Bring Out The Whips

 

This week in publishing,

Publishing Perspectives reports on a great initiative by Poland to ensure artists get paid pensions and other benefits. Are we seeing the start of a movement to value artists with a Universal Basic Income? 

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has an interesting report from Brazil on the resilience of their publishing industry. They report a growth of 29% and Mark reports that these numbers are being reflected in other countries where they have committed to digital publishing along with traditional models. 

 

Traditional publishing relies on paper and printers being able to access ink and paper. The Bookseller reports a worrying trend. Publishers are noticing a hike in printing prices of almost 40%. It is coming down the track fast so if it hasn’t got to your publisher, it will soon. This tightening is going to see book prices rise, which will impact all other strands of the industry.

 

Jane Friedman has an interesting post on what film agents look for when they want to option a book for the screen. She shares information gleaned from an international panel she attended at Bologna.

The Alliance of Independent Authors has just put together a comprehensive article on how to negotiate an option agreement.

 

Kris Rusch has another post in her year in review where she looks at new tools that have popped up to help authors publish. She talks about the overwhelm that authors can face with all the ways you can publish now. You don’t have to do everything! But being aware of what’s out there is probably a good place to start.

 

William Hahn has an interesting guest post on Anne R Allen's blog this week dealing with Writers Block. Writers Block brings out the worst to ourselves. – How we beat ourselves up over our inability to write words can just prolong the agony. He has some great advice- and examples for how to diagnose the problem then treat it.

 

Writer Unboxed has a similar message from Kelsey Allagood – four ways to silence your inner comments section. This is the insidious little voice that sabotages you right when you don’t need it. 

 

It’s January and that means it is time to drop into the 12x12 picture book challenge. If you have been wanting to challenge yourself and write in this medium – Take a look.

Draft 2 Digital has 5 tools to help you reach your writing goals.

In The Craft Section,

Editing tips- Kristen Lamb

Do’s and Dont’s of story beginnings- Story Empire

Two halves of the inciting incident- K M Weiland - Bookmark

4 tips for writing trauma disclosure- Lisa Hall-Wilson - Bookmark

Writing magic in a real world setting- Liz Keller Whitehurst- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

3 image types to boost social media- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Reach more readers through guest posting- Joanna Penn

Using back matter to sell books- Bookbub- Bookmark

Cover design mistakes – DIYMFA- Bookmark

How to get more publicity- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Cory Doctorow has been vocal leader and advocate of using the internet for the freedom of information. He was part of the team that came up with Creative Commons licenses and has written popular books exploring digital literacy along with his technological thrillers. This week he wrote a warning to everyone who uses creative commons pictures about a new type of super predator who is exploiting a loophole in the creative commons license. The warning is serious and accordingly, I have begun to remove some of my blog pictures. I have always tried to source creative commons pictures and link back to the original site. Until the situation is clearer, I will just have a generic text picture on my weekly blog. Boring, I know. I feel for Cory – whom I’ve met, and how incensed he must be that his most excellent gift to the internet community is used in this way.

Meanwhile, I received an email today to say that cloned pages are alive and well and targeting major publishers here in NZ. See my September 2021 blog post about these scummy scammers.

 

Just imagine a picture of an old-time circus wild animal trainer as the heading picture this week.

Bring Out The Whips. 

 

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 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.

 

 

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

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: Flickr Creative Commons Sumo- Better than Bacon

Fake News

This week started with a hiss and a roar when the New York Times Best Seller list came out.  A book no one had heard of had hit number one! Then, in a fascinating real time take down by YA authors and literary detectives, the story came out through Twitter. And what a story! Read it as it happened and then read the wise advice of Kris Rusch who has seen it all before.

The USA today list is calculated purely on sales so it’s always interesting when an author keeps hitting it. What are they doing right? Here is how one author achieved it three times.

