Reading The Small Print

 

 

In Publishing News this week

 

Lately there has been much discussion online about students arriving in University to study who have never been assigned a whole book to read at their high school. When questioned by professors they hear that students have been assigned excerpts or handouts to read and mark up but never a whole book. You might dismiss this as a socioeconomic problem if the Atlantic hadn’t canvassed professors at elite universities to find that their students lack the reading stamina to complete one course novel in humanities. An open letter from authors and teachers to the UK Prime Minister is being circulated in the UK to highlight this problem. 

 

Many authors have websites powered by Wordpress which is the most popular website builder and host of author websites.  Lately there have been some problems with their websites and it is all because of a stoush between the founders of Wordpress and WP Engine which hosts the websites. Techcrunch explains the drama.

 

The Frankfurt Book Fair is fast approaching and Publishing Perspectives has an interview with the Director on all the reasons Frankfurt Book Fair wants to stay out of international politics.

Richard Charkin writes in his monthly column about preparing for Frankfurt and why he thinks the Frankfurt Book Fair is the best.

 

Publishers Weekly has an article on whether POC representation in publishing is going down in real terms. After the push to highlight that lack of diversity in Publishing and efforts to rectify this in recent times, has anything changed?

 

Mark Williams highlights an article in The Hollywood reporter on AI being the new darling of the film industry. After the writer’s strike you would think they would be pushing it away with a big stick. Not So.

 

Joanna Penn has a great interview with Dave Cohen on writing humour. Can you make them laugh? Where is the line between comedy and offense and how careful should you be when crafting humour.

 

 A few years ago, publishing pundits wondered if print books would become collectable items as the world embraced digital editions of books. I couldn’t help but think this as I read the news that Macmillan Publishers have launched a new imprint. Think finely crafted handmade papers, limited numbered editions, full colour illustrations etc. Yes, they are a trade publisher. 

 

Robin Henry has a guest post on Jane Friedmans blog about structure. She takes a deep dive into Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. After 250 years what makes her novels stand the test of time? A great read.

 

Katie Weiland continues her great series on structure this week she looks at the beginning of the third act with the third plot point that builds the story to the climax. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Character ideas- Fictionary- Bookmark

Crafting a killer motivation- Laurel Osterkamp

Writing flawed characters- Angela Ackerman

Using tropes- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

How to use setting to reveal character- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Write fight scenes the comic way- Carla Hoch- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

November Book Promo ideas- Sandra Beckwith

Author newsletter data- Infographic

Getting more reader reviews- AJ Yee- Bookmark

Amazon Central Author pages- Clayton Noblit

How to optimize wide digital sales- Kelley Mc Daniel- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

A cautionary tale from Donald Maass who aside from writing great craft articles is also the founder of a well known Literary Agency. He writes about a WFH (Work For Hire) contract that set all the red flags flying. This is an article all writers should read. WFH contracts are increasingly being offered to tie up multimedia deals for streaming. Donald even references Rock Bands asking for WFH book tie ins. Do you know the flags to look for? Do you even know that your WFH is not yours even if they make a movie and franchise out of it? Always be clear on who owns your IP. Is it you?

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Pic: Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

Creativity With A Side Of Madness

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Internet Archive is back in the news again with the appeals court handing down their verdict. The archive wanted to scan eBooks and make print copies of them. They didn’t see a problem with it because they were nonprofit. This week the appeals court upheld the decision against Internet Archive. Four years in the courts and now we have the definitive ruling on Fair Use (Don’t publish in another format- when you aren’t the publisher of record.)

 

Also in the courts, writers, students, and teachers protesting the book banning law passed in Florida. High profile Young Adult writers have joined this action claiming censorship is happening in schools. 

 

NaNoWriMo.org has found itself in hot water over their stance on AI. Many writers have been vitriolic about their stance that denying the use of AI tools is Classist and Abelist. The Verge looks at the arguments.

 

Mark Williams looks at Wiley’s windfall of $44mill and their claim of operating in the best interests of their authors by seeking AI deals. It’s all about the money.

 

Draft2Digital is dipping its toes in the AI ocean but before they make any big decisions they are asking their authors to fill out a survey on AI. Dan Holloway of the Alliance of Independent Authors has the lowdown on what they want to know. 

