Looking For A Life Ring.

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Just after I published last week’s blog news broke about Meta forcing a book take down. I published a note about it in my Substack blog version. The Streisand Effect is in full flight as many are picking up the book to see what the fuss is about. A tell all about the Meta company by an ex -employee. The author is barred from talking about the book. Kathleen Schmidt has the details. The Kiwi author was due to be interviewed on our state radio last Friday but the take down went into effect forcing the termination of the interview.

 

The London Bookfair is over for another year and Publishing Perspectives talks about their impressions of the fair. It looks like the new venue isn’t wonderful, but the deal hall is getting bigger. What happens when you sacrifice comfort for turnout at a bookfair? 

 

While the UK had a seven week consulting period on AI and copyright, the US has just had a three week consultation period on the same issue. Publishing Perspectives looks at publishers viewpoints on this and their warning over the fair use defense. US publishers were scrambling to put in a submission. This is a comprehensive article, and they draw on responses from the Associations of American Publishers. They quote from the American government AI action plan.

The American “AI Action Plan” is not as detailed and structured an approach as the British proposal is. Instead, the US plan—described in the current administration’s fondness for comparative bravura—”will define priority policy actions to enhance America’s position as an AI powerhouse and prevent unnecessarily burdensome requirements from hindering private sector innovation. With the right governmental policies, continued US artificial intelligence leadership will promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”

 

Publishers Weekly has an interesting article on a survey of Spanish language publishing professionals 75% of whom believe that the adoption of AI is unavoidable. Diving into the article there is a sort of cost benefit analysis. It is a great tool, but it could threaten jobs. Is there an upside?

 

Mark Williams points out that the robot rebellion is underway with an AI refusing to do the work of a coder. Mark also looks at lessons for book publishers learned from watching television morph into streaming. He says that publishing history is active resistance, passive acceptance, and eventual embrace. 

 

Bloomsbury is expanding its imprints. Harry Potter may have saved them, but Sarah J Mass is keeping them going and now they are acknowledging this by having a dedicated imprint for Science Fiction and Fantasy. It only took them 25 years.

 

Spotify is expanding its audiobook platform to include short form audiobooks from Indie publishers. Dan Holloway writes about this latest move and who will benefit from it.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has an interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy on Marketing and what he sees as important for 2025.

 

Darcy Pattison has in interesting article on using AI to do preliminary copy editing. This is how she saves herself time but while she uses these and other tools she does go through a human editor as well.

 

P J Parrish has a great article on giving your secondary characters some love. Do they even have a growth arc in your story? 

 

Oliver Fox has a guest article on Katie Weilands blog which explores an alternative narrative structure. This is thought provoking stuff. We all have a favourite book that seems to break the rules of classic storytelling structure. This approach maybe the structure that resonates with you.

 

In The Craft Section,

2 fantastic articles from September Fawkes on Structuring scenes and Alternative views of basic story structure- Bookmark Both!

How to master the passage of time- C S Lakin

How to write a likable character- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

The 5 leaf clover structure of story genre- Storygrid- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

How to create email press releases to journalists- Sandra Beckwith

SEO for authors in 2025- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Pricing strategies to sell more books- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

10 tips for public appearances- Kathryn Craft- Bookmark

What do you do when the book reviewer says yes- Karen Cioffi

 

To Finish,

Who are you online? Michelle Cutler writing on Jane Friedman’s blog has a warning. If you don’t define and present yourself online, others will. How do you define yourself? Has it changed from the first time you put up a website?

 

With all the future talk of AI now becoming present talk, and in your face AI, it is worth dropping into Joanna Penn’s website to checking out all the articles and interviews she has done on the future of publishing. She offers ways to approach the changes that are now here and how to use them. Joanna advocates for using AI as a tool and doubling down on human experiences for your readers. 

We are in another publishing revolution. It might be time to hunt down a life ring for comfort and safety. 

 

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.

 

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Listen Up

 

In Publishing News this week.

 

Spare a thought for the publishing community on the American Continent. With the new tariffs kicking in this week, the publishing community has been looking at their supply chains and wincing. They can’t print in China, the tariffs will hit them. They can print in America, but the bulk of their paper supply comes from Canada. If you want a Spanish language book- it comes from Mexico. Publishers Weekly takes a look at what else is going to hit hard for the publishing and writing community.

 

The London Book Fair is next week, and the International Publishing Associations president will be talking about sustainability and the importance of books for today’s issues. Publishing Perspectives has a great article on the president who knows first hand how books are important in a repressed society. “Our weapon is our knowledge.”

