Valentine Writing

It is St Valentine’s Day...the feast day of the martyred priest who married Christians in defiance of Emperor Claudius (269AD). Patron Saint of Lovers, Marriage, Young People and Bee Keepers.

Around the Publishing Blogosphere several big conferences are about to kick off. O’Reillys Tools of Change is underway but this year they started with Author (R)Evolution Day where for about the first time writers got to be at a big publishing conference with content directed at them. Porter Anderson wraps up the important points...Metadata!!!!

Mediabistro has the low down on Porters panel discussion at this event...promotion. This is very hot off the press as ARD was yesterday.

TOC starts today and Indie ReCon (Free and Online) is this weekend.

Indies can do all this RT @annehill: New big 6: google, apple, amazon, Sony, kobo, nook. #ARDay #TOCcon" hey NYC, you listening?
— Joanna Penn (@thecreativepenn) February 12, 2013

This week Charles Gonzales post on Discovery only being a problem for publishers got mentioned a lot as people took sides.

Bookish the new ‘Discovery’ site set up by 3 Big Publishers launched and quickly got panned for what it wasn’t and should have been. Everybody had such high hopes!

Joanna Penn has a great post on writing more and getting a daily writing habit and another one on Sampling...This is a must read if you are thinking of going digital.

Mike Shatzkin wraps up his series on Bookstores...Publishers and the Future. Would you pay to browse a book store?

Rachelle Gardner cautions about who is reading your unpublished work...and who should be...while 
Writeitsideways continues this theme with the post Want Agents To Read Your MS...Do This First.

Chuck has a thoughtful reflective post on The Hardest Writerly Truth (usual warnings apply)

KillZone has a great post on Working On More Than One Book At A Time.

The Passive Guy has the run down on What Every Writer Should Know...If you are teaching writing or planning a conference you should read this!

In the Craft section,

The Fabulous Jami Gold on synopsis...This is a great cheat sheet on constructing a synopsis...or even an outline before you write the book.

Blake Snyder, he of Save The Cat (THE screenwriting craft book) has a guest post on his site by Marilyn Brant. This takes the classic Pride and Prejudice and applies the Save the Cat Beat sheet. Great stuff!

Chuck Wendig on 5 things you should know about narrative viewpoint...(Warning it’s Chuck!)

Diabolical Plots has an interview with Kristine Rusch on Critique...Kris and Dean run workshops on critiques but quite differently....Take a look!

The Bookshelf Muse on info dumping...when to do it or not....

Victoria Mixon 14 ways to love what your manuscript loves.

Linking Verbs...do you need them?

In the Marketing Section,

Joanna Penn on Marketing YA

AuthorMedia on engaging readers on your Facebook Author Page...3 Great Tips!

Good Author websites...with examples from Bookcovercafe

Why you might not be succeeding at Self Publishing... and Digital Book World has five unexpected tips to help you succeed...

To finish,

Recently some writers and I were discussing how sometimes you feel a fraud even tho you are published and you might know some stuff about the industry. The lovely Jami Gold has a great post on this subject but even better she links to one of those WOW TED talks that puts it all into perspective. This is a link to share around to everyone!!

Every now and then I post a video to say thanks to one of my commenter’s (FB and Blog)...Melinda this one is for you in honour of Today’s Big Wedding Anniversary. Congratulations Melinda and James.

pic from the fabulous Debbie Ridpath Ohi Writers Rejection Valentine

Burning Up

New Zealand is experiencing a heat wave. We are flocking to beaches...diving for water bottles or staring stupidly into the sky and saying what is that yellow thing?

Over in the publishing blogoshere there is disquiet...Sony has a nice little promo going on with the 20p (38cNZ) ebook and Amazon matched it coz that’s what they do and Sony doesn’t look like stopping this anytime soon....Ummm. This could have a major effect on everyone’s bottom line. FutureBook looks at the race to the bottom and the millons being squandered/earned/ redistributed...amongst the publishers who signed up for this promo.

Burning up Twitter this week is the news that Barne’s and Noble, America’s largest book chain is beginning to close stores and tightening their bricks and mortar footprint. By the end of the decade they will have slimmed down by a third. Mike Shatzkin takes a look at the implications.

In Amazon’s latest earning figures they forgot to put in the figures that everyone wants to know. Ebook sales means how many units over/under print ? and What about the bite Apple is taking in illustrated books because everyone really wants an iPad for kids books? and What does this all mean for hardware...and content providers. PaidContent check out the answers to these burning questions.

