This. You never know where you'll end up in the industry (even if you have a ~plan~) Understand the business! #DBW16 https://t.co/TZf4jECOwM— Phil Stamper (@stampepk) March 9, 2016
The above is the whole reason I started this blog in the
first place (coming up on 9 years).
Over the last two days I have been following the #DBW16 on Twitter. DBW is Digital Book World and they have conferences on... Book publishing now and in the future.
All the usual suspects were there but what is always
interesting at DBW is you often get a glimpse into what’s going to hit in a
years time. Tech startups that suddenly get big... etc
Porter and Jane Friedman were both there doing live
tweeting... and some interesting ideas were being talked about. Porter has a wrap up of day one and The Bookseller (UK) has their own perspective on it. Next
week I’ll link to day two but if you are interested put #DBW16 in the search
bar in Twitter (click live) and get some gems.
Ros Barber’s blog post about telling the truth about what writing is really like now is getting talked about all over the place. It’s a
brave writer that actually tells it like it is... because we can be seen as
biting the hand that drops the crumbs....
Joanna Penn talked with Orna Ross this week on her podcast about Rights Selling and a fascinating chat it was too. This is a sit down with
a beverage of your choice and take it all in. It is compelling listen.
Bran Lindy Ayres has a great post on writing diversity. It
is thought provoking and lays out how a writer should approach telling a story
when they don’t identify with the race, gender or sexuality of their
characters.
We are all told we need to have email subscribers etc etc
but what do we actually do with them once we’ve got some. Will Hoekenga wrote
an interesting blog post – 7 emails you should send to your subscribers but probably don’t. This opens up a whole new world... and now you have to read Jami Gold’s
great post -What is your reader retention plan...- Masterclass!
Recently an email came across my inbox with a pointer to a
new US based website. Formswift combines a nice website with a whole lot of
legal forms for free lancers and their business. Basic contracts, cease and
desist orders... There is a huge range all downloadable, all free, that you can
use as a basis for what you need.
Anne R Allen and Ruth Harris make a potent team for authors.
They are always writing insightful helpful blog posts. Ruth has a wonderful
post of 7 ways to rekindle joy in your writing. This is a print it out and
stick it on the wall mantra for writers!
In the Craft Section,
Crafting a one page synopsis using story beats- Sue Coletta-
Bookmark
Writing MG with Kate Messner- Bookmark
How Show, Don’t Tell is terrible advice for Newbies- Anne R Allen BOOKMARK
In the Marketing Section,
5 steps to great cover art- This is in the great 5 question
series by Jane Friedman. Bookmark. (Today’s 5 questions to Henry Baum is also
interesting)
2 literary agents have great posts this week. Mistakes writers make in query letters- Steve Laube and Oops it happened again by Marisa Corvisiero. These are Bookmark reading if you are going to query!
How to number your series books for Amazon- (it’s trickier than you think) Bookmark
The three year no bestseller plan to a sustainable income- Patty Jansen- Bookmark
Website of the Week
Kate Tilton has a great website with all sorts of resources
for writers. She hosts #K8chat on Twitter and generally is a fund of all sorts
of useful information. Here she has put together her list of Book Review bloggers. Bookmark
To Finish,
Hands up those who noticed the new thing in my side bar. I
have been wondering how to put a progress bar on my blog for a while. (I’m treating
my series as one whole project.) So up pops this handy guide from J Abram Barneck. It is excellent! Of
course I could go crazy and add the 2 finished books in the drawer... 2 books
plotted... 6 books still to go all from different projects – Beta readers
saying my Mars book needs a sequel...
but I won’t bore you about my business.
maureen
@craicer
maureen
@craicer