 

In the audiobook world- The Audies (awards for audiobooks) have just been awarded. If you check the list, they have awards in all sorts of fields. Many actors are featured as narrators. 

 

While the dream of a full cast of characters with famous actors might be beyond the purse strings of many authors, the AI voiced audiobook is getting more attention. Eleven Labs has launched an app that publishes audiobooks on their own site. It’s almost a one stop shop. Also making waves is their new deal with Spotify which offers 100% royalties to the author. 

Eleven Labs has a voice cloning service which might be useful to think about. Clone your voice and then publish your audio books. It could be a good option if you can’t pay for studio time to narrate yourself.

 

If you have ever wondered how to get a look inside preview on your website, this article from The New Publishing Standard will be of interest. Bowker has partnered with Indie Commerce – the commerce arm of the American Booksellers Association to make Book2look widely available.

 

Have you spent long hours in the university library trying to track down source material for your professor? Spare a thought for those institutions whose job it is to provide you the wide-ranging collection of sources. Academic libraries are being hit with huge subscription fees to access research from publishers. Publisher’s Weekly reports that the move is destabilizing the library and university press market.

This new move is punishing…right when we need access to knowledge. Sadly, the altruistic reasons for the internet - where you would be able to access the worlds knowledge wherever you are - is now paywalled behind data bases who are charging $25,000 for access.

 

Are writers uniquely vulnerable to getting scammed? Victoria Strauss gets asked this question a lot. She has been writing about writer scams for over twenty five years and there is always something new. We are not alone but we may be an easier target.

 

When you are eyeball deep in your manuscript it can be difficult to figure out where you should put breaks in the story. You don’t want to confuse the reader but ramping up tension is better if you leave the reader hanging. What to do? Reavis Wortham recently tackled this dilemma, with the article Give Me a Break on the Killzone blog.

 

Katie Weiland has a great craft article on your character’s three choices. They must have a fundamental choice, a primary choice, and a secondary choice. This is a print out and study article for learning about crafting characters.

 

In The Craft Section,

The top 20 developmental mistakes- Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

Deep POV checklist- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

Scars tell a story- Sue Coletta

Section breaks and how to use them- Kathy Steinemann

Best ways to pace your story- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

What to do with one star reviews- Sandra Beckwith-Bookmark

Bookmarketing planning and strategy- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Social Media for authors- Evergreen Authors

How to write an Author Bio- Penny Sansevieri

Marketing for introverts- Laura Gallier

 

To Finish,

Bands have discovered that playing live and selling merch is almost the only way they can make a living in these streaming times. Writers are now seeing the benefits of selling extra physical products, but you need to be discerning. You don’t want your brand on a crappy product. Check out this comprehensive article from the Alliance of Independent Authors about Author Merchandise. It can be a nice sideline along with audiobooks and writer’s special edition formats. It’s your IP. If it wasn’t important there wouldn’t be a clause in the standard publishing contract about it. 

 

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.

 

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Going Back To The Quill

 

In publishing news this week,

 

Last week I was traveling so I didn’t post a weekly roundup. This week is the last weekly roundup for the year. Down Under it’s supposed to be Summer but the rain and the southerly blowing from Antarctica are screaming Winter vibes where I live. 

As I look over the year, Artificial Intelligence and its effect on the Publishing World, from outright abhorrence to tempered acceptance in some quarters has been the major story of the year. There has hardly been a week where I haven’t reported on some AI story. 

This week, Publishing Perspectives reports that the UK Publishers Association sees the UK government announcement of open consultation, to inform the legal framework around artificial intelligence and copyright, as the make or break moment for the publishing industry. All creative people have a vested interest in the outcome. The CEO of the Publishers Association describes it as “a generationally important moment for the creative industries.” 

Techcrunch reports that the HarperCollins CEO spoke at a recent conference citing Spotify’s entry into the audiobook market and AI’s impact on the publishing industry as the most important news of the year for the future of publishing. Techcrunch has more interesting commentary from the CEO.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors also reports on AI, with lawsuits being filed against new AI on the block Perplexity Ai. This AI company writes mini essays on topics in response to questions. But where is it getting the information from?

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard stops for a moment to castigate luddites for trying to hold onto the past when the future is changing everything around them. He is a school teacher in one of the poorest countries in the world and describes what it is like to teach a class with only one book, in a world where even dodgy internet can still deliver information to the most isolated communities. It is a luxury to be a luddite in these times.

