Uniquely You

 

 

In Publishing News This Week

Who is making money in the book industry? Lagadére seems to be leading the pack. They are up 48% in sales in the first half of 2024. They attribute their good fortune to sales of audio and front list and back list… or did the total reorganization of Hachette have something to do with it.

 

If China is the elephant in the room for all things sales wise… then the elephant likes cats. They feature in all the children’s bestsellers in China. If you have a cat main character ….

 

Publishers Weekly has an interesting article on Children’s Booksellers engaging audiences in different ways. It brings in the readers… which drag in the payers and everyone has a good time.

 

In the UK, Newcastle wants to be a centre of writing and publishing. They have an historic building and buy in from publishers, they just need lots of cash from the new government. It has to be cheaper to run a publishing business out of Newcastle than London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, right?

 

Colleen Story has an interesting article on 5 steps to building a strong foundation to your writing career. Have you considered that emotional, physical and mental health is just as important in your writing career as having a website.

 

Rachel Thompson has a must read post on phishing scams targeting writers  and how to tell if its legit and thriller author Cat Connor takes issue with digital marketers trying the same thing and what she does to discourage it.

 

If you are hunting around for interesting writing competitions take a look at this list compiled for the month of August.

 

Joanna Penn has an excellent interview with Roz Morris about writing emotion. How do you know when you have nailed it for the reader. Check out the transcript/ podcast.

 

How much does your environment influence your writing? Sue Coletta has a great post on how it has affected other authors. Does changing your environment result in a totally different book?

 

Joy York writes on Story Empire about how to go about seeking feedback on your writing.

 

Katie Weiland continues her story structure series with a great article on the art of The Hook.

 

In The Craft section,

Adding subtext to dialogue- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Does your scene need more tension- Angela Ackerman

5 effective outlining techniques- Rachel Thompson-Bookmark

Learning to love synopsis- Diana Giovinazzo

Infusing mood into your fiction- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Gaining more reviews- Fussy Librarian

Multiple ways to sell the story- Brian Feinblum

Social Media sells- Jennifer Windrow- Bookmark

Creative book marketing strategies- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Book Promo timing- Sandra Beckwith-Bookmark

Reader Magnets and other questions - Alli Podcast

 

To Finish

Today I was checking that a review on Amazon that I had written was up and at the top of the review pages was Amazon’s AI roundup of the reviews and what they were all commonly saying. Woah, I thought, AI gets everywhere. Dan Blank recently had an interesting article on how AI was sliding into our everyday lives making shortcuts and time saving. What we really should be doing, he said was celebrating our unique creative voice.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

I’m running late on the monthly newsletter. This weekend I will get to it.  If you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Evan Fitzer on Unsplash

Making A Buck

 

In Publishing News this week.

After the wailing and gnashing of teeth against AI, the consensus within the trade publishing fraternity is how can we make it worthwhile for us. Jane Friedman has an interesting article on Publishers Licensing Material For AI- hopefully this will trickle down to the authors.

 

Meanwhile, the Copyright Clearance Center, (The US Copyright office) has announced a new subscription tier that can make available to AI companies content licensed for AI reuse. Publishing Perspectives have a rundown on the subscription model and the CCC’s commitment to being Pro AI and Pro Copyright. (It’s OK if your head hurts over that statement- mine does too.) 

 

To help everyone navigate the tricky world of AI rights – there are now market places for selling content rights to AI. Check out what the founder of Scribd is doing with his new startup. (There’s money in them thar AI hills.)

 

With the emphasis on writers being authentic or as Joanna Penn puts it ‘doubling down on being human’ Alison Williams has a post about the platform that authors need now – and it is not Social Media.

 

For those who have one eye on the elections happening in the near future Kathleen Schmidt has a thoughtful post on the publishing industries responsibilities to free speech and allowing a platform for divisive and dangerous rhetoric. 

We who look on from the other side of the world see the three world areas of conflict being, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and American vs American. All of them filling us with a deep disquiet.

 

Techcrunch reports on Spotify’s moves to have more connections between listeners and creators. They are allowing comments on podcasts and are looking to gradually roll out these and similar features across all their streaming programes. 

 

London Libraries or Librarians are promoting a new app to get Londoners to read more. It’s called ReadOn and has quiz questions, reading club, recommendations for your next book… everything to promote the beach read into a year long activity.

 

Bookfunnel has a great article from Katie Cross on creating landing pages with Bookfunnel for selling purposes.

 

Anne R Allen is taking a break from her great blog over summer as she has some deadlines to meet. However, she has links to some great blogs to drop in on so you can keep up to date. I was touched that she included Craicer in the list. Thankyou Anne.

 

Lithub has an interesting article on the millennial mid life crisis book. I wasn’t aware that millennials are even ready for a midlife crisis, I thought they had a few decades to go.

 

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with Kimboo York on fan fiction and serialization. Check out the podcast /transcript.

 

With Katie Weiland bringing out an updated version of her story structure book she is posting a series of posts on that topic. Check out the intro to story structure article.

In The Craft Section,

How to use Goal Motivation and Conflict to test story ideas- Alex Cavanaugh- Bookmark

Mispronunciation- Kathy Steinemann

The secret to page turning scene endings-Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

Editing tricks of the trade- Terry Odell- Bookmark

The matter of titles- Barbara Linn Probst- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

August book promotion opportunities- Sandra Beckwith

Introverted writers can market effectively- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

The lazy authors guide to platform- David Gaughran

How to change Kindle keywords- Dave Chesson- Bookmark

How to make a cinematic booktrailer.- Reedsy.

 

To Finish,

With the news cycle making everyone anxious, escaping into a good book offers the reader time out from the insanity. James Scott Bell has a great post about old time pulp writers and how they could keep the reader glued to the page. Telling emotional stories, keeping everyone spell bound. Those are our superpowers. That is what separates us from the software programs.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Its nearly time for the monthly newsletter? If you want the best of my bookmarked links you can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash