Against the crowd

Last weekend I travelled up to Auckland to take part in a workshop on eBooks.

My bit was to tell attendees what I discovered when I decided to make Craic an eBook.

In a nutshell - Know what you are getting into, (Publishing- Dean Wesley Smith has a great post on that.) 

Remember that you want to do the best work that you can, so pay attention to detail...because you are going to be putting your name on this product and you don’t want your name to stand for a crappy reading experience.

The workshop was a great success. The organisers made sure there was information available for everyone at all stages of the e publishing spectrum. I’m sure by the end of the day attendee’s were wishing that they had brought spare heads to help them process what was coming at them.

You may need to grab your spare head for help with understanding this week’s dramatic change in the world of epublishing. Microsoft are partnering with Barnes and Noble. 

Barnes and Noble are a book store chain with their own ereader, Nook, who are in competition with Amazon. Microsoft is...well who hasn’t heard of Microsoft?

What does it mean for us... Digital Book World were the first out of the box with their predictions followed by CNET with a tech overview.

While we are on the subject of ereaders, epublishing and the rise of the independent writer... Passive Guy takes issues with some of Mike Shatzkin’s comments on how no big writers have gone indie yet and why. This is a good read, giving you an overview on the current issues facing writers as they weigh up options. Especially interesting are the comments from some big authors....

 One of the biggest challenges in the decision to go Independent...is how to be noticed by your readers. Marketing is so important and so hard to do, if you are an introverted writer sitting in a closet somewhere. So here are a few links that may help you to open the closet door.

11 Keys to self publishing success.

5 simple ways to spend less time marketing and sell more books.

John Kremer has a handy post on turning the whole marketing thing around...and just write for your fans and Tamara Webber has a good post about finding out that your fan’s aren’t necessarily who you think they are....

Mid Grade writer Shelli Johannes has taken a hard look at what worked and what didn’t in her Indie experiment...The numbers are interesting and so is what not to do....

Amazon has announced their next big move in their publishing portfolio...kids stuff....especially kids series on screen...Check out what they are looking for.

While you are contemplating screen moves, Joel Friedlander has listed ten handy Apps for the writer that turn your iPhone into a writing tool!

For those writers who love a challenge... Storyaday is the thing to do for May.

To finish

Those that have been following me for a while know that I am interested in author collectives and how they support each other and market their work.

Check out this delicious idea...love it!  (Hey FaBo Team are you watching?)

Chatting

Every Wednesday at 2pm (NZ time) I try to tune into the Twitterverse for a Twitterchat.

For those of you who have just been totally confused by that last sentence I will attempt to explain.

Twitter uses hashtags ( # ) to search and curate conversations.

For instance you can go to Twitter and enter in the search bar ‘#publishing’ and get all recent comments on publishing by people who added that ‘#publishing’ term to their tweet if they thought their comment might be relevant to the ongoing publishing conversation.

Twitter chats however are set at regular times and have their own hashtags for you to follow. 

My problem is that two really interesting chats are on at the same time, #indiechat and #kidlitchat. So I flit between them both trying to get the flavour of each and getting a few gems to mull about along the way.

One of the stellar people I have ‘met’ on these chats is Susan Kaye Quin who writes Y A. She recently posted a great article on her blog which crystallises for me the indie publishing journey. Indie publishing is not about one book...it is about your voice and whole writing career. Susan takes a look at the Scarcity vs Abundance model that Kathryn Rusch talks about and identifies the indie publishing journey as being one that draws on the Abundance style of publishing. The mindset is quite different from traditional publishing. Go and get your eyes opened.

In the last week a plaintive post by Agent Jonny Geller from Curtis Brown called The Agents Manifesto highlighted some uncomfortable truths in publishing about the disconnect of publishers to authors. This has been resonating through the writing blogosphere. Roz Morris picks up the cudgels on our behalf and speaks her mind,- Why authors get treated so badly. You will cheer!

For those people who have been nodding and punching the air with last couple of links...here are two more interesting perspectives to chat about with your friends.

Mike Shatzkin take a good hard look at bookstores...Yes we need them but how can we keep them viable.

Jane Friedman tackles the big question- If the book is dead why buy a zombie?

When your book needs to be chatted about in other languages, PaidContent takes a look at the next self publishing frontier - How to go about getting translations.

