Controlling The Books

In Publishing News this week…

 

As a teacher by trade, I have a special interest in encouraging children to read. Reading widens their horizons and can unlock the most amazing movies in your head. Reading can be a safe way of exploring a different world environment from your own, an escape, a comfort, and a learning opportunity. I have been watching the book banning in school libraries in the US with concern. My heart goes out to teachers trying to do the best for their students. This latest attack on teachers fills me with despair. Banning children’s books is a slippery slope to banning education for some children and then you become just like… ( Pick your repressive regime.) 

 

Brandon Sanderson went back on Kickstarter yesterday. He was only looking for $50,000 to fund figurines. Of course, he blew by that figure in the first hour or so. Brandon explains what he has learned about Kickstarter from earlier in the year and how he will be using it in the future. 

Kris Rusch also talks about Kickstarter and how you can structure it for your own author career. She has a free course for authors if you want to learn more about it.

 

Spotify announced that they are beginning audiobook trials and have some exciting things lined up. Audio streaming is going to be shaking up the audiobook world. I think we may be at the tipping point from nice to have new format to necessary to have new format. 

 

Big Bad Wolf has entered Africa. This is the first time they have moved to another continent. Mark Williams talks about their potential impact. They are only bringing 500,000 books for 12 days. (That’s books in the English language- ‘rescued’ from being pulped by publishers who won’t be paying a royalty to the author for ‘destroyed’ books.) So if there is such a demand for these books how come they don’t get sold in these regions in the first place?

 

Mark has been looking at the ongoing mess, now in its second month, that is the distribution arm of the UK’s biggest chain bookstore, Waterstones. Waterstones is trying to climb out of the pit by asking publishers for help. Their plea to publishers to send books to individual stores has not gone down well. That’s 300 stores x post and packing and inventory etc. Smaller publishers are going to the wall over this.

 

Meanwhile, one children’s publisher in the UK is looking further afield. Nosy Crow have been around for 12 years but is about to invade the US. Publishing Perspectives has the details on how they will be shaking up children’s publishing.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has been talking about author overwhelm. They have a great article where many authors were asked how they deal with this very real problem in the writing community.

 

Suzanne DeFreitas has a guest post over on Jane Friedman’s blog on Writerly Grit and how it leads to publishing success. Writerly Grit does not mean ploughing on alone, in fact it’s the opposite. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Is deep POV always the best choice- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Do you know the central conflict of your story?- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

400 story ideas from Scott Myers

10 important don’ts to think about- Lucy Hay

Understanding the 7 types of Archetypes- Now Novel Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to email a press release- Sandra Beckwith

Back cover copy tips from Judith Briles- Bookmark

5 self-publishing mistakes writers make- Bang2Write

15 clever book promo ideas- Servicescape- Bookmark

How to choose best colours for graphics and branding- Infographic- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

There has always been a fascination with finding out how other writers write. Are you a Plotter or a Pantser? Is one better than the other? Do you kill creativity with plotting carefully? Recently Ada Plamer wrote an interesting article on Tor.com on how the plotting pantsing divide has been greatly exaggerated. It’s not all in on one side or the other but something in the middle.

Once you figure out your process the books will be easier to write, won’t they?

 

Thanks for the kind words for last week's post -Number 700. Cake was eaten for breakfast as the news broke. R.I.P. Queenie. We will not see your like again.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Freddy Kearney on Unsplash

 

Motivation and The Writer

 

 

This week in publishing news...

 

Spare a thought for the new Debut authors in the UK who have discovered that the UK’s largest book chain Waterstones is still having problems with their new book supply software. Waterstones promised it is fixed but now they are trying to process the backlog of two months of supply chain issues. Meanwhile, marketing campaigns fizzle out as the books are not on shelves.

 

It’s Book Festival time and along with the shock cancelation of the Beijing Book Fair with two days' notice, many book festivals are finding the numbers attending are down. The Guardian wonders if the pandemic years have doomed the book festival as it used to be. Will they morph into something else?

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has two interesting articles this week on the launch of a self-publishing Manga comic platform and the quiet rise of another podcast company looking to stake a claim in European audiobook market, after gobbling up Latin America.