 

Publishers Weekly reports that the team behind the successful Black List, film screenplay market place, are looking at expanding to novels. If you think your novel would make a great film but you don’t know where to start- The Black List could be the solution.

 

Don’t Forget to check into Writer Beware every now and then to find out the latest scams. Lately there has been a proliferation of fake literary agencies.

 

A few years ago, I gave a speech on what may be coming down the track for authors. I mentioned blockchain. Hardly anyone understood it and many have confused it with bitcoin but blockchain is still around. In these days of trying to track down what AI is scraping your work, blockchain could be the answer. The founder of Raddish thinks so and has set up a company with over $80 million in the pot to prove it. 

 

Rob Hart wrote an interesting blog post on his successful writing career and what happened when his publisher dropped him because his book didn’t sell amazingly, just pretty good. This is an honest look at being a writer in the publishing industry. Those amazing deals aren’t always wonderful for the writer.

 

What do you do if you lose track changes? Kelley Segroi has a great article on Women On Writing’s nifty little blog with handy tips on managing your documents.

 

KimBoo York has an interesting article on Jane Friedman’s blog about Creative Intuition. She mentions that Creative Intuition is knowing the trope and subverting it. It’s a great article with helpful tips on developing this super power.

 

Donald Maass has a super post over at Writer Unboxed about character and character driven stories. This is a must read on what propels your character to action. 

 

 

In The Craft Section,

The missing link in 3 act structure- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

Story Structure Midpoint- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Hook lines and stinkers- P J Parrish- Bookmark

Common POV violations- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Tips for writing physical comedy- Charles Yallowitz

 

In The Marketing Section,

Building a website- Bookbub- Bookmark

5 reasons for book endorsements- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

10 ways to market a book- Rachel Thompson

3 free marketing strategies- Draft2Digital

How to write an awesome personalized query letter- Tiffany Hawk- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

I try to keep up with my podcast listening but sometimes when life gets super busy I end up skipping episodes. I did this with Joanna Penn’s podcast a few weeks back and then I heard that the episode was getting a lot of attention so I hunted down the transcript (Thanks Joanna for always doing a transcript) to A Touch of Madness- Joanna Penn talking to film maker Larry Kasanoff. What a standout episode! This touches on creativity and taking chances and is so inspiring. If you need a creative pick me up or even if you don’t… take a chance and listen/read this. Our best work comes from being in touch with our creative madness.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Photo by laura adai on Unsplash

Talking Down to Readers

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

Last week I mentioned that Booktopia in Australia had found a buyer, this week Simon and Schuster (Australia) has been shopping and they have bought Affirm Press. They want to expand their markets in Australia and New Zealand apparently. 

 

The numbers are in and PenguinRandomHouse has made some money.  Publishers Weekly reports the good news. It might have something to do with all that restructuring they have been doing.

 

Apple Books has started laying off workers, GoodEReader reports. Apple haven’t really been focused on its book platform for a while. This may be a sign of the coming times.

 

Just when you thought all that crazy book censoring was happening in one very large western country the UK woke up to discover it’s happening in their school libraries too.

In contrast, there are schools wanting to embrace PRH’s Book Vending machines. PenguinRandomHouse has provided a book vending machine to showcase its Lit in Colour series. The machine is stocked with books written by diverse authors of colour. 

 

Every few years some bright spark in publishing looks at the huge secondhand book market and wonders… How can I get a piece of that? Bookshop.org is the latest to try with secondhand books worth credits in the Bookshop.org store. But is anyone really going to send their books off?

 

Written Word Media have a detailed look at the new KDP author verification requirements and breaks down what is important. A must read if you publish on this platform.

 

On Jane Friedman’s popular blog, Amy Bernstein writes- What you can learn from a serial submitter to literary magazines. When you have assimilated all the good advice then hop over to curiosityneverkilledthewriter.com and look at the 67 submission opportunities for September.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has another in depth article- this one on creating nonfiction courses to complement your nonfiction book.

 

I’ve just finished reading a story that had some masterful backstory slid into it. Then I came across this great article from Lisa Hall Wilson explaining just how to do this kind of deep point of view backstory layering.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to strengthen a lean manuscript- Lisa Fellinger- Bookmark

Story structure as a fractal- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Should you abandon your novel- James Scott Bell

Steadfast arcs- September Fawkes

10 editing tips- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

4 Facebook features

The matter of titles-Barbara Linn Probst- Bookmark

Comp titles- PenguinRandomhouse blog

Making your website friendlier- Debbie Burke- Bookmark

Getting into the Goodreads author program-podcast- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Every few years around this time in the Northern Hemisphere news cycle the same click baity headline somehow gets recycled. Are Romance Novels Literature? The latest to ask this is Time- with its 50 best romances list. Mark Williams of the New Publishing Standard vents on this. 

