Whose attitude is right?

Around the publishing blogosphere...

This week was unsettling on Social Media. First there was the big Twitter pile on

about a forthcoming book from Young Adult writer, Amelie Wen Zhao.

Amelie was about to publish her debut novel. As authors do, she drew on her upbringing

and culture from her own country. She has a 3 book deal with a traditional publisher in the USA.

She was forced to ask for a delay in publication due to the backlash on social media

about content in her book.

From what I could see as the Twitter rage grew… many commenting had not read advance copies so did not know the context but raged about it anyway. Many immediately took the author to task for seeming to use American historical events badly in her fantasy.

For writers from other countries watching this rage fest unfold on Twitter it was deeply unsettling. The rest of the world has stories to tell of slavery, human trafficking happening now or in the past. Other cultures experiences of this is just as valid to use as a basis for a fantasy book. Do we always have to use and be mindful of the same western viewpoints in an age where stories are shared globally with the click of a button?

While writers and commentators were getting steamed up over a fantasy book,

publishers and agents were getting spooked by the story broken in

The New Yorker of a prominent writer and editor who seemed to have based

all his credentials on a fantasy life. As the events in his fantasy life were exposed

it read like the famous novel The Talented Mr Ripley. The writer/editor had relationships

everywhere and there will be many people in publishing feeling they have been

the townspeople in The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Another big story this week was the subscription service

Scribd passing 1 million subscribers. Publishers have been flirting with subscription

services for a while. Amazon has what could be the world’s biggest with Kindle Unlimited

based mainly in the USA but that leaves Scribd with the rest of the world…

and they have lots of plans for growth.

Another publisher with global ambitions has just opened publishing portals in another

21 countries over 6 continents.

Italian based Streetlib seeks to publish everywhere that has an internet connection,

in any language, in any format.

If you are a writer in Lesotho or Nandi, writing in your own language…

Streetlib is for you. Among the new countries just enrolled in their publishing

portal are Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.    

Amazon is looking at the rest of the world and thinking hmm great kids books in

other languages- they need us. They are opening up their Amazon kids publishing

arm to translations.

Meanwhile Google is contracting- with Google Plus set to disappear by April.

And so we come to Kris Rusch’s last blog post looking at the changes for publishing this year.

It has been an fascinating series. If you haven’t been reading her posts you are missing out
on learning about this industry. Last week’s post is a must read!

This week Kris talks about the attitude change in publishing.

In The Craft Section,

Writing a single POV story - K M Weiland

5 ways to turn off your inner editor - Janice Hardy- Bookmark

6 ways to show emotion for non POV characters- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

What is your protagonist object of desire- Bookmark

Writing skill you should cultivate- Jerry Jenkins

In The Marketing Section,

3 principles of selling rights- Orna Ross- Bookmark

Discoverability and Going Wide- The Book Designer

Social Media tips for the introverted writer- Ella Barnard-Bookmark

How can I get more subscribers- Indies Unlimited

Distribution for the indie author- Alli Blog

Smart author advertising strategies - Penny Sansevieri - Bookmark

To Finish,

We are living through major changes in our climate and our perceptions

and understandings of our place in a global village.

The internet has opened up the democratisation of information across the world.

For the author having an online presence is essential. Careful curation

of your digital presence is important.

Anne R Allen takes a good look at mistakes that authors have made in

their online presence and how to fix them.

Remember that gossip is not restricted to your own village now,

it can spread throughout the world with a click of a button.

Maureen
@craicer

In my monthly newsletter, coming soon, 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 like the blog and want to shout me a coffee- hit the coffee button up top. Thanks.

Pic : Flickr Creative Commons Guilhem Vellut

Being A Hybrid

The Digital Book World conference is over and attendees are digesting the big issues. 

Their comments and ongoing discussions about where publishing is heading in 2013 range from ‘we are over the worst of the transition...things are settling down’...to Batten down the hatches... this ride is only just beginning!

It does behoove* the author to keep an eye on what is happening in the wider world.