If you sign up for anything Amazon writer related...be aware The Amazon orb can burn you if you are not careful. This is a post about one writers baaad journey with Amazon and the lessons learned.

Mark Laurance was faced with a difficult situation on Reddit earlier today when he explained exactly what lowly income a writer gets and was told by several readers that they were now going to buy one of his books after discovering him through pirated books. Check out this fascinating stream of comments where readers defend piracy and Marks response.

Agent Rachelle Gardner looks at the tricky topic of story vs craft in her latest blog post which has racked up nearly 100 comments within 24 hours. Acquiring editors are all over the place with whether they want a great story and hang the writing craft or whether the craft has to be just as tight as the story before they will look at it.

Jody Hedlund looks back at life when she had one book published....and life now (5 books) and What She Wished She Knew Then.

If you could, would you distribute your books through the largest UK book distributor? Did you know it is now McDonalds? Publishing Perspectives  takes a look at McDonalds UK move. Could we do it here and who would lose out?

Joanna Penn is back in love with print! She tells why she came back to it and why for her it makes financial sense.

IndieReCon has released their schedule for the free online conference happening from 19^th Feb. Everything you wanted to know about independent publishing...three days... 39 speakers....Inspired by WriteOnCon...

In Craft,

Raising the stakes in your novel in the first 50 pages... When you get into the planning stages you need to have a good handle on complications. A good post on what you should be looking for.

Adding complexity to your characters...Why do your villains act the way they do...

Tracking time in your novel...If you don’t do it you can come to a very sticky situation...Here are some tips to keep up to speed.

How is your voice? This great post looks at refining your writing voice. Some great exercises here.

Karen Woodward is taking a close look at the StarBurst way of writing...In this post she tackles the classic heroes journey and the significance of Obi Wan Kenobi.

In Marketing,

How do you discover your books brand? And then what do you do....

The Market Within is a nice blog post for Children’s Writers to contemplate...after all their target market doesn’t buy the books so how do you engage with the buying wallets....

How do you know when you are a success? Angela Ackerman of the Bookshelf Muse has a great post detailing the signs...You could be a success and you don’t even know it...

Futurebook has a nice post on ways to optimise and monetise your social strategy in 2013. It sounds dire but if you have a business then this is very much worth a look. Immediately applicable to writers....

To finish,

11 ways to support a fellow writers book...I’m proud to be guilty of a few of these. Last week I was in a big chain bookstore carefully looking for fellow writers books so I could turn them...and found some other writer must have got there before me....They were all shining, face out, to the buying public.

Check out this interview with short story writer George Saunders on the Colbert Report...why short? Doesn't America only want Big Stuff? Gotta laugh!

maureen

pic: Fire  / Ben Watts  Flickr

Being A Hybrid

The Digital Book World conference is over and attendees are digesting the big issues. 

Their comments and ongoing discussions about where publishing is heading in 2013 range from ‘we are over the worst of the transition...things are settling down’...to Batten down the hatches... this ride is only just beginning!

It does behoove* the author to keep an eye on what is happening in the wider world.

First up for comment...this from inside the conference, What Authors Want.... It seems that a third of authors want to self publish their next book...

Porter Anderson dives into Ether for Authors looking at the big issues from DBW

including What authors want...Hugh Howey...and Hybrid** is your new model.

More authors are being offered Wool like deals! News filtering through Twitter today. (oh joy...maybe this will be the big happy news for authors this year.)

To take advantage of publishing's current state of flux...authors are thinking Hybrid is the way to go. (A mix of Traditional and Self/Indie publishing.)

Dean Wesley Smith has been saying it all along...Dean wraps up a series of blog posts looking at crunching the numbers of the new Hybrid world and how you should approach the business of writing. As always check out the 97 comments!!

The next big talking point was Why online book discovery is broken and how to fix it...This article from PaidContent has many people quoting, dissing, upholding...but no one is ignoring it. I have been seeing it quoted all over the publishing blogosphere along with Brett Sandusky’s Elephants In The Room post that I linked to last week. Lots of other juicy posts in last week's blog are still being chewed over.

Also being hotly discussed...the Tools of Change conference coming up and a keynote issue  Piracy, Does It Really Harm The Author?

Publishing Perspectives has 5 Trends to watch for in trade publishing...

Roberto Calas has an in depth look at how to work/write/live Kindle Serials on Lyndsay Buroker’s blog...Boy oh Boy...this is a post that will have your head spinning...but incredible A++ for effort! Dickens followed this model of publishing...(I think he may have been a hybrid...) so maybe we're just going back to the good old days of 200 years ago...

