To Do …

 

In this week’s roundup

If you have been keeping one eye on Audiblegate, Passive Guy has a roundup of the state of play so far. He also speculates that it would be nice if the print publishers also put limits on how long they would hold the print rights. Susan May, who is the force behind the movement to get owed money back from Audible responds in the replies to the post.

 

With audiobooks being the next big thing for streaming services, it was interesting to come across this article on podcasts that are being snapped up by subscription streaming services and the murky waters of their copyright. 

How many entertainment channels do you subscribe to? Who will buy out who in 2021?

 

Techcrunch reports that a Kids Bookclub company, Literati, has raised $40 million to expand their book clubs to Adults. For a monthly fee, you get sent a print book and the chance to join in book chat about the book with the celebrity curator. The idea is to get more people reading… 

 

Another year… another set of scammers. Anne R Allen has a roundup of the scams just appearing on the horizon of 2021. Cast your eyes over the list and warn others especially newbies. 

 

Ruth Harris has a great post on reviewing readers. What type of nutty reader replies have come across your desk? My mother in law, a romance writer, had a rabid fan who read every one of her books and always complained about the unrealistic weather. Eg. It doesn’t snow in August in America. The romances were clearly set in the southern hemisphere, down under, with maps….

 

David Gaughran has an interesting article on publishing short stories. Have you thought about writing shorts and publishing them? There might be a little bit of money to be made or you could give them to your fans.

 

In The Craft Section,

Writing lessons from Pride and Prejudice- Terena Bell - Bookmark

What good are sex scenes?- Litreactor

Idea testing stages in brainstorming- Janice Hardy

Short Video of master screenwriter Robert McKee on what to keep and what to cut.

Brainstorming the novel- Julie Duffy

Can you have more than one protagonist?- Abigail Perry- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

Outside the box marketing ideas- Bookmark

How to market an ebook- Reedsy

Endorsing books- who should you ask

33 tips to improve email marketing- Barb Drozdowich – Bookmark

Timing your book launch -Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

My To-Do Lists constantly change… probably because I promptly lose them meaning I have to write the list again from memory. How are your To-Do Lists? Have you ever thought of plotting this way? Elizabeth S Craig found it gave her a whole new perspective on plot momentum.

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 – Hey Paul Studios

 

Bookshops and Booksales

 

This week Audible finally let creators know the changes they have decided on to address the concerns of Audiblegate. (Audible’s practice of promoting read and return audiobooks with no compensation to creators last year.) They are promising to create a new dashboard for authors to see which books have been returned and they are changing their terms of exclusivity. Publishing Perspectives asked Author groups what they thought. Not good enough was the answer. This is where the value of belonging to a strong writer’s union comes into play.

 

The Guardian recently published an article entitled Bookshops defy pandemic to record highest sales in eight years. After they published this they had to go and change the title to accurately reflect the article which was on Book Sales. Yes, bookshops were selling books but a lot of the print book sales were happening online. However, as the Society of Authors points out that’s cold comfort to a lot of writers who relied on appearances to pay the bills.

 

Publishing Perspectives interviewed the CEO of Wattpad on their merger with Korean digital publisher Naver. If you have been keeping an eye on Wattpad and how they have grown from a fanfic forum to a movie and television production powerhouse, their merger with Naver, who operates a similar model in Asia, is a good thing. The numbers are interesting. Together they will almost be as big as Netflix.

 

Big Five publishers are back in court for price fixing. Again. They are named as co- conspirators with Amazon. Publishing Perspectives looks at the case and whether it will hurt Amazon at all.

 

Kris Rusch writes this week about the rise of e-reading due to Covid-19 lockdowns and how Bertelsmann danced with the numbers trying to prove that there was a huge number of Indie publishers, so that they wouldn’t be slapped by regulators for controlling too much of the market by buying Simon and Schuster. As it is, they may have over 50% of the Trad publishers market.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has an interesting blog post on whether having your book in book shops is worth it for Indie Authors. With Trad Publishers used to getting books published in China for little cost they can use the sale or return option as a carrot for bookshops to stock their books. Indies using POD have higher costs per book which impacts on discounts to bookstores. This article breaks down the numbers and the cost benefit for Indies to use bookstores.

 

Anne R Allen has a great guest post from Joseph Perry, a literary attorney, on important clauses to take note of in a publishing contract. One thing to remember, Joseph says, is that the publishing contract is always written in favour of the publisher.

 

How often do you stare at your just completed hot mess of a manuscript and wonder how to tackle the revision aspect. Jean Grant has an interesting blog post where she breaks down the way she revises. Having a checklist of things to look out for is a good starting point.

 

In The Craft Section,

5 mistakes writers make with relationships- Bang2Write

Understanding third person omniscient POV- Tiffany Martin

Using Twin Relationships in Writing- Becca Puglisi

5 point plan on how to kill a character- WritersWrite- Bookmark

Good Storytelling- Internal and external stakes- Karen Woodward- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Heart centered Book Marketing- Beth Barany- Bookmark

Amazon Keywords 101- Penny Sansevieri

February Content ideas- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

How to get publicity for your book- Kaelyn Barron- Bookmark

What’s the deal with Amazon verified reviews- Sandra Beckwith

How to use Book Awards for publicity- Sandra Beckwith

 

To Finish,

Are you aware of time racing differently due to how engaged you are with a book? Have you struggled with narrative time? What about reader time? How does the reader experience the forward motion of your story? Writer Unboxed has a great article on Character Time and Reader Time and how you can make the most use of time in your manuscript.

 

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: The Tannery Bookshop- Christchurch