Seven years ago I published my first blog post. It was a
couple of paragraphs. I was learning how to get to grips with blogging
technology. I didn’t know anything. (How do you do a hyperlink?)
Each week I
would educate myself a little more about the publishing industry and what was
happening overseas.
Things really changed for me a year later when I was part
of a team putting together the first big National Conference of Children’s Writers
and Illustrators. I discovered that some of our speakers (industry
professionals) didn’t know what was happening overseas and how it might impact
us here in NZ. (I was shocked to find I knew more than they did.)
I increased
the amount of publishing news and began to comment on a new type of publishing
called e-books. Since then the publishing world has changed drastically. DBW has an opinion piece, looking back on a decade of change.
I’m heading up the planning team for the fourth National
Conference (Oct 2-5). From seven legacy publishers of children’s books represented
in the first conference only two remain. The rise of small press and author publishers in NZ has
become a real force because of necessity.
Right Now The Indie ReCon Conference Is On. (Free online. 3 days of awesome info.)
The speakers are excellent. (A total dream team for a conference planner.) I’m
heartened that a lot of the topics being touched upon will also be themes of
focus at Tinderbox2015.
Jane Friedman (a
speaker at Indie ReCon) has posted a great conversation with two agents on Self Publishing children’s books. Don’t forget to read the comments.)
In other conference news WorldCon, which awards the Hugo’s
each year, is on. And the news is not good. A cabal have block voted and are
holding the Hugo’s to ransom. The Hugo’s are Sci Fi fans biggest awards. It is not pretty. A Grand Master speaks out about the damage to the genre with these tactics. (breaking news; two authors
have withdrawn their books from the awards.)
Jo Castle Millar wrote an interesting piece on Jon Ronson’s book, So You Have Been Publically Shamed. Jon’s book ARC went out for comment
and two lines were taken out of context. The most dangerous job in the world… having an opinion.
The full Author Say survey results are out. They make interesting
reading. Authors are nodding their
heads saying yep... all true. Everyone is interested in the publishers reaction. It is pretty damning. Will we finally see a change in
how they treat authors?(Not holding my breath.)
Delilah Dawson, has a new book out (HIT) and I’m seeing the
amazing cover everywhere. She also has an interesting blog post which has struck a chord with authors. Social Media and promotion. Publishers see it as an author
necessity. Engage with your public. But what is good engagement and what about
if you just don’t want to.
In the Craft Section,
Editing behind the scenes – The Book Designer
Do you have a compelling novel concept- Jane Friedman
Viewpoint changes and what to do about it
Fleshing out your characters- Janice Hardy
In the Marketing Section,
3 ways to use Pinterest to promote your book.- Jill Bennet
6 tips for effective online book promotion.- Molly Greene
Promoting your book on Facebook. –Romance University
Website of the Week
Get thee to a quiet room and soak up the
awesomeness! ( It’s free and mostly recorded so even tho we are in the Southern
Hemisphere we can still attend!) Absolutely Bookmark!
To Finish,
If anything demonstrates how much this industry we are in
has changed it is this blog post, written for The Bookseller today on the London Book Fair (on now.) For the newbies reading
this... All the advice at the bottom is essential!
For the old hands... an author at a book fair? Yes, Times
Have Changed!
Maureen
@craicer
Pic Flickr /Creative Commons – Stephan Mosel
