This week I have some links to articles about the Bologna
Children’s Book Fair (as promised last week.)
Publisher’s Weekly looked at what was happening in the Children’s App market at Bologna and then had a round up of the major trends coming through.
The New York Times had a piece looking at the rise of children’s publishing and the large Chinese contingent at the fair. This augers well for the new fair being inaugurated this year in Singapore for the ASEAN nations.
The London Book Fair is underway right now. Publishing Perspectives has a quick look at what the major talking points will be.
Children’s author C Alexander London this week wrote a brave article about coming out as Gay to children... and their reactions. All they
really wanted to know was when the next book was coming out.
Larry Brooks has a great article on story development. What is the key criteria to the story? It’s a compelling premise. Another must read
article from Larry.
Molly Greene has been carefully examining her earnings and
her book goals. She sets out her Marketing goals for 2016 and the reasons why
she is doing all these changes to her book business.
Recently I was chatting to my husband about Scrivener as I
thought it might be useful in his office for a project his team was working on.
He downloaded a free version and became a convert. This seems to be what
happens when someone tries Scrivener- instant writing software love. Here is a master tips article for all those Scrivener users.
What are the marks of a Professional Independent Author? The
key word in that sentence is ‘professional.’ The Book Reviewers site has a breakdown of what you should be aiming for.
Elizabeth S Craig has a great article on valuing your time. Writers are often asked to do things for free and it’s hard to say No. How do we evaluate the events we participate in so that they add value to us as writers? This is a great article to get you thinking about your time price.
In the Craft Section,
The secret ingredient for POV magic- Kristen Lamb
How to resuscitate a lifeless scene- Bookmark
5 important ways to use symbolism- Bookmark
5 traits of a winning concept- Mythcreants
When you are telling the wrong story- K M Weiland
Essential writing tools -Angela Ackerman Becca Puglisi Bookmark
In the Marketing Section,
Using images for marketing- Joanna Penn Bookmark!
An Instagram primer for authors- Frances Caballo Bookmark
How to sell your book direct- Bookmark
To Finish,
This week marks the eighth year of Craicer. I have been
thinking about all the things I have learned along the way.
1. Commitment to a deadline. There is nothing like the
creeping hour hand of the clock to make me stop researching and get the blog
published.
2. Chances to push out of my comfort zone. Researching and
writing this blog every week has made me a Go To person for speaking to groups
or planning programmes or podcasting. Somehow people think I know stuff.
3. When I’ve struggled with my health the fact that I had a
regular appointment to research and write up for others what I have learned has
kept me sane. Ok not as crazy as I could be.
I am grateful for the people who read the blog, ask
questions or share the blog to new readers. It always makes me laugh when I’m
with a bunch of authors and someone asks 'how do you...' and the response from
the group is “Read Maureen’s blog!”
Thanks everyone for reading and sharing the blog over the last eight years!
Maureen
@craicer
Maureen
@craicer