Cracking Nuts...

In publishing news or rumours this week... Barnes and Noble might have a possible sale. The potential buyer has raised some eyebrows tho.

Last week I linked to Publish Drive's article on Asian markets and how we should keep an eye on them. This week Penguin Random announced that they were opening a branch in South East Asia. Watch the new Asian scramble for voices and deals begin...

While Penguin Random are setting up shop... with deep pockets, Publishing Perspectives had an opinion piece from a new publisher about how not to start a publishing company. This is a timely read if you are thinking about doing the same.

Fearless champion of the Indie and scourge of scammers David Gaughran has a post this week warning of new ploys from the scammers who were thrown out of KU. This is a must read if you are advertising or selling on Amazon. 

Anne R Allen also has a warning post on how to distinguish the good guys from the bad in publishing. The game is always the same... fleece the vulnerable... the ploys are always changing. Read it and share with others.

Aeon has a long form essay on Translators. Are they the servant of the text or are they originators? This is interesting as AI is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Do we want a straight translation or do we want a sense of the original lyrical expression?

Jane Friedman links to two great essay on avoiding exoticism when you write immigrant characters. There is much food for thought in this post. The quote from Rudine Sims Bishop certainly brought me up short. “When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part.”

 As a children’s writer and teacher this is engraved on my bones... I wonder sometimes how some adult writers get away with casual stereotyping in characters. 

In The Craft Section,

The brilliance of backstory slip ins- Margie Lawson -Bookmark

Common writing errors- Bookbub

The benefits of fan fiction- Writer Unboxed

Story Twist and Shout -  Janice Hardy - Bookmark

5 must use tips on writing powerful thrillers- Writers on the move

Making your book memorable- Elizabeth S Craig- Bookmark

What to do when you write yourself into a corner- September Fawkes

In The Marketing Section,

The anatomy of a book cover – Writers Digest- Bookmark

DIY guide to turn your book into an audiobook

Get noticed - submit to newsletters- Janice Hardy

5 simple ways to crush your networking on Goodreads- Penny Sansevieri

20 podcasts for Authors- Diana Urban - Bookmark

A really good book with an ill advised cover.- Publishers Weekly (FYI- what would you do?)

Why your best marketer is you- Alli blog – Bookmark

To Finish,

It is World Mental Health day as I write this. Two great posts caught my eye this week. Kris Rusch on When to stop writing and Chuck Wendig on When writers block is actually depression. This is a very real problem among the writing community. It is alright to take breaks from writing. Both Kris and Chuck have really good advice for anyone who has writers block.

Maureen

@craicer

 In my monthly newsletter, coming soon, I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. The kofi button is up top if you want to say thanks for the blog. I appreciate the virtual coffee love!

Pic: John Jones - Power Steel 

Are you ready for the bookfuture?

As I write this the Digital Book World conference is just wrapping up. DBW is a conference firmly focussed on innovation and change in the publishing world. Many old hands in the digital publishing space attend along with a hot new startups. Big news is always unveiled at DBW so ... 

Kobo announced a new 8 inch E-Reader tablet- Forma. Amazon demonstrated their new Amazon Dot tech, which can sync with any device and continue reading your book where ever you are.

New kids on the block Novel Effect have an app that provides background music and sound effects using voice recognition to storytimes. Reading with your kids has just dramatically changed. 

Blockchain is continuing to advance into publishing with a new tech startup Bookchain from Canada - a digital publishing platform using Blockchain technology. 

There is lots to think about in the future of publishing.

Along with things future a huge reader survey was published. It makes interesting reading about who is reading and what they are reading and what on... I was surprised to see that a lot of readers between 30 and 50 were reading on their phones.

Wattpad is about to Beta test paying authors. This is big news if you publish on Wattpad. You will get paid real dollars too instead of cryptocurrency. Readers can buy wattpad tokens which they can use to unlock next chapters or whole books... sounds like an interesting income stream for popular authors on the platform.

Publish Drive has looked at comparison pricing of books in Asia. This is useful data as not much is known about buying habits there. With India having the second largest English speaking population...we should all be keeping an eye on global markets.

The global big prize in literature – The Nobel was not awarded this year due to a sex scandal. Quartz magazine writes about the cost of this to the publishing community.

This week Joanna Penn Interviewed Dave Chesson. Two fab podcasters in the one session. Dave took a deep dive into keywords which is his special interest. This is a must read/listen podcast if you use Amazon Ads.

In The Craft Section,

Tips for writing rough drafts- Now Novel- Bookmark

32 fixes for microblocks and glitches in your writing- Ruth Harris- Bookmark

3 top picture book writing mistakes - Alice Kuipers 

20 things I learned after reading 150,000 opening scenes. Katie McCoach – Bookmark

Genre mashups- Write Practice

What should your editing priority be?- Alli Blog

Nailing your one sentence story concept - Suzanne Lakin- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

Hot tips for conferences- Rachelle Gardner

Captivate an event audience- Build Book Buzz - Bookmark

How to write a great About Me page- Autocrit

How to use infographics to connect with readers- Nate Hoffelder- Bookmark

Improve your Facebook reach- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

How Indie autors can learn design on a shoestring- Auden Johnson

What separates authors who make an income full time from writing- Not what you think. – Amy Collins- Bookmark

To Finish,

Spare a thought for the second hand bookseller.  Authors love/hate relationship - a source of cheap books for struggling writers and of 'no income' to authors of these books. 

Bookriot has a guest post from a second hand bookseller about the books that they are drowning in. I am often surprised by books that end up in second hand bookstores. (Maybe because I hardly ever only read a book once.) 

 Just a thought... If you read a book through Bookchain you can onsell it and the author will get a little slice of the pie too. Just a little glimpse into a happier book future for writers.

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. If you would like to shout me a coffee hit the button up top. Thanks everyone!

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons Mr Muggles