Comparing yourself to others can suck joy out of creating. Find your own pace, savor the journey. pic.twitter.com/Xvxoq9autp
— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) April 29, 2015
Digesting the London Book Fair and Indie ReCon generally
takes a good month. So much information about writing and
publishing in big bites means you can quickly get full of rich
information. Sometimes that means putting nice links aside to digest later.
Createspace has
a quick overview on what were some good takeaways from London Book Fair and
Young Adult author, SK Holder also has a list of great info learned at the Author HQ Hub. (This is a new venture for London, actually encouraging Authors
to the Fair.)
Indie ReCon has posted the panel video How Self Publishing Is Changing Traditional Publishing, held on the last day of their conference.
This is a fascinating look at the industry in the middle of change. Well worth
grabbing a coffee and taking time to watch.
Publishing Perspectives has a model they suggest publishers should be looking at. Louis CK.
But he’s a comedian I hear you say. Yes but he has taken
control of his own content and is using it in new ways. Now if Publishing
Perspectives is urging publishers to look at this model...what about writers?
This leads in to the wonderful Roz Morris and some very
important words of wisdom for the Author publishing in 2015. (BOOKMARK)
Dario Cirello opens a little can of wriggly things when he
did a guest post about crowd funding and patronage. Do you agree or disagree
with using crowd funding for your writing project or are you skeptical? The
conversation is in the comments so make sure you read them.
Mike Shatzkin takes a look at the next Amazon contract negotiation with the last of the big 5 publishers. It will be the meeting of
the behemoths of publishing. Who will blink first? How will it change the
industry as a whole? A lot of jobs will be on the line when RandomPenguin and
Amazon sit down to parley.
In breaking news, Booktrack (that little Kiwi startup from a
few years ago) has some nice big news for authors. (Yes, someone wants to pay
us.)
In the Craft Section,
Janice Hardy talks about creating depth with mini arcs.
(great post)
Elizabeth Spann Craig’s handy checklist - Is your book ready for publishing.
Bob Mayer has a no holds barred post on traits you must cultivate to be a successful writer.
Chuck Wendig also has THE post on stupid writer tricks. (BOOKMARK)
Jody Hedlund has a great post on using your setting effectively. (BOOKMARK)
Here is a little challenge for you. Describe your current MS in 10 syllables. Make it a DEKAAZ poem. Circus Mystery: Clowning around with codes. (Yes I cheated. It’s all in the pronunciation.)
In the Marketing Section,
Molly Greene has 5 Self Publishing lessons (and a great
comment stream.)
Publishers Weekly has the Google Ads 101 guide.
Joanna Penn has a huge post on why she has just changed book titles and covers. (BOOKMARK)
Creative Indie has 7 Design Tips for Book Covers.
The Book Designer has 7 tips for effective Metadata (BOOKMARK)
Tim Grahl has THE Book Marketing Check List.
How to partner with your local bookstore- Do you know what it is like on the other side of the counter. (Interesting Read)
Website Of The Week
David Gaughran, besides being a digital publishing guru, has made
it his mission to educate writers about the horrible traps out there for newbie
writers. Especially those publishing packaging companies that promise you
everything... just sign over your first born child. His article, this week, on the many faces of Author Solutions makes sobering reading and is a must read.
(Even if you know about them, you will still be surprised at how far their
tentacles spread in the publishing world.)
To Finish,
We all love a good infographic and Jane Friedman has put
together a great one on the various ways we can publish now.
After 100 years of business as usual we are now living in a
constant state of disruption in the publishing landscape. We must be making up
for lost time.
maureen
@craicer
maureen
@craicer
