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

 

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If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate virtual coffee love.  It's nearly time for a blog celebration cake! 

 

PIC: Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

 

Writing To Conquer

This morning I read a nifty blog post by Hugh Howey* entitled What Is A Book Worth.

I have been mulling over it all day. A book can be a brief escape or a lifeline. It can mean the key to passing a grade or a library fine. Some stories resonate so deeply you must have them in every form available. Some stories only last in the memory a few hours.

Hugh was exploring the moment when the book crosses over and it becomes something you must have as a high end artifact. Bring back personally bound books of beauty.

This week Kris Rusch has been exploring what I.P. means to her. She has a great post on this. Too often she sees writers squandering their IP as they don’t even know what they have until its gone. If you have no idea what I.P. is, Read The Blog Post!

Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy was Joanna Penn’s guest this week on her podcast. Joanna asked Ricardo about the top 5 mistakes he sees Indie Authors making all the time. This is a full and frank discussion about attitude and execution.

Barnes and Nobel have thrown in the towel over the Nook platform. Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader explains where they went wrong and what it means for Authors who sell on the Nook platform. (Again there is that scary thought... is the whole company going down the tubes.)

Bookfunnel have done a crazy thing that has some authors cheering... They have extended their service to hosting shops for authors. Book funnel is a great service that takes the hassle out of delivering ARC’s and Book Prizes.

The Independent Book Publishers Association have pulled out of Book Expo America- The biggest book fair. Among their reasons, they feel they get no value for money from it. They feel B.E.A is increasingly fixated on the Big 5 traditional publishers. (What big 5? Amazon, Random Penguin, Hachette, Harper Collins...)

Will they start up their own fair?

(This week I have been watching NZ’s own Indie publishers doing an Expo style road trip to all our big cities just to gather booksellers together for wine, nibbles, goodie bags and the chance to view the latest catalogue offerings for Christmas.)

This week I was struck by two little articles dealing with imposter syndrome. I think every writer suffers from this. I definitely do. Usually when I’ve finished editing and doubt my own skills in telling a story. You are not alone- Neil Gaiman suffers from it... and so does Nathan Bransford.

Seven offensive mistakes that well intentioned writers do. Once you start reading these... the ghosts of past books rises up before your eyes... Note To Self: Be Better!

In The Craft Section,

How many words in a novel- Reedsy- Bookmark

10 Key scenes for framing your novel-C S Lakin- Bookmark Print out!

How to write a scene-and Writing scene transitions- Now Novel  - Bookmark

Writing sad scenes- Ryan Casey

7 character non negotiables- Novel Rocket

Chris Fox has a great video on the one big mistake authors make when writing to the market.

In The Marketing Section,

How to become a best seller-Bookbub case study and How to get on the USA today Bestseller list- Writelife

Advanced marketing skills – Kevin Tumlinson- Bookmark

Sending cold emails- Copyhacker- Bookmark

What to do with snarky reviews

How to attract more readers with a playlist strategy.

To Finish,

Do you ever think about your writing process? How do you trick the muse into turning on just when you want it? Ruth Harris has written a fantastic blog post on writing process. This is where bite sized goals really work! 

Pat Olsen also has a great post on focus... especially when you are in a busy household. She has some tips to help. Between them you will feel that you can conquer anything!

Maureen

@craicer

* Kia Ora Hugh, Welcome to New Zealand!

I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces every month in a newsletter. When you subscribe you will also get my nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Feel free to hit the coffee tab. I need all the coffee I can get. One series in production... another being written... websites here and there... SIGH. 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons Stephen Bowler- Knights