When The Writing Business Gets You Down

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Just after I published last week’s blog, The Atlantic* published an article on the books that Meta used to train their AI as well as the shady practices they used. Substack readers of the blog got the breaking news. Use The Atlantic search engine if you want to check whether your books were scraped, then contact your local writer association. Here in NZ the Society of Authors is taking names to join a class action. 

Many authors guilds around the world are preparing court cases. Publishing Perspectives has the US and UK Authors societies responses. 

 

While authors are getting hot under the collar about AI theft, publishers have been quietly doing deals with AI companies to let them have access to their lists. Jane Friedman highlights just what is going on under writer’s noses.

 

Of course, AI as a tool offers so many advantages to the struggling publishers. Although I don’t think Taylor and Francis is exactly struggling, Publishers Weekly reports that they are using AI to translate their books into English. 

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard has an interesting article on film companies and how they are using a text to screen AI to generate films. Yes, AI is everywhere. Last week he said that publishing history is active resistance, passive acceptance, and eventual embrace. I think the publishers might be moving out of passive acceptance. So many seem to be saying one thing to authors and another to their staff. 

 

Do you remember Stories for Rebel Girls? The author, Francesca Cavallo has been looking at the dire statistics for boys reading and has a new collection coming out. Publishing Perspectives has an article looking at what Francesca will be doing at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair next week.

 

Diamond Comics Distributors has found a buyer, reports Publishers Weekly. Whether there will be enough left over to pay all the creditors could be touch and go. Many comics publishers who used Diamond have been scrambling to find other distributors in the interim.

 

Written Word Media were at the Future of Publishing/ Writer MBA conference, and they have an in depth article about what they learned there. They also have some great takeaways to get you thinking about your publishing business.

 

Alia Habib has an interesting article where she sat down with five book publicity people are asked questions about the best way of getting their attention with a book project. The package matters.

 

Phil Simon has a guest article on Jane Friedman’s blog about a new writing tool that can streamline your workflow. If you are looking for help in sorting out all your projects this might be useful. It has a free tier.

 

James Scott Bell has a great article on the melted butter of writing or in other words metaphors and similes. He has some great examples. Do you use metaphors in your writing?

 

In The Craft Section,

Relationship Conflicts- prolong the agony- Jerry Jenkins- Bookmark

How to use the thesaurus properly- September Fawkes

How to use show don’t tell- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Consider your characters age- Tiffany Yates Martin - Bookmark

If the relationship is the primary story- September Fawkes- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to thrive without viral marketing- Janee Butterfield- Bookmark

The best author promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri

From Readers to review- Written Word Media- Bookmark

How to market a book- Reedsy

Maximising Backlist Sales- SPA Girls- Bookmark!

 

To Finish,

Sometimes the writing and publishing world can leave you feeling like a used tissue. That is where having a writing buddy to share the highs and lows with is so important.

Every year Katie Weiland has a week where she helps writers find a writing buddy. Hop on over to her blog and scroll down to comments. You never know, you might find your life-long writing buddy who helps you to scale new heights, propels you to new projects and has your back like you have theirs. 

And if you already have a writing buddy- Make time to celebrate them. You don’t need an excuse. Reach out and say you value them, with cake. 

An AI won’t do that.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my 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.

 

N.B.* The Atlantic has been having a sensational week- AI Theft and War Plans. All it takes is a courageous writer to speak truth to power. They give us hope that we can do the same.

 

Photo by Pixel Rich on Unsplash

Looking for Rainbows!

 

In Publishing News this week,

Microsoft launched a non-fiction publishing arm publishing original research, ideas and insights from the intersection of science, technology, and business. Publisher’s Weekly reports on this venture that looks like a mashup of a research journal and a vanity imprint.

 

Sharjah International Book Fair clocks up nearly 2 million visitors. Publishing Perspectives looks at the huge impact of the fair.

Bologna is starting to ramp up its planning and guests five months out from the big children’s book fair scheduled for the end of March. With the roaring success of the Chinese Children’s Book Fair will they be implementing any new ideas?

 

There is a lot of comment around the news of the HarperCollins AI deal that has publishers and writers talking. Publishers Weekly looks in depth at the implications for agents and writers. Under the terms HC want to split 50/50 the pot of cash for allowing AI to scrape the book. Everybody has an opinion. Authors Guild has come out with their recommendation. Don’t take the money. Publishers have a different view, it looks so sweet and backlists are just sitting there.

