Chatting

Every Wednesday at 2pm (NZ time) I try to tune into the Twitterverse for a Twitterchat.

For those of you who have just been totally confused by that last sentence I will attempt to explain.

Twitter uses hashtags ( # ) to search and curate conversations.

For instance you can go to Twitter and enter in the search bar ‘#publishing’ and get all recent comments on publishing by people who added that ‘#publishing’ term to their tweet if they thought their comment might be relevant to the ongoing publishing conversation.

Twitter chats however are set at regular times and have their own hashtags for you to follow. 

My problem is that two really interesting chats are on at the same time, #indiechat and #kidlitchat. So I flit between them both trying to get the flavour of each and getting a few gems to mull about along the way.

One of the stellar people I have ‘met’ on these chats is Susan Kaye Quin who writes Y A. She recently posted a great article on her blog which crystallises for me the indie publishing journey. Indie publishing is not about one book...it is about your voice and whole writing career. Susan takes a look at the Scarcity vs Abundance model that Kathryn Rusch talks about and identifies the indie publishing journey as being one that draws on the Abundance style of publishing. The mindset is quite different from traditional publishing. Go and get your eyes opened.

In the last week a plaintive post by Agent Jonny Geller from Curtis Brown called The Agents Manifesto highlighted some uncomfortable truths in publishing about the disconnect of publishers to authors. This has been resonating through the writing blogosphere. Roz Morris picks up the cudgels on our behalf and speaks her mind,- Why authors get treated so badly. You will cheer!

For those people who have been nodding and punching the air with last couple of links...here are two more interesting perspectives to chat about with your friends.

Mike Shatzkin take a good hard look at bookstores...Yes we need them but how can we keep them viable.

Jane Friedman tackles the big question- If the book is dead why buy a zombie?

When your book needs to be chatted about in other languages, PaidContent takes a look at the next self publishing frontier - How to go about getting translations.

If you are looking at your bottom drawer and wondering what to do next. Gordon Burgett takes a look at turning idle copy into books, blog posts etc etc.

There’s a good post with 11 keys to self publishing success which should help you focus if you do have work ready for a new life.

Chatting about Craft

Check out these amazing posts. Is your idea novel worthy and how you can tell?

Why you should kill your darlings....practical advice from K M Weiland who shows you how to do it.

Innocent flower has an entertaining post on 6 things she wishes she had known about being a writer...first up the use of the delete key.

There is a beaut guest post from Susan Sipal on The Top Ten Tips I Learned About Writing from J K Rowling.

Over the next few weeks I am preparing resources to help me continue the chat about eBooks at a One Day ePublishing Event run by Kiwiwrite4kids in Auckland on the 28^th April. 

Those people who have met me... know I love to chat....

Come along!

maureen


P.S. If you are at all interested in the ramifications of Pottermore and the release yesterday of the DRM free Harry Potter books Check out what Mike Shatzkin has to say about the game changing spell J K Rowling has just put on the future of publishing industry.

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour

Hunger Games. Hunger Games. 

Everywhere you look. Hunger Games.

The promo is big...all over the Internet...FB...Twitter...TV...Radio...the stupid Team names have been assigned...are you Team Peeta or Team Gale...(completely missing the point but that is a rant for another time.) 

Katniss is the quintessential kick ass heroine down to her boots and braid. How and Why did this book get to be so popular? and What does it mean for an author contemplating their WIP and wondering if their story has the same potential to grab hearts and throats, wallets and imagination as Suzanne Collins story has.

Salon has broken down how the story became a bestseller and it makes interesting reading.

Word of Mouth is the key thing to remember...Hand Selling...Bricks and Mortar bookstores...Librarians...Children’s Book Reviewers...they were all targeted with advance copies of the manuscript which was photocopied...slapped inside a spiral bind cover and passed around six months before publication.

Oh the delicious irony of the very institutions under threat at the moment in the Brave New eWorld being the key that started the engine of this years blockbuster movie.

Helping The Odds

Word of Mouth...getting the word out about your project...and hopefully generating some excitement or at least readers is a hot topic in the blogosphere this week.

Jody Hedlund has Word of Mouth at the top of her list of how a writer can become and stay visible.

Rachelle Gardner has a timely list of 8 things writers should know about Goodreads.

The FAB Elana Johnson (WriteOnCon and YA Author) has an in depth look at Goodreads and Facebook marketing for children’s writers.

Kate Hart has taken an in depth graphical look at what has been selling in the last year in the Y A category...Contemporary is back....but what is following closely behind?

If you would like to check out some more intricate pictures that show lots of information...check out this one of the origins and then the sub genres of Sci Fi.

In Your Favour

Writers In The Storm have a guest post by lawyer Susan Spann looking at royalty clauses...this is a good overview about some tricky language that affects our bank balance...net... gross... wholesale....

Dean Wesley Smith has a good hard look at dead tree printing and concludes that it is worth it...and POD is the way to go. This is a very in depth article and the comments following it (over 80) are just as in depth...so take some time over this one.

The TOC conference is on in Bologna and they have been looking at the digital children’s book marketplace. Publishing Perspectives gives a quick overview of what people are saying on this topic.

A couple of quick resources for you.

Free Mac tools for writers.

The IndieBook Collective is a nifty little site that has lots of resources for writers who are Indie bound.

The Hunger Games Movie is a 5 star effort all the way. The screenwriters, and Suzanne Collins was one of them, hit every note from the book just right. The best movie from book adaptation I have seen.

Go see it... take tissues and pop corn!

maureen