Last week I linked to a couple of posts on the first day of
the Digital Book World Conference. This week Porter Anderson covers Day Two and
Jane Friedman shares her takeaways from the whole conference - 4 lessons in publishing. This post has been passed around Social Media quite a few times and
is a must read.
Selina Kitt shines a light on scammers on Amazon. This is a
sobering read and goes to the heart of the Kindle Unlimited subscription
service. It is also a lesson in eBook formatting. Even when you are doing it
right for the reader, you may be doing it wrong.
Jessica West takes a look at the grey area of paying for reviews. No you shouldn’t pay for a review but there are technical services
that take a fee and their reviewers are legit. Using one of these services can
make you a best seller.
If you’re a children’s author you always have an eye on
Bologna. Publishers Weekly interviewed seven agents about what’s hot and what they are looking for at Bologna.
Roz Morris always has something interesting to say. This
week she looks at ways to blog about your book without blogging your book. This
is always a tricky topic for authors... how do you entice readers to check out
your work without giving it all away.
The UK Society of Authors is ramping up their Creator Campaign for Fair Contracts. Many international author societies are supporting
this too. When you look at the writing festivals that aren’t paying their
writers and add that to the unfair contracts it can get pretty depressing out
there.
Jami Gold has a timely post this week on when you just have
to admit you are not a super publishing hero. Sometimes you just can’t do it all. It is an excellent article. Jami asks pointed questions to help you
identify if you are falling into this common writing trap.
Ben Zackheim gathered together his list of great podcasts. I
have listened to about half of these teams and I must take some time to listen
to a few more. Sometimes just listening to authors chew the fat about writing
is enough to make you feel energised to get back into your writing.
Booklife pulled together some great people to talk about book reviews and discoverability. This is a must read.
In the Craft Section,
Getting inspired to write- James Scott Bell
The copyedit from Heck- Kristine Rusch – Must Read!
How to weave story elements and avoid info dumps- Jami
Gold-Bookmark
Mastering Outer motivation- Bookmark
Seven keys to unforgettable characters- Bob Mayer- Bookmark
Short Story Secrets-Anne R Allen
In the Marketing Section,
11 reasons why authors need Social Media- Frances Caballo and The Book Designer - Bookmark!
Are audiobooks in your future?- Molly Greene
How a Fiction Anthology is made – Jane Friedman
Connecting with readers- Elizabeth Spann Craig -Bookmark
Website of the Week
If you’ve got that book finished and you're thinking 'now the hard part begins,' you are right. However there are a few voices out
there in the Blogosphere that can point you in the right direction -marketing
wise. Penny Sansevieri has been a marketing Go To site for authors for a few
years now. Here are just three posts that caught my eye this week. 50 ways to promote your book- Part One and Two and 5 minute marketing.
To Finish,
I came across this interesting article today on Creativity.
What are five areas you would like to grow and develop in your writing? Take Five Fat Files... is a way of refining your goals and making them more achievable.
maureen
@craicer