 

Joanna Penn commented on her podcast that in the space of a year the mood of authors has changed around using AI tools. She is just back from Author Nation – the rebranded 20books Vegas conference (also known as the biggest writers conference in the world.) AI can offer shortcuts and great tools to help with mundane tasks but it shouldn’t be used to create the content. 

Josh Bernoff writes about how his developmental editing business is being impacted by AI writing. It’s harder to edit AI generated content because it is inconsistent, repetitive, and a grammar mess. AI shouldn’t replace your own writing voice.

 

Meanwhile, after the election, the publishing industry is trying to make plans or sense of what might be coming down the track in the brave new world after January. Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard details the lawsuits that face publishing from the president elect already and how this might be a sign of things to come. It looks like a lucrative time to be a lawyer.

Kathleen Schmidt from Publishing Confidential points out where publishing can learn from the election.

 

Jennie Liu writes about the authors note… that’s the page in your novel where you write about your influences. Readers love them… authors struggle.

 

Michelle Baker has a post on the five fears of writers and how to defeat them. (Don’t reach for the alcohol just yet.)

James Scott Bell reassures a young writer that writing can be good again in his excellent piece on writing past discouragement. 

Ellen Buikema has a great post on Writers In The Storm about Writing Anxiety and how to overcome it. 

Look after your mental health- give yourself healthy writing challenges, check in with your writing friends. Remember, you write so your readers can escape from stressful lives. You are vital to each other and the general population. Be the rainbow after the storm!

 

In The Craft Section,

How to trust yourself as a writer- K M Weiland- Bookmark

What are the stakes- how to find out- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Nailing teen dialogue in YA Fiction- Kris Maze

Humorous scenes  – Dale Smith- Bookmark

Balancing showing with telling- C S Lakin

 

In the Marketing Section,

18 book marketing tips from the trenches- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Harnessing the power of AI for author branding- Kimberley Grabas- Bookmark

Identify your most successful marketing paths- Emily Enger- Bookmark

Colleen Story on Selling at Craft Fairs- YouTube video

The best concepts of Write to Market-Karen Whiting

 

To Finish

Look Rainbows!

 

It’s Black Friday sales time so here are some writer focused deals. Some of these are time sensitive so don’t wait around. 

 

The Dream Team – Angela And Becca have a roundup of some great writer deals for software and craft books.

 

Don’t forget Storybundle still has their collection of writing craft books up until the end of November if you are looking for good cheap craft books. 

 

Katie Weiland has 25% off all her courses and books. (I snapped up her new revised expanded edition on structure. I loved her first edition!)

 

David Gaughran has links to the EXCELLENT AppSumo deal from Deposit Photos. This is a total no brainer if you do your own book covers or ad images. $49 lifetime deal on 100 stock photos or videos- limited time! Dave also has a video showing how to use two stock images to generate a whole ad campaign. 

 

Amid the depressing news there are little gems to make you smile. And these deals might just help with that.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my 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 the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Agustin Gunawan on Unsplash

Looking For A Hero

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The regular news has been dominated by the Election in the United States of America. The world is going to change. Publishers are already looking at how the election result will impact their business.

If you publish books in/for the LGBTQ+ community, you may have a harder time in the business according to James Folta writing for LitHub. Authors against Book Bans took the time to read the Project 2025 book outlining a conservative agenda for the USA  (all 900 pages) but very early on they were confronted with some disturbing statements that will wreak havoc on the publishing community.

 

Libraries are also looking at the challenges they will face as the result of the election. With conservative states promoting Book Banning some libraries are thinking of adopting Idaho’s model of banning children from libraries so they can’t be prosecuted if the child sees a book that would be problematic e.g. Anne Frank’s Diary or How To Be An Antiracist.

 

Elsewhere in the world of publishing, Sharjah International Bookfair and the Publishers Conference was making news. The Bookfair starts today with over 2500 publishers from 112 countries. This Bookfair is going from strength to strength. Mark Williams offers an interesting view on the importance of the Sharjah Bookfair and how quickly it is becoming a fixture in publishers diaries.

With a dedicated free trade area for anything book related it’s no wonder that big printers are seeing the benefits of setting up shop there. John Ingram of IngramSpark and Lightening Source was interviewed about the benefits to the Print on Demand community. 