If you are looking at your bottom drawer and wondering what to do next. Gordon Burgett takes a look at turning idle copy into books, blog posts etc etc.

There’s a good post with 11 keys to self publishing success which should help you focus if you do have work ready for a new life.

Chatting about Craft

Check out these amazing posts. Is your idea novel worthy and how you can tell?

Why you should kill your darlings....practical advice from K M Weiland who shows you how to do it.

Innocent flower has an entertaining post on 6 things she wishes she had known about being a writer...first up the use of the delete key.

There is a beaut guest post from Susan Sipal on The Top Ten Tips I Learned About Writing from J K Rowling.

Over the next few weeks I am preparing resources to help me continue the chat about eBooks at a One Day ePublishing Event run by Kiwiwrite4kids in Auckland on the 28^th April. 

Those people who have met me... know I love to chat....

Come along!

maureen


P.S. If you are at all interested in the ramifications of Pottermore and the release yesterday of the DRM free Harry Potter books Check out what Mike Shatzkin has to say about the game changing spell J K Rowling has just put on the future of publishing industry.

Doing What We Do

The news around the blogosphere this week has been one of disbelief. 

No it wasn’t delayed reaction to Steve’s death. 

Several prominent bloggers and agents have come out to say the blogosphere is getting crowded and unless you are getting around 15k visitors a month it is not worth it.

So why do it?

The reaction has been swift and many bloggers are sitting down and examining whether they want to go on a blogging holiday like Joe Konrath, who has one of the most heavy trafficked blogs around, or to keep going in the hope they get to the magic number....

And then there are prominent bloggers who say the argument is seriously flawed, because your blog is where you as a writer can interact with your readers, or your community, by either writing a great blog that shows off your writing voice or writing a blog that adds value to the sum of knowledge out there. 

Roni Loren has written a great breakdown about blogging addressing the issues raised this week and putting all the rants into perspective.

Bob Mayer has taken a hard look at indie publishing with his post, The Sustainability Of The Indie Author. He doesn’t sugar coat and some of the points he makes could choke you....As always, read the comments to get a sense of the discussion this post has started...and breathe deeply.

Mike Shatzkin has been looking at the other side of this with his interesting post on whether traditional publishers can maintain their primacy as eBookpublishers.... Magazines and other media are beginning to publish their own eBooks...but will they stop there?

This week Jane Friedman posted two excellent interviews on her blog. The first was with Scott Sigler and looked at how Scott is using new technology and a new service to get his self published books into as many hands as his bestseller trad books do. Read and be inspired...I’ve told you before there’s merch and audio and limited edition and.....

The second interviewis with Sean Platt who started out as an entrepreneur and then moved into writing. Sean talks about the mistakes he made but also what he has found works in marketing your book.... Both these interviews can give you some concrete goals if you are feeling a little bit battered by the first links.

Angela Ackerman of the wonderful BookselfMuse also has a guest post with Donna Gephart. Donna is a great mid grade writer and she talks about how children’s writers are promoting their books and that you don’t have to go crazy over marketing.

Socialmediaexplorer has written a warning post on social media contests...There have been law changes and bloggers could find themselves in legal hot water if their contests break the new rules...and if you think it doesn’t apply to you because you are in different country think about where your website is hosted...Yes, it may apply.

The popular blog YA Highway has taken a good hard look at writing mid grade. In particular they have looked at nailing the mid grade voice.

Over in the Craft Section

Storyfix has a popular series of posts looking at ten important tips to nail your NaNoWriMo. This weeks post is on the first 12-15 scenes...the set up (NaNoWriMo is next month).

I09 has a great list of ten types of writers block and how to overcome them...

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

Future Proof Your Digital Publishing...This is an important article about the changing formats of epublishing.

Suffragette Steampunk...a match made in heaven?

Digital Rights...Do you really know how many you have?

To finish,

The Frankfurt Book Fair is happening right now and if you want to get a feel for the topics under discussion drop into this German blog which has roundups on every topic...It is in English!

There are posts on gamers needing storytellers, eLearning futures where Taiwan is leading the way, Books meeting games...

It is where we are heading...Are you going to be still there? 

maureen

pic is from here

Committed To Publishing

Last night as I was racing to a friends book launch I was thinking about the commitment my friend had made to following a dream and the hard work and sacrifices it entailed. 

