This week the theme of my weekly roundup seems to be which ever path you choose...
choose wisely.
Jane’s Friedman has a great post on whether self publishing will get you a traditional deal. This has become a bit of a
Cinderella story in the last year and a lot of people seem to be racing to self
publish because they can... but whether they should is another story. Porter Anderson takes a close look at
the overselling of self publishing.
Kris Rusch has a great blog and is well worth reading
frequently. This week she comments on writing by committee. It is a great read
and I found myself nodding, having experienced it in the educational publishing
world. Some times the ‘team’ can kill the storytelling aspect of the story. Kris
then lists what you need to do to succeed as a writer. First get a reader, not
a writer, to read the finished draft.
Joanna Penn has been at a crime writer’s conference and she
was asked about the pro’s and con’s of self publishing. Joanna outlines
honestly what she is thinks is the good and the bad and has advice for those
people trying to make up their minds.
Jane Friedman has a post up on her blog about literary self publishing. Can
you even do this? It seems to be accepted that the literary genre is steeped in
the traditional publishing model. But really literary is just a genre and you can self publish it if you are careful about it.
James Scott Bell continues his series - Is our writing culture in mortal danger? This week he looks at whether it is a good time to be a
writer. He says yes and then tells you why. Long live storytelling.
A great storyteller, Susan Kaye Quinn has a nifty post on the 5 tips for success as a self publisher. Susan has straight forward advice
which can also apply to traditional publishing. Susan will be a Keynote speaker
at Tinderbox 2015 and I’m looking forward to talking with her on her publishing
career. Check out the webinar at the end of her post. (hint: It’s another
keynote theme.)
This week Google pulled books out of Google Play because of
the pirating issues. But how come it took a huge Dutch collective to make them do something about it.
The Passive Guy has an interesting discussion this week on whether you should respond to negative reviews. Should you even respond to the good
reviews? The comments are always where the discussion is.
In the Craft Section,
Story descriptions and depth in stories from the
incomparable K M Weiland
Ten ways to tighten your writing - Kristen Lamb
How to develop your theme – Janice Hardy
Staying in character – the convergence of POV and voice – C
S Lakin
Fun writing exercise – Joe Bunting- Bookmark
How to justify your writing time – Julie Duffy (Bookmark)
In the Marketing Section,
10 tips for choosing the right book title –Anne R Allen This
is a Bookmark post!
Email marketing for authors- Tim Grahl (Bookmark)
If you are really serious about writing for the market, check
out this piece of software.
5 mistakes authors make with book bloggers – Molly Greene
Website of the Week
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi started a little website
(The Bookshelf Muse) exploring words that described emotion. Then the Emotion
Thesaurus was born followed by The Positive Trait Thesaurus and then The
Negative Trait Thesaurus. These books are fast becoming the go to indispensible
books on the writer’s desk, right next to the dictionary. Angela and Becca have just launched their fourth book The Emotional Wounds Thesaurus... and it looks
just as great as their other books.
To Finish,
A few weeks ago I had a link to standing desks... these are
designed to help the writer be less sedentary and healthier. Writer Bruce Brady
asks whether writers really know what a good back support system is. He gives
examples. Today on Twitter this exercise regime was being passed around. Either
you take care of yourself OR you face the consequences.
Pic: Flickr /Creative Commons – Dave Lenker
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