 

Publishers are embracing AI after condemning it. Translators are eyeing Simon and Schuster sideways as they committed to using AI for translating into English books published in other languages. First up Dutch through the Dutch publishing house that S&S acquired this year.

 

It's November and usually writers would have been settling in for NaNoWriMo. But news has been scarce of late due to changes in the structure of the nonprofit organization. If you have decided to turn off the news and just hunker down to write you can still join in with NaNoWriMo – maybe aim for 40,000 words instead.

 

If you are looking for a news escape and want to dive into some craft reading, Kevin Anderson has curated the annual November Storybundle of writing craft books. The Storybundle offers great craft books for cheap, money going directly to authors and a charity. Wins all around. This year there is even a year’s subscription to The Indie Author magazine.

 

Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur has a swag of free tools for writers, he has just launched a little app that can keep an eye on all your reviews. Check out what Writerwatch can do for you.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has an excellent post on special editions. This goes into detail about crowdfunding the edition, print runs, how to get special detailing all sorts of nuts and bolts information. If you have a special project that you want as a limited edition this is the article you need to read. 

 

Katie Weiland has a great article on the most important characters in your novel. She identifies three that you must have for your structure to work. The protagonist, the antagonist, and the relationship character. This is a super post on writing craft.

 

James Scott Bell has been looking at old movies for inspiration and he talks about the literal mirror moments in films that do the same things in a well written book.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to avoid author intrusion in the first person- Becca Puglisi-Bookmark

7 tips for finding perfect character names- Becca Puglisi

6 powerful techniques to escape tedious descriptions- Sandy Vaile- Bookmark

3 questions to ask about the protagonists goal- Susan DeFreitas- Bookmark

How to approach editing- Stephen Geez

 

In The Marketing Section,

The best time of the year to sell books- Rachel Thompson

Maximise Goodreads giveaways- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Getting Beta Readers- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Catalog sales campaigns, pros and cons- Authors Red Door- Bookmark

6 ways to boost author website visits – Rob Bignell

 

 

To Finish,

It can be tempting to wallow in the doom and gloom of an unexpected outcome. Although most people agree that wallowing can really hit your mental health. (Chuck Wendig -Terribleminds.) Many writers take their pain and rage and use it to fuel their writing. Others look objectively at how to promote the change they want to see in the world. 

Donald Mass on Writer Unboxed has a post asking if Heroes Are Obsolete. He suggests using your fiction to create the heroes you want to see in the world. 

I am reminded of the student protests in Asia where the hunger games salute became synonymous with defiance against a military regime. The power of a fictional character transcended language and culture to be a symbol for others. 

Writers have the power to change attitudes. It might be time to get your Big Damn Hero pants on.

 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? 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 the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Reynolds Those who know... Know.

Just When You Thought It was Safe

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Gremlins got into my blog and sent people off on a wild goose chase looking for my post last week. I am still trying to fix it so eagle eyed readers will notice that my header has gone back to the old old Blogspot address.

If you missed last week’s post, Writing Resistance, you can check it out here. And if you are a week or so behind you can check out the 800^th blog post here. Thank you to the readers who alerted me to the problem. You are the best!

 

As we wrap up October, National Book Month (US) The Independent Publishers Association published an article on The Copyright Alliance's website about the importance of copyright and the current moves to allow AI to erode it.

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard highlights the success that educational publisher Pearson is having with AI and customized lesson plans. I was caught by the last line on the continued relevance of print in the classroom. I want to cling on to the printed book with two hands but the future might have other ideas.

 

Two trade authors who were having moderate success separately have teamed up at the request of their publishers to produce books. Publisher’s Weekly reports on the pairing and why they are now having more success as part of a team. This could be a great move or a horrible can of worms depending on their publisher support.

 

Scribd, almost the last of the all-you -can-eat digital subscription model, has now bowed to the inevitable and is introducing tiered pricing. The unlimited digital reading experience was great to get people into the eco system but whale readers, who read a book a day, can quickly have reading subscription services in the red. They read faster than the subscription model can make money.

 

Publishing Perspectives have a quick run down on the publisher’s conference in Sharjah that is happening next week. They are getting bigger every year.

 

Dan Holloway takes a look at the results of the Written Word Media Survey and there is a big chunk of change going into romance and fantasy authors pockets. 

