Challenging The Big Boys

Last night I attended a prestigious lecture. The Book Council of New Zealand invited Lani Wendt Young, the current Pacific Laureate to deliver the speech, Stories from the Wild: Reading and Writing in the Digital Age. It was a notable speech from a passionate speaker. First, it was given by a Pacifica woman. (an indigenous voice… how rare!) Second, It was given by a successful independent author who is carving out a whole genre of contemporary Pacifica super-natural tales to great reviews. Third, the lecture was a consummate takedown of the white towers of traditional publishing. This piece in the Spinoff written by Lani is only some of the very telling points she made. It was brilliant. I can’t help agreeing with others that we witnessed something profound that will change publishing here.

Meanwhile over in the USA many people in publishing seem to think James Daunt of Waterstones UK will come in like the White Knight on a charger to fix the Barnes and Nobel chain and it will be tea and crumpets all round. Kristen Lamb is skeptical of the way James Daunt may go about it and it all stems from how he turned Waterstones around. Publishers better be clearing space from the warehouse floor for all the returns and workers… don’t expect a pay rise.

Last week I linked to an interesting article by Anne R Allen on whether your reader really needs to know all the little details of your life. This week Cheri Baker picked up on Anne’s theme and looked at her marketing manifesto. 

Porter Anderson gets around the world as the roving editor for Publishing Perspectives. This week he looks at the successful Beijing International Bookfair. Among their offerings to the 320,000 visitors was a whole section devoted to English language learning for early childhood. 

The lawyers are back from holiday and lawsuits are piling up. 
The AAP is taking Audible to court over captioning
Authors Guild is taking a class action against Cengage Publishers over their subscription service.
The Romance Writers Of America are taking a lawsuit over the trademark of the word “Tamer”. The funds for this have been provided by the authors of the Cocky Collective. 
(Cockygate lives on..) 

Kris Rusch continues her look into licensing IP. She comments on how the whole thing can get overwhelming and offers some great ways to think about how to tackle which rights to license. How much do you care about the story? She suggests learning about licensing by first working with a story you don’t care too much about.

Scott Myers of Go Into The Story has a great roundup of the posts he made as he broke down Andrew Stanton’s TED talk on what makes a great story. Go Into The Story is mainly aimed at screenwriters but authors can learn a lot from the screenwriter's approach to story.

In The Craft Section,

Worldbuilding- Writelife- Bookmark

Get out of the writing doldrums- Jane Friedman

5 tips for engaging characters- Bethany Henry- Bookmark

7 Rules for cliffhangers- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

5 ways story stakes keep readers glued- H R D’Costa

In The Marketing Section,

Audiobook Promotion ideas-Mary Locke - Bookmark

Creating promotional copy that works- Janice Hardy

How to create a pre-launch strategy- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

7 Social Media Tips for Authors- Scot La Counte- Bookmark

How to title a book- Dave Chesson- Bookmark

To Finish,

Recently Rachel Gardner shared that her fellow agents had a brainstorming session thinking up side hustles for their author clients. A side hustle is another stream of income. So writers based on your research what could you get a side hustle in…Hmm Spacecraft design anyone?


Maureen
@craicer

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When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you.
If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

pic: Flickr Creative Commons Sumo- Better than Bacon

Storytellers – The Future You

At one point this week I thought that my weekly blog would just be full of Book Marketing advice. I kept seeing great articles that I thought you might be interested in. And then I wondered if I was seeing them because it is nearly the end of Summer (on the calendar, not in temperature) in the Northern Hemisphere. The Autumn push of new titles ready for the new school year and the Christmas market is about to begin. The (Northern Hemisphere focussed) twice-yearly push of new titles in Spring and Autumn dominates the International publishing calendar.
So check out 
31 ways to promote your Facebook page
5 ways to maximise audience engagement
And a great post on Book Promotion from The Book Designer blog.