Last week I linked to Hugh Howey’s Part One and Two of his excellent mini series of posts on writing insights- written while aboard his boat floating in the Pacific with turtles.. (Not jealous not jealous not jea...)  Part Three and Part Four are just as good.

Ahh Canada... home to amazing wildlife, amazing syrup, amazing writers and ... Wattpad. But wait... Wattpad is introducing a new video storytelling app, Raccoon. Think video serial stories in real time...

Joanna Penn posted an interesting interview with Sarah Painter on how writers can overcome fear and self doubt. This is well worth a listen or read the transcript.

This week Hollywood Reporter looked at a case going to trial on who actually owns the name Jack Ryan. Was it the Tom Clancy’s estate or the film company or the widow or no one?  Can a character name be copyrighted?

Alli – or The Alliance of Independent Authors is gearing up for the next and last 24 hour online fringe conference. Each conference has a theme and the upcoming one is all about author business. This is well worth signing up for ... and its free!

Sean Platt has his fingers in many writing pies along with other creative endeavors like the Smarter Artists summit. Here is his ten point plan on how to make a living as an Indie author. Writing an amazing book is not at number one... (When I sit down to write I always hear Sean’s voice saying ... First Know Your Why!)

In The Craft Section,

Insights into your midpoint scene- C S Lakin

Writing multiple points of view- use music- March McCarron

Weaving back story into front story- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

Create an idea bank- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

Tracking your writing- Prolifico

How to slow time for more relaxed writing sessions – Elizabeth Spann Craig- Bookmark

5 ways to introduce a fantasy language-WritersEdit

What to do when you can’t make things up- Roz Morris

2 great posts from Janice Hardy - Conflict – Why it isn’t about fighting and Creating Unique Characters. - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

The Visibility Gambit- David Gaughran- Bookmark

Ultimate guide to creating a media kit- Chris Well (This is part 4 but you should read all the other parts.)

437 Book Marketing tips- Derek Murphy

Why I used ARC’s to promote my book- Alli Blog- Bookmark

How to throw an online launch party- Kristen Lamb

Martin Crosbie’s list of Book Promo sites- Bookmark coz its huge!

Amy Collins looks at all the right things to do in Book Promo

To Finish,

Nathan Bransford has been cranking up his blog again on all things writerly. This week he asked Mike Shatzkin about the next horror nightmare for publishing... What if Barnes and Noble closed down....

So you may have noticed some changes on the blog. It’s Spring... Over the next few weeks there will be a few more changes... (I miss my space pics already.) I’m also the Fabo Judge for the next two weeks - the entries are flooding in already! Who wants a quiet life... umm.

Maureen

@craicer

  

I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces in my monthly newsletter. When you subscribe you get a nifty book crammed full of marketing notes.  Coffee fuels the blog so THANKS for your coffee button hits this week.

 Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre- The false colour of Mercury using mineral and chemical imaging.

Caring for your Writer

We are half way through Winter and the local news is about flooding and snow storms and we are going into Election Season. It’s enough to make you depressed. So what’s happening in the Northern Hemisphere? They are in the middle of Summer and the news is just as dire and everyone is depressed.

Writer’s suck in the atmosphere around them and try to make sense of it in their writing. Their words can be the solace at a difficult time... a challenge to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes... an idea that changes a world.

The price for this can be carved out on the writer’s soul. Sometimes it’s hard to remain upbeat.

Anne R Allen has a standout post on Writers Block and Depression. This is a must read. Even if you have never suffered from Writers Block, recognising the signs might help you to care for your self better.

Self Doubt is another insidious dis-ease that writers suffer from. Cat Friesen has some practical ways to cope with this common writer ailment.

For a bracing dose of writer medicine read Chuck Wendig - So you are having a bad writing day.  Don’t beat yourself up about it!

If you are struggling to explain why sometimes this industry gets you down. Take a look at Kristen Lamb’s post from December. It’s a reminder on how much publishing has changed in a decade.

Looking at changes to the familiar, Frances Caballo has taken a close look at the changes on Twitter and Facebook. She explains how useful the new tools we’ve been given are.