Agent Sarah La Polla has a look at Literary vs Commercial and the reasons for figuring out where your MS lies.

In Craft,

Alan Rinzler takes a look at Character...when you walk in their shoes you write with authenticity.

Elisabeth Spann Craig also wants you have characters that surprise ...

If you are in the synopsis business...check out this great how to do it...one of the best I have seen.

In Marketing,

Maximising the potential of your Facebook Author Page...some very interesting strategies here.

Catherine Ryan Howard looks at Book Distribution and how she has made an important discovery...Hybrids take note!

To finish,

Two posts that rocked me today...You can decide whether I was Buoyed up*** or Aghast****

The numbers proving that print still matters in discovering books

and The New Yorker on Slicing and Dicing The Content of Books...The new model of discoverability....coming soon to a Search Engine near you.

Oh and if you want a nifty little post to bookmark...try this one 5 other online dictionaries...***** effort!

*To be necessary or proper for: It behooves you at least to try.

**Something of mixed origin or composition.

***become more cheerful

****Struck by shock, terror, or amazement.

maureen

Pic: This is a Hybrid Plumeria...Isn’t it beautiful. Image courtsey of

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepbackcabin/7578181360/

Going Into Battle

Last week the blog post you would have got didn’t happen because I was traveling unexpectedly for most of a day. Arriving back to where we were staying at 10:30 pm was not a great time to start writing it...so you got a week off.

I have finished traveling up and down the country and so there are no excuses this week.

January continues to be the month of setting writing goals for the coming year in publishing along with planning or attending conferences to beat the Winter blues in the Northern Hemiphere.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere the weather is changeable from wet to frying. The kids are still on holiday and for me getting stuck into writing, battles with, finding air conditioning or towels to mop up the sweat or the rain or the puddles from the kids tracking through the house and sorting out the fights from overheated kids or bored kids or manuscripts that won’t play nice!

The battle for predicting a clear direction for writers to follow in 2013 continues with commentator Brett Sandusky on how this is the year that publishing must address the elephants in the room. Brett names seven elephants. Among them Agents and Amazon.

Social Media Examiner has the Social Media predictions for 2013... the ongoing battle for your attention...

Victoria Mixon has decided to repost her last years rant because she still feels strongly about the non artistic people running publishing who over the last 30 years published work of low artistic quality (because it brings in money quickly) and what that means for the rest of us. This is an interesting read and you will find yourself saying ‘so that’s why....’

Jane Friedman touched a few sore spots as she examined self publishing and the rush for genre commodity over literary quality. This is a great essay which weighs up both sides and their future. Will epublishing help one over the other...118 people have an opinion so far. Jane also asks the question, How long should you (battle) keep trying to get published?

Once you are published it is only the start of the uphill slog to stay relevant and in the game. Melinda Szymanik tells the honest truth about being a children’s writer in New Zealand and how much it costs. Hats off to Melinda for telling everyone just what it takes to stay in the battle for hearts and minds and damn good writing!

Who are your writing stakeholders? Kate Gale suggests you won’t succeed unless you have some of these on your side.

Why authors who say they don’t have time are doomed to lose the battle...or are they?

Why backing up your work twice will save your book...a cautionary tale.

Have you tried a stand up writing desk?...this could be the solution for all those niggling pains writers get...

In Craft,

Writetodone talks about writing smart and the 7 truths of being a writer.

How to turn your weak scenes into strong scenes.

Creative insight from Emily Dickinson...slant!

Tami Cowden has the 16 Villain Archtypes....(after all you need someone to battle against)

In Marketing,

Why writers need an email newsletter.

A case study on how readers discovered a debut novel (half the battle)

Publishers Weekly looks at three children’s writers who used crowd sourcing to tour...

Unexpected battle moves in publishing ...

Variety reports that a film media company has moved to get an exclusive first look at all new titles from an epublishing only publishing house. This is a new move for acquisitions and film rights and something authors and agents should take note of.

Janice Hardy takes a hard look at Twitter followers and tells you who to dump.

Agent Mary Kole becomes one of the first children’s publishing agents to offer a few other extra services in addition to agenting. This is a move that some see as a logical response to the current state of publishing and others as the thin edge of the legitimate Agent wedge. Take sides now.