 Audiobooks aren’t stopping yet. 

If you have been wondering just what all the hype about the PRH vs the DOJ court case really means to publishing going forward- Nathan Goldman has broken it down in an interesting essay on The Conglomeration Of Literature. The other big three are already sniffing around S&S with big wallets waiting for PRH to be rolled by the court.

 

I always recommend writers keep an eye on Writer Beware so they are up to date with scams and bad actors in the publishing scene. This week Victoria Strauss had an interesting and detailed exchange with an editor who found herself out of a job when the company disappeared under her and set about pulling together writers and contracts and trying to salvage author careers. This is a close look at the behind-the-scenes problems of keeping a publishing house going. 

 

Kristine Rusch continues her How Writers Fail series with a look at the problem of upskilling. How often have you really challenged yourself to get better in the craft? Do you consciously practice new techniques?

 

Imposter syndrome- Writers are notorious for suffering it. Ruth Harris has a great article on dealing with this mental monster of destruction- First, did you know there was an upside to having imposter syndrome?

 

Yazmin Angoe in Writer Unboxed has an interesting article about the trials and tribulations of writing the second novel. What can you do when the second novel is a grind after the freedom of writing the first one has disappeared.

 

In The Craft Section

How to choose the right kind of conflict- Angela Ackerman

Character development- Dianne Braley

7 ways to reach writing goals- Jordan Kantay- Bookmark

5 times it's ok to write stereotypes- Lucy Hay

The beats of the Action Genre- Storygrid- Bookmark

How to start a story- Novelry- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

What a book marketing strategy requires- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Grow your writing business by stepping away from your computer- Alexander Lewis

55 examples of what to say if you are unsure about book marketing on social media- Frances 

Caballo - Bookmark

Sending surveys- Mailerlite

6 steps for building a brand using giveaways- Bestbookmonkey- Bookmark

Turning books into audiobooks- DIYMFA- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

 

Motivation. If you could sell it in a bottle you would be rich. Alyssa Hitaka of Insecure Writers Support Group has some great ways to capture that motivation spirit to get you back writing again. This is a print out and keep on the wall list of great ideas. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s time for my monthly newsletter If you want the best of my bookmarked links and other interesting tidbits, you can subscribe here. (You will also get a nifty mini book crammed with marketing notes as a thank you.)

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PIC: Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

 

Warming Up…

 

It is summer break time in the Northern Hemisphere. Everyone in publishing is looking for a sign that publishing is going back to how it used to be before the pandemic. And a sign has appeared. Frankfurt Book Fair has just announced that they will be having an in person fair this year in October. 60 exhibitors have signed up so far. Publishing Perspectives has the details. 

The big question is how safe is world travel going to be in October? Digital conferences have filled a gap but I am seeing a lot of wait-and-see discussions on Twitter amongst publishing professionals. Planning something on the scale of Frankfurt Book Fair could be a big bust if the audience doesn’t show.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has an article on the rise and rise of digital book subscriptions. There are still sections of the publishing world that don’t think digital book subscription programmes should be a thing while they load up on Netflix and Spotify.

 

This week Anne R Allen has an interesting blog post on unsupportive friends and family. Yes, it is a thing. There are writers out there who can’t talk about their success or writing with their family because they just don’t understand what is involved. Anne looks at the reasons why family and friends tend to rain on your parade and how to cope with it.

 

Penny Sansevieri has an interesting post this week on small changes that can really make a difference to your marketing. Penny talks about using short videos and intriguing bios to add interest to your Amazon author central pages.

 

Every year Joanna Penn breaks down her publishing income and where she has earned it. In the last year she has been trialing selling direct from her website. She talks about the challenges and the rewards of doing this. 

Another high-profile publishing professional, Jane Friedman, has also broken down her income streams and what has worked over the covid years. 

As some commentators have said, it is becoming more apparent that having a portfolio of paying jobs in publishing is the way to go. 

