Writers and Readers

 

In Publishing News this week,

I received a couple of interesting emails this week pointing to interesting moves by companies working for publishers and readers. 

 

Draft2Digital has acquired Selfpubbookcovers.com continuing their quest to be the everything store to Indie / Trad publishers. They bought Smashwords last year and are busy amalgamating the best bits. They introduced print (POD) to their eBook store. Now they have an Indie Book Cover Designer marketplace. 

 

The next email was from my local bookstore. They have partnered with Libro.fm to market audiobooks. This was news as the bookstores email to me came out at the same time as I found a reference to it on a global publishing website. Libro.fm are inviting indie bookstores to partner with them in return for a slice of the subscription pie. Libro.fm promises a portion of your sub can go to your favourite bookstore and you get to own your audiobooks instead of just a one time listen. Win/Win

 

Publishers Weekly highlights the movers and shakers in the Trad publishing world and they think Simon and Schuster may have a buyer. It’s all in who is making the big cash moves in publishing.

 

Meanwhile, in the continuing saga of America’s book banning court cases, booksellers in Texas have clubbed together to try to defeat a new Texas law that wants Bookshops and Publishers to rate their children’s books on a sexually explicit rating scale. The scale isn’t set out. The famous I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it judicial statement may be used here if the court case fails. On the other side of the pond, France is grappling with its first book ban of a children’s book over sexuality. They haven’t banned it just made it an R18. (I wonder how the sales are going, probably very well.)

 

Mark Williams from The New Publishing Standard pointed out that the UK’s much improved print sales numbers were hiding some unwelcome news. Numbers were down. Prices were up.

Mark also looks at the UK’s Independent Publishers Guild offer to help publishers navigate the AI landscape by delivering training sessions in how to ‘harness the power of AI driven technology.’ 

Remember AI is a tool. It is not a creative replacement.

 

Kris Rusch continues her great posts on niche marketing. This week she gives examples of thinking small to nail the niche market.

 

James Scott Bell explores writing rules and why you should know them and the reason for them before you break them- and then break them creatively. This is an excellent post from a writing craft master.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to create a scene outline- C S Lakin- Bookmark

What is an inciting incident – September Fawkes- Bookmark

How to meet cute in romance-Lindsay Elizabeth

Find characters energy motivators – Deborah-Zenha Adams

The Rhetorical Triangle for Writers- Sue Coletta - Bookmark

Improve your writing in 5 minutes- Mini videos-Angela Ackerman Becca Puglisi- Check it out!

 

In The Marketing Section,

8 things book promo companies wish authors understood- and 8 mistakes you are making on your website- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Who are your key influencers- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Have you checked your author goals lately?- Judith Briles

Using Books2Read as a Marketing tool- Terry Odell- Bookmark

Nothing matters until something matters- Jody Sperling- Interesting!

 

To Finish,

Readers and Writers. Writers are Readers. The two are wound up together in mutual need relationships. Need to read. Need to write. Need to read in order to write. 

Written Word Media have the results of the survey they asked their reader newsletter subscribers on how they pick their next book. It’s not the cover….

Gazebo Girl, Christy Cashman, talks about the struggle in finding the right place to write and why sometimes you need to change it up.

Jerry B Jenkins writes about the author career. Did you know how many careers are out there that are writing but have another name? How do you plan a writing career? Has any writer planned one? 

Sometimes I think The Alice in Wonderland story is a metaphor for the writing career. Going down rabbit holes, taking suspect potions, ending up where you didn’t want to be or ending up somewhere completely different from where you thought you were. Add in the weird characters you meet along the way and it’s time for a lie down. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Pic John Tenniel Illustration