Is Anyone Thinking Of The Children?

 

In Publishing News this week.

Long time readers of the blog will remember that I used to feature the writings of publishing commentator Mike Shatzkin in the first 12 years of the blog. Mike retired but occasionally would pop back to make a interesting observation on current changes in publishing. He had been around publishing in one way or another his entire life. His recent death has been marked by many across the industry. Publishing Perspectives has a great obituary of his life and times. R.I.P. Mike.

 

The UK Guardian has an article on yet another celebrity who has written a children’s book. Children’s Authors Frustrated By Rise Of Celebrity Penned Titles. Speaking as a children’s writer, yes, it is frustrating. What more do they need for validation? A children’s book. – it’s easy to write and you have a built-in marketing factor for the publishing company. Right. Publishers taking a punt on a celebrity is a no brainer. The bare minimum of editing and all the TV shows will book them so that’s the publicity sorted. Pity about the reading quality and the longevity, but there will be another celebrity author next year. 

 

If you look at the latest surveys like The Guardian last week, they report that children are reading less than ever. This has sent shivers down the spines of writers and publishers. After all, if we can’t get kids reading for pleasure when they grow up they won’t be reading adult books either. The last writer who had a huge impact on children’s reading was J K Rowling whose series positively impacted a generation. Since those heady days of 1997 when the first book was published quietly until 2000 when the juggernaut took off every publisher has dreamed of finding the next big children’s book. 

 

The Hollywood Reporter has an article on TV shows using AI to script children’s television that resulted in a hot mess of awfulness. However, the AI tools that are developing are finding favour with the creators.

 

The big children’s fairs of Bologna and Shanghai are collaborating, sharing ideas and resources in this weeks Shanghai Children’s Book Fair. Publishing Perspectives writes about their partnerships.

 

Elsewhere in the UK the GLL foundation which funds writers has created 20 children’s author bursaries for residencies in libraries across the UK. The programme aims to help writers develop their business as well. This is a fantastic initiative.

 

Publishers Weekly writes about initiatives to rebuild libraries in conflict zones. 

 

With the rise of Print on Demand publishing, Princeton University Press has opened up an office in China offering their backlist in English. A canny financial move that is paying off. 

Meanwhile, Hachette is bleeding employees who are disgusted with their new imprint Basic Liberty which is following a conservative publishing agenda. It looks like Hachette launched the whole enterprise in a hurry to take advantage of election outcomes. 

 

Two great writing craft articles caught my eye this week. Antagonist vs Villain- what’s the difference by Katie Weiland which is a must read. Sue Coletta writes an in depth article- Does your story have a full circle moment? Cue slot machine sounds as your brain makes connections. 

 

In the Craft Section,

4 things that make your writing boring- Suzy Vadori- Bookmark

Balancing your cast of characters- September Fawkes – Bookmark

Don’t make this conflict tension mistake- Janice Hardy - Bookmark

5 common reasons your hero is too powerful- Oren Ashkenazi

Four dialogue tips- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

How to create a newsletter

Ultimate guide to festival success-  J Alexander Greenwood-Bookmark

9 key reasons your book is not selling- Laurence O’Bryan

2 excellent posts from Sandra Beckwith- Finding Beta Readers and Boost your author brand- 31 tips- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Recently, social media sites have been churning with change. People are ditching their accounts and setting up new ones on different sites. The publishing world is no exception. In the beginning Twitter was the publishing industry water cooler meetup place for everybody. If you are trying to find the social media literary community Bluesky has had an influx of publishing industry people. It feels a lot like Twitter in the good old days.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash

Reaching A Milestone

 

In Publishing News this week

 

It’s Frankfurt Bookfair time and publishers are showing off their booths on social media.

Publishers Weekly has a report on the first of the big stage moments – the CEO’s of 3 of the biggest publishing houses talking about aspects of modern publishing and the challenges to change the industry.

 

Publishing Perspectives has an in depth chat with Philippians publishers who are guests of honour at Frankfurt about their publishing business and the challenges of a western publishing model. 

 

Amazon has released a new Kindle according to GoodEreader. Spotify have expanded their audio book business into Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. The numbers of books in these languages are growing all the time. 

 

Nielsen Book data have released their half yearly global report on which countries are reading and what they were buying. Fiction was more popular than non fiction. Many countries sales were staying the same or dipping slightly except for New Zealand which has had a nearly 10% decline in book buying. (Come On Kiwi’s- buy a book!)

 

The Guardian has an article on why bookshops are the new cool place to shop. It seems everyone is looking for the curated experiences and community that bookshops bring to the shopping experience.