Last week I linked to a post by Jami Gold. Did you notice her new website? Jami writes this week about why and how she changed her website. (This is all interesting to me as I play in a private sandbox tweaking ideas for a revamp here.)

Alli- or The Alliance of Independent Authors have a great blog. Recently Richard Bradburn shared his thoughts on the proper care and feeding of Beta Readers. (This week my Beta Readers found a critical mistake, proving that it doesn’t matter how many times you check something, another person’s eyes on your work is worth gold.)

PublishDrive has an interesting article on publishing books on Google Play. They can do it. While you are checking out the article, check out the company, who are an ebook distributor based in Europe. They now sell in over 400 online stores including all the big ones and they sell into Asia. (The next big market according to Joanna Penn.)

Joanna Penn has been promoting her new edition of How To Market a Book all over Social Media. She has an excerpt from the book about the polarities of Book Marketing. What do you do if you have no money to market...

In The Craft Section,

Two great articles from Angela Ackerman on setting. – Make your setting a character and Turn your setting into an obstacle course. Bookmark

How do you know when you need to revise- Blood Red Pencil

Describing character eyes- Now Novel-Bookmark

Feedback Frenzy- Everyone’s opinion - Janice Hardy

Structuring events in sequence- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Sensory details in setting- Christina Delay

In The Marketing Section,

Networking for indie authors

How to create pre launch buzz- Rachel Thompson - Bookmark

Building an email list for your book – The Write Life

Bookcovers and Indie Author brands- Bookmark

How to be a top book on Goodreads- Penny Sansevieri

Advanced approaches to author marketing- Draft2Digital- Bookmark

To Finish,

I like to dive into a podcast over lunch or on car journeys when it’s just me. It is a way of connecting to the wider publishing world. Some podcasts are mini workshops. If you haven’t listened to a podcast take the plunge. Check out 30 outstanding podcasts for authors. Today I listened to the superb team from the SFF Marketing podcast who chatted about editing and mailing lists. I always learn something new which helps me to stay upbeat in this crazy publishing world.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Spa. Flickr Creative Commons- Stephanie Riddell  https://www.familiesonline.co.uk

I have a monthly newsletter with the best of the months craft and marketing links. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Come and join our happy band!

The Writing Rules

Thou shalt read the writing rules... well they are just guidelines because every writer is different. 

However there are some rules that you can’t break. 

1. Don’t send a manuscript out to a publisher in Comic Sans font.

2. Don’t submit your child’s drawings as illustrations with a picture book manuscript.

I’m sure you can think of a couple more.

Ruth Harris has a comprehensive post on writing rules and guidelines, which is well worth a careful read.

Kris Rusch has another stellar post on brand and defining your target audience. I always struggle with this. Kris has some great advice. This is a timely read.

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are two rock stars in the writing blogosphere. They have a great post on helping authors succeed, because we are all in this together. Angela has put together a list of actions that everyone can do to help others. They have a pay it forward mentality... so of course they also reached out to promote Kristen Lamb’s first fiction book. Kristen has a great post about running your own race in your writing career but choose carefully who your running buddies will be.

Jane Friedman has an interesting post on FOMO (fear of missing out) and how it can cripple your productivity. How do you stay focused on the writing prize?

Danica Davidson has an inspirational post on 7 things to do when you want to give up. (Instead of giving up.) When you read she started submitting novels as a teen you realise she does know what she is talking about.

Penny Sansevieri has a must read post on book sales. It’s not about how many followers you have... it’s about engagement. Think super fans and micro influencers....

Derek Murphy likes to change things up by breaking rules or guidelines....  Recently he wrote about the weird ideas he does to write and publish bestsellers. He starts from the cover....

Julie Munroe Martin was writing recently on Writer Unboxed about putting together a survival pack if you are a writer. (No. Not a pack full of wine...) A way to keep you hitting your writing goals.