My friend has been around the publishing industry in one way or another all her working life. She is married to a book designer. As a reviewer and writer she knows how hard it is to get a book in print and that is the easy job compared to getting marketing, reviews and ultimately sales for that book. 

Last night John McIntyre of The Children’s Bookshop correctly stated that all those present at the book launch must become the publicists for the wonderful book Johanna and Walter have created. The Fly Trap Snaps. (book one)

The book is beautifully produced as befits a couple of very hands on creative types and is very funny. It rockets along with the hero, Spencer Fogle, outwitting wrestlers and wrestling with genetically engineered carnivorous plants, feckless parents and a Mr Nice Guy former child star who is not very nice at all. The illustrations Sabrina Malcolm has provided sprinkled throughout the book add the finishing touch to a mystery thriller just right for confident readers 8 thru to 12.

I take my hat off to The Hinterland Press Team, Johanna and Walter, for their courage and tenacity in following their dream to bring us a new midgrade hero...(heroes...Dion the talking Venus Fly Trap has my vote as well.) I wish them well and may they have many sales!

Roni Loren has written a great list of ten things she would do differently (and why) if she was starting out to build an author platform now.

Joel Friedlander has written an interesting post about authors getting into video blogging.  He has some compelling arguments about why we should and lays out step by step how to do it. It opens up a whole new world for the children’s writer....I was recently talking with a school librarian who told me that Book Trailers were one of the biggest selling points for a books popularity in her school library...just let your mind dwell on that for a moment and then go read what Joel has to say.

Jami Gold has written another thought provoking post on whether children’s books should have a rating system. I sit on the fence mostly on this one. However there are some books that eight year olds, no matter how advanced their reading is, should not be delving into because they lack the life experience to make sense of what they read....and usually they find this out pretty quickly. I wish parents would think about this before they encourage their very bright reader to tackle a young adult book because they can read it!

The Great Jane has another good post looking at ebooks. 5 things beginners need to know about epublishing. Jane has written a quick overview of terms and how to’s.

The SCBWI LA conference has wrapped up and again the conference bloggers did a marvelous job of blogging the whole conference. For a wonderful conference experience drop over to their conference blog go down to the bottom and work your way up. If you are an illustrator make sure you look at all the illustration links....there are some superb illo’s and interviews with the best in the business. If you are a writer, check out the in depth interviews.

A  key note speech I wish I had been there for was the great Bruce Colville...Check out this wonderful report where Bruce talks about the Ha Waah Yikes method of story crafting and what makes a good story.

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

Agents As Publishers- Mike Shatzkin has taken a close look at this issue....he says they have no choice....

5 Simple Steps To Create An Audio Book...this is a great resource.

Building Conflict One Cruelty at A Time- Chuck Wendig....this is a great list of how to’s (Warning...Content but you knew that when I said Chuck...) 

4 Steps To Unlocking Your Creativity...Step one unplug yourself....

In the Craft Corner,

Bob Mayer asks the question, I will do whatever it takes to be a writer, except don’t ask me to do...?

Time to examine your fears people....

To Finish,

Helen Lowe is having a Thornspell contest on her website. You get to suggest one of her characters and why they should have a stand alone story written about them...three judges get to pick the best one...and she has to write it. Winners get a copy of Thornspell...It’s a great book too...think sleeping beauty then tell it from the princes point of view but add some twists!

Helen is living through the constant earthquakes in Christchurch and although times are tough down there she is hanging in there writing and publishing from the very shaky city....That’s commitment!

Rockstars and Writers

Last night I sat glued to my cell phone and the computer and vicariously shared in the excitement of attending the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.

Melinda Szymanik, who blogged about being in the room so eloquently today, was my secret weapon. 

Melinda texted me the winners and Johanna Knox and I got them onto our WCBA blog in close to real time. As each text from Melinda came in I cheered the winners. 

The text announcing Fleur Beale’s win had me jumping up and down with excitement.

Fleur is the great heroine of Children’s Writing in New Zealand. Since 2005 she has been a finalist every year. Her work has consistently made the top five in all the big awards for children’s writing here in NZ but she has never won until Last Night!

Absolutely Well Deserved – A Long Time Coming and Oh So Sweet! Congratulations Fleur!

So what do I have for you this week...

Gabriela Pereira has blogged beautifully about why writers need writer friends...and for me Fleur has been every one of the main points listed here.

Business Insider has a great post about the four hour work day...and I know that Fleur in her new writing studio does this which is why she is a winner...