 

John Gilstrap wrote this week of an unnerving experience when an AI muscled in on his Zoom call. This surprised everyone but what happened next was cause for concern. 

 

The Alliance of Independent authors have shone a spotlight onto contract clauses to watch out for in serialized fiction. It is useful to glance over these stories so you are familiar with contract language and what to look out for.

 

Jane Friedman looks at the recent moans about Print On Demand and the perceived lower quality of these books coming out from big publishers. For years the printing industry has been asking publishers to standardize their print sizes. With Print on Demand they may be getting their way at last.

 

Amazon is tightening up on author claims of being 'best selling' and 'award winning.' If you use these slogans in your marketing be prepared to show the evidence. Penny Sansevieri has a run down on what is happening. 

 

It’s always interesting to drop into Maria Popova’s blog The Marginalien to explore language and all its little quirks. Recently she explored the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig and shared some beautiful words for feelings that we don’t have a name for. This is an article to savor and a book to buy the word nerd in your life.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to end a scene- James Scott Bell- Bookmark

How to use Goal Motivation and Conflict- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Why conflict drives a story- Jerry Jenkins- Bookmark

7 tips to avoid overwriting- C S Lakin- Bookmark

How to hook readers with character descriptions- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section

5 reasons to consider translating- Angela Ackerman

Best communities for marketing- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

The ultimate book cover reveal – Sandra Beckwith-Bookmark

ISBN’s made easy- Comprehensive article – N.B. ISBN’s are free in NZ

9 Key reasons why your book is not selling.- Laurence O’Bryan

 

To Finish

If you haven’t discovered Canva yet and yes there are some authors who haven’t. Check out this powerful friendly design site. There are heaps of templates for marketing as well as Book Cover designs, banners, Ads, Video’s Reels etc. Canva is free and it also has a paid tier. The free tier can give you pretty much everything. Author, Jeevani Charika has a YouTube channel to help authors get the most out of Canva. Canva has just dropped a whole lot of new features. Jeevani shows you how you can use them. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? 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 all your kind virtual coffee love, 

Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Nikola Tasic on Unsplash

 

Reaching A Milestone

 

In Publishing News this week

 

It’s Frankfurt Bookfair time and publishers are showing off their booths on social media.

Publishers Weekly has a report on the first of the big stage moments – the CEO’s of 3 of the biggest publishing houses talking about aspects of modern publishing and the challenges to change the industry.

 

Publishing Perspectives has an in depth chat with Philippians publishers who are guests of honour at Frankfurt about their publishing business and the challenges of a western publishing model. 

 

Amazon has released a new Kindle according to GoodEreader. Spotify have expanded their audio book business into Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. The numbers of books in these languages are growing all the time. 

 

Nielsen Book data have released their half yearly global report on which countries are reading and what they were buying. Fiction was more popular than non fiction. Many countries sales were staying the same or dipping slightly except for New Zealand which has had a nearly 10% decline in book buying. (Come On Kiwi’s- buy a book!)

 

The Guardian has an article on why bookshops are the new cool place to shop. It seems everyone is looking for the curated experiences and community that bookshops bring to the shopping experience.

 

While bookshops might be the place to hang out, this is not so true for the writers who provide the books. The income of writers has been steadily declining. In a recent article many writers who in the past would have been receiving a modest income are now struggling. ‘It’s a hobby not a profession anymore.’

 

Joanna Penn has been celebrating a milestone with her podcast. It has racked up over 10 million downloads. She examines the highs and learnings she has gained from having a popular podcast.

 

James Scott Bell has a great post on how writing can sometimes feel like trudging over the tar pits. It’s a wry look at the writer’s dilemma – when the book is not working where do you cut. 

 

Katie Weiland has made it to the end of her Structure series with a close look at resolution. This has been a super series and if you have been following along you should definitely check out her book on Structure. (It’s really good!)

 

In The Craft Section,

6 cheats to tell well- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Clues to a great story- The Pixar talk- Bookmark

Using Chekov’s gun strategically- Kevin Tumlinson

How to write a short story- ProWritingAid

Murky middles and how to strengthen them- Kristen Melville- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Authors are assets not competition- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

Finding Readers who write reviews- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

When you need an author website- Grace Bialeckie

How to make a book trailer- Reedsy 

We are all marketers- Ann Marie Nieves Bookmark

 

Finish

This is my 800^th blog post. I feel like I have been talking publishing and writing forever. 

