Are We There Yet?

Around the world, there are murmuring from publishers about getting back to face-to-face book fairs. Three weeks ago I was hearing the same conversations at the New Zealand Book Awards and now here we are in lockdown. Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard talks about the last-minute cancellation of Beijing’s bookfair and the new normal going forward for book fairs.

 

The big news if you are an Erotica writer is the closing off of websites and income that were previously open to you due to banking regulators tightening up rules. The Alliance of Independent Authors news team talks about the latest developments in a fast-changing story and a possible solution. 

 

Kris Rusch has an interesting article this week on social shopping. If you miss shopping with your friends there is an app for you. (There is always an app.) How can authors turn this into a social experience for readers?

 

Anne R Allen has a great guest post on negotiating author agreements from Joseph Perry. This is a good roundup of terms to be familiar with when you look at your own contracts. Just remember you can change your contract- You don’t have to take everything they say. 

 

If you have come across the term author platform and are struggling with it, read this great article from Rachel Thompson. 

 

Scott Myers has an interesting article on organising your writing time. 

 

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a team of guest writing coaches that they feature on their website. This week Suzanne Lakin is back with a fantastic post on nailing the purpose of your novel's scene. It’s a must read! 

 

In The Craft Section,

Using triggers for emotional wounds- Angela Ackerman

How interviews can help a book project- Shalene Gupta- Bookmark

Style sheets – Ruth Harris – Bookmark

Writing emotions effectively- Litreactor- Bookmark

Describing old characters-Kathy Steinnmann

 

In The Marketing Section,

Boost your chances for a Bookbub featured deal- Bookmark

Author collaboration – does it work?- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Use your Amazon bio- Penny Sansevieri

Fun September holidays for marketing- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Facebook ads for books – Dave Chesson – Bookmark

 

To Finish,

You have a great idea. You know there is a story in there. Where do you start? Ross Hartmann has a great article on how to expand your story idea, where to start from and what questions to ask. 

 

Sometimes it is really hard to get motivated to write. Lockdown can either drive creativity or completely sap it. Look after yourself and your mental health. Schedule a dance party for one.

 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my 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 – Wendelin Jacober

The Clock Is Ticking

 

 

This week in publishing news...

Publishing Perspectives has highlighted the call from International Pen calling for protection of writers and journalists in Afghanistan. With the situation changing hourly on the ground over there, writers and journalists are being targeted. The first casualty is always truth and an incoming regime is quick to get control of the message to the people. If you want to help, get in touch with your countries author societies who can direct you to your nearest PEN branch.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard takes a look at Hachette’s purchase of Workman this week. Hachette wasn’t interested in the frontlist but in the gold of the backlist. Publishers are taking note that their digital sales kept them afloat when the bricks and mortar stores were closed. Now they are on the hunt for vaults of backlist to make money from. 

 

Meanwhile, Kris Rusch has been looking at Omnichannel marketing. What does that mean to the author? It is the seamless experience of drawing a reader into your lair  book world and giving them the same experience wherever they encounter you. It is an interesting read and the way of future marketing.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports on moves to introduce gamification serial writing apps. Write the serial and unlock a whole lot of enhanced content around it with in-app purchases. Take a look at what may be speeding down the track towards you.

 

Bookfunnel has just announced an exciting new feature- They are getting into author newsletter swaps. They are making it easy to find other authors to swap freebies with. 

 

Time has discovered Goodreads, or really the mess of review bombing that has been escalating over on Goodreads. Amazon owns Goodreads and the experience for authors is not a good one. Time for a clean-up of the review trolls. 

 

New Zealand’s publishers were planning their conference this weekend. Publishing In A Disrupted World. A very prescient conference theme as it happens. Their guests are live streaming in so they may be able to move the whole thing online.

 

Jane Friedman published a guest article from Sangeeta Mehta on two agents' advice on publishing with a small press. Is it was worth it? Some interesting ideas were put forward. Writer, E J Wenstrom published an article this week on what she had learned in 6 years being with a small press.

 

Anne R Allen has a great article on cliche story beginnings and how they have evolved. It is especially good if you aren’t sure if your beginning is a cliché.

 

In The Craft Section,

Story Obstacles- or when you have to take two steps back- Jami Gold- Bookmark

3 things to know about endings- K M Weiland - Bookmark

Describing character emotions, problems, and solutions- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

10 self-editing tips- Maryann Miller- Bookmark

3 useful tips for getting your book written- Lucy V Hay- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

Building an ARC Review team- Dave Chesson- Bookmark

How to use pre-order strategies on Amazon- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

How to market to local media- Penny Sansevieri

What is a soft book launch?- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Working with Google Docs- TheWriteLife- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Yesterday New Zealand went into a snap Lockdown as we had one case of the Delta variant of Covid 19 in the community. Our countries strategy has been to Go Hard. Go Early. This has enabled us to quickly get on top of the pandemic and then life goes back to the way it was. It has been 16 months since our last tight lockdown so we know the strategy works. As we are a gateway to the Pacific Islands we are protecting them as well until we all can be vaccinated. One case quickly turned into 10 and then into 21, but we have traced everybody with genome sequencing so we know where and how it got here. This kind of fast turnaround science was unheard of a few years ago. So what should we do in a tight lockdown? Some writers might think 'I should write that novel', but not everyone has the ideal writing environment if the house is full. Writer Unboxed recently posted an article on the 6 excuses you can use for not finishing your novel in a pandemic.

Or you could be Catherine Ryan Howard – one of our Indie touchstones, who has gone on to have a big thriller career. Catherine wrote a thriller in lockdown about lockdown called 56 days. She writes a small rant in the Irish Times about how it came about. Take one lockdown…

 

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 – David Lofink