YA Highway has a great reference post about the differences between MG and YA . Fleur writes both and she is very good at both...

Around about now Fleur is probably reaching for a stick to beat me over the head so I’ll stop....

(Gotcha, Fleur xx).

Seth Godin  and Michael Stackpole have been busy rattling cages this week.

Seth has written an interesting and very thought provoking post on the future of libraries. I’ve passed it on to my librarian friends and hopefully they are still speaking to me. What do you think the library of the future will look like...I think there are some positives here for librarians....

Michael Stackpole has a post looking at House Slaves vs Spartacus....This is an examination of writers who are traditionally published and Independently published. Michael is in both camps but which one is better...?

If you are looking at epublishing here is a nifty roundup of the best conversion tools around.

If you like contests this one is a doozy.

The wonderful PJ Hoover has a great contest happening on her blog to celebrate the ebook launch of Solstice. 

I referred you to P J Hoover last week when I mentioned that P J’s Agent was bringing out Solstice and she was being interviewed on The Spectacle blog about this new move in publishing. P J has a 20 book giveaway happening...Go and Check It Out!

Janice Hardy has written a wonderful clear description of the difference between Show and Tell. This is one of those posts you bookmark and refer to again and again.

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

Children’s Writing and Cross Promotion

Boys Don’t Read -Except They Do

Why Writers Drink (warning content, hic)

To Finish,

Kristen Lamb has a great post on why Rock Stars and Writers are the same- Yes we really do work!

Access your inner rock star, people!

For all the finalists at the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards and for all those cheering them on...

The pen is mightier than the sword...

and The Solstice ebook trailer By P J Hoover



Enjoy,


maureen

Pic is the cover of Fierce September by Fleur Beale. NZ Post Children’s Book Awards -Young Adult Winner 2011.

4 Implications Of Publishing In The 'Now'

This week I presented my report on The Spinning Tales conference to my peers here in Wellington.
 As I have been writing the report over a few weeks, carefully deciphering scribbled notes up, down and sideways, I have also been looking out for articles and commentary to do with the main themes discussed at the conference.

Last week I gave you the six need to know facts about children’s publishing that were uppermost in my notes as I pulled them together for the report. This week it is the implications of some of the publishing trends of ‘now’ that authors must be aware of.

1. We are becoming a screen society. This has implications for writers, we have to be at ease writing content across all the screen mediums. (N.B. If you don’t believe me answer these questions. Do you reach for the yellow pages or access the internet? Does your child know what the yellow pages are?)

Mike Shatzkin of Ideologue discussed the furore over his reported comments that it will be hard to find a Library in fifteen years time. He makes some very good arguments...and he says we will need librarians more than ever.

2. If you are niche you are unlikely to find a publisher for your work. If your work is too short or too long you are unlikely to find a publisher. Large publishers lists are contracting and they have to have a commercial focus to survive. Small publishers are inundated with submissions. You might need to take a hard look at your publishing options and decide whether you want to stay in the game.

Roz Morris looks at what you need to decide when you keep getting positively rejected. (that is they make nice encouraging noises about your work but it is still a rejection)

3. If you are not business savvy you will be someone else’s cash cow. It happened in the music industry where mega performing stars discovered that they owned no rights to their own music and indeed owed music publishers (record companies ) millions when an album underperformed.

Check contracts for everything! Kristin Nelson talks about the rights in perpetuity clause in an agents contract.

Mike Shatzkin talks about Amazon moving to take print rights (the new subsidiary rights) from the ebooks it sells. Just flip this over and you find a big six publisher taking ebook rights off print books or no deal.

4. Independent Publishing is just as hard as traditional publishing but you own the process (and the bills and the profits.)
Bob Mayer posted a comprehensive list of things his publishing company is doing to promote his new book project. It is eye opening!

Good writing may not get noticed but you owe it yourself that anything with your name on it should stand out.

The Blake Snyder beat sheet has been retweeted all over the internet in the last week. It is excellent.
Liz has adapted it for the novel in a spreadsheet.

Erika Holt has written a must read post on standing out from the slushpile.

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) I have links to articles on

Ad supported Kindles....are they a good idea?

What Stops The Agent Reading

3 Late Blooming Writers

Em Dashes and How To Use Them.

To finish,
It is Easter...and we should celebrate...So here are two gifts for you.

