Milestones

 

This post is numbered 600. I’m in my 13^th year of weekly roundups. When I started the blog, I didn’t know what the future would hold. How long I would be doing this- Where it would take me. I started the blog to share what I had found out about writing. Along the way, I had a ringside seat at the launch of the Kindle and online publishing, Print On Demand and subscription-style consumption of entertainment. I’ve seen the humble beginnings of what now are huge online careers and little publishing ideas that turned into global resources.

Tonight, the family speculated about reaching one thousand… an impossibly high number in my head. That will be another eight years and who knows what the future will bring for publishing. I hope to still be in my little corner writing what my friends call The Weekly Homework Sheet that they have to read. 

To everybody who has commented, emailed, followed, bought me a coffee or just stared at me in a writer gathering saying ‘You write that blog,’ Thank you for the encouragement. 

To the international writers who have picked my brains or asked advice- thanks for thinking I am worthy of the ask. 

To my writer friends- online and IRL – Thank you for being there.

It’s been a rocky road at times but the one constant has always been my weekly appointment with the blog and the 11:59pm deadline. Cheers.

 

And Now To The Reason You Are All Here…

 

Recently Savannah Cordova from Reedsy wrote a blog post on Writers helping Writers about the predictions for publishing in the next half of 2020. Will dystopian ever become fiction again… 

 

This week Kris Rusch has been looking at the art of the pivot…when things go belly up what can you do? First, you need to have a plan. Kris details how you can remain nimble in your business dealings.

 

James Daunt new CEO of Barnes and Noble has been thinking that the pandemic might be a good thing as he uses it to streamline the stores. But he also has found another side to Barnes and Noble Digital Book Sales… didn’t they have an e-reader? The Nook may be saved.

 

Dean Wesley Smith has been discovering that many writers have got book covers and not got contracts for the artwork. This could be problematic in the future. I have seen an instance where the writer had to junk several thousand dollars of covers because the designer had ripped off another artists work. It does happen. Be Careful.

 

I love Penny Sansevieri’s monthly roundups of interesting days to use for content post ideas.

Penny has got September sorted… but you can also download a years worth to put on your wall.

 

David Farland writes about the mental toughness that authors need to develop when they are writing to deadlines or to other stressors. How do you cultivate the right attitude to get you through? Yesterday I listened to The SPA Girls podcast on empowering women- Their guest was talking about strategies authors could use to make a difference in their productive lives- What are your body’s resistance tricks?- Brilliant podcast!

 

How is your writing going? Mine is inching along. Some days feel great, the words flow and other days I feel like I’m getting nowhere or going around in circles. I came across this article, How to write a marketable genre fiction series and wondered if I was doing everything all wrong… although all is not lost…. 

 

 

In The Craft Section,

Line edits- How to do them- Writelife- Bookmark

Scene sequels- K M Weiland- Bookmark!

The biggest writing craft issues new novelists face- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

How to thread backstory into your narrative- Heidi Croot

Common reasons protagonists are unlikeable- Mythcreants- Bookmark

Worldbuilding tips- NowNovel- Bookmark

Why lack of structure is killing your characters- Lucy V Hay

 

In The Marketing Section,

Author collaboration- Emma Lombard- Bookmark

How to approach book clubs- Jenn Hanson dePaula

Social media tips- Frances Caballo

Nine digital book marketing ideas- Hayley Zelda

Amazon ads keywords- Jay Artale- Bookmark

Timing your book launch- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

 

To Finish,

Nate Hoffelder has an informative article on Zoom tips for authors. As we look into the next few years of dealing with this pandemic we all must get comfortable with using this sort of technology to interact with readers and peers. And then there’s Instagram… many authors are on there – take a look at this article on making a home photography studio… Get creative.

 

Here’s to the beginning of the journey to the next milestone…

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

My monthly newsletter with loads of bookmarked links and tips will be going out this weekend. 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 virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Tim Green

Where’s The Money?

In the publishing blogosphere this week...

The New Publishing Standard (TNPS) keeps an eye on the global news of publishing. Sometimes we forget that there is a whole world out there in publishing not just the UK or the US. This week they highlighted that many EU countries are dropping the high VAT taxes on ebooks. Good news for authors and readers. However, there is always a holdout. (Quick, guess who?) 
TNPS also reports that Big Bad Wolf has set up their tenth market in South Korea with 2 million English language books in an 11-day sale. (If you haven’t caught up with BBW they sell remaindered books from publishers, often reported as pulped.) 

A bookstore owner in New York wrote a plaintive open letter to the New York City Hall asking for assistance to stay in business. It is in the cities best interests to have bookstores because of the value to the community... therefore the city should subsidise them? Agree? Disagree? 

Meanwhile, over in the UK, the Guardian reports that print sales are down...but Audio Books are a runaway success. Of course, publishers are ready and able to take advantage of the new surge in the popularity of audio. (cue contract rights grabs...)