Then all the craft articles started appearing in my Inbox. A great infographic on story ideas from Chloe Twist. Roz Morris had a great article on back story description and point of view hacks and Elizabeth Craig had a great tip on saving your outlines.

This week’s news in publishing- Google Play is now renting books from Open Road Media… like a library. I’m not sure where this is going and nobody else seems to know either.

David Gaughran has an informative post on the changes coming to Facebook Ads.

Lit Hub finally caught up with moves that Artificial Intelligence is making into the publishing world and wondered about Author Avatars. Your author avatar can now read your book in your voice to the reader.
If you want to know where all this technology is heading check out the AI and the author interview with Orna Ross and Joanna Penn from The Alliance of Independent Authors podcast. I have been fascinated with where this might lead in the next five years. 
(If you are shaking your head in disbelief just think about the take up of voice-related search with Alexia, Siri, and Google Assistant predicted to top 50% next year.)
Parents are limiting screen time but have no problem getting Alexia to read stories to their kids.

What can an author do but get ready to face the future with some ideas of what may be important for their careers? That is where you should be keeping an eye on what Kris Rusch is talking about with Licensing. Her latest post looks at all the different types of licenses authors can take advantage of. 

Jami Gold has an interesting guest post from Augustina Van Hoven on dealing with Author overwhelm… It’s all in how you plan. (Try not to be overwhelmed with all the planning tips…)

Anne R Allen has a great post on kicking the whole lot to the curb and focussing on what your reader wants. Do they really need an intimate view of your life or just the news that a new book is coming…

In The Craft Section,

2 great posts from Now Novel 5 uses for minor roles and How to start a chapter- Bookmark

Story fundamentals- Bookbaby

Evoke reader emotions- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Dialogue tips to captivate readers- Roz Morris Bookmark

How to avoid melodrama- Mythcreants-Bookmark

Understanding conflict- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts on book marketing planning- Book marketing timelines  and planning book marketing for holidays - Bookmark

Book promotion as a public service- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Email marketing secret weapon- David Gaughran- Bookmark

Using Lyrics in your book- Everybody always asks about this.

What is Book metadata-(If you don’t know, you MUST read this.)

Tales from the book promotion road trip… (what not to do)

To Finish,

Scott Myers has a useful poster on character types to help you with spicing up your stories, or just printing out and decorating your office and Squibler has the 17 best websites to check out for advice on writing and lifting your writing game. 
In the end, all we can do, as writers, is tell our stories as best we can in the right format for the most impact and entertainment. We are the storytellers.

Maureen
@craicer

My monthly newsletter is due out this weekend. I round up the best of the best links.When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. I’m living on coffee at the moment as I juggle a few projects. If you want to shout me a coffee as thanks for the blog feel free to hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate all the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Mr Bean as Avatar

Feed your Mind

This week in the publishing blogosphere The New Publishing Standard was looking at the Beijing Book Fair which kicks off next week. It is looking bigger than any other book fair at the moment. This is a really interesting read. Book sales are on the up in China, with the English language now being taught in state schools. The next decade promises interesting book publishing times outside of America. 
Edit: Late addition, the impact the America China trade war on publishing from Publishing Perspectives

Leapfrog nations are also embracing reading- on mobile phones. Cape Verde shows what the future hold for Book Publishers. The world is moving a lot faster than your print technology.

Somebody poked Google and it woke up. With everyone wondering if any of the other big tech companies would take on Amazon Publishing… Google decided to join the party and fix its royalty rates for Google Play. (However, if they really wanted to play big… as Jim Kukral from The Sell More Books Podcast says... Google needs to offer 100% royalties for a while – That will be the game changer!)

Google might be too late to take on Amazon. The Atlantic published an essay this week on how Amazon wants to conquer the world of publishing. It’s all about subscriptions… and how much they can tie you into their marketplace.

Meanwhile, Wattpad and Penguin Random House have been talking. Wattpad Books has inked a publishing deal with PRH. Their books are due to hit next month. Out of the gate first, are Young Adult titles.

