Publishing Complications

 

 

This week I have been thinking about AI and the implications for writers. It was sparked by the viral post from The Guardian that an AI wrote. If you haven’t read it now is the time to do so. The Paris Review recently published an op ed about creating fictional backstories for AI to make them more human.

 

The New Publishing Standard is a great resource for finding out what the global publishing community is doing.  Mark Williams does a fantastic job of keeping abreast of all the news. This is where I first heard about Big Bad Wolf- who sell remaindered books in the English language in huge 24-hour 10-day long book sales in Asia. They sell millions of print books and they are getting bigger. TNPS looks at the recent news about BBW going online. Traditional publishers have missed a trick here. Mark is also doing a great series for Alliance of Independent Authors- this week he looks at how geographically spread Amazon is… not as far as you might think.

 

The BBC took a look at the murky world of 1-star reviews. This hurts.

 

While you are thinking about global publishing Kristine Rusch talks about how the publishing industry still keeps to a 75-year-old publishing model and how this model is about to fail all the debut writers who have their books coming out in the publishing deluge this week. Add to this the overworked printers and you have a perfect firestorm for writers. Writing careers may be over before they start. This is a must-read piece for understanding how the publishing industry evolved and what needs to change.

 

A librarian recently sat down with a stiff drink to write what it is like to manage the buying budget for a library and have to deal with ebook lending restrictions and prices above the hardback copy. With libraries shut due to Covid 19 many patrons borrowed online, this hit the library budget. Do publishers really hate libraries that much?

 

This week Joanna Penn interviewed Emily Kimelman about creativity and ambition. This was a great interview. How do you structure a writing life around kids… when to get help… Is it wrong to be ambitious for yourself? Imposter syndrome… 

 

I have a nifty little gadget that lifts my laptop into a standing desk… but every now and then I think hmmm a treadmill desk… Check out the benefits for this writer.

 

With the recent attention in publishing on diverse voices one writer highlights, in The Guardian, the plight of disabled writers- They are diverse, own voices… where is their seat at the table?

In The Craft Section,

Worldbuilding – cultures- Mythic Scribes

When you have no story conflict – Jami Gold – Bookmark

Stir your echoes- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

Fiction to Nonfiction writing challenges

Have you forgotten to have fun?- Julie Glover- Bookmark

Creating believable characters – Yen Cabag- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Why authors should know their target audience- Kate Tilton

15 steps to self publish- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Lean book publishing- Sabrina Ricci

55 tweets to start posting now- Frances Caballo- Bookmark

Picture Book Resources- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

It is nice to peer through the gloom and see a shining light- a feel-good story. Angela Ackerman tells the story of the Emotion Thesaurus and how they (Angela and Becca Puglisi) accidentally started a small publishing empire doing everything the wrong way round. More power to them I say! 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also 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 the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons - Jonathan Pearson

 

 

Keep Calm and Carry On

In publishing news this week...

If you have been checking into book social media lately you will have noticed the many new book release posts. A side effect of the early lockdown overseas is that the usual Spring releases were delayed until Autumn and the Autumn releases are still coming out or have been delayed until next year. The first Thursday in September is when the books hit the bookshops and if you are a Bookseller in the UK that’s nearly 600 books being released today. As you can imagine that is a lot of books needing attention. (And not getting it!) Another side effect of this is that printers are snowed under trying to print the books.

Should we hold off writing and publishing until things get back to normal or is this the new normal? Rachelle Gardner has a she’ll-be-right post to soothe your anxiety.

 

Today the news that Simon and Schuster were on the sale block broke. S&S are number 5 in the big publisher lists. With the merger of Penguin and Random House into the behemoth PRH it was only a matter of time before another sales merger would happen. Who will it be? Publishers Weekly lays some smart money out.

 

Scammers have been particularly active lately in the Book World. One horrible scam that is attracting attention is the fake book publishing offer from a major book publisher. These people prey on dreams. If your friend tells you they’ve received a book offer from a big publisher ask them where the email came from. Writer Beware has screenshots of these offers which look like they come from Big 5 publishers… except for the odd email header. 

 

China has moved to put the Beijing Book Fair online using smart technology. This is a huge move as the book fair has been getting bigger every year. In a surprise move, they have decided that the book fair will go for longer. How about a year-long book fair with free attendance? TNPS looks at what is on offer.

 

John Peregine has an interesting article on the Writers In The Storm blog about plagiarism. There are six types. Do you know the differences? If not, it could cost you a lot of money and a trashed reputation.

 

 U.S. Independent bookstore Powell’s announced that they were quitting Amazon. Powell’s CEO likened the move to quitting smoking. Passive Guy takes a look at whether this is actually a good move.

 

Jami Gold has a brilliant post on the dark moment in your script. This is excellent advice and I found I was mulling over my protagonist’s actions wondering if I had properly hit the emotional low of the 'all is lost' plot point.

 

In The Craft Section,

MS diagnostic opening scenes- Maria D’Marco - Bookmark

New writers guide to revising fiction- Cady Hammer

The secret ingredient in a Pixar movie- Scott Myers-  Great Short video!

Drawing your plot- James Scott Bell

Dynamic Dialogue- Laura Drake- Bookmark

Discipline vs Enthusiasm- K M Weiland - Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Two Great Articles from Sandra Beckwith- How you can share your knowledge to market books and 5 common Press Release mistakes

Eight Book promotion strategies – Haley Zelda  (N.B. Learn from savvy romance writers!)

Creating discussion questions for your book- Sara Letourneau- Bookmark

Growing an email list- Alli Team- Bookmark!

Ten tips for amazon success- Garry Rodgers- Bookmark

Powering up email book marketing- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

As I am writing this we are having an earthquake.  (5.7) We can get very blasé here about earthquakes as they are frequent. They don’t call us the shaky islands for nothing. But we are all a bit twitchy as this is the tenth anniversary of one of our biggest quakes and it’s 2020… what more can happen this year? Take a deep breath. Breathe Out.  Breathe In. Breathe Out. Let’s go calmly onward into September, the joys of spring… and stay positive.

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also 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 the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Pic: WW2 motivation poster