 

Brandon Sanderson has a host of best-selling titles, a thriving community of fans that tipped his modest Kickstarter project into millions of dollars, and is a writing teacher who puts his university courses on YouTube for free. September Fawkes recently looked at his advice on making characters interesting to readers. Brandon has three very important scales for creating characters. A fascinating read.

 

In The Craft Section,

Ideas for writing prompts- Now Novel

5 steps to creating a unique character voice- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

The essentials about supporting characters- Stavros Halvatzis- Bookmark

The one question you must ask about scenes- Marissa Graff - Bookmark

The importance of a strong story concept- Scott Myers 

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to create an easy blog calendar- Rachel Thompson

What to tweet- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

Publishing timeline for holiday sales i.e. plan for Christmas now- Steven Spatz- Bookmark

Amazon book reviews- Tucker Max

Book marketing and Integrity- Sandra Beckwith- Interesting article.

 

To Finish,

I have a bookcase filled with books that were termed pulp novels back in the 50’s and 60’s. They were called pulp because the standard of paper used to print the books was low-grade newsprint, the covers were soft and often had a graphic picture on the front usually picturing a woman in peril (while wearing impossibly tight clothes.) The strategy of pulp writers was to get straight to the action, take the reader on an entertaining ride and tell the story. They were popular with readers and many writers made a good living often with a pseudonym to separate themselves from what was considered low-brow entertainment. Dean Wesley Smith takes a look at how the pulp writers worked and what we can learn from them today.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Blondinrikard Froberg Euro cup 2013

The Price Of Fame

This week is the one-year anniversary of the countrywide lockdown for Covid 19. As a country, we closed schools and worked from home, where we could. We learned the value of a daily walk in the neighborhood by putting teddy bears in the window for little children to count. (We had a skydiving bear off our carport.) We all learned Zoom and Skype. We discovered new ways to work and consume entertainment. In the publishing world, conferences were canceled and books were delayed. 

One year on and the lockdowns continue in the big cities which host big publishing conferences. This week the Paris Book Fair was canceled and the company behind the book fairs is in trouble. The new publishing world might just be digital. Are publishers ready for this? The New Publishing Standard asks. Wattpatt is forging ahead with plans for TV shows and streaming services. 

Meanwhile, Kris Rusch has an interesting story about what happens when Hollywood comes calling and you discover that you signed a contract for all rights. Tom Clancy’s estate legal fight could be yours. Just who does own Jack Ryan?

 

Facebook is launching a journalism platform. It is aimed at self-publishing journalists giving them the tools and place to publish multi-media stories. But who is going to consume the content and how are they going to pay for it? Your FB author pages might just be the next money stream for them.

 

Draft2Digital a publishing aggregator introduced payment splitting a few months ago. That has been a boon for co-authors and groups publishing digitally. D2D does all the heavy lifting. Recently Kevin Tumlinson of D2D shared how authors have been using this new feature. Take a shared universe….

Of course, you can’t use D2D unless you are publishing your own work so to help you out Jane Friedman recently had a blog post on 11 signs you are ready to self-publish.

 

It is nearly tax time here in New Zealand. After last year, the taxman may not get much of a haul. Sacha Black looks at personal finance for Indie Authors.

 

Di Ann Mills recently wrote a guest blog on the most valuable writing advice she had ever received. I absolutely agree with her… 

 

In the Craft Section,

How to show not tell- Janice Hardy – Bookmark

Finding your way to the end of your story- Sharon Warner- Bookmark

5 reasons why you need a professional editor- Jim Demp

10 questions to help you set the stage- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Create Book Promo graphics- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark- Also Check out David Gaughran's latest video on FB ads- Making one in real time with Canva 

How to market Indie books - Ingram Spark

Free book promotions- Frances Caballo – Bookmark

 2 Great posts from Penny Sansevieri

5 essential book marketing strategies for mystery authors and

5 features of effective and engaging websites

 

To Finish,

Last weekend I attended a writing workshop for two days. We had a whiteboard where people could write questions that we answered in breakout sessions from writing. One of the questions which caught our attention was, what if you start to hate your story? 

