Book Love

Where were you twenty years ago?

I was teaching and scribbling stories at night. We had just got internet and I found a great group of UK writers on a listserv. One night the discussion turned to word of mouth promotion.

‘There’s a great debut story just published, everyone is talking about,’ said one UK author. I went to my local specialist bookseller (who passed away recently,) While he was stacking on the counter the pile of books he thought I should read to my class, I asked him about this book, Harry and the stone... He put Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on the pile saying- ‘my last book, it’s a good read.’ I finished it at 2am and started reading it to my class that day. 

It became the most talked about book in the playground. I was seeing in real time the power of good storytelling transporting children to another world. Teachers and parents would stop me and ask about the book that even the non readers were talking about.... 

That’s the holy grail of writing when the reader can’t bear to close the book. It has nothing to do with clever phrases or perfectly executed grammar. It grabs you by the throat and demands your attention. You can’t sit down to intentionally write a story like this. The magic can't be forced.

This week is the 20 year anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Di Dickenson looks at the criticism leveled at the book series and asks is it justified.

Kris Rusch has her next post on discoverability. This weekshe looks at brand loyalty. This series is cracking along. Kris always gives you plenty to think about.

Brain Pickings has a great post on different styles of great writing. Are you an explainer, an elucidator or an enchanter? Which should you aim to be?

Orna Ross has been thinking about the underlying prejudice towards self publishers in the wake of the recent Byte The Book debate. Why is self publishing still seen as vanity publishing when the reality is very different. Is traditional publishing the new vanity?

R L Stedman has an interesting post on rights. Do you know all the different rights that you have in one piece of work? This is a great reference and eye opening for the new writer.

If you are an illustrator or know one, point them in the direction of this global award for illustration. Entries close in a few weeks and the prize is quite nice...

Jami Gold has been struggling with burnout. She writes an important article on writer self care.

A group of grad students have got together to pool their talents and set up a research group for writers to use. Check out their new weekly blog. If you need a grad student to do some research for you this could be a valuable resource.

Litreactor has an interesting blog on book reviews, specifically why they don’t look at 5 star reviews. This is a really interesting read about how important the 3 and 4 star reviews are to people looking for the next book to invest time in.

In The Craft Section,

4 reasons to outline your settings K M Weiland - Bookmark

Write better fiction- Killzone blog

Better book titles- April Davila- Bookmark

World building in sci fi and fantasy

Check out Writing excuses podcast. This weeks episode –outlining

Book disclaimers don’t have to be boring- Helen Sedwick- Bookmark

6 fantasies that stop writing success- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Getting book reviews- Book marketing tools

Audiobooks should be part of your strategy

Book launch marketing  questions and a print it out checklist – Joanna Penn- Bookmark

Boost eBook sales with box sets

Reasons your bookbub got rejected- Bookmark

Do this not that book promotion- The Book Designer

3 best practices for marketing- Kevin Tumlinson- Bookmark

To Finish,

I met a composer friend yesterday and I was lamenting that I couldn’t make up my mind on whether to take up the offer of a piano to replace our keyboard. It means moving some bookcases to make room. He laughed and noted that I could always put the books on top of the piano... win/win.

It’s not that I hoard books... um they are just good friends... all of them... (over 2000.) But I’m not a true hoarder. These famous people had much more extensive collections....

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: The first cover. Ours is a patchwork of spellotape holding it together... but nobody in the family wants a new edition. The magic is still in the old one.

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Writing Heroes

It has been a turgid time in the house recently. (Now you have to check I used turgid correctly... clue British dictionary.) ¾’s of the household have been hit with an awful viral cold. The only trips out for about a week have been to restock on tissues, cough syrup, tissues, honey, tissues and chicken (for soup.)

When you are sick, your thoughts can go spiraling down into the pit of despair. You can suffer from comparison-itis,  FOMO disorder and subjectio. Amanda Palmer shared her thoughts on this insidious type of thinking for creative people. It is well worth a read and reality check.

This week my Twitter feed started to fill up with comments about a Byte-The-Book debate in London between Joanna Penn and Euan Thorneycroft on The Author as Publisher -Opportunity or Vanity. By all accounts it was a wonderful debate. Some very interesting points were raised over the future of reading.

This week, writing hero, Jami Gold had an interesting post on the Heroes journey... how are we applying the lessons we make our characters go through to our own lives. Are we real life heroes? 
Jami raises interesting points about personal growth.

Recently Debbie Ridpath Ohi was interviewed on how she manages her online life and her work as an illustrator of children’s books. One of her secrets... it helps to be an introvert. (whaaa???)

Katie Weiland shared her 5 stages of writing process from conception of idea to revision. It is a standout post from a writing craft legend and a MUST READ.

In The Craft Section,

The 3 tiers point of view technique-Writer Unboxed- Bookmark

How to boost your self editing super powers- Jennie Nash-Bookmark

Getting your novel to the finish line- Janice Hardy

Put science in your science fiction

Emotion amplifiers- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Character driven plot- Rachel Geisel- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

The difference between a press release and a pitch- Jane Friedman-Bookmark

Hiring a cartoonist- Reedsy

Creating an author business plan- Marcy Kennedy

3 steps to know your audience-Digital Book World- Bookmark

A plan for finding new readers- Book Marketing Tools

Best practice on keywords- Mia Fox

To Finish,

Jane Friedman published an article today on a writer’s guide to fair use and permissions and got 123 comments in very short order. This is a hot topic with accepted practice, internet freedoms and legal requirements all rolled up into one confusing mess which Jane does her best to straighten out. This is definitely a bookmark post from one of the online heroes in the publishing world.

Maureen

@craicer

My monthly newsletter is finally out. (helped along with plenty of tissues...)  If you want to get the best of my bookmarked links and other goodies you can subscribe here. (No germs will be shared... )

Pic: How many of you can name the show, episode, character.... (shiny)