Motivational Carrots

Five days to go... until November and NaNoWriMo.

October is planning for the writing onslaught. If you are thinking about writing 50,000 words in a month check out the latest Spa Girls podcast where the girls have decided to have NaNo writing party. This could be your big inspiration/whip/ carrot.... (fill in motivator here.)

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have just launched their latest thesaurus and it’s been hotly anticipated. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is out. As usual they have are great launch giveaway promotion.

Amazon has been trying to nail trolls this week. Think of a giant sledgehammer... Anne R Allen has a great post on the latest machinations in the world of Zon. This is a read it and be warned post... if you read the comments... have tissues.

Meanwhile David Gaughran tireless and fearless defender of the writer has been closely following what is happening to writers who have been rank stripped by Amazon in their crack down. It looks like the trolls are fighting back and Amazon is stumbling around looking for them in all the wrong places.

This week all over Social Media there was a campaign to show how many people had been affected by sexual harassment. The #metoo campaign even touched publishing... that bastion of good manners and correct behaviour. Hair curling stuff!

As the holiday season approaches many authors will find themselves manning stands at book fairs. Here is a little post full of tips for the hand selling authors out there.

Hallmark loves the holiday season. Christmas cards... holiday movies on its television channel... book publishing.... Book Publishing? Yes. If you have a clean holiday themed romance or mystery Hallmark wants to talk to you!

In The Craft Section,

Opening scenes

Character profile questionnaire- Angela Ackerman

How I cut 33k from my MS- Bookmark

Idea to novel workshop- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Illuminating dark contemporary fiction- Writer Unboxed

Formulaic story structure- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Fast draft writing for NaNoWriMo

In The Marketing Section,

How to build a media kit- Molly Greene

Fantastic ways to sell books in the holidays- Bookbub- Bookmark

How to make Perennial Bestsellers- Ryan Holiday- Joanna Penn podcast- Bookmark

Email marketing in 2018

David Gaughran looks at the two marketing systems of Amazon- Bookmark

Draft 2digital templates- Elizabeth S Craig

To Finish,

Resources and deals are always around at NaNoWriMo time.

If you haven’t checked out the NaNo Storybundle of writing craft books you should.

Jane Friedman has a chapter in a new book on Editing that looks interesting.

Judy Blume has joined the Master Class teaching website. If you write for kids this Master Class series could be just the motivator present you are looking for! I’m tempted... Are you?

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Thanks for hitting the coffee button this week.

Pic: Flicker Creative Commons/ Jeremy Keith

The Diverse Future Of Publishing

It’s been a busy week in publishing.

The wait is over and everyone now knows who won The Man Booker. The type of book is a little eyebrow raising. The author writes in 166 different voices to tell the story. Literary writing is becoming very experimental.

While everyone was waiting for the award to be announced, that perennial favourite in publishing, diversity, was back in water cooler discussions. Has the publishing industry got any better since the last time we all said we needed more diverse voices in publishing?

Chris Jackson has an essay on Lit Hub about the need for social diversity in publishing. Are we just getting the same old stories being selected by the Ivy League grads?

Diversity in children’s publishing is also a hot topic. At the recent trade fair in the Pacific Northwest booksellers were told that the majority of American kids are not white and children’s publishing is moving to reflect that.

Also in children’s publishing Macmillan has created a new imprint and handpicked a team to lead it. It’s all about interactivity... the hot new thing in non fiction children’s books...

While Macmillan gears up to change the children’s book scene... Hyperion has launched a new digital hub for children centered around Rick Riorden. Are they copying anyone?

Createspace closed its doors on its online bookstore this week. Did you know they had a bookstore? Me neither.

Remember last week... Yes it was so long ago, when I introduced my blog saying the big talking points at Frankfurt were the rise of audio books and free speech. GQ magazine explains the history and rise ofAudible and why audio books are an addiction.

Besides the rise in audio being discussed at Frankfurt there was also a future look at a new looming disrupter to the publishing industry.Blockchains. Try and get your head around this possibility. Every item created will have its own identifier which will enable the purchaser to pay the creator instantaneously.

If you haven’t checked out the Indie fringe conference... The videos are up. Immerse yourself in a treasure trove of content all about Author Business.

Kris Rusch has a great post on author subsidiary rights. Do you know what these are and how you can earn money from them?

In The Craft Section,

How to write good endings- Roz Morris- Bookmark

Plot planners – Martha Alderson

How Google Docs can improve your writing

Occupation Thesaurus- Angela Ackerman

5 tips for telling resistance stories- Mythcreants- Bookmark

Brainstorming  a great novel hook- Janice Hardy-Bookmark

How to write a webseries

Tips to train your writing brain DIYMFA

In The Marketing Section,

How to crush social media as an introvert- Bookmark- Frances Caballo

Tips to get noticed on Social Media

How to improve your About Me page- Bookmark

Selling direct from your site and other goodies from the SFF Marketing podcast team. You should 

watch it.

Writing to match genre categories- Debbie Young -Alli Blog

To Finish,

Two CEO’s were talking at Frankfurt about their industry. One was optimistic that Young People would continue to read lots of print books and that publishing was doing well. The other talked about the huge amount of customers who used to come to them but no longer do... Mike Shatzkin reflects on their speeches and what the messages might actually be.

N.B These CEO’s head up two of the biggest publishing houses in the world.

Looks like murky waters ahead...

Maureen

@craicer

In my monthly newsletter I round up the best of the bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Feel free to hit the coffee button. I live on the fumes of that most excellent drink.
 

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Stad Amsterdam – Denna Jones