This weekend is the second 2017 Indie Fringe event run by the Alliance of Independent Authors. This free one day online conference has the focus of book marketing and some great topics will be covered check out the speakers!

In The Craft Section,

Avoiding clunky writing

Story grid your non fiction book- Shawn Coyne

5 writer goals to avoid overwhelm- C S Lakin

9 things your Main character needs- 10 minute novelist- Bookmark

Legal myths debunked for authors- Bookworks- Bookmark

Ways to start your novel- Now Novel- Bookmark

How to strengthen characters- Jami Gold - Bookmark

6 things to remember after you've finished the MS- Jody Hedlund

In The Marketing Section,

Two great posts from Book Marketing Tools, Put calls to action in your books and Loglines – how to write them. – Bookmark Both

Three Keys to writing back copy- Chris Syme- Bookmark

Insiders guide to author websites- Bookworks

14 Book Cover sites- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

Understanding the 3 stage buying cycle

Optimizing Blog posts- Rachel Thompson

To Finish,

Reedsy has pulled out another great infographic. This one is on copyright. This is a comprehensive fact filled How To and Go To guide on the subject.

Copyright is one rule you should not break!

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces.  Get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes when you subscribe.
 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons/ Lefteris Heretakis

Your Writing Dream World

Just before I wrote this I was watching a YouTube clip about a teen who was on Britain’s Got Talent with an amazing voice. Simon Cowell hit the golden button and she was showered with golden tickets... It was her dream come true.

Here in writing land we all secretly wish for The Phonecall or The Surprise Party from the Movie Studio... or even that someone else makes dinner so you can stay in your imaginary world.

Living in your writing dream world can be a great escape from the real world at the moment. But it is always wise to keep one eye on what is happening in publishing outside your study door.

So did you hear about Amazon changing the Buy Button links on their book pages? Any 3^rd party vendor can bid for that link. The publisher doesn’t necessarily get the sale. The Independent Book Publishers Association is not happy. Does this open the door to pirates?

The Outline talked with a few publishing exec’s about what effects cutting some of the best seller lists from The New York Times would have on publishing overall. It was a bit grim for debut authors. Consolidated and Conservative is not what you want to hear.

Kobo has a nifty new feature starting up called Kobo Plus. And it looks just like... Kindle Unlimited except without the exclusivity.... Is it a dream come true for authors?

Molly Greene had a reader contact her about her books. After a conversation Molly asked the reader to write a blog post for her about what readers want. This is a fascinating glimpse into the power reader mindset.

David Gaughran is a sharp cookie and he has a standout post on data. How does the ‘also boughts’ on your book page affect your sales. Who is Amazon pointing to your book? Sometimes it’s not your dream audience.

Anne R Allen has a great post on career mistakes. She’s made them so you don’t have to. It’s always wise to find out what not to do before you jump in to what looks like the dream pool.

Jane Friedman has a great post on how a book can become a bestseller and a post on Author Collectives... I keep saying this is the way to go... Get your writing friends together, you might be the next Bloomsbury!

Kristen Lamb touches on a topic that has been worrying some authors. There are many predators out there wanting to sell you a course promising great things for your writing career. How do you tell the good ones from the bad ones? Before you flick out your wallet check out what she has to say.

Alli – The Alliance of Independent Authors, has another excellent Indie Fringe online conference event coming up.  Check out Orna’s talk with Porter Anderson on why Book Expo America has changed its name and dumped its successful Indie hub.

You have found the most amazing song that fits your book so well... BUT what is the thinking around using song lyrics. Check out this post before you unleash a nightmare with your book.

Angela Ackerman, besides researching her great Emotion Thesaurus line of books, often finds other cool reference sites for authors. Here she lists her favourites and they are awesome. 