A literature novel can have a romance in it. (Test: If you took out the romance would it still stand as a novel?) Romance as a genre should have the romance as the driving force in the story. The question “Is (fill in your own genre) literature?” sets up an argument of snobbery with ‘literature’ seen as more highbrow. 

Literature is a genre.

It is not a genre with huge sales compared to other genres. It has cemented itself into creative writing faculties across the world so that its authors can make a living.

You never see the headline – Are crime thrillers literature? It is always Romance that is picked on. Is it the covers? The perceived readership? The sales? The jealousy of the author paycheck, that makes this genre a target? Stop going for the tired old click bait headline. We should be encouraging and celebrating reading- regardless of genre. I wince every time a child tells me, apologetically that they read graphic novels as if it was some sort of shame.* 

There is no shame in reading. We need all the readers we can get.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter to go out. If you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

*I tell them my favourite graphic novels and then we have a discussion on illustration styles and pictures as shorthand for setting.

pic Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Publishing: The Irony

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Oh, the irony.

The Guardian reports on a Florida school book ban. Yes, they have banned a childrens book about book bans. Imagine if the kids knew that they could protest against book banning.

 

Publisher’s Weekly reports on the Ukraine Book Festival. Yes, they are still managing to celebrate books in the midst of the war. However, one of their biggest printing plants was targeted which has destroyed the books printed for Summer release. 

 

Elsevier, science publishers have just published their report of gender diversity in scientific publishing. It’s been twenty years since the last report, has anything got better since 2004? They have a breakdown of countries who are publishing their woman scientists.

 

Elsewhere in Europe, Publishing Perspectives reports French editor Arnaud Nourry has formed a collective of independent publishers. This might not sound so exciting but collectives can amplify everyone involved. And in a canny move Arnaud has made some first look agreements with some very big publishers. A model of publishing to keep an eye on.

 

Draft2Digital has partnered with an international rights broker. If you are a D2D author you now have a sweet deal on foreign language translations and rights selling.

 

Convertkit is a premier email service that many authors love. They are shaking up their email service by providing a free tier especially for newsletter builders. Check it out. 

 

Dan Holloway has an article on publicity costs and how the big authors are now having to pay for their own publicity.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a roundup of the latest scams and phishing attacks targeting authors. Check out the list for a heads up.

 

Should you show your Work In Progress to your friends and family? Anne Allen talks about the pitfalls involved in sharing your work with people who don’t really understand what you do. She has advice for how to survive the drama.

 

Sandra Beckwith has an article on how to get kicked out of Facebook groups. This is list of don’ts if you really want to stay in them, which is pretty much why we are still on Facebook.

 

Jami Gold has a super post on backstory. How can you structure your story when you need to get a lot of backstory into the front story. 

 

Suzanne Lakin has an interesting post on theme. Ask yourself why you are writing the story? Therein lies your theme. Suzanne has 3 ways you can infuse your story with theme.

 

In The Craft Section,

How symbols can support your writing- Lisa Tener- Bookmark

How to write non mean barbs or banter- Chris Winkle

Increasing the emotional impact of your story- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Outline your book 10x faster- Dale Roberts - Bookmark

Picking the right names for your characters- September Fawkes

 

In The Marketing Section,

Tips for event bookselling- Sharon Woodhouse- Bookmark

Advanced reader engagement strategies- Dale Roberts

Can introverts market effectively- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Things to bring to book signing events- Michelle Millar

How to pick topics for your blog or newsletter- LA Bourgeois- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Booklife has an interesting article from Brooke Warner, an editor/publisher about how the constant layoffs are changing the culture inside the big trade publishers. When the people who still have a job, have to do 2 or 3 other jobs as well, you get delays all along the pipeline. However, Brooke thinks there is an upside for publishing. The real energy and innovation is happening right in front of us with the publishing professionals that were laid off.

