Running Up That Hill

In Publishing News this week,

The social media platform Tiktok has changed the face of bookselling with the viral recommendations of Booktok influencers. This was accidental. However this week TikTok is starting a bookclub… with its biggest influencers. (I sense monetization in the works.)

 

Censorship in schools seems to be gathering momentum. It seems every week another school district is doubling down on books in school libraries. Bookriot has been looking at ways that the publishing industry is fighting back. 

 

Recently Dall-E, an AI image generating system, was in the news for making the first magazine cover for Cosmopolitan. Other media companies are looking at this creative use of AI. However, Techcrunch is sounding a warning over the indiscriminate use of copyrighted materials that the AI is learning on/scraping. What about the poor freelancer who has their image used by the AI?

 

Joann Penn was interviewed over on Author Media by Thomas Umstattd on diversifying income streams. You can listen to the podcast or read the transcript. I was interested to find out that Joanna has more than 50 income streams. Joanna has recently published a long-form guide on using Scrivener writing software for fiction and nonfiction. If you want to learn tricks and tips of this powerhouse software check it out.

 

Kris Rusch has an interesting post on Kate Bush and the power of holding onto your copyright. Who knew that RUTH would be a number one hit 36 years later?

 

Kelsey Allagood has an article on Writer Unboxed on diagnosing writer’s block and then what you can do about it.

 

Becca Puglisi has written a great article on the Revision Roadmap as a guest post over on Anne R Allen’s blog. There are some great tips here to mull over.

 

In The Craft Section,

Indicating time passing in stories- Jami Gold Bookmark

Writing the dreaded synopsis- Michelle Barker- Bookmark

Why first person POV is not deep POV- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

7 tips to help you write- Writing and Wellness

4 clever tricks to transform scenes into high stakes- Zena Dell Lowe- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What makes a book cover work- IngramSpark- Bookmark

Get better book launch results- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

5 success strategies on marketing -Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Selling books with email- Roland Denzel- Bookmark

Reach readers- podcast transcript from Joanna Penn and Becky Robinson- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Recently the Writing and Wellness blog had an article on how to recognise if you have gone from amateur writer to pro writer. It’s a state of mind. As I was reading it I was wondering if the 3 open manuscripts I’m revising at the same time was too much. 

(Yes. I can hear you shouting at me.) 

Lisa Betz has an interesting article on being intentional with growing your writing craft. 

I’m being intentional, as I revise… honestly. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links come on over and subscribe. You will also get a nifty mini book crammed 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 or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Jeremy Lapak on Unsplash

Time and Money

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Harper Collins workers in New York are on strike over pay and conditions. When you read what they get paid, and the cost of living, it is no wonder that they say only people who are rich already can afford to work in publishing. This is untenable if you want a diverse publishing ecosystem that reflects the population.

 

Lit Hub reports that the trial date is set for PRH antitrust trial where the U.S. Government is trying to block PRH’s acquisition of Simon and Schuster. Stephen King has been roped in to speak for the plaintiff. 

 

The Hollywood Reporter has an article on contracts where there is fancy accounting going on that somehow stops copyright holders from benefitting from characters they invented that get put into movies. It stems from Marvel – owned by Disney… why am I not surprised.

Contracts are such tricky beasts. Always stay aware of changes in their language.

 

Another week, another article about Tik-Tokers sharing the news that you can return your eBooks after you’ve read them from Amazon. Meanwhile, authors are complaining that they are now in hock to Amazon for the delivery fees of returned books. They have to pay for the reader stealing from them. How many articles will it take before Amazon does something?

 

Keep your eye on contracts is a Kris Rusch mantra. This week she talks about a tricky practice that is happening more often, the agent as producer. Why isn’t the creator the producer? With money drying up in traditional contracts some agents have hit on another way to clip the ticket first.

 

Big Bad Wolf is back, says Mark Williams. They never really went away. When Covid 19 hit they converted to an online store but now that the world seems to be opening back up so are they, just with a few book fairs. So they only have 5 million or so English books on offer. If you don’t know anything about BBW you should really read this article. English Language publishers are really missing the gravy boat here.

 

Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article on Open Road Media’s push to publicise their front list. They made their money by buying up print backlists and converting them into eBooks and now they are looking at Front List publicity. Take a look at how the indies do it and then copy with lots more money.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has an excellent article on boosting your backlist. Lots of great tips here.

 

Anne R Allen has a great article on likable characters. You can’t just put any likable character in your book it all depends on your genre. 

 

In The Craft Section,

How to tell if your writing has slipped out of deep POV- K M Allen

3 tips to finding your emotional truth- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

How to avoid writers guilt – Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

4 supporting characters your hero can learn from- Lewis Jorstad- Bookmark

Checklists and Tip sheets from One Stop for Writers

 

In The Marketing Section,

Creating a book imprint- Write Publish Sell- Bookmark

How to write a hook for your novel- Jack Jordan

2 great posts from Bookbub- Ad designs promoting series and 

How to use Facebook to promote books. Bookmark Both

Sell books without Amazon- Penny Sansevieri

 

To Finish,

I am a fan of Debbie Ohi’s writer comics and found object illustrations. She always has a quirky take on writing and publishing that livens up my social media feeds. Recently she talked about Linda Sue Park’s Pomodoro technique. I like Pomodoro. It can get you out of a rut fairly fast. Write (Don’t edit) for 25-minute blocks. Linda Sue Park breaks that down even more.

Staying with writer tools check out Patricia Bradley’s Writer Toolbox post. It’s just the thing to start you thinking about craft.

 

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 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 or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Photo by Ricardo Díaz on Unsplash