In publishing news this week…
The Scarlet Johannson / Black Widow standoff over a contract dispute with Disney sounds very familiar in the writing world. Earlier this year writers’ groups banded together to seek reparations after Disney didn’t pay royalties. Now they have thrown their weight behind Scarlet’s dispute. How many times do they need to be told? Pay the creators.
Frankfurt Bookfair is stumbling along in a will they, won’t they, be live or virtual or both or neither this year. They have been bleeding big publishers and now their guest country of honour might not show up. Mark Williams takes a look at the latest news.
Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article on the latest sales numbers for crime and thrillers. This powerhouse genre has usually been a reliable performer but their numbers are dropping. Why? Is it sexism?
There have been mutterings and warnings around the blogosphere on the supply chain issues in the book industry. Last year with lockdowns around the world, book printing slowed up and then earlier this year bulk lots of books flooded the market. The whole supply chain is in a pickle. CNN points out the problems on the manufacturing side and Publishers Weekly examines the price hikes on books due to the supply problems.
The Alliance of Independent Authors has a great chat with Adam Croft which touches on this and the big stoush between Amazon Print and Ingram Spark.
Staying with the Alliance of Independent Authors -they have a great article on rights reversion. When you negotiate your contracts have you paid attention to this clause. This is fast becoming one of the most important clauses in a book publishing contract. When do you get your rights back? Yes, you can negotiate this and you should.
There is a new monthly magazine on the print stands, The Indie Author Magazine. It is in its first year of production and being Indie focused it is available in digital and app formats. This month’s edition features the indie powerhouse group 20 books to 50k along with lots of other craft articles.
Recently Jane Friedman featured an article on Darcy Pattison, an exceptional Indie children’s author. This is a totally fascinating article on how Darcy works and has succeeded in making a 6 figure income in the tough world of children’s publishing.
Kris Rusch has another great article in her publishing across the digital divide series. This week she examines the growth of international markets. Do you have an international focus? Do you even know where the big growth areas are?
I have a few craft books on structure and am always interested in reading about structure analysis. One of the best at this is September Fawkes. She recently wrote an article on Variations of Story Structure which is a master class and a must-read!
In The Craft Section,
Conflict without violence – adding depth- Litreactor- Bookmark
Fantasy Army recruitment- Mythic Scribes
What nonfiction writers should learn or unlearn when writing fiction- Paula Munier
Stop keeping yourself small-Lauren Sapala- Bookmark
7 tricks to refresh a scene- September Fawkes - Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
How to write an author bio- Sandra Beckwith
Ultimate guide to mailing lists – Alliance of Independent Authors- Bookmark
How to create a boxset- Bookbub
2 Great posts from Penny Sansevieri- Why a good author brand is a must- And Smarter book
promotion with seasonal ads – Bookmark Both
How to market your book without social media promotion- Carol Michel- Interesting!
To Finish,
Ruth Harris always writes an entertaining article on the writing life. This week she tackled blurb writing and the fear we all have around writing them. Ruth has some great advice and tips to go big on the blurb.
Disney writers could try this simple sentence. Pay Me For My Work That Is Making You Billions.
Maureen
@craicer
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