Living Virtually

Last week I had to come to terms with the fact that writers are mortal, that the world you loved to visit in a new book by a favourite author would be forever frozen. There would be no more adventures in Discworld. I enjoy Fantasy and SciFi or as they are increasingly being called SPECulative FICtion.* When you have read every children’s book in your rural town library by the time you are 11 then the only thing left is adult books (boring) or wild imaginary stories set in far away places. I didn’t come to Discworld until my 30’s when I discovered he wrote Satire... and I was hooked. So I thank Sir Terry Pratchett for the immense pleasure and laugh out loud funny lines and his headology – the gentle wry take on the human condition. The Guardian has a wonderful tribute article on Terry’s legacy and there is a nice bit of news about the last Discworld book.

If writer’s for adults know that it is challenging to independently publish a book then children’s writers know the hoops that you jump through are ten times more challenging. We are always on the lookout to find outliers who have taken the plunge to find out what works and what doesn’t. Jane Friedman has an article that looks like the definitive 101 guide to self publishing achildren’s book.

Jane is also conducting the Author Say survey and Phillip Jones of The Bookseller takes a close look at the midway results on what authors are saying about traditional /indie support and attitudes. It is a great snapshot with some surprising twists.

Some projects will fit better in different forms of publishing. Janice Hardy examines the Pro’s and Con’s of Traditional vs Indie for a good project fit.

This week there was a rumpus on Twitter responding to an essay challenging people to read books by everybody other than straight white males for a year.

The trolls were out ready to march on Koom Valley again when Neil Gaiman pointed out the author had a valid point.

The enemy isn’t men, or women, it’s bloody stupid people and nobody has the right to be stupid. Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett

In the Craft Section,

Angela Ackerman has two posts that are her usual nuggets of excellence, tips when writing multiple POV’s in your novel and using the excellent Emotion Thesaurus to help you find mirror midpoints in the middle of your novel.

3 questions to ask when you start cutting your manuscript.

The role of desire in your plot... You had better be having some or the reader will disengage. (bookmark)

One important thing writers forget to do...

Two great posts from the Killzone blog - Crafting subplots and How to write a Young Adult novel.

K M Weiland has wowed everybody again with a story structure database... Drop in and check out all the books and movies she has analysed for structure. You will learn so much. (bookmark)

It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done. A Hat Full of Sky- Terry Pratchett

In the Marketing Section,

How to build a website in one hour.

How to translate your book.

How to polish your writer brand.

How to use an email list.

8 ways writers can be more reader friendly.

Jane Friedman interviews a group of literary authors about how they put a box set together of their self published work.

There is a new kid on the block in terms of marketing and it looks really interesting. Thunderclap. If you harnessed all those people who would come to your book launch from all around the world in one place at one time...

Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.  Jingo - Terry Pratchett

Website of the Week

Anne R Allen has a great blog of tips and advice. Here she has the definitive guide for writers on how NOT to sell books. Spend some time on her blog trawling around she has lots of great stuff.

Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than to curse the darkness. Men At Arms - Terry Pratchett

To Finish,

Our National Conference committee is tying down some great stuff for conference and around conference... yes we are going to make you work... but it will be amazing... promise.

In the mean time you can virtually attend Indie ReCon which is going to be bigger than before. The Indie Recon conference is a free online conference that is just packed full of awesomeness. This years program had me seriously thinking about running away from home to a motel for 3 days by myself so I could attend virtually every one of the sessions. (If the motel was in London I could also join the meet up day.) I am also pleased to find how many themes in Indie Recon are similar to what we have planned for Tinderbox in October.  We will be meeting in real time, (with wine) and having a great collaborative working time.

*Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one. - Terry Pratchett

Maureen

@craicer

PIC The Master Storyteller who will live on virtually… and isn't that just the best tribute….R.I.P.

Productivity and Risk

Last week the writing blogosphere was up in arms about that MFA dude and his comments about students doing MFA’s and their talent or lack of it. When people calmed down there was some great writing about talent. Do you need it? Is hard work enough? Melinda Szymanik has a great comment on this.

Kristen Lamb looks at the evolution of the writer from Neophyte to Master and all the stages in between.

Cathy Yardley looks at the publishing cycle... What happens when you get the next big thing? With the publishing lag to bookstore sometimes taking two years how will you know if your genre will still be hot? She has also got a great post on how to prevent publishing agony.

Publishing perspectives has an interesting article on whether US and UK publishing is getting stale. Is this why they are mining the Asian and European market for stories they can translate?

Over the last year Mike Shatzkin (publishing futurist) has had a straight up learning curve on the disruption of the publishing industry. Here he identifies the ways publishers need to change their ideas about marketing.

Victoria Mixon has an interesting article about copyright.Yes it applies to blogs. Self publishers need to be very aware of the risks of copying content.

In the Craft Section,

The character most writers get wrong.

How to make the most out of writing critiques. (Warning it’s Chuck)

If you have ever wished for writing prompts Reedsy is for you. Every hour a new one.

5 ways regret can deepen your main character.

7 productivity tips to boost creativity and productivity for the scattered writer.

World building and the freedom, or not to do this in speculative fiction.

7 key character motivations.

In the Marketing section.

Joel Friedlander takes a look at the different ways to publish now.

Copyblogger wants you to set content goals as part of your marketing plan.

Punching up a blurb or query.

11 free apps you can use for productivity related things.

Website of the Week

Joel Friedlander is The Book Designer but if you trawl around his site you find out so much more... from interesting articles on fonts to his amazing Book Design Templates.

To Finish

Jane Friedman has put together a survey for Authors about how they are feeling about their publishers... early indicators are in. It might surprise you. Do you want to risk not knowing?

maureen

pic from Flickr/Creative Commons Dennis Hamiton