This morning I read an interesting article about the Princess Author Syndrome. As I was reflecting on it I was thinking about the
need for all authors to educate themselves on the industry. Especially if you
are thinking about traditional publishing as these tweets from Writer Beware
blogger Victoria Strauss this morning illustrate.
Grrr! Email today from writer who signed with schmagency, got referred to "independent" editor who's actually boyfriend of schmagent. 1/6
— Victoria Strauss (@victoriastrauss) February 25, 2015
Editor charged insane 5-figure fee, schmagent offered contract for edited ms, then turned around & demanded more editing. 2/6
— Victoria Strauss (@victoriastrauss) February 25, 2015
(read the rest in my Twitter feed)
Scott Berkun takes an unsentimental approach with 28 things no one tells you about publishing.
If you are into experimenting with Indie publishing you will know that learning never stops in this game. Kathryn Rusch has a great blog post on this and how she is weighing up which of her many projects will go down the traditional route. (Along with a fascinating story about a rejected YA series because of main characters race.)
Elisabeth S Craig talks about the pro and cons of being a Hybrid author and that ties nicely into Porter Anderson’s big thought piece on publishing terms that get confused. Porter also profiles a company that wants
to partner with authors... but be wary. (see above)
Ryan Hanley looks at the 7 harsh realities of self-publishing as a side hustle from your day job.
Kiwi author D C Grant has a great opinion piece on the ALLi (Alliance
of Independent Authors) blog about collaborating with publishers on projects. Here
in NZ we face the real prospect of having celebrity rugby players
biographies or chef’s cook books as the only NZ themed content on the
shelves in the next decade. Which brings me to another excellent Alli post on
collaboration with other authors in marketing and publishing. (Take the time to
have a look at the Triskele Trail e-book,)
Charlie Redmayne CEO of HarperCollins addressed the Scottish
Book Trade conference this week with a warning that Amazon could be disrupted
this year. The Bookseller reports on Charlie’s candid state of the publishing nation speech which includes why they bought Harlequin, what kind of celebrity
book they are looking for and yes he is related to....
In the Craft Section,
Script mag on writing log lines – Great post.
When you need a pep talk – reach for these inspirations.
6 must have elements of a WOW story. (Bookmark it!)
Finding the right writing group – start your own
In the Marketing Section,
Book covers- forget Fabio d-i-y covers. (Bookmark this!)
50 questions to ask yourself about your author platform. (Your marketing 101 course)
Jody Hedlund shares how she creates great launch buzz.
Simple promo tips - call your book by its name and put your author bio on the front and back covers.
Book Marketing truths few experts will admit- a stellar post by Angela Ackerman.
Website of The Week
It’s not really a website...more of a web guru. Jane
Friedman is a great resource for writers. This week she talks with Laura Backes
on picture e-books for children and shares her round up of 5 great digital resources for writers.
To Finish,
Roz Morris asks whether you can teach writing to anyone.
This is always the dilemma faced by creative writing tutors everywhere.
Chuck Wendig explains why adults read so much Young Adult fiction. (This is the argument you use when someone questions your book
choice.)
Educating ourselves about the publishing industry is just
good sense, don’t you think?
Maureen
@craicer