First up for comment...this from inside the conference, What Authors Want.... It seems that a third of authors want to self publish their next book...

Porter Anderson dives into Ether for Authors looking at the big issues from DBW

including What authors want...Hugh Howey...and Hybrid** is your new model.

More authors are being offered Wool like deals! News filtering through Twitter today. (oh joy...maybe this will be the big happy news for authors this year.)

To take advantage of publishing's current state of flux...authors are thinking Hybrid is the way to go. (A mix of Traditional and Self/Indie publishing.)

Dean Wesley Smith has been saying it all along...Dean wraps up a series of blog posts looking at crunching the numbers of the new Hybrid world and how you should approach the business of writing. As always check out the 97 comments!!

The next big talking point was Why online book discovery is broken and how to fix it...This article from PaidContent has many people quoting, dissing, upholding...but no one is ignoring it. I have been seeing it quoted all over the publishing blogosphere along with Brett Sandusky’s Elephants In The Room post that I linked to last week. Lots of other juicy posts in last week's blog are still being chewed over.

Also being hotly discussed...the Tools of Change conference coming up and a keynote issue  Piracy, Does It Really Harm The Author?

Publishing Perspectives has 5 Trends to watch for in trade publishing...

Roberto Calas has an in depth look at how to work/write/live Kindle Serials on Lyndsay Buroker’s blog...Boy oh Boy...this is a post that will have your head spinning...but incredible A++ for effort! Dickens followed this model of publishing...(I think he may have been a hybrid...) so maybe we're just going back to the good old days of 200 years ago...

Agent Sarah La Polla has a look at Literary vs Commercial and the reasons for figuring out where your MS lies.

In Craft,

Alan Rinzler takes a look at Character...when you walk in their shoes you write with authenticity.

Elisabeth Spann Craig also wants you have characters that surprise ...

If you are in the synopsis business...check out this great how to do it...one of the best I have seen.

In Marketing,

Maximising the potential of your Facebook Author Page...some very interesting strategies here.

Catherine Ryan Howard looks at Book Distribution and how she has made an important discovery...Hybrids take note!

To finish,

Two posts that rocked me today...You can decide whether I was Buoyed up*** or Aghast****

The numbers proving that print still matters in discovering books

and The New Yorker on Slicing and Dicing The Content of Books...The new model of discoverability....coming soon to a Search Engine near you.

Oh and if you want a nifty little post to bookmark...try this one 5 other online dictionaries...***** effort!

*To be necessary or proper for: It behooves you at least to try.

**Something of mixed origin or composition.

***become more cheerful

****Struck by shock, terror, or amazement.

maureen

Pic: This is a Hybrid Plumeria...Isn’t it beautiful. Image courtsey of

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepbackcabin/7578181360/

Authors need to learn....

In the last few days I have been thinking about a New Yorker article that I found on Twitter and shared on Facebook. 

It is a wrap up of the last 30 days in publishing with the advent of the iPad-what it means for publishing and the future of publishing. This is a comprehensive well researched article that Authors should read. How will Apple, Amazon and Google divide up publishing and what will it mean for the Author...

My brother who designs and builds industrial robots commented to me last night ‘the way the technology is going why aren’t authors selling their own stuff?’ And he doesn’t know anything about the industry. On the other hand he markets his own work so it makes sense to him. He hadn’t read the New Yorker article either.

Out in blogosphere land these ideas are gaining traction. Tony Eldridge’s interview with Edwin Crozier about blogging your book which was posted a year ago is being retweeted all over the place as people think hang on maybe there is something in this.

With each segment they increase their desire to keep reading. Then they hit a wall that says "…to be continued, but not until next week." Just below that statement is a "Buy Now" button. Watch the mouse hover over the button. The debate is on. "Can I wait until next week? I don't want to spend the money and I can read this book for free. Oh, but I need to know what's next. But if I'm patient I'll find out next week. Yeah but then I'll have to wait another week for the section after that." CLICK. Someone just bought your book. 

C Patrick Shulze has gone one further in his post on How to promote your book using technology, video blog it or podcast it.