 

While bookshops might be the place to hang out, this is not so true for the writers who provide the books. The income of writers has been steadily declining. In a recent article many writers who in the past would have been receiving a modest income are now struggling. ‘It’s a hobby not a profession anymore.’

 

Joanna Penn has been celebrating a milestone with her podcast. It has racked up over 10 million downloads. She examines the highs and learnings she has gained from having a popular podcast.

 

James Scott Bell has a great post on how writing can sometimes feel like trudging over the tar pits. It’s a wry look at the writer’s dilemma – when the book is not working where do you cut. 

 

Katie Weiland has made it to the end of her Structure series with a close look at resolution. This has been a super series and if you have been following along you should definitely check out her book on Structure. (It’s really good!)

 

In The Craft Section,

6 cheats to tell well- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Clues to a great story- The Pixar talk- Bookmark

Using Chekov’s gun strategically- Kevin Tumlinson

How to write a short story- ProWritingAid

Murky middles and how to strengthen them- Kristen Melville- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Authors are assets not competition- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Finding Readers who write reviews- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

When you need an author website- Grace Bialeckie

How to make a book trailer- Reedsy 

We are all marketers- Ann Marie Nieves Bookmark

 

Finish

This is my 800^th blog post. I feel like I have been talking publishing and writing forever. 

The blog has given me into some interesting insights into the publishing world. I think we can say that the experiment of the Kindle as not killed publishing. It is continually evolving. It has been interesting to see the rise of audiobooks and the changes that Indie Publishers have forced the traditional publishing houses to take. 

Staying nimble in this business is the key to success. I hope that you have learned along with me and that I have not bored you. 

A huge thanks to those who have been with me from the beginning. I’m still interested in this world, so I’ll keep going for a little while longer.

All celebrations should have cake… I’m off to find one.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, or celebratory cake, I appreciate all your kind virtual coffee love, 

Thanks.

 

 

Talking Down to Readers

 

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

Last week I mentioned that Booktopia in Australia had found a buyer, this week Simon and Schuster (Australia) has been shopping and they have bought Affirm Press. They want to expand their markets in Australia and New Zealand apparently. 

 

The numbers are in and PenguinRandomHouse has made some money.  Publishers Weekly reports the good news. It might have something to do with all that restructuring they have been doing.

 

Apple Books has started laying off workers, GoodEReader reports. Apple haven’t really been focused on its book platform for a while. This may be a sign of the coming times.

 

Just when you thought all that crazy book censoring was happening in one very large western country the UK woke up to discover it’s happening in their school libraries too.

In contrast, there are schools wanting to embrace PRH’s Book Vending machines. PenguinRandomHouse has provided a book vending machine to showcase its Lit in Colour series. The machine is stocked with books written by diverse authors of colour. 

 

Every few years some bright spark in publishing looks at the huge secondhand book market and wonders… How can I get a piece of that? Bookshop.org is the latest to try with secondhand books worth credits in the Bookshop.org store. But is anyone really going to send their books off?

 

Written Word Media have a detailed look at the new KDP author verification requirements and breaks down what is important. A must read if you publish on this platform.

 

On Jane Friedman’s popular blog, Amy Bernstein writes- What you can learn from a serial submitter to literary magazines. When you have assimilated all the good advice then hop over to curiosityneverkilledthewriter.com and look at the 67 submission opportunities for September.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has another in depth article- this one on creating nonfiction courses to complement your nonfiction book.

 

I’ve just finished reading a story that had some masterful backstory slid into it. Then I came across this great article from Lisa Hall Wilson explaining just how to do this kind of deep point of view backstory layering.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to strengthen a lean manuscript- Lisa Fellinger- Bookmark

Story structure as a fractal- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Should you abandon your novel- James Scott Bell

Steadfast arcs- September Fawkes

10 editing tips- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

4 Facebook features

The matter of titles-Barbara Linn Probst- Bookmark

Comp titles- PenguinRandomhouse blog

Making your website friendlier- Debbie Burke- Bookmark

Getting into the Goodreads author program-podcast- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Every few years around this time in the Northern Hemisphere news cycle the same click baity headline somehow gets recycled. Are Romance Novels Literature? The latest to ask this is Time- with its 50 best romances list. Mark Williams of the New Publishing Standard vents on this. 

A literature novel can have a romance in it. (Test: If you took out the romance would it still stand as a novel?) Romance as a genre should have the romance as the driving force in the story. The question “Is (fill in your own genre) literature?” sets up an argument of snobbery with ‘literature’ seen as more highbrow. 

Literature is a genre.

It is not a genre with huge sales compared to other genres. It has cemented itself into creative writing faculties across the world so that its authors can make a living.