Cory Doctorow has an interesting article on whether James Daunt can turn around Barnes and Noble. First, treat your stores like Indies… (How about giving the workers a living wage?)

Kris Rusch continues her look at licensing and this week’s post is another great one on mindset. Do we as writers expect success or rejection? Our mindset will control whether we take advantage of new learning or we don’t. This is a must-read post.

The fabulous Anne R Allen has a guest post from Sue McGinty about Book Marketing at home. How are you making sure that the people in your home town know about your books? As always, read the comments for some more great ideas for bookselling at home.

In The Craft Section,

The three-act sequence- Shaunta Grimes- Bookmark

What is external conflict?- Kristen Kieffer

4 ways to write a better novel- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Masterful Character description – C S Lakin

How to cure mid-novel sag- James Scott Bell

Conflict- taking advice from the wrong person- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Editing tips- The Write Life- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Two great posts from The Creative Penn Blog- How to sell more at author events and 5 ways to stand out as an author on social media – Bookmark Both!

Two great posts from Bookbub Insights- Book launch checklist and Promote your book before it’s published- Bookmark Both!

17 Book marketing tips- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

A simple trick to find your target audience- Writers Digest

To Finish,

When you are bootstrapping your author business – you always have an eye out for tips and tricks that might save you time and money. Written Word Media, besides operating some nifty book promo lists, have also got a list of free tools that you might want to check out. I use some of these… especially Canva. 
If you write for children you should dip into the SCBWI Conference blog. The big LA gathering finished this week and they live blog their conference. Run your eye down the list of keynotes and panels on the right-hand side to feast your brain on.

Maureen
@craicer

My monthly newsletter is coming soon, where I round up the best of the best links.
When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you.
If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Foodista- Berries

Finding Your Tribe

This week the publishing world paid tribute to one of the outstanding writers of the last century, Toni Morrison. Toni’s work inspired many writers and readers. Her spirit lives on in her words and the way she became a touchstone inspiring a new generation of writers to tell their stories. R.I.P. TONI MORRISON. 

The Jabberwork, Sarah McIntyre, is often asked by aspiring illustrators about how to find a style and how to begin to be an illustrator. This week she decided to write a full blog post answering these questions. If you know an aspiring illustrator pass this very good instructional post along.

This week Passive Guy (who is a lawyer and a writer) took a look at morality clauses. 
Morality clauses never used to be in contracts. Recently writers have been caught out with publishers enforcing morality clauses and killing careers. Passive Guy notes that wording is very loose… even if there is no evidence but hearsay it can be enough to kill your contract.

This week Anne R Allen wrote a much-shared and talked about post on the decline of mainstream fiction. Since the 1980s mainstream fiction has started to disappear. Where has it gone? Into genres. Book Club Fiction anyone?

Kris Rusch continues her deep dive into all things licensing this week. This is a fascinating series of posts. This week Kris talks about Taylor Swifts licensing woes and what she may or may not be able to do about them.

Joanna Penn has been on a journey exploring content marketing. If you know Joanna’s site all the work she does is content marketing. She has a fascinating interview on content marketing with Pamela Wilson. Joanna is exploring content marketing for fiction… a whole ‘nother ball game.
One of the other strings to Joanna’s content marketing bow is audiobook narration. Joanna has a great article on making an audio booth at home. 

This week Elizabeth Spann Craig wrote an interesting post on the practice of writing. How often do you practice writing? Do you find it hard to get back in the groove after a break? Elizabeth talks about ways to manage your practice. 

