This morning my Twitter feed filled up with reaction to a new kid on the YA publishing block and his attitude. Normally a new kid on the
block would be welcomed and included but when the new kid talks down about the
very genre they are writing in and then writes some dubious blog posts, the YA
community will not ignore you. Chuck explains it best with his witty no-holds-barred post on not spitting on the legacy of the writers that have gone before you.
The Guardian also has a pertinent article on literature writers who deny that their work is actually genre... they wouldn’t lower themselves.
SIGH! Read it and cheer.
This week there have been a few posts celebrating pre orders
and warnings about pre orders.
Publishers Weekly has an interesting article by Mark Coker of Smashwords on using pre orders to ramp up your first day sales. You need to
have preorders across the bookselling sites to get on the bestseller lists.
Then Mindy Klasky detailed how a preorder went horribly wrong for an anthology on Amazon.
If you are contemplating using pre orders in your marketing
strategy, Carefully reading both these articles will give you the full picture.
November looks like the month I mention Asia every week. Mark Williams has a very detailed post looking at the global publishing industry
using mobile phones. If you are looking into the future of publishing, check
out what he has to say... grab a beverage of your choice, as it will take a
while but it is worth it. Time to think GLOBAL!
Anne R Allen has a blog post that is being mentioned a lot
around Twitter. If you are still trying to get your head around the changes in Amazon’s review policy, Anne has carefully laid all the do’s and don’t out for
you.
Joann Penn has a very interesting interview up with LiteraryEstate lawyer, Kathryn Goldman. There are lots of things to think about in this
interview. If you haven’t given a thought to what might happen to your
Intellectual Property in the future... you need to read or listen to this
interview.
Future Book has a section on Future Book Tech. As we are in the middle of exam season
here this post caught my eye. Here is a profile of a young man who saw a need to provide mobile exam preparation courses. He is now partnering with some of
the worlds biggest educational publishers.
In the Craft Section,
How to learn fiction writing techniques- Jody Hedlund-
Bookmark!
How to write multiple antagonists – K M Weiland
What is bad writing and how can we fix it - and Adding Conflict to Your Scenes-Janice Hardy Bookmark Both!
When back story kills your plot- C S Lakin
Expand deepen and create – September Fawkes Bookmark!
What is narrative thrust?- Jane Friedman
In the Marketing Section,
Rachel Thompsons book marketing tips part two (Part one was in last weeks blog)
How to create a book that sells - Penny Sansevieri – there is
also a video of Penny with some great
How to keep your fans raving for your books- Author Basics
Marketing plans- Jessica West
To Finish,
Last week I had Kristine Rusch as my website of the week.
This week she wrote a great post on the journey of one writer, Marie Force. Often
we hear we should write to the market... or we shouldn’t write to the market or
we should write contemporary or we should write genre.... Read Kris- (take it
to heart) and Write what you love!
Maureen
@craicer
Pic from Flick Creative Commons / Werwin 15