You never see the headline – Are crime thrillers literature? It is always Romance that is picked on. Is it the covers? The perceived readership? The sales? The jealousy of the author paycheck, that makes this genre a target? Stop going for the tired old click bait headline. We should be encouraging and celebrating reading- regardless of genre. I wince every time a child tells me, apologetically that they read graphic novels as if it was some sort of shame.* 

There is no shame in reading. We need all the readers we can get.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter to go out. If you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

*I tell them my favourite graphic novels and then we have a discussion on illustration styles and pictures as shorthand for setting.

pic Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Speaking Truth to Fear

 

In Publishing News this week.

I wonder how an organisation becomes so frightened that it gives in to any perceived threat, even by one person. Publishers Weekly highlights the latest book banning nonsense. In Virginia a community book reading event of the Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, was derailed because one person worried about a tree having two reproductive systems.

You know you can thank the complainer for bringing it to your attention and invite them to NOT PARTICIPATE rather than giving in, ruining the community event, and making yourself a laughingstock internationally.

 

A new way of getting your book noticed in this busy world is to record the audiobook in a novel place. In this case 900 feet down a mine. The author thought it would be a good idea as he set the novel in the mine. I don’t think the audio production company and his publishers were that excited by his plan though.

 

Mark Williams reports on the latest numbers released by Amazon on their payout of Kindle Unlimited. There must be money in subscription after all everyone is getting into it. Mark compares numbers and looks for trends in Amazon’s financial reporting.

 

The London Book Fair wrapped up and a good time was had by all Porter Anderson gives a run down on all the news from the fair and looks forward to Bologna – the big Children’s Book Fair in April.

 

Joanna Penn has a great interview with Claire Taylor on The Enneagram and how it can help you sustain an author career. It is super interesting and well worth listening to or reading the transcript. These two authors give so much to the writing community. 

 

Wired recently had an article on training an AI on out of copyright material to prove it could be done. This might be gold for all the lawyers currently representing authors in court cases.

 

Elizabeth S Craig has a great post on setting yourself up on the path of least resistance to accomplish your goals.

 

Have you read any fan fiction lately? Before you shudder and express horror, consider the freedom in trying out ideas in someone else’s sandbox where you don’t have to do all the leg work to establish the world. Laura Samotin writes on Gizmodo that playing with fan fiction can be a shortcut to finding out what topes resonate with your reading audience. A great read. 

Anne R Allen has a great post on breaking the rules. Sometimes authors can be so scared of breaking the show don’t tell rule that their writing suffers from it. Anne talks about when the rules can go too far.

 

Samantha Cameron has an interesting post on writing underrepresented characters. Do you let fear get in the way of attempting to tell their stories? Samantha has some steps to overcome this so you can write great three dimensional characters.

 

In The Craft Section,

4 mistakes to avoid when writing dialogue- Rose Atkinson-CarterBookmark

Writing fiction based on real life figures- K D Alden

How to write a psychological thriller- Lucy Hay

Writing protagonists without a strong goal- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Beginning your story introducing your characters- K M Weiland-Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

The secret to a compelling bio- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

How I sell at live events- Ben Wolf- Bookmark

How to market a book that doesn’t exist yet- Rachel Thompson

How to go viral on TikTok- Hina Pandya

5 effective strategies to avoid engagement farming- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Heather Webb has an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about the big truths in fiction. Recently she was on a book tour, wearing her read banned books tee shirt and was asked in a panel discussion ‘if you were to write a banned book, what topic would you choose.’ It opened up some interesting ideas to think about. This is a thought provoking read. Does your writing reflect ‘the big truths?’

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

Sending The Wrong Message

In Publishing News this week,

Frankfurt is often touted as the biggest book fair in the world. This is where countries get invited to showcase their literary works and deals are done in rights trading and translations etc. It is a general book fair covering all genres. It opened yesterday. Everybody had high hopes that it would be a standout year after the pandemic years. The wheels started falling off yesterday with a mass walkout of nations over the withdrawing of a prize ceremony for a Palestinian writer. 

 

Scholastic is in hot water with writers after they put together a diversity box for school bookfairs. (These are a big deal in American schools. Scholastic provides all the books for display and kids buy.) It’s not that they put a box of diversity books together it’s that they made it an opt out option bowing to book banning groups.

 

Staying with Kids books- There is a distinct drop in sales in the mid-grade and teen categories or as some librarians insist a non-existence of books for the 12- 15 age group. Everybody has been waiting for a breakout hit and they are still waiting.