The absolute comprehensive list of free tools for writers. Read it and go waaaah.

An article in the writers guild magazine written by J K Rowling...(for those still thinking about shelling out for the HP DVD this Easter.)

enjoy
maureen

Sticking Your Neck Out....

It has been a clear-the-decks week. 

Empty out a room. Paint it. Put it back together. Chuck out what you don’t want. Find stuff chucked out and rescue it. Justify why you saved the chucked out item.

Writers are hoarders. Teachers are hoarders. I am doubly dammed or blessed whichever way you look at it.

While I have been painting and contemplating treasure or trash... Bob Mayer has been taking a hard look at the Digital Book World conference and weighing up the worth of their speakers and the comments on twitter about where digital publishing is going...self publishing... and being your own publisher/bookstore owner.... This is a must read. Bob walks the talk. He pulls no punches.

Another person weighing up epublishing and her experiment with it is Zoe Winters. 

Zoe has released a couple of ebooks and designed and executed an amazing campaign around getting her name out there. This name is a pseudonym and in this critique of her year, social marketing her ebooks she compares it with her other ‘real life’ writer persona. Zoe shot to fame on the writer’s blogosphere with her video series Who is Zoe Winters...clever marketing. This article is also a must read for people contemplating ebooks.

I post these articles because the face of publishing is changing rapidly and writers should be aware of what is happening in the industry and what other writers are experiencing.

This week Publishing Perspectives posted an article entitled Half of US Publishers Believe ebooks Will Be Dominant By 2014 and Mike Shatz of Nokia wrote a guest article on Moconews On Why Online Retailers will Squeeze out Publishers In the Book Business.(as always I recommend you read the comments that these articles generate.)

Know what you want to do and go in with eyes wide open.

So after that dose of reality...back to Fiction

Callihoo has posted George Polti’s 36 dramatic plots...a good reference tool and Publetariat has answered the question How Do You Keep Your Plot from Feeling Contrived..if you are stuck for ideas. 

On Craicerplus (my Amplify page) I have links to articles on

Hunger Games- Why Kids Love Disaster Distress and Dystopia...(not only kids...this is a great article by a psychologist.)

10 Steps for Working Past The ‘This Stinks’ Blues.

How To Organise Your Assignments, Research, Interviews and All The Rest

How To Write Your First Novel In Under Four Weeks.

A Handy Beginners Guide To ebook Formats Apps And Devices.

Conference season is upon us and WriteOnCon kicked off with an Agent’s Panel which is covered on Heather McCorkles Blog.

And the Big One SCBWI NEW YORK...kicks off tomorrow....However you can hole up in your office and follow it all as it happens by going to the live blog site...I did that for LA...great little insights and it didn’t cost me the ticket...(but oh how I wished I was there.)

If you are interested in a conference closer to home Spinning Tales in Auckland is still open for registrations for another month.

Anita Laydon Millar advises that you must stick your neck out because you never know where it might lead you...(all from a reader of her blog...)

Here is episode 2 of Zoe’s Self Publishing Video Series...have a laugh.

enjoy,

maureen

Quick...It's Thursday...

The day started with the realization that it was Thursday. I’m still on holiday, now in another city from last week. Things are much busier here, more distractions. Then I also realized that I had not touched a computer since I got here.

What was the blog post going to be about? Still being on holiday? How wrinkly a child can get when water sliding? The Tennis on TV?

So a quick look into Twitter…to look for items of interest.

Rachelle has tale of woe about what happens when a publisher has a preconceived notion of a book and before reading it plans the marketing of it.

If you are looking for a chewy article to help you understand new media and how our habits are changing around the web and what it means to you, the author, read this article, The Web Is A Customer Service Medium.

Bookbuzzr is posting a great series of articles about book marketing mistakes. This one is on Tag lines. This is a very good article.

Publishers Weekly has an article up on whether We Have Reached The Tipping Point Where Self Publishing Is Better Than A Book Deal.

Still on this topic….

Richard Curtis has been looking at Whether Authors Make Good Publishers…

Richard and JA Konrath are going head to head over this…go on be a spectator and read the comments on this article. This is probably going to be a big issue of 2011. Publish yourself or stay with the traditional model…..

If you are thinking about book trailers this year here is a YouTube resource list for you.

I'll be back home next week...Keep an eye on Craicerplus (My Amplify Page) for new content.

Off to watch the Tennis....
maureen