In The Craft Section,
Depicting characters held back by fear- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

4 ways to write gripping internal narrative- K M Weiland- Bookmark

Can common writing advice be wrong- Jami Gold Bookmark

Improve your writing with plot threads -Bookmark

7 rules for picking character names- Elizabeth Sims

In The Marketing Section,
Before you market, set objectives- Boni Wagner-Stafford- Bookmark

Seven mistakes to avoid when recording audiobooks- Alli Blog

Navigating book promo with effective strategies and

125 Book promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri- BOOKMARK!!

Top book advertising tips from RWA2019- Bookbub - Bookmark

To Finish,
Last night I attended the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was a fabulous night. I got to catch up with lots of writer friends and have interesting discussions with publishing industry people as well as celebrate the fabulous books. On my way home, late, I was reflecting on the children’s book community and how supportive they are to each other. Many times the winners of the awards said how much they had enjoyed their fellow finalist's books and couldn’t believe their book had been picked over others. It is a great thing when you find your tribe and feel that you truly belong.

Maureen
@craicer

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter?
When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 
If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Toni Morrison - Getty Images BBC Obituary

Book Battles

In publishing news this week …
Oh, the excitement… Dean Koontz has taken a deal with Amazon Publishing. Industry pundits are interested in Mr Koontz comments about the new and exciting times ahead for him. They are also interested to see whether the bookseller chains who would not stock any books from Amazon are now going to change their tune.

Also in bookseller news is the Green Manifesto created by the UK Booksellers Association which seems to be getting traction in other countries. The booksellers are to commit to recycled paper and less wasteful packaging and returns. The big word in that sentence is RETURNS. Booksellers have always sent back stock to the publishers. Is this the end of the Return system?

While Booksellers are wrestling with these questions, Macmillan has fired a shot at libraries with a change in their ebook lending terms. They join other big publishers who are upping the ebook price, delaying the availability and limiting how many borrows before the library has to buy another copy. I can’t help thinking that we are supposed to nurture our readers in this multimedia entertainment marketplace. I‘m not sure if the publishers have thought this through.

Kris Rusch continues her look into licensing options for authors. This week she realises that art that is commissioned for books can also be licensed. This opens up another potential marketing stream. Interior art branded products… cover pictures… posters.

Ruth Harris has a great blog post on the art and craft of the elevator pitch. That moment when you have to say what your book is about. Give them the old razzle-dazzle… Ruth points out how to construct a good pitch. This is a must-read.

How is your self-care as a writer? Could it be better? Are you looking after yourself? Elizabeth Spann Craig has a good post on keeping on top of your writer health.

Jami Gold has the quintessential master publishing plan. This was published on Janice Hardy’s blog two years ago and is still relevant so take a look.
While you are thinking about master publishing plans take a look at this excellent post on the Alli blog on Book Metadata. All the things you should know about your book. Grab this useful template to help you understand it. Great Resource!

David Gaughran has a great post on understanding how to craft a Bookbub ad. David has written a book on the subject but here he shares some great tips. (His book is great too.)

In The Craft Section,

Story Tropes- make them resonate – Jami Gold- Bookmark

So-called screenwriting rules – Scott Myers – Bookmark

7 tips to write funnier fiction- The Creative Penn blog

Writing captivating characters- Shaunta Grimes- Bookmark

Three lesser-known archetypes- Angela Ackerman

In The Marketing Section,

How authors use Instagram- Bookbub- Bookmark

Convert readers to subscribers- Bookworks- Bookmark

Book launch- party if you want to- 

3 ways to use language to sell more books-Rob Eagar- Bookmark

How to reach influencers- Jane Friedman

To Finish,

The Guardian books page recently had an article on the top ten fictional libraries… and I was shocked that Unseen University library did not make the list. Hmmm. The librarian must be jumping up and down with rage. The omission is as bad as calling him a monkey. Check out which libraries did make the list…

If you want to travel the literary tube in London check out this version of the famous London Underground Map

And finally, feast your eyes on the top 5000 bestselling book covers…. You can filter the search by genre, gender, mood…. Go down that rabbit hole… into L space.

Maureen
@craicer

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter?When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Ook by Paul Kidby – Discworld Librarian.