In The Craft Section,

5 steps to building a plot outline- Casey Griffin-Bookmark

Character Archtypes and How to introduce Characters- Now Novel- Bookmark Both

Weird Writers block tricks

10 writing prompts to help unstick your first draft- 10 minute novelist

How to edit your story

Who owns the scene- Storydoctor- Bookmark

One dimensional characters- K M Weiland

Writing Blurbs- Rayne Hall-Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

How to use infographics for branding

5 tips for using swag- Jesikah Sundin- Bookmark

KDP rules roundup- Bookmark

How to determine your price point- Nathan Bransford

Using visual content for marketing

Two Great posts from Penny Sansevieri- Common pitfalls for Indies and

  Hot New Amazon keywords – Bookmark Both!

Creative book marketing ideas

Selling a children’s book series

How to Brand yourself

To Finish,

Darcy Pattison an Indie Children’s Book author recently had a guest post on The Highlights Foundation Blog. In her article she listed the 50 things Indie Publishers had to do for each book. You will need a lie down... but like all dreams they can come true with hard work, perseverance, knowledge, whiskey...

Maureen Crisp

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. To say Thank You for subscribing you get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes.  Make sure you subscribe to check out the book.Thanks everyone who hit the coffee button this week. I appreciate the virtual coffee love.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Jeff Krause

Planning For Chocolate

Last week my theme was contingency planning... and knowing where the chocolate is. This week planning is still a hot topic.

Jane Friedman has a great article on checklists for authors... it’s comprehensive and covers everything you can think of and a few things you may not have thought of. Jane also has a great article on editorial control. Who has it (at what stage) and How to keep it.

Kristen Lamb has also been thinking about planning but in a different way. Do you protect yourself as a writer? She has an excellent post on ways to protect your muse and it starts by getting rid of toxic time wasters...(sometimes known as relations.)

Porter Anderson exhorts writers to think of the pain readers are in and to commit to telling great stories for them. In times of great trouble and upheaval writers can touch others by their words and ideas.

Jan O’Hara talks about exploiting your own vulnerabilities to complete your book by viewing your strengths and weakness’ in a different way. It is a shift in perception that opens up a new way of working.  A very interesting article.

Joanna Penn has a fabulous interview with Gabriela Pereira of DIYMA. This is a MUST watch/ Listen/ Read on creating your own course of study to up-skill your writing. (Your own M.A. in writing.) Gabriela has a huge library of articles and ideas as well as a very involved community.

Continuing our education up-skilling, Lindsay Buroker and the chaps at SFF Marketing podcast were talking to Tom Corson-Knowles about Amazon Ad marketing, email campaigns and effective social media. This is a masters level course in targeted marketing. Absolutely riveting stuff and a Must Watch also.

The Alliance of Independent Authors has some great resources and recently they had two standout posts.  A Kiwi author talks about marketing using Instafreebie  and the other post is on the right combination of CreateSpace and Ingram for Print On Demand books.

About five years ago I talked about Book Espresso machines. This is a book printer machine that sits inside a bookshop. Publishers Weekly recently took a look at what bookshops are doing with them. From becoming publishers to vital links in the community.

Forming communities of like minded writing buddies and doing something wonderful has long been a hobbyhorse of mine. Whether it’s to exploit Instafreebie or growing your email list or group marketing your books or producing an Annual. There is  power in harnessing collective creative brains.

In The Craft Section,

30 Minutes 30 Days- The WriteLife- Bookmark

Middle of NANO pep talk from Maggie Stiefvater

Stupid Writing Rules- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

5 keys to write 50k

3rd person omniscient and deep POV- Reedsy- Bookmark

How to write Story Descriptions- Karen Woodward- Bookmark

How to write backstory- NowNovel- Bookmark

Tension – Make it worse- Zoe McCarthy

In The Marketing Section,

Master your Amazon Keywords- Bibliocrunch

5 Bookbinding styles- The Book Designer

Do This Not That- Book Promotion (November Edition)- The Book Designer

9 ways to help you find readers- Sacha Black

3 Marketing Strategies

Blogging got you down? Try this- Frances Caballo - Bookmark

12 Book Discovery tools - Bookmark

To Finish,

Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Rusch are a powerhouse couple for clear eyed advice in publishing. There is nothing that they have not done in their publishing lives. This week Dean talks about writing what you want to write and how to look at the long game in publishing. Kris talks about running a writing business in a time of uncertainty and how to plan for this.

