Standing to Talk

This week people in the publishing blogosphere have been taking a stand.

Ann Patchett took a stand in her opinion piece for the Bookseller.

Ann wanted authors to look after publishers and independent booksellers. ( she is one of those.) In her words... Authors have been protected for a long time, we are very well cared for, but we need to think about our other partners, from bookshops to publishing and self-publishing.”  Unfortunately her tone, in the words of one twitter commenter, was that of a favoured child who has no idea of the resentment felt by neglected siblings...

Futurebook writer Suw Charman-Anderson discussed where Ann went wrong and what she could have warned publishers about...it is all about communication... both ways.

Over in Amazon land the drums are beating. A new publishing venture Kindle Worlds was launched today. This new publishing imprint is specifically for...fan fiction. And yes fan ficcers you can make money off it.

As authors collective screens were wiped free of coffee and the screams of what the....faded into the distance this morning wise heads in the industry shouted hold up, this surely can’t be right and investigated.

John Scalzi (Pres SSFWA) gives his very considered opinion...BEWARE copyright terms are for the life of copyright...uh...that’s 70 years in US.

This week the erudite Kameron Hurley wrote a stunning piece on how many writers rely on cliché characters. She then blows accepted history apart when she talks about how women were warriors in different cultures right to this present day...and how they disappear in narrative to become victims...or passive tropes to move the story along. Chuck Wendig is so taken with her exhortation for writers to become better that he adds his own rant backing her up and urging writers to write for the underserved readers out there. Read both pieces. (usual warnings on Chucks writing apply...)

Susan Kaye Quin always an interesting commentator on things indie...has written a great article on TheAge Of The Empowered Writer...that’s now.

Jane Friedman has an infographic on whether you should self publish...

Passive Guy has discovered that Chic Lit is dead...but Farm Fic is the next biggest thing.

This week Huffington Post had a great article about Amanda Palmer appearing at The Grub St writer’s convention and giving one of the most talked about keynotes of a writing conference this year. They have a link to the video of it...and it is stunning! Take some time out to listen to this speech and reconnect with why you write.

Here in New Zealand we were treated to a rare interview with John Green...YA wunderkind and half of the Vlog brothers. Here is the link to the podcast if you missed it on Wednesday.

In Craft,

Bookshelfmuse on 7 Deadly Sins of Novel Writing

Jami Gold on The Thin Line Between Character Strengths and Flaws

3 Tips for Hooking Readers

K M Weiland On 5 Reasons You Should Stop Writing...(not what you think)

In Marketing,

Karen Woodward on How To Get Honest Book Reviews

Heidi Cohen On 25 Tactics to Promote Your Blog

6 Rules of Thumb Froman Editor On Submissions

A must read post from ChocolateandVodka about Front Matter and End Matter and what readers want...you will be surprised!

To Finish,

Have you ever wondered whether your book will last for the length of a long haul flight? Wonder no longer...Qantas has taken a stand on behalf of the neglected long haul passenger who has run out of reading material half way across the Pacific...

Qantas are publishing books specifically for those flights.

maureen

Pic from Flickr/abulic monkey 

Burning Up The Charts

Nothing happens quickly in publishing.... This used to be the mantra. Today the Department of Justice released some of their documents from the Agency Pricing lawsuit against Trad Publishers. An economics  professor did some helpful charts. My Goodness the publishers involved moved at the speed of light!

Across the blogosphere and looking at another lawsuit...Porter Anderson takes a close look at the reporting around the Author Solutions lawsuit...or lack of it. In a case where the number of authors who may have been burnt by the various imprints of this *helpful* publishing company run up past 150,000 how is it that this case is not being widely reported in mainstream media or even in some specialist publishing journals.

Interestingly the same judge is presiding over both cases...wonder if she’ll write a book about her experiences.

What saddens me is how little research is done by potential authors to find out the state of play in publishing right now. 

1. It’s hard to get a traditional deal. 

2. Agents are becoming de facto publishers. 

3. Authors are having some success in self publishing. 

4. Self publishing is a lot of work and you need to know what you are doing. 

5. You will not get rich as a writer.

This is reality. 

In all of the above a publishing firm that tells you that they can dissolve all those barriers... just hand over your credit card...is one to run away from! So many people go into this with their eyes shut...following the dream...which can turn into an ugly nightmare.

Elisabeth Naughton has written about her publishing journey from Trad to Indie and it makes interesting reading. It is a very honest and reflective piece, which mirrors the journey that publishing itself has taken in the last five years.

In April, just before the London Book Fair, the Guardian published an opinion piece on how the rise of self publishing has changed the book world and the implications for traditional publishers.

Russel Blake (suspense writer) has written the definitive post on How To Sell Loads Of Books.

In one post he sets out a career plan and an implementation schedule. (must read post)

Aussie writer Scott Gardner talks about finding an international voice if you live in far flung countries. Interesting comments on this guest piece for Publishing Perspectives.

In Craft,

Elisabeth Spann Craig on the What If method of generating ideas...(this is my preferred method)

Ava Jae on writing inmultiple POVs (Very good advice!)

Darcy Pattison on 7 reasons your manuscript might be rejected.

Angela Ackerman talks about Donald Maass (uber agent) and his ideas on cultivating the reader...its all about emotional layering....

Layering information in your story...Info with Attitude from the Killzone team.

In Marketing,

Livehacked has got The Marketing Plan...This is long, so set aside some time for this one. It is the guide to marketing self published books.

17 Steps To A Reader Grabbing Title.

13 Timeless Lessons On Marketing from the father of advertising, David Ogilvy. You will never look at an ad the same way again.

To Finish,

Neil Gaimen’s Make Great Art, book of the sensational speech from last year, is out and I have held one in my hands. It is a thing of beauty. Brainpickings has Neil's 8 Rules for Writing, which you can follow and have chart topping success like Neil.

To write...

you 

have

to

put

one

word

after

another.

maureen 

Pic fromFlickr/Jorel....so geeky.  (hehehehe... a pie chart)