 

The New Publishing Standard has a look at the subscription numbers for audiobooks in Europe and the news that Spotify is rolling out subscription in the UK. Subscription is here to stay says Mark. He has other pithy observations to make on audiobook subscription and how consumers are using it. If 30 % of the listeners are speeding up their playback speeds does this mean they can listen to more books in their subscription hour? And would they notice if it was an AI voice?

 

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has been shining a spotlight on the shonky payment systems of Cricket and its associated children’s fiction magazines over the last couple of years. She updates the post to tell what one writer did to finally get their money after 3 years which might help others in the same boat. 

 

I sent out my monthly newsletter with the comment that every lead story in September was on AI. Poets and Writers magazine has an article on the AI lawsuits and how suddenly you can’t get excerpts anymore of famous writers work (but they are probably still there.) Joanna Penn has a great transcript on a how to double down on being human. This is your point of difference from an AI

 

If you have been mulling over whether to try yet another social media site Anne R Allen has a timely post on social media etiquette for any social media site.  Great advice.

 

I’m often surprised when I come across writers who don’t really understand what copyright means. There are so many layers to a piece of intellectual property. For an introduction masterclass on the subject read this piece by Dean Wesley Smith.  

 

Barbara Linn Probst has an excellent article on Why We Write. Artistry, Identity, Legacy.  She explores the art and the craft of writing, finding your tribe and bearing witness. It’s a must read.

 

If you are looking for some inspiration for short stories- have you tried mining the lyrics of songs. They are chock full of emotion and little moments that are really stories in disguise. 

 

In The Craft Section,

10 signs your plot is weak and how to fix it- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Navigating inner conflict- C S Lakin- Bookmark

Getting beyond stereotypes- Now Novel

Foreshadowing vs spoiling what’s the difference- Jami Gold- Bookmark

Printables for NaNoWriMo- Payton Hayes

 

In The Marketing Section,

2 great posts from Penny Sansevieri - Preorder strategies and 7 genius AI strategies – Bookmark Both

Marketing and promo plan for indie authors - Emma Lombard

3 things your author newsletter should do - Colleen Story

The best free marketing tool is in your head- Lisa Norman – Bookmark

 

To Finish

The Alliance of Independent Authors is running their next 24 hour free conference starting October 21^st The sessions will be up for 3 days. Check out the agenda and feast your eyes on all the fabulous speakers. This conference is on Mindset. Do something for your writing mind and sign up.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

 If you want the best of my bookmarked links and some extras you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter here. Come and join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

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 Lee Soo hyun on Unsplash

Threat or Opportunity

 

 

This week the Booker Prize longlist was announced. Mark Williams looks at the media focus on nationality and then breaks down how a book gets nominated for the prize. I always wondered, especially when books were longlisted before publication. Eye opening.

 

Sometimes the news coming out of parts of the U. S. about book banning seem to be set in some sort of nightmare dystopian wasteland. What worries many around the world is that these ideas seem to spread to other countries. We cannot be complacent and think ‘only in America’. So the latest news that a Texas school district was repurposing school libraries into discipline centres gave me the shudders. 

 

ReadersFirst is a global coalition of libraries. They recently commented on the real world impact of the 2023 Big 5 Publisher Terms for Library Lending. 

Libraries have to enter into contracts with publishers for how often they can lend out a book in any format. The price for each book has the lending factored into it. For example, a library copy of a best seller might cost the library 3 times the cost of the book in the bookstore for a limited amount of borrows. This is true for digital formats as well. 

 

Kerry Chaput has an interesting post on authenticity and why TikTok is the best place for you to be your authentic writer self.

 

In The AI section, these posts caught my eye. The New York Times has an article on the fear and creativity of using AI which will impact all aspects of publishing.

 

As a children’s writer I always keep one eye on what is happening in educational publishing. Pearson are experimenting with using AI to enhance their content in a walled garden approach for students by using “conversational AI capabilities.”

 

The biggest hurdle any author has is how to get their books discovered by readers. What if the whole book could be scanned, core themes pulled out to generate Ad copy directly to a reader. 

Enter AI. Publishing Perspectives has an intriguing interview with the entrepreneur behind a new book discovery platform called Shimmr. Where there is a threat there is also opportunity.

 

Recently I listened to an excellent podcast episode from the SPA Girls about subscriptions. They were interviewing the founders of Ream, a subscription platform for authors to host their own serial stories, Wattpad or Patreon style content. It was fascinating and informative. If you are interested in owning your own relationships with readers, check out the episode.

 

Kris Rusch takes a look at how the best laid plans can be derailed and how to cope with the planning muse when this happens. This is good for a reality check. Even the best of us can get it wrong.