Ironic huh.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Challenging Times

 

In Publishing News this week,

The Romance Writers of America has filed for bankruptcy. For many years this association was the biggest writer organization out there. They had huge conferences which were the industry standard. A series of scandals in the last few years has seen their membership dwindle from over 10,000 to around 3000 or less. This means they can’t pay for hotels which they used to book 5 years in advance for their big conferences. The bills are due. There is no money leading to the filing. It is not the end of the association, but tight times are ahead. Meanwhile, the way things have been left has annoyed some writers. 

 

When Simon and Schuster was up for sale, Meta (Facebook) was interested in acquiring it. Good E Reader reports from recordings shared with the New York Times that they didn’t want the publishing company really- only the content. This is a heads up for any other publishing companies going up for sale. You could get bought for AI training purposes.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that Bloomsbury have bought the academic publishers Rowman Littlefield. This is their biggest ever acquisition and doubles their footprint in the US. Richard Charkin’s monthly column on the good and the not so good aspects of publishing has academic publishers in the profitable section, so an excellent bottom line for Bloomsbury. Academic publishing has a captive audience- much to the annoyance of academics.

Dan Holloway of The Alliance of Independent Authors has a quick rundown of the opposition by some of the corporate sponsor behind the Hay Literary Festival. Do you take the money and close your eyes to where it has come from? Can literary beggars be choosers?

 

Lorna Fergusson writes about getting the balance right when you go on a writing retreat. She has a list of very good advice to consider from planning to expectations to the type of experiences that could help or hinder the benefit you might get from it.

 

Christine Webb writes for Writers Digest about balancing humour and emotion in your books. Going too far one way or the other can wreck the reading experience.

 

So what does fear have to do with bad writing? Ruth Harris answers this question in her monthly column on Anne Allens blog. Is fear stopping you from what you really want to write?

 

Do you let your characters fill in backstory? John Kelley has an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about letting your minor characters fill in information. Stories within stories.

 

Suzanne Lakin has an interesting post on inner conflict. How well do you know your characters motivations? She has a series of questions to ask your character that reveals their inner conflicts and can give you great pointers on where to take the character in the story.

 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to use white space And How Did I Get Here - Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Crafting compelling backstory- Michelle Barker- Bookmark

Steadfast arcs vs flat arcs- September Fawkes

Introducing your characters- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Using universal book links – Draft2Digital- Bookmark

Marketing forever mindset- Podcast- ALLI conference- Bookmark

Marketing to agents- Karen Whiting

5 tips for building superfans- Rachel Hanna- Bookmark

15 book promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

It is always interesting to drop into Joanna Penn’s podcast. This week she has an interview with a former mental health nurse, Adam Beswick, about planning for success. Adam has a bestselling dark fantasy series using TikTok videos. He talks about going from being terrified to video himself to viral videos. It is an interesting interview on mindset and being open to new experiences. We send our characters on challenging journeys- shouldn’t we be challenging ourselves too?

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

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What The Reader Wants

In Publishing News this week,

Two reports released in the UK, the UK governments response to AI and The Society of Authors survey on AI show the creators and the government are a long way apart over the value and use of AI. Dan Holloway of The Alliance of Independent Authors breaks down the key sticking points for each report. Governments are watching each other and trying to get tips on how to tackle this disruptive technology.

 

Pen America is sounding the alarm over the rise and rise of book bans in schools. This is a number which everyone would like to see going the other way. They also call out the worst states for this practice.

 

Publishers Weekly is pivoting to embrace all sorts of events for publishers. They have appointed a director of content studio to run custom content and events. With the demise of Digital Book World which took over Book Expo America leaving America without a bookfair I’m wondering if they are making moves in this empty space.

 

Kelley Way has an interesting post on copyright and how to gift it. This is primarily for a US audience but there are useful tips. Always make sure you know what the copyright laws are in your own country if you Indie publish. Passive Guy has a post on 10 copyright myths for a good reminder.

 

If you Indie Publish you will be familiar with Print On Demand. Book Vault in the UK has been quietly upping the printing game. This week they announced Book Vault Bespoke with foiling, ribbons, sprayed edges, and other goodies available to on demand publishers. Check out what else they have coming. Super exciting if you are a writer.

 

When is a book club not a book club? Most people understand a book club to be a group that meets to read and discuss one book at a time. How about a club that meets to silent read for an hour. A bookstore has an interesting twist on the book club starting with swap your phone for a glass of wine and comfy chair.