James Scott Bell recently wrote an excellent blog on just this problem. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It is nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: 

 

Reaching Out To Readers

 

This week publishers are watching the Maryland State Legislature who have passed a law giving libraries the ability to license eBooks and other digital content for their consumers. Great news for libraries but what about publishers? Amazon does not license books into libraries so this directly affects them. Other states are watching carefully. Meanwhile, Passive Guy put his lawyer hat on and delved into the implications of this law for writers.

 

I have been mulling over online workshops and meetups that have been such a feature of the 2020’s so far. This week my husband had invitations to three back-to-back international meetings. (All in the middle of the night, our time, after his usual work-day.) If he had attended all of them, he would have put in almost a 24-hour workday. On one hand, the tyranny of distance to attend international meetings has dropped to the distance to your computer Zoom call. On the other, the one-to-one networking and socializing at such an event has disappeared completely. Mark Williams comments on changes in the future for publishing conferences.

 

A few years ago, I delivered a speech on the changes that will happen in publishing when blockchain becomes more mainstream. A few people listening blinked as it seemed so far in the future that they couldn’t conceive of a time when this would be a thing. This week Joanna Penn spoke to a company that is pioneering publishing on the blockchain. The future is hurtling towards us and we are only about five years away from another infrastructure change. (Think Internet in 1999.) Banks are already dipping their toe into blockchain. If you want to understand how the blockchain will change publishing check out the interview.

 

Another week, another company launching an audiobook service. The future of audio publishing is gathering pace. Findaway Voices has an interesting article on the trends for authors to watch. Meanwhile, Scribd has launched a subscription service for audiobooks.

 

Kris Rusch has been doing a Kickstarter for a new book in her Fey series. She writes about the mind shift she has had recently on advances and how Kickstarter is filling this gap.

What if your fans Kickstarted the next book in the series? Like pre-orders with extra bonuses.

 

Ali Luke has a great post on motivation. Nine powerful ways to motivate yourself to write. If you have been struggling with the muse check out Ali’s tips.

 

In The Craft Section,

All the sub-genre definitions you didn’t know- Writers Digest

How to rescue a book in danger of dying- Jennie Nash

3 things to think about before you start your book- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

7 plot structures for pantsers- John Peregine

What makes a great villain- Scott McCormick- Bookmark

Grounding your reader- David Farland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Author Websites- follow these tips- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

2 posts on Instagram

Instagram Book clubs -SheReads and 8 tips for Instagram Authors- Penny Sansevieri

Sell books in your Amazon bio- Penny Sansevieri

Choosing the best Amazon categories- Jay Artale

8 critical bookselling mistakes- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

How to grow your social media platform- Frances Caballo - Bookmark

 

To Finish,

As you know, writing your epic novel can be fraught with peril for the unwary novelist. How do you leave out the things that the readers will hate? Anne R Allen has written a great blog post on a recent survey of Readers Pet Peeves. This list of peeves is a writer’s cautionary tale. Are there any peeves you would add to the list?

Maureen

@craicer

 

It is nearly time for my monthly newsletter with the best of my bookmarked links. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons –  GregWest98

 

Publishing- The Numbers Game

 

 

In the publishing blogosphere this week

News broke that Book Expo America is no more. Once the biggest book expo in the world BEA has had difficulty over the last few years trying to regain their niche. There are mixed feelings about the news.  The New Publishing Standard says no tears will be shed. 

However, there is a different story coming from Publishers Weekly. It is interesting to see the two sides of the story.

 

TNPS reports on Overdrives lending figures for 2020. Overdrive provides digital content for libraries around the world. They report that ebook lending almost doubled- the numbers are eye-watering. The biggest jump in borrows was children’s picture books. I was not expecting that.

 

The Story Studio guys sat down with Jane Friedman recently to talk about the lay of the land as Jane sees it going into 2021. Will there be big moves or will it be more of the same? No surprises- it’s an audio podcast and guess what, audio will keep getting bigger as Traditional Publishing starts to figure this out. A fascinating interview with Jane. 