 

How to get back to your book in 3 easy/kinda hard steps. This is a great essay written by Denise Massar for Writers Digest. The shelved project is not gone for ever. Time away can clarify what you wanted to say in the manuscript.

 

 

In The Craft Section,

How writers can use mindmapping for brainstorming

Choosing the right scenes for the right place- C S Lakin Bookmark

The 12% rule of story structure- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Iconic characters are made – Donald Maass- Bookmark

Pomodoro tips for writers

Writing tips- outlining- Amy Clipston

 

In The Marketing Section,

Top ten marketing challenges- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Attracting readers during peak shopping periods- Amazon- Bookmark

The business of writing- Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

Who are your key influencers- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

6 tips for a book party on a shoe string- Debbie Burke

 

 

To Finish,

What if your book was picked up for a Bookclub read- you would be happy, wouldn’t you? Judith Briles looks at the other side of this in Bookclub thieves. If you are invited to speak to a bookclub be aware that they may only have bought one book. Many readers still think authors are rolling in money. The opposite is true. You might have to educate them.

 

This writing business is hard. It is especially hard if you don’t have a great support network around you. Lisa Fellinger explores how to protect yourself when your friends and family rain on your book dreams.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for the monthly newsletter. You can subscribe to get the best of my bookmarked links in a each month. Join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox check out the Substack version and subscribe there.

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 keeps me going. Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

As The World Turns

In Publishing News this week,

 

Last week I wrote that Storytel is partnering with Eleven Labs, an AI audio specialist for audiobook dubbing in different languages. This week Goodereader has an interesting article on Eleven labs and just what they are capable of- including voice cloning. You give them a sample of your voice, they clone it and then your voice clone reads the audiobook. I had a play with their regular AI voices and it’s amazing.

So if you clone your voice is it still really you or an AI? The benefits are no more voice strain when you are recording your books- also no more studio fees or production costs.

 

For the first time since 2019, Beijing has held their International Bookfair. Attendance was good and there were over 2500 exhibitors.

 

Pundits are still talking about Elizabeth Gilbert’s decision to pull her book because of Ukrainian backlash. Is it a publicity stunt or a genuine reason. Is it all politics?

 

Publishing Perspectives has an article by Richard Charkin on the megatrends in international marketing. He asked Chatgpt for help and then he corrected the resulting article.

 

Publishers Weekly takes a deep dive into the shifting Middle Grade market. Once it held up the book sales stats but lately it’s been falling. How can writers stay relevant in this important market.

 

Darcy Pattison has a great article on getting photo permissions. There are different levels of copyrights with photos so do your homework if you are using them in your work.

 

Draft2Digital has an interesting article on how to stay productive and using time management skills to keep your writing on track.

 

Do you need an author assistant? What do they do? If you have wondered whether you need to get help in your author business, this article is for you.

 

Colleen Story has a great article on the 5 things a writer can’t control- This is a good pointer for what to let go of for your mental health.

 

Sue Coletta has written about how she parted ways with her Traditional publisher and why. This is a story I have heard from other authors. It starts off well and then production values drop, editors stop editing and then the relationship fails.

 

Kris Rusch has a new series looking at niche marketing. Do you know your niche market? (Do you know how to pronounce the word niche properly?*) Many writers are still following old publishing ways of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. Sometimes a smaller focussed approach is better. 

 

Tiffany Yates Martin explores whether writing in deep 3^rd person is actually a point of view or just really layered writing. Do you even know when you are writing in it?

 

In The Craft Section,

Using crisis to reveal character- September Fawkes- Bookmark

How good is your writing-Allison Williams- Bookmark

How to hurt your characters- Liz Generally

Coming up with the perfect character name- Emmanuel Natif

How you can be a better author with the snowflake method- Written Word Media- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to talk publicly about writing- James Preston- Bookmark

Do pre orders affect release day sales?- Jackie Karneth

Using blogger book reviews- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Creative ideas for book events- Penny Sansevieri

How authors can use Bookfunnel- Joanna Penn Interview with Damon Courtney- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The Winter/Summer Solstice is this week and many traditions use this time to reflect and plan or celebrate the turning of the seasons. If you want to give yourself a gift over Solstice check out these two amazing bundles of writing craft goodies.

The Info Stack of writing resources has a super abundance of high quality courses with lifetime access’, books, K-lytics reports etc for a one time fee of $49-Limited time only.

 

The Storybundle of writing craft books, available for two weeks with a great selection of books on writing, productivity, short stories… curated by Kris Rusch. These bundles are always great value.

 

Happy Solstice.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

If you want the best of my bookmarked links in a monthly newsletter you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

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 Selvan B on Unsplash

 

(* There are two different ways to say it depending on where you come from.)