We are still getting after shocks from last weeks earthquake. Every day brings news of another building being evacuated. We sat down and did some planning and now our Go Bag is packed by the door. I know where I’ve stashed a supply of chocolate.... 

Maureen

@craicer

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter for a collection of the best of my bookmarked links and extra's (Christmas Draw coming up.)

Pic : Flickr Creative Commons- Thechiaroscuro

Waiting For The Sun

This week I attended the NZ Children’s Book Awards. As in recent years Indie publishers were 25% of the finalists and winners. Some of the small publishers from a few years ago are growing, which is good news. This year’s winners came from a group of writers who have consistently produced great work but have never won big awards. We all celebrate their moment in the sun.

I have been thinking about stickability, especially from the writers that keep producing good work year after year. They barely make a living yet they still keep writing and contributing their time to the writing community. All of the winners of the children’s book awards this year exemplify this. Finalists have to take unpaid time off work to visit schools and libraries as part of an awards roadshow. Kristen Lamb has a great article on embracing the grind. Ann Kroeker also has a wonderful article about writers seeing the 3D sound effects movie in their heads and the feelings when this translates as 2D flatness of their writing.

We’ve all been there. We are there still. Someday we will crack it!

Chuck Wendig wrote an interesting blog post this week, 25 reasons why I put down your book. This is a great list to remind authors that first and foremost you have to entertain the reader. (Warning it is Chuck so be prepared!)

From the writers point of view sometimes things can get a little dicey in your head. Stuart Nadler has written a moving tribute to all the characters he has killed off who haunt him still. Every writer has struggled with their conscience as they killed off a character... but sometimes the ghosts live on....

Writer Unboxed had an interesting article from Jo Eberhardt that garnered over 290 comments. The problem of female protagonists. If you look at your bookshelves how many of your books have Female protagonists or are written by women? Jo highlights recent research into the myth that we are writing gender balanced books. A very interesting read.

Jane Friedman has an interview with two literary agents on hybrid authors and how they can navigate their way in the publishing world.

David Gaughran reminds all authors to research who you are working with and go in eyes wide open.

In The Craft Section, (A fabulous list today)

13 ways to add depth to your novel- Victoria Mixon- Bookmark

How your characters failures are a recipe for self growth- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Choosing your antagonist- Blood Red Pencil- Bookmark

How to write a synopsis- Bookmark

How writers can stretch their creativity- CS Lakin- Bookmark

When Theme smothers premise- Larry Brooks- Bookmark

How to write stronger characters- SheNovel- Bookmark

Sequel scenes- K M Weiland - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section

Do Indies have to do print- Digital Reader

7 tips for blog traffic- Anne R Allen – Bookmark

Marketing a book after the buzz dies down- Bookbub

Tips for branding your book series- Book marketing tools – Bookmark

How I launched my book and sold 20K copies- Daniel Arenson- Bookmark

2 Goodreads features – Frances Caballo

Indie publishing paths- Janice Hardy

To Finish

Angela Ackerman has written a fabulous article on influencers. How to find them, what they can do for you and more importantly what you can do for them. This is a must read! All authors need that helping hand... and big mouth to spread the news about your latest book.

You can’t rely on winning an award right off the bat. It takes years of crafting relationships and being prepared for the long haul before  the sun comes out. Then it will feel absolutely blinding if the reaction from one of my friends who won this week is anything to go by.

Maureen

@craicer

Get a selection of the months best links and other interesting extras when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

 Pic From Flickr/ Creative Commons/ John Taylor

You thought I was going to post a picture of the sun.... hehehe. TA DA!

From Space.com