 

Leah Paulos writes on Anne R Allen’s blog about book promotion. If you struggle with this aspect of writing and publishing, you need to read Why There’s Nothing Icky About Promoting A Book.

Mirella Stoyanova has an interesting post on Jane Friedman’s blog about carving out boundaries. How often do you find your writing time frittered away by demands of others or life expectations or your own inability to commit. Mirella says boundaries are important in the relationship we have with ourselves.

Julie Duffy has one of those posts on Writer Unboxed that writers need to read at least once a year when they feel overwhelmed about the world outside their desk. How To Write When The World Is In A Mess. 

 

Katie Weiland always has amazing posts on the craft of writing. I was particularly struck with this one on the subplots. Are you paying attention to the structure of subplots? They have a rhythm all their own which can enhance the main story or wreck it. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Minding your pinch points in writing- Sue Coletta Bookmark!

Foreshadowing- Michelle Barker

How Goal, Motivation, and Conflict add tension- Helena Fairfax- Bookmark

10 Great Writing Tips- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Checklist for beginning your story- K M Weiland- MUST READ

 

In The Marketing Section,

What MVP means for authors- Kevin Tumlinson

9 author newsletter examples- Mailerlite

How To Create Fun Freebies- Colleen Story – Bookmark

A Q and A with Katie Sadler on Book Marketing – Fiona Erskine- Bookmark

Get your books found on Amazon- Karen Cioffi- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Elizabeth Craig has a great guest post from Hugh Cook on making your characters leap off the page. Hugh talks about the four fiction techniques regardless of genre that make memorable characters. After all it’s the characters you remember from that book you stayed up all night reading. This is the Writer Holy Grail. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

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Writing Good Stuff

 

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

This week Publishers Weekly reported on the state of publishing in 2023 now that the numbers are in. The sales figures were slightly up on last year but only because of a strong showing in religious books. The other numbers were down slightly. Life is good if you are a theological university publisher. 

 

Publishing Perspectives looks at the 2023 Canadian book buying trends showing a snapshot of key buying trends. Are book buyers buying from physical stores or online? Are they embracing digital or print only? Are Canadian buying habits reflected around the world?

 

Mark Williams reports that on the other side of the world, Thailand is about to have its first rights fair. Publishing is a global business and often people forget that Asia and the Middle East have over half the world’s population. The western centric book fairs don’t reflect this huge demographic and a lot of them want English language books. Are publishers missing a market here?

 

Victoria Strauss from Writer Beware has a list of the agents, editors and publishers who are being impersonated at the moment. This kind of scam is on the rise so if you get a nibble from someone check out if its legit before celebrating.

 

The writing business can be a lonely one. Where would we be without our writer friends. If you are new or trying to figure out how to find your literary community read this great guest article on Jane Friedman’s blog from Star Wuerdemann.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed Matthew Holmes this week on how to advertise on Meta. (Facebook) Matthew shares what is working now and tips on Going Direct. 

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors had a well-attended panel event at the London Book Fair on the future of publishing and it was filmed. Check out the video if you want a little slice of bookfair hustle along with some great commentary.

 

Writer Unboxed has their craft guru Ray Rhamey examining first pages and wondering if they would be an instant buy. 

 

Suzanne Lakin has a great writing craft blog. Her latest excellent post,  How can you get a character to self describe themselves without it sounding like a shopping list. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Why rough drafts should never be perfect- E S Foster

How to build powerful character relationships- Angela Ackerman

Best books for editors- Bookmark

Using beat sheets for memoir- Lisa Cooper Ellison -Bookmark

9 types of personalities writers can use for characters- Ken Miyamoto- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to promote a self published book- Derek Haines

Indie book marketing plan- PublishDrive

Tips for growing a worldwide audience- Mark Lefebvre- Bookmark

8 best book marketing strategies- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Visual Branding- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

 

To Finish

 

Give a writer a long weekend and they will invariably be thinking about their Work In Progress and how to carve some time to work on the craft of writing. The letters W.I.P. act just like the homonym to lash the back of the writer. Get some proper words down! (All that is missing is the H word.) James Scott Bell is a great writing craft teacher. In this article he takes a first page and edits it explaining what he is doing. This may be the Help you need to get stuck into your own craft learning.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

pic Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash