If you have been anywhere on Social Media today, you might have caught a trending topic called Bigolas Dickolas. The owner of the name decided to tweet their appreciation for a four year old book. The tweet went viral and all formats of the book rocketed up the charts. You never know when a book review will change an author’s life!
In the academic world, news that the entire editorial board of major academic publisher Elsevier resigned over the fees the journal was charging academics to publish, hit like a thunderclap. The eyewatering prices are detailed in the Guardian along with the complaints of greed from academic institutions. Everyone will be watching the boards of other academic journals – will they follow suit? Meanwhile, the editors are taking their reputations and starting an online journal which will be much cheaper.
Many writers are keeping one eye on the current strike happening with Film and TV writers. If you haven’t been seeing your favourite shows lately or found out their seasons have been cut short, the strike by the writers of these shows is the reason. Kris Rusch breaks down why it is so important that writers know the reasons for the strike and how it might affect you in the future.
The children’s writing community was shocked this week when a recent book on grief got unexpected publicity. The author wrote the book for her children dealing with the shock death of their father. Unfortunately, the author was arrested for the death of her husband.
Our household has an affection for Mo Willams and his Don’t let the Pigeon Drive The Bus and its various spinoffs. Mo has launched a production company to control his IP. If you have an iconic character this might be something to look into.
Scribd has altered its Terms of Service (contract) to take into account AI. Publishing Perspectives writes on how EU lawmakers are using these new terms to inform copyright law.
Anne R Allen has a good run down on scammers and the methods they are using at the moment. Please be aware of the pitfalls and tell others about them too. Book scammers prey on dreams and Newbies are their favourite targets. However, seasoned hands have been caught so keep your eyes open.
Recently Publishers Weekly held a webinar on best practice for publishers in a changing marketplace. The main points have been summarised in an article on Publishers Weekly. The sky is not falling you will be pleased to know.
Recently Orna Ross and Joanna Penn from The Alliance of Independent Authors sat down for an in depth chat on crowdfunding books. If you have been thinking about this- drop in for the podcast or read the transcript. The Alliance (Alli) have a wealth of great resources, they recently did a deep dive on selling books from your own website.
Beta Readers are an important step in the publishing process. As first readers they can flag plot holes or scenes that just aren’t working. Check out this article on How Beta readers might save your book from disaster.
In The Craft Section,
How to edit your novel- Alli Blog- Bookmark
What is the big deal about ‘was’- Terry Odell
Top 5 mistakes with sex scenes- Bang2Write
How to build a flesh and blood character- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark
Human moments- Donald Mass- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
How writers can be successful in media interviews- Anne Alenskis
Tips for working with a cover designer- K M Weiland
5 book marketing tasks that can be done in 5 minutes- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark
4 cornerstones to success for book marketing- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
Branding tips for authors- Shayla Raquel- Bookmark
To Finish
Rules- you need to know the reason for the rules before you break them is a popular saying. In writing, there are many lists of rules floating around. Some are common-sense and some are more obscure but can be the difference between a readable sentence and not. (*wink*)
Check out this article on writing rules to make you shine not whine.
Many writers want to finish the story before they tell anyone about it. Jane Friedman has a guest post from Catherine Baaab-Muguira on why you should start promoting your writing before you are ready.
Breaking Rules can be empowering.
Maureen
@craicer
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Pic: Photo by Alex Lvrs on Unsplash