As a writer, you should consider using podcasting and videocasting to promote your novel. Even Simon and Schuster said this was necessary. Here’s why.
First and foremost, people spend a lot of their time on the Internet which is already transportable. Even more, the future of the Internet is video. In fact, video search is growing in popularity at an astonishing speed.

These are just a few of the rumblings through the blogosphere as the reality of the changing face of publishing starts to be understood.

In the end marketing will be the most important thing that the author will have to learn...and you thought it was learning to write well or even finishing the work in progress.

Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts has put a comprehensive blog post together on online presence and using Social Media.

The quickest way to get noticed is by publishing quality work, the quickest way to get dismissed is by producing junk. Second, they want an author who knows his or her market and, if you’re connected to it online, all the better.

This is ringing true in my extended family. 

My mother in law has been told by her publishers that all of their authors must have an online social media presence. This is a big publishing company and mother in laws author level didn’t think they needed to do this as they are all well established best sellers with 100 books to their name. 

Yup. Company policy now. And the author has to maintain them. 

This is your business...just like a new store...marketing is the most important thing that the author can learn.

Over on Craicerplus (my amplify page)

There is a link to,

Rowena Cherry and her post on 25 ways to buzz an author.

Penguins interactive Q-books with 'Oh Hogwash Sweetpea,' becoming one of the first picture books to be an iPod/iPad download in Maori, English and Spanish.

Lulu, e-publishing/self publishing behemoth moving to become a full service bookstore

and a link to a comprehensive article looking at the iPad from an author perspective from Author Tech Tips.

maureen

image from http://sangrea.net/rijidij/new.htm

And the theme this week is....

This week I want to take some time to explore theme weeks as it pertains to author marketing. (finally getting back to reason I blog every week)

In particular I want to introduce you to Readergirlz and the YALSA theme week.

Readergirlz are a group of young adult authors who were looking for a way to connect with their readers..thinking teenage girls, where they could talk about writing...books....inspiration and reaching out to others in the community. The Readergirls Divas the five host authors have fourteen books between them and are active bloggers and social media players as they do a superb job at connecting with their audience. Check out their website and have a look at their support crew...

This week the Readergirls have got behind YALSA the Young Adult Library Services Association Teen Read Week. The theme is Read Beyond Reality and the Divas are hosting live chats throughout the week. They are also hosting Justine Labalestier on the blog and they have an author in residence on their website.

Take some time to see how this group of authors have used all sorts of ways to market to their audience and promote others and themselves in side by side marketing....and making it cool to be a Readergirl...there are also spin off groups affiliated with them.

Here is their promo trailer for the live chat sessions.

By having a theme week or getting behind and promoting a theme week for someone else...there is a win win situation set up for marketing. The bang is bigger for the bucks and it is spread further and wider than just one persons blog post saying ‘and I really support this worthy cause.’ Of course like Readergirlz you can have a whale of a good time promoting the cause and yourself along with it.

The other interview of note is on Shelli Johannes Market My Words blog with Michael Stearns of Upstart Crow Literary.

Upstart Crow has been in business Ten Weeks! In that time they have doubled their agent staff and sold six big deals. Shelli interviewed Michael about the three things every author should and must do to promote themselves and their books.

This was interesting as first up Michael said a web presence and yes he googles potential author clients to see how web savvy they are. One of the best things he has seen is groups of debut authors like The Class of 2K8 and 2K9 which I have talked about before and Readergirlz getting together to promote themselves.

As Michael says

Seriously, in web searches I look to see what I can learn about the author—crazy as a soup sandwich? (as Harlan Ellison might say); secret author of porn?; star of her own reality television series? It’s all part of the research to see who I am dealing with. As for “platforms,” If the core audience for your platform is 500 people who read your blog, that’s great but hardly something that will sell a books. If your core audience is, however, five million, then that’s something else entirely.

Finally here is a link to the New Yorker who currently has a sharply humorous piece on author marketing just to keep it all in perspective.

have a themed week...(CNZ report theme for me)

maureen