Many writers cringe when they read reports of celebrities writing a book,* children’s writers especially. We all know that writing a
children’s book is hard. Every word has to be chosen with care. They may look
easy because there are fewer words but they aren’t! The ‘celebrity’ who thinks
their brand needs a book, an instant best seller with publisher or ghost writer
doing all the work, just makes us all grit our teeth.
Gwyneth Paltrow has decided to launch a publishing company... an extension of her website where she will memorialise her thoughts for the world.
Gary Oldman is about to publish his debut novel about
Vampire Cowboys which he hopes will become a series.
What can authors to do in the face of these wonderful
additions to the publishing oeuvre?
Mike Shatzkin looks at brand and merch and vertical publishing with
publishers selling author experiences in seminars and events.
Poetry is becoming the new hot thing on Instagram and
Tumblr. Three of the top ten poetry books have all come from poets posting
their work online. It’s an accidental form of celebrity and an interesting
twist on publishing and promotion. Become a poetry phenomenon on Instagram and the deals will follow.
James Scott Bell has a Bookmark post on how to be a prolific writer. James talks about the structure of your day and the goals
you need to set yourself.
Neil Gaiman was asked about writers block recently. He
doesn’t believe in it but he does have some advice to get through a creative block.
Last week I linked to Anne R Allen’s excellent post on 5
delusions that block writers from succeeding. This week Anne followed up that
viral post 5 more delusions blocking writers.
Robin Black has a great post on 21 things she wished she had known before she started this writing journey.
In the Craft Section,
Tips to tighten up writing- Sue Coletta – Bookmark
NaNoWriMo Triage center - Angela Ackerman
7 ways your characters can screw up their decisions to make
a better plot.- Janice Hardy - Bookmark
What you need to know if you write in multiple genres - Joel
Friedlander
In The Marketing Section,
Demystifying Amazon categories and keywords - Penny
Sansevieri - Bookmark
Using keywords on Pinterest for authors - Bibliocrunch
How to promote a book without making yourself miserable -
Jane Friedman – Bookmark
What NOT to share on Social Media - Bookmark!
Website of the Week
Three nifty little ideas for you this week.
Karen Marston had a website malfunction which prompted her to write a post on backing up. Here she talks about all the ways to back up your website.
Did you know Google has added a record feature to Google Docs? You can dictate your manuscript now.
After you have twisted yourself into a pretzel getting your NaNoWriMo word count up You may need this handy Infographic Yoga for Writers chart.
To Finish,
A few years ago the FABO team wrote a story collaboratively
and had great fun doing it- but it was hard work. Joanna Penn has been writing a horror thriller with J Thorn, who has worked collaboratively with many
writers. This is a great interview if you are thinking about how to do it
without killing your writing partner.
Or you could always work with a celebrity….
*I'm sorry about that link - it is vile isn't it? How the publishers could keep straight faces when faced with this prose….
Maureen
@craicer