 

I keep an eye on Academic publishers because that branch of the industry is usually the last to change their ideas. That’s when you know something has gone mainstream. Publishers Weekly has an article from Oxford University Press about how to survive a pandemic for publishers.

 

Ruth Harris has a great post on all the resources to create DIY covers. I like to trawl cover sites for inspiration… you never know when an image might spark an idea for your current work in progress. Playing around on Canva is relaxing and it's free. 

 

Donald Maass has a great article on Writer Unboxed about beats. If you are unfamiliar with this term- these are the turning points of your story. This is a MUST READ craft article. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Layering your scenes- Jordan Dane- Bookmark

Writing tightly- James Scott Bell - Bookmark

How to create unique voices for multiple POV’s- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

When you have no story conflict- Jami Gold

Editorial feedback – friend or foe- Sherry Howard

 

In The Marketing Section,

The shy authors guide to book promotion- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Are you ready to market -take this quiz- Frances Caballo

SPA Girls- How to use bonus content to sell books- Podcast brilliance

How to leave digital breadcrumbs- Lola Akerstrom

How to market a kindle book- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Marketing Apps- a guide- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Finally, we get to December and the wrapping paper comes out. I am always interested in the best presents for writers lists. Some I wouldn’t mind getting, some I just shake my head at. Here is a list of writer creativity and craft books from Lit Reactor. I have 3 of these and they are amazing reference books. (Story- Robert McKee, The War Of Art- Stephen Pressfield, On Writing -Stephen King)

Dianne Mills also has a great list of gifts for the writerly soul. (In a cute Christmas tree picture.) 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic:

 

 

Profit and Loss

 

In publishing news this week

A case of a big company crushing the writer… Disney asserts that when they purchased the rights to a contract they did not purchase the obligations and they want a non-disclosure agreement before they even talk about it. The Science Fiction Writers Association is rightly concerned (angry/vitriolic.) Disney can profit off Alan Dean Foster's work and not pay him? How many other writers are in this position? This discussion is taking over the writer internet today with many writers calling Disney out on it.

Draft To Digital has introduced a welcome change to their services. They are now offering payment splitting. If you have collaborated with other authors on a book or a boxset they can split the royalties now. 

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is moving its dates in 2021 following London Book Fair’s announcement last week. Bologna will now be in June and will be bigger than ever with a new parallel programme running alongside.

Are you guilty of using violent imagery when you don’t need to? Michael Gallant has an article on the Bookbaby blog about the prevalence of violent imagery in words and when to use it appropriately.

How can you tell if you are growing as a writer? K M Weiland has a great article on how you can tell if you are spinning your wheels or reaching for new heights.

Kristine Rusch has written another interesting blog on what she sees is the Train Wreck of Trade Publishing at the moment. She is responding to Mike Shatzkin’s October blog post The end of the General Trade Publishing Concept. Mike comments on where trade publishers are getting their money now and how they see the titles they acquire. Kris points out that when a publishing guru like Mike finally sees the handwriting on the wall it’s almost too late for the industry to learn and change.

September Fawkes is always an interesting read. Here she unpicks Arrogance vs Confidence and Humility vs Self Depreciation

In The Craft Section,

How to continue writing when you get stuck- Novelize - Bookmark

7 plot structures for pantsers- John Peragine- Bookmark

How to start your synopsis- Becca Puglisi

The charm of the large word in the right place - Mathina Calliope- Bookmark

Creating a Storyworld- SlapHappy Larry

In The Marketing Section,

How to set up a sponsored product ad- Dave Chesson

Starting from Zero- Joanna Penn interviewing David Gaughran- Bookmark

Using video marketing and why it’s important- Frances Caballo

Marketing a new book - Bookbub- BOOKMARK

4 easy SEO tips for writers- Ivelisse Rodriguez

How to make free 3d mockups of your book- Bookmark

To Finish,

As the publishing world changes and the pandemic hits all the events you might have gone to… authors and booksellers are having to get creative with their marketing. Lisa Tener interviews some of the team behind A Mighty Blaze-  a social media community for authors and readers on how to virtually market the book.

It has to make a profit for someone...

Maureen

@craicer

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Jonathan Harford