In Publishing News this week,
The UK publishing industry is in turmoil this week over a controversial book that was called out by commentators, who then found themselves targets in a social media pile-on. The book has been pulled for a revision but the apology over the mess has created more controversy with well-known authors tweeting their support citing free speech without checking the facts. There is an open letter being circulated about the treatment of the commentators.
N.B. If you hold an honoured position in the industry, be very sure of all the facts in the story before making public statements. No one will believe you made the statement as a private individual. As my journalist friends say, Nothing is ever off the record!
News broke this week of depths of parsimony attributed to one of the wealthiest entertainment companies on the planet. The comic book creators for the Marvel Movie franchise are being paid a flat fee of $5,000 and if they are lucky, a seat at the premier.
Yes – You did read that right. Check your contracts people and learn what all the terms mean.
Here in New Zealand, we celebrated the best children’s and young adult books of the past year. A fantastic night was had at the NZCYA awards by all as we gathered in person after last year’s virtual gathering. We are very mindful of the privilege here in NZ. In a nice touch, we applauded last year’s winners who were present. Congratulations to everyone who were finalists and winners on the night!
The New Publishing Standard takes a look at how the first year of subscription with Kobo+ shaped up. Every week there seems to be something about subscription plans as big players and not so big players jostle for room. This is our publishing future, as Mark Williams points out. You can’t ignore it you have to learn to work within it.
If you create comics you might need to look at a rapidly growing comic distributor platform which has just raised a substantial chunk of cash to expand with AI.
The stellar human being, Dolly Parton, is writing her first fiction book with James Patterson.
In an interesting creative addition, Dolly is also writing a companion album of songs that explores the themes in the book.
This week Time magazine published the 100 best Young Adult books of all time. It made for interesting reading and a lot of Twitter congratulations to living authors. How many books have you read?
Nathan Bransford has a guest post from an acquisitions editor detailing all the steps that go into acquiring a book. Interesting reading.
In The Craft Section,
Don’t let excess baggage bring down your characters- Marissa Graff- Bookmark
Write like you are in love- edit like you are in charge- James Scott Bell
Dual points of view- E J Wenstrom- Bookmark
Every hack needs an ideas file- Bill Ferris
Which story structure is right for your book- Savannah Cordova- Bookmark
The flat archetype of the child- K M Weiland- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
How to give readers a direct amazon review link- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark
10 ways to handle bad reviews- Indie Author News
Book marketing success and 5 top Twitter tips for authors- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark
Personal branding for authors- Kimberly Grabas- Bookmark
Book Release Checklist – Elizabeth S Craig- BOOKMARK
To Finish,
When chatting to the supreme winner at the New Zealand Children and Young Adults Book Awards, Tania Roxborogh, she recounted a familiar story of feeling utterly demoralised as a young writer. James Scott Bell has a great article on advice for the demoralised writer.
Success is sweeter after a long agonising climb to the top.
Maureen
@craicer
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Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Steve Snodgrass