Finally,

The figures are out for 2012 and children reading ebooks. Passive Voice takes a look at what it all means as the numbers are higher than predicted...and Scholastic releases their own ebook reader numbers.

The battle for children’s electronic eyes is upon us.

maureen

photo from Augapfel Flickr photostream

The End Of...

I’m a day late in blog posting.

Excuse #1. We were traveling up the country.

Excuse#2. It is the end of the world...and I had more important things to do...like traveling to spend time with relatives.

Around the blogosphere there as been the usual look back at the past year...who saw those mergers coming?

and the usual what writers  want for Christmas...not necessarily a new notebook and pen...try writing retreat.

And then there are the predictions for publishing in 2013...that’s if there is a 2013.

Uber Agent Richard Curtis has his trends list which he sees as a direct result of publishing house mergers. As I run my eye down it I am struck by how many I can see beginning now...and this was a list put together a few months ago...before the end of the world.

Another Lit Agent with her eye firmly fixed on the future, Laurie Mc Lean, has her predictions...mobile... cloud... folding screens?

Mike Shatzkin has his take on where he thinks publishers should be putting their energy in the future...The Reader The Reader The Reader...or verticle marketing.

Renee Pawlish has a blog article looking at 2013 Amazon and the Indie author...What now for Indies when Amazon removes reviews, changes ranking algorithms and starts own imprints...or dies a fiery death as the chasm opens up and the...

Publishing Perspectives believes in the future and has their wish list for 2013...what do you want to improve in publishing in 2013...(please give us a deal like Hugh Howey...)

In Craft,

How Stephen King writes imagery?

Jody Hedlund's ten techniques for tension.

Supporting characters- Make them interesting!

Finding the perfect writing spot.

6 Tools that change the way you write and publish. (sit down with a Christmas beverage of your choice to mull over these possibilities...)

In Marketing,

Innovative marketing of your book...make a game.

Tools of Change has 7 key features of a good online community...are you a member of one?

How Kickstarter changed my career and my life (very interesting article)

To finish,

Writers Digest has the 19 best articles on writing from this year...that should keep you going while I take a two week holiday or start living my life in a bunker as it is the end of the world...

Written by Maureen,  December 21^st 2012.

@chuckwendig New Zealand, on the other hand… zip! Gone! The ocean, she is empty. And on fire.
— Adam Christopher (@ghostfinder) December 20, 2012

Exploding Heads...

December is the craziest month of the year in New Zealand. 

It is the month when you juggle end of school year events at schools. Christmas celebrations with all the organisations you are involved with, as well as your children’s and your spouse’s. It is the start of the summer holidays. 

While you are rushing around trying to prepare for Christmas, you are also trying to juggle the holiday timetable, travel, destination etc etc.

Throw in a few unexpected events and life gets more than complicated. In December I find myself just concentrating on each day at a time because otherwise my head will explode.

This week around the publishing blogosphere there is a lot of head exploding about this article. Ebook readers to go the way of the dinosaurs. Of course writers publishing ebooks are worried...Do we need to be?

In the last week Victoria Strauss from Writer Beware (an excellent site) has dealt with sock puppetry of a different kind...where a small publisher has had writers extolling their virtues...unfortunately the writers in question didn’t know they were. The twitter feed exploded when Chuck Wendig found his name had been used. Victoria does a great job bringing scams to writer's attention and her latest find is on International Scams...watch out if you are contracting for or to services overseas.

James Scott Bell has written a great post on 10 ways to sabotage your writing. Hopefully you are doing none of these...I could be guilty of letting the Zombies in...

Zoe Winters drops in from her Social Media Blackout to say what she has learned and achieved. Do you remember life before Social Media? How was your writing then? (a safe sane existence?)

While I was away from Social Media a few weeks ago on my travels, Kassia Krozser from Booksquare was interviewed by 40K Books. I have seen snippets of this great interview all over the place and the whole thing makes VERY INTERESTING reading. Kassia is in demand as a speaker at big publishing industry conferences where she regularly explodes heads with her presentations. In this interview she has the heads up for publishers and what they should be doing now and also for authors. Flexibility is the ultimate key!

Porter Anderson in his new Ether for Authors round up talks about the rise of publishing industry conferences targeting Authors...join the dots... Authors increasing interest in Indie publishing...ergo they need tools and skills... and as Porter says Krozser’s interview works as a useful position paper, and it’s the kind of thing I hope more authors are taking the time to read these days. Craft work is grand, but when it comes to understanding the business in which that craft must be published, authors can no longer “stick to the writing blogs.” Knowing what publishers face in today’s market is the only way for an author to find a place for him- or herself.

