Yesterday the big news in New Zealand, the finalists of the new combined NZ Children’s and Young Adult Books And NZ Librarian and Information Services Children’s Book Awards were announced. This combines the
Elsie Locke Medal for Non Fiction and the Russel Clarke Award for Illustration
with the annual National Book Awards. It is a big deal. Along with the standard
categories there is a children’s voting component sponsored by a Pizza Chain.
Voting is now open for those schools selected as judging schools. The finalists
have a nice mix of established practitioners and newbies. And I notice that we
are continuing the 20% mark of finalists being Indie or Boutique published
books.
This week the latest Author Earnings snap shot was being
digested. And it has some interesting information. Around 50% of all publishing
sales in the US are on Amazon. The Author Earnings team are looking across all
publishing formats now. There is a significant difference in earning capacities
if you debuted traditionally or Indie in the last three years. Porter Anderson looks at some of the stand out claims and compares them with Joanna Penn’s
publishing disclosure.
While you are digesting that have a look at Jane Friedman’s article on the myth of the print revival. Yes, children’s authors have been
saying for years that it’s only the Young Adult franchises propping up print
publishing... With no big YA blockbuster what’s holding up print at the
moment...
With Amazon striding like a behemoth across the publishing
landscape what are its competitors doing? If you are watching Apple then this news for publishers may be what you have been waiting for. Just remember writers
you are content creators. You choose what medium your content will be delivered
in. This makes more sense if you publish Serials on Apps or by subscription or Picture Book Apps etc etc. Apple may be quietly game changing your future here.
While you are thinking about content creation spare a
thought for podcasting and audio books. Podcasting is another sort of content
creation and this article looks at where it might be going and who might be poised to make an awful lot of money.... If you have been flirting with the
idea of audio books, Jane Friedman has an interesting interview with a rising competitor for ACX.
In The Craft Section,
The Scene Outline Template– Bookmark also Fine tuning your writing style by C S Lakin
Character development –credibility- Michael Hauge (who is at NZRWA this year)
Turn your setting into an obstacle course- Angela and Becca -Bookmark
Going deep with a series character- James Scott Bell
In The Marketing Section,
Creating a Single Author Boxed set- Molly Greene
Are you ready to be an Entrepreneur- Bookmark
How Young Adult authors are using Tumblr- Bookmark
Website of the Week
Taking a trawl around Katie Weiland’s website is always a
rewarding experience. Whether it is a great blog post like this one -How to write faster and why you shouldn’t to her fantastic video writing craft tips to
finding out she has written helpful workbooks to go with her Craft Books on
Structure and Outlining. Check it out!
To Finish,
Molly Greene hosted an Estate attorney on her blog. This blog post looks at estate planning basics for the Self Published writer. However Traditionally published writers should be eyeballing this as well.
There is lots of information to think about. (As an aside NZ has free ISBN
numbers – which works like a US Copyright office- you should use them.)
Slipping under the wire is a standout post on Non Compete clauses from Kris Rusch. This is a must read! (Yes these clauses appear in NZ.
Especially from foreign owned publishing companies.)
Being aware might just
save you money.
(P.S. The Write Stuff Story Bundle has only one week left to run. You can get to it from Kris
Rusch's site. I've filled up my kindle with writing craft books... and saved money!)
Rusch's site. I've filled up my kindle with writing craft books... and saved money!)
Maureen
@craicer
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