This week there has been a lot of discussion on The Alliance
of Independent authors (Alli) making a distinction between ordinary independent
authors and ‘professional’ independent authors. Publishing Perspectives takes a look at what Alli are trying to do... Because we are all professional aren’t
we?
Kris Rusch has another stand out post on Contract
Dealbreakers... This week it’s Rights Reversion. This is an important post to
read especially if you are looking at a contract where the publisher wants all
rights... or no dice. (this is common in NZ.)
A few weeks ago I had a link to a post by Steven Spohn on
Chucks Blog, on the nature of writing disabled characters. This week,
Disability in Kids Lit, posted an article of terms to be familiar with if you
are writing a disabled character.
This week Mike Shatzkin announced that he will no longer be
programming the Digital Book World Conference as he thinks the big strategic
questions facing the book industry have been answered. Mike shares an overview of the last decade. And what a decade it has been.
Writer Unboxed has an excellent article on dealing with Writers Block... In a choose your own adventure style.
Hugh Howey writes an excellent story. This week on his blog he talks about breaking ideas. Not just breaking but shattering them to find an
unforgettable idea... and writing from there.
It just might be a new classic.
In the Craft Section,
Nailing Internal Dialogue- Jane Friedman Bookmark
Three steps to a smoother writing style- Roz Morris – Bookmark
The key to creating believable plots- CS Lakin
Two Bookmark posts by Janice Hardy, Creating unlikeable but compelling villains and False Starts.
Desire is the driving force- Michael Hauge- Bookmark
Getting the story out of your head- Jennie Nash
10 mistakes almost every rookie makes- Bookmark
In the Marketing Section,
10 tips for how to get Book Reviewers- Anne R Allen Bookmark
5 steps for the killer book talk- Jane Friedman Bookmark
Optimal success in book pricing- Digital Book World
Before you self publish read this- Joanna Penn – Bookmark
Canva newbie guide- (Excellent overview of this tool)
Indie Publishing paths- Reader retention plans- Janice Hardy
To Finish,
Today there was a spirited opinion piece in the Guardian taking issue with the tired old list of books being foisted on children as
classics. The list came from the BBC’s Love to read campaign and was
contributed to by the public. But modern children’s literature was missing. We
know it's being bought so why doesn’t it make these classic lists?
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is being made into a film.
This book has won numerous awards and is the only book to win both The Carnegie
(Patrick Ness for writing) and the Greenaway Medal (Jim Kay for illustration) It is absolutely a modern
classic. Do we have to wait for a film to be made to validate this? (Trailer
out today.)
Maureen
@craicer