So with this clarion call ringing in your ears The Alliance of Independent Authors has a free online conference for ... Independent Authors.

Check out their speakers...many of whom have been featured in this blog over the years.

I note that the cost of a publishing industry conference is nearly $2000 NZ so maybe a 3 day holiday away around the 12-14^th February where you can drop in to this makes good economic sense.

The FutureBook Conference held last month in the UK goes under the microscope in Nick Harkaways blog. How broken is the old publishing system when the accountants are running the asylum... (cue zombie music)

Passive Guy highlights the wonderful Indie author Hugh Howey (author of mega selling Wool) and his new contract whith S&S which breaks new contract ground. I know this has been a hot topic here in NZ among authors so take a look at this. (Is this the contract of the future...please please please...) 

In Craft,

A nice round up for this week.

From J R R  Tolkein. 6  writing tips.

From K M Weiland. Structuring scenes and also Why stupid characters make stupid books (must read)

From Gina Conroy. Cutting fat from your WIP

From Elisabeth S Craig. Writing in small chunks of time

From Kissmetrics. What Tarentino can teach you about reader engagement.

From MythicScribes 9 Amazing Blogs for Writers...and yes there are familiar names here for you.

In Marketing,

7 Things I learned about marketing books

Wise Ink has 12 lessons they have learned coaching Indie Authors in 2012

To finish,

Scholastic Editors have forecast their top 10 trends for 2013 (remember people that it usually takes a year to publish a book...)

Hold Your Head NOW

maureen

P.S. As always I urge you to read the comments on the links I put up each week.

Conversations I highlighted in last weeks round up are still going so if something from last week caught your eye, check in again... there is still plenty to talk about.

Pic from Grmisiti who has a whole lot of scary pictures from the Zombie Walk in Sao Paulo. This is not the scariest!

Conversation Starters

I’m always up for a good conversation and there are many happening in the publishing blogosphere this week.

Publishing Perspectives' recent one day conference had people talking about what’s happening next in YA.

Quite a few people are talking about Amazon’s latest initiative, a subscription service targeting... KIDS?

Curtis Brown (respected literary agency) are partnering with Amazon in a new initiative...the conversations are just getting started on this breaking news. Are we getting into the murky waters of agent publishers?

Smashwords are talking up Apple iBookstore move into Australia and New Zealand.

Anne R Allen has had some big conversations about her blog post this last week on the changes in the publishing industry due to the Kindle and how the algorithms, to become a best seller, on Amazon have changed Indie Publishing.

Artistsroad is having a conversation on Kickstarter for Authors...is it worth it?

Bubblecow has an interesting conversation on giving your book away for free. Why would you do it?

Porter Anderson has gathered quite a few conversations about the Publishing Future along with Jane Friedman who has a conversation about curation and best business links for Authors.

Publishing Perspectives has a conversation going on e-serials and how they are turning into the next big thing!

NY Times is talking with bookshops about the shunning of Amazon published books and and what it all means for sales.

In Craft

Agents are telling anyone who will listen what to do at revision time...listen up all you NaNoWriMo-ers...

Roz Morris always a great conversationalist has a pursuasive argument on how to be original in your writing.

Steve Laube wants to tell you about fair use and permissions to copy another authors work. When do you need them?

The wonderful Children’s Publishing Blog is having a great conversation on making your characters totally loved.

The superb K M Weiland talks about the 10 lessons she learned while writing her novel Dreamlander (which took 12 years) and each lesson is a conversation in itself.

In Marketing,

Bob Mayer has a great post on using your storyboard to market your book...This is one of those lightbulb learning conversations.

Metadata is a scary conversation but necessary for all publishers (that’s you, Indie author) to understand so get yourself over to 

Publishing Perspectives and listen in on 13 tips about how to use metadata effectively.

The Book Designer wants to tell you about 5 things to consider in Book Cover Design...first up Genre!

Have you wondered about selling books off your own site? The Passive Guy has a great conversation about the pitfalls and plums of doing it all yourself.

The Bookshelfmuse is doing more than talking they are having a huge Be Nice To Others Promotion on their blog where you can nominate people to get a present from the Christmas Elf. Go and check it out.

Ebookfriendly is NOT talking. They are showing! They have a cool infographic showing the biggest themes in bestsellers.

So what issue on this list gets you talking?

maureen

Pic from Lovelornpoets /flickr