Anne R Allen has been blogging for ten years. Yes, it was a surprise to me too. Her fabulous blog is always a must read. She shares her ten takeaways over ten years. 
Colleen Story has an interesting blog. Recently she took a look at imposter syndrome. Do you feel you are a real writer?
I’m a regular listener of podcasts, Rose Ernst has rounded up the 29 best Indie publishing episodes of all time. All my favourite podcasts are in there and a few new ones I must check out. *Waves to the SPA girls- NZ’s popular publishing podcast who made the list!*

Kris Rusch continues her series of blog posts examining all the opportunities for authors at the recent licensing expo. This blog post is a must-read for authors. Please read it and think about the implications. I remember many years ago hearing a romance writer explain to me that she was in the entertainment industry. This blog post absolutely explains how writers have never understood what assets they actually have.

Kathleen McCleary often bases her characters on real people. Many writers shy away from doing this. Kathleen shares how you can do this successfully with her blog post-  Be Careful or You’ll End Up In My Novel.

In The Craft Section,

The most common mistakes- Nathan Bransford

Six mistakes that can kill a plot-Mythcreants- Bookmark

What does plot reveal character mean? Jami Gold Bookmark

Briefing your beta readers

Writing characters with personality- Writer Unboxed

Subplots – Scott Myers - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

5 ways to increase sales with Instagram

How to conquer Linkedin- Frances Caballo

Author websites with stellar designs- Bookbub- Bookmark for ideas!

How I helped this author grow her platform from scratch- Dan Blank

Bookmarketing- nonstore events- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

To Finish,

The Creative Penn is always a resource of interesting ideas. Lately, Joanna has been turning her blog over to some great guest posters. This weeks guest post is all about creative writing tools... and no it is not the fancy pen.
Another must-look-at tool is the Beginners guide to Indie jargon for Book Marketing. This is not just a glossary but is a fabulous link list to the best articles explaining what each jargon term means. If you have always wondered what a CTA is... 

Maureen
@craicer

My monthly newsletter got delayed. I promise it is coming! If you want to get the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here. You will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you.
If you’re feeling generous and you like the blog, shout me a coffee by hitting the coffee button up top.
Thanks.

Surviving Career Custard Pies

In the publishing blogosphere this week....

K-boards is a well known chat forum for authors who publish on Amazon. This week the news that K -boards was sold from the deceased estate of its founder to a tech company caused hardly a ripple in the smooth working of the forum until participants noticed changes in the terms of service that were unusual and upsetting. It could get very messy. The Passive Guy brought his lawyer eye to figure out what was what.

Apple has quietly changed its bookstore. No more iBooks... Apple books are here to stay. Apple have some nifty new revamps to the bookstore.

The rising cost of Amazon ads has caught authors on the hop. The suggested price to start bidding has risen by 25%. The Alliance of Independent Authors great blog highlights and examines this situation. This has been a big topic of conversation around the indie publishing blogosphere.

It’s Book Launch week for me. Do you know any quirky confident beginning readers? I have a great book series launching now based in a traveling circus... add in some codes... and you get custard pies thrown... Um No. Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy has a list of unconventional book launch ideas...

Agent Janet Reid has an interesting answer to a reader question on what happens when you have fired your agent but they still have an interest in the books that they submitted on your behalf. How long do they have their claws in me?

Kris Rusch comments of the hits an authors career takes when a publisher makes a stupid decision... The latest stupid decision - Tor stopping libraries from accessing their new releases. 

Chuck Wendig has an interesting post on his blog today about writing careers being a series of cliff mitigation exercises. This is a super read. It is thought provoking especially when joined with Kris Rusch’s blog. 

I flicked this link on Book Covers to my fabulous Cover Designer Adele Jackson. This is a fascinating roundup of the cover designers on Instagram. If Typography and pretty colours are your thing - take a look!

3 writing techniques adapted from the visual arts- This is a great post by Tess Callahan on Writers Digest. 

In The Craft Section,

Mythcreants have two great posts that you should Bookmark- 5 Reasons not to write a persecution flip story and How do I avoid endorsing my protagonists actions

How to write exceptional endings- September Fawkes- Bookmark

How to find and capture your novel ideas- Joanna Penn

How to deal with rejection as a writer- Meg Latorre

What’s at stake- Michael Hauge- Bookmark

Sweeter than tea- Writing tips

In The Marketing Section,

Biggest Bookbub ad mistakes- Bookbub- Bookmark!!

Misconceptions about literary agents- Writers Digest

The Ins and Outs of Contests- Writers on the move

Embed video in your Amazon book listing. - The Digital Reader

Using excerpts from your book on Social Media- Bookbuzzr

Creating an Author Persona for live events- Joanna Penn

How to set up and run an author exhibition stand- Alli -Bookmark

David Gaughran has a fascinating guest post from Nicholas Erik. This is a MUST READ if you are advertising on FB or Amazon.

To Finish,

Anne R Allen has put together a handy list of books to help writers when they feel discouraged, blocked or feeling like they are not a real writer. This is EVERYONE. We all feel like this at times. Her list has been extensively added to in the comments so make sure you read them.

Maureen

@craicer

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you want to say thanks for all the blog posts you can hit the coffee button and help fuel my week. It’s Circus Quest book launch time! I’m up to my eyes in custard pies…If you know a quirky confident beginning reader then check out my Circus Quest series. 

Pic; Atlas Obscura- The Perils 1947 Custard Pies