of you who have just been totally confused by that last sentence I will attempt to explain.
Twitter uses hashtags ( # ) to search and curate conversations.
For instance you can go to Twitter and enter in the search bar ‘#publishing’ and get all recent comments on publishing by people who added that ‘#publishing’ term to their tweet if they thought their comment might be relevant to the ongoing publishing conversation.
Twitter chats however are set at regular times and have their own hashtags for you to follow.
My problem is that two really interesting chats are on at the same time, #indiechat and #kidlitchat. So I flit between them both trying to get the flavour of each and getting a few gems to mull about along the way.
One of the stellar people I have ‘met’ on these chats is Susan Kaye Quin who writes Y A. She recently posted a great article on her blog which crystallises for me the indie publishing journey. Indie publishing is not about one book...it is about your voice and whole writing career. Susan takes a look at the Scarcity vs Abundance model that Kathryn Rusch talks about and identifies the indie publishing journey as being one that draws on the Abundance style of publishing. The mindset is quite different from traditional publishing. Go and get your eyes opened.
In the last week a plaintive post by Agent Jonny Geller from Curtis Brown called The Agents Manifesto highlighted some uncomfortable truths in publishing about the disconnect of publishers to authors. This has been resonating through the writing blogosphere. Roz Morris picks up the cudgels on our behalf and speaks her mind,- Why authors get treated so badly. You will cheer!
For those people who have been nodding and punching the air with last couple of links...here are two more interesting perspectives to chat about with your friends.
Mike Shatzkin take a good hard look at bookstores...Yes we need them but how can we keep them viable.
Jane Friedman tackles the big question- If the book is dead why buy a zombie?
When your book needs to be chatted about in other languages, PaidContent takes a look at the next self publishing frontier - How to go about getting translations.
If you are looking at your bottom drawer and wondering what to do next. Gordon Burgett takes a look at turning idle copy into books, blog posts etc etc.
There’s a good post with 11 keys to self publishing success which should help you focus if you do have work ready for a new life.
Chatting about Craft
Check out these amazing posts. Is your idea novel worthy and how you can tell?
Why you should kill your darlings....practical advice from K M Weiland who shows you how to do it.
Innocent flower has an entertaining post on 6 things she wishes she had known about being a writer...first up the use of the delete key.
There is a beaut guest post from Susan Sipal on The Top Ten Tips I Learned About Writing from J K Rowling.
Over the next few weeks I am preparing resources to help me continue the chat about eBooks at a One Day ePublishing Event run by Kiwiwrite4kids in Auckland on the 28th April.
Those people who have met me... know I love to chat....
Come along!
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