The blog has given me into some interesting insights into the publishing world. I think we can say that the experiment of the Kindle as not killed publishing. It is continually evolving. It has been interesting to see the rise of audiobooks and the changes that Indie Publishers have forced the traditional publishing houses to take. 

Staying nimble in this business is the key to success. I hope that you have learned along with me and that I have not bored you. 

A huge thanks to those who have been with me from the beginning. I’m still interested in this world, so I’ll keep going for a little while longer.

All celebrations should have cake… I’m off to find one.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? 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, or celebratory cake, I appreciate all your kind virtual coffee love, 

Thanks.

 

 

Choosing Your Words

 

In Publishing News this week

 

It’s Banned Book week in the US and there are many different ways authors and publishers are drawing attention to the rise of challenged books in school sysyems. For the second year Penguin Random House are touring states with their Banned Book Wagon handing out banned books everywhere. Publishing Perspectives has a great article on what they are doing including the whopping number of books they are donating.

 

Following the bankruptcy of United Book Distributors a few months ago in the UK, the ripples are being felt throughout the UK book community reports Publishers Weekly. Verso publishers are running a Kickstarter campaign just to get their books from the distributor warehouse to another distributor. With 1 million pounds owed in book sales they are very pessimistic about receiving any money back.

 

Publishers Weekly also reports on the latest statistics on the publishing industry. Over the last 30 years, jobs in the industry have declined by 40%. Where have they gone asks Publishers Weekly. Amalgamations, bankruptcies, declining reading populations, digital publishing, rising printing costs… take your pick.

Bucking the trend is Poland who have reported rising demand for books. What are they doing right? 

 

The publishing industry in the US is crossing their fingers that TikTok lives past the US ban in some form or other… or rather Booktok. Super book girl Sam Missingham has put together a new platform connecting Booktok influencers with publishers. Dan Holloway has all the details. 

 

Recently Draft2Digital ran a survey asking authors how much they used AI tools and for what parts of their writing and editing. One of the survey questions asked whether authors would license their work to AI companies. I was surprised at the results.

 

Anne Handley has an interesting blog post on How To Write Like Robots Can’t, it’s all in the little details, like metaphor and word play. 

 

Chloe Gong was interviewed by Elle magazine on what it was like be an author online. Booktok influences had a hand in turning Chloe into a phenomenon but it’s not all Booktok. Chloe sees being online differently. Her books are great too- Shakespeare stories set in 1920’s China- addictive reading according to the teen in our house. 

 

Joanna Penn has a great interview with Mark Leslie Lefebvre on selling books at live events. He has some nifty tricks up his sleeve. Check out the podcast /transcript.

 

Kelley Way looks at the five most important clauses in a publishing contract. This is a must read for anyone who has or wants a publishing contract. Inside the very fine print after how much money you might get is some important information that often gets overlooked.

 

If you had to start your publishing career all over again, what would you do? Recently Craig Boyack published an article on what he has been doing starting a new genre and pen name. Everything completely different to what he wrote before. Interesting insights into what is useful now for starting up a new brand.

 

Russel Nohelty has an interesting article on How to Market Myself without Feeling Gross About It. This is a topic that every author struggles with. A great read.

 

Cynthia Swanson writes about how she went from debut New York Times bestseller to Publishing her 3^rd novel herself. There is a name for this, Orphaned Sequel Syndrome. When the career you thought you were going to have gets cut short and what you can do about it. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Layering your romance scenes- C S Lakin

5 pitfalls to avoid with protagonists- Savannah Cordova- Bookmark

Vulnerability not likeability is the key- Susan De Freitas- Bookmark

Why you lose motivation- Suzanne Lieurance

Story Structure the 3^rd act- K M Weiland- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

7 secrets to make your Manuscript stand out- Top Author

Social Media for authors-Evergreen authors- Bookmark

7 simple steps to build your brand- Draft2Digital

Creative reader magnets – Bang2Write- Bookmark

3 things you can do to get amazing blurbs- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Sometimes events get up your nose and you find yourself on a rant. But should you write about it? James Scott Bell has an interesting blog post on writing while you are angry. Does the writing calm you down or rev you up even more? James has some great tips for when you are just burning to say something and putting it in a novel feels like a good idea.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my 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 the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic Photo by Johnson Wang on Unsplash