What Lies On The Other Side?

I’m sorry this blog is late… One of those times when the computer wouldn’t play nicely. Hopefully, it’s all fixed now.

This week I have been listening to commentators talking about how the world of work might change post Covid 19

A lot of people have discovered working from home has some benefits. Many report being more productive. With no commute time to the office, the day has a smoother start and finish. Of course, there have been people feeling the opposite. This morning I heard that central city businesses were desperate to have the office workers back as their cafes and shops had hardly any customers. How will publishing change in the post Covid 19 world?  

The New Publishing Standard reported a Canadian publishers lament that they were facing a deluge of returned books. This highlighted how broken the returns system in publishing is. Would it really be bad if there was no returns system? I can think of a benefit straight away. Less wastage in the system. The ability for Indie Bookstores to source books instead of waiting and waiting until big chains return the books so they can get access to them. We’ve got the ability to Print on Demand with many printers doing short runs. You can even use a Book Expresso machine in a book store to print single copies. I first linked to this technology back in 2012. If you aren’t sure what a Book Espresso machine is check out this video.

Publishing Perspectives have taken a good hard look at Publishing in the U.S. going forward. Will publishers need those fancy New York offices now that everybody can work from home? Will the rents fall for bookstores now that so many businesses have gone to the wall? How has having a supply chain of printers in Asia impacted the book industry? What will be the next best thing to publish? It all gets a look in this big article.

White Fox Publishing gathered five experts together to talk about how they see the publishing world post Covid. This is a great post and has some important things to think about. They cover publishers, agents, editors, bloggers, and marketing for their thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Romance Writers of America have done away with their flagship romance awards. They are introducing another set of awards. ( hopefully without the baggage from the causes of RWA meltdown) Time will tell if they can reinvent themselves successfully.

Nate Hoffelder has a nifty little project for anyone who is interested. He is designing an author website in a box. It’s free if you want to take a look.

It is the last day for grabbing the Story writing bundle of craft books. Check out what’s on offer but move fast we are in the last day to get this great collection.

In The Craft Section,

Creating characters who are fully alive- Barbara Probst

What do readers want from a POV- Jami Gold Bookmark

2 great posts from Anne R Allen’s blog- Improve the action in your story and 15 keys to writing dialogue- Bookmark.

10 ways to hook a reader- Ann Garven

What being an editor taught me about writing- Anna Pitoniak

In the Marketing Section,

Using Goodreads giveaways in your marketing- Penny Sansevieri

Turn your book marketing around- Sandra Beckwith

5 easy ways to increase your book sales – Dave Chesson- 
Bookmark and check out Dave’s Amazon book description 
generator- Bookmark it too

Setting up amazon author pages- Tony Riches- Bookmark

To Finish,

Recently Joanna Penn and Orna Ross of the Alliance of Independent Authors got together to talk productivity tools.

They referenced a wide range of tools that they are using or have used- Check out the list and while you are at it listen to the podcast. 

Maureen

@craicer

If you want the best of my bookmarked links in a monthly newsletter go on and subscribe. You will get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- David Meurin  

To Market, To Market...

As we tentatively move onto the streets and look around at what is now our new normal life, there have been a few articles trying to make sense of the statistics of bookselling in a coronavirus era. 

Everybody is busy trying to reassure themselves and others that bookselling remains viable. If you factor in the printers, sales reps, warehouse and supply chain along with book designers, editors, illustrators, cover designers, formatters, not to mention the poor old author in this list, you can see a lot is riding on maintaining or shoring up the publishing industry.

So, what are the trends coming out of lockdown?

The Guardian reported a rise in people reading. (Thank all deities) And the popular genres of crime and thrillers were to the fore. With kids stuck at home children’s books also had a nice uptick.

Publishing Perspectives report that French Publishers Association surveyed its members to ascertain how bad the hit was to their members. More than a quarter are looking at heavy losses but there was some encouraging signs in the changes in reader habits.

Jennifer Kovitiz has written two big articles on what independent presses can do to survive. Part One. These are comprehensive reports so set some time aside to read them and take them in. Part Two.

Nate Hoffelder reports that Kobo Plus may be making some moves. They have been trialing their subscription model for a few years in Europe. With the rise and rise of subscription models for consuming entertainment… Keep an eye on your Kobo dashboard and inbox.

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a new Writing Thesaurus to add to their popular series. It’s the Occupation Thesaurus- Coming very soon… Angela also has a great article on giving yourself a creative kick in the pants.

If you need to get stuck into upskilling writer learning as a way of shaking you out of lockdown blues, here is a comprehensive list of FREE writing courses from around the world. There is something for everyone in the collection of 98 online writing courses from Couponchief. 

I get sidetracked on Font sites… yes, I admit it. I’m fascinated by the subtle way a font can change the emotional message.  

Rafal Reyzer has a guest post on The Book Designer on how your font choice, when writing, can change your writing mood.

Kristine Rusch has an interesting article on what’s happening to the film and television industry. How does it impact authors you wonder. What happens to all those options and contracts when something big like a pandemic hits? What about the writers stuck in the middle?

Anne R Allen has a great article on what to do when you realise that your novel has far too many characters. Do you really need to provide a backstory for everyone? Can you get away with not naming someone? Check out her great tips.

In The Craft Section,

7 possible hooks for your opening chapter- K M Weiland - Bookmark

How can we identify our story’s point of view- Jami Gold- Bookmark

What is an epilogue?- Jerry Jenkins- Bookmark

How to write dystopian fiction- Now Novel- comprehensive!

How plotlines add dimension- September Faulkes- Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

10 most common marketing mistakes- IBPA

Five marketing skills you have already- Gabriela Pereira- Bookmark

3 social media mistakes authors make- Sandra Beckwith

Heart-centered book marketing and 4 steps to your author branding statement- Beth Barany- Bookmark

New Tool on the block.

If you publish wide check out WideWizard. A free tool that publishes your metadata to all your sites. Fill it in once and click a button.

To Finish,

Last week I mentioned David Gaughran (All round nice guy and champion of the little battling author) in the To Finish section and here I am linking to him again. He has been almost nonstop filling his YouTube channel this week with detailed looks at different marketing ideas. David is unleashed. If you are realizing that authors must market their books check out his channel and get hypnotized by his epic lockdown beard and his wealth of information on book marketing.

Maureen

@craicer

My monthly newsletter goes out this weekend. If you want the best of my bookmarked links go on and subscribe. You will get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top. I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Martin Hearn