 

Jane Friedman reminds new authors that publishing trade fairs are not for them. The world of the big trade fair is about rights selling and won’t get you that coveted publishing or agent contract. As people start gearing up for the Spring trade fairs next year, be mindful that there is always a scammer that will promise you publishing unicorns and rainbows if you will just hand them money.

 

It’s the end of the year so Publishers Weekly reports on what they think were the biggest stories of the year. I’m not sure I would agree with their list though. What do you think?

 

Being the end of the year, thoughts turn to reflecting on what you have learned. Katie Weiland looks at 8 important lessons she has learned over sixteen years and being the fabulous writing teacher that she is… it is all on craft.

 

Penny Sansevieri has a checklist of the top fifteen marketing things that you should revise or revamp to get ready for the new year.

 

Elizabeth Craig points out where new mystery writers are going wrong, they are forgetting to include the reader as a fellow sleuth. Keeping the clues to yourself is not how mysteries are supposed to work. Meanwhile, Gabriela Pereira of DIYMFA has an interesting article on why home improvement is like writing a book. 

 

It's the Christmas season and so gift giving is happening all over the place. If you are looking for writer gifts here are two sites to give you inspiration. Reedsy has their 2024 gift collection of goodies for writers. Etsy have a similar sized collection including candles that have that old library smell (without the dust.)

 

In The Craft Section,

Writing novellas- Tara Deal

Tough love approach to backstory- Barbara Linn Probst-

Bookmark

Three ways to set your character apart- Lucy Hay- Bookmark

Three act analysis of Pride and Prejudice- Gabriela Pereira

8 elements to create tension- Margot Conor- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

5 do’s and don’t’s to save money- Penny Sansevieri- Great advice!

15 book marketing articles from 2024- Sandra Beckwith- All you need, really.

Charles Duhigg talks Nonfiction book proposals with Joanna Penn- Excellent!

 

To Finish

In our family we mark important educational milestones with a Christmas gift of the same significance. On starting high school, a nice watch, on starting tertiary education, an engraved fountain pen. For the postgraduates in the house the fountain pen is similar to their working tools. But the youngest will be going into a completely sound orientated field. She still got a fountain pen, but it was of the feather quill variety which I note turned up in one of the writer’s gifts lists.

I came across this interesting article on fountain pens and their ability to unlock the creative in us, so it’s still an appropriate gift. If you need an excuse for getting an old-fashioned feather quill and ink, it could unlock your next fulfilling creative project.

 

Have a restful and safe holiday season. I will be back half way through next month after I have recovered from the extensive family traveling and gathering schedules that our end of year revolves around. 

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? The last newsletter for the year coming soon, 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 for Christmas, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

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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.

 

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Writing Resistance

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

AI is back in the news in publishing, specifically how big the international petition calling for a halt to unlicensed use of creative work for training AI is. Publishing Perspectives looks at the big players that have signed and how critical this is to put a stake in the ground for creative livelihood.

 

Frankfurt has wrapped up. One of the interesting sessions which reflects the uneasy feelings of global politics was the session on Storytelling as Resistance. This article has some great statements which could be important to reflect on in the coming months. This one caught my eye. “Storytelling is a tool for human rights…”

 

Publishers Weekly has an article on a new imprint from Penguin partnering with John Green- Crash Course. This builds on the popular Crash Course YouTube channel that he started with his brother Hank over a decade ago. These books are aimed at young adults/students non fiction. The first book on tuberculosis has a 500,000 print run ordered. Just contemplate that last sentence again. If you haven’t investigated Crash Course and you have a teen getting ready for exams point them in this direction. My PHD student child swears by the physics courses which helped her at Uni.

Rachel Thompson has an in depth article looking at the prevailing scams targeting authors at the moment. Facebook scammers are quite prevalent. Scammers are getting more sophisticated so check out this article. Rachel has quite a few tips to show you what to look for. 

 

Publishers Weekly also has an article on Lit RPG becoming a mainstream genre rather than an interesting niche genre for gaming aficionados. Lit RPG is Literature based on Role Playing Games. Ready Player One was the crossover hit. But it now includes anime and other big interests of today’s young adults.

 

Thomas Umstattd has a deep dive into the two act chiastic storytelling structure that is used in anime and manga. He looks at best sellers over the years that have used this eastern form of storytelling. Dracula fits this storytelling structure as does Goodnight Moon.

 

Kim Bullock shares her journey of Promoting Literacy with a side of Activism on Writer Unboxed. This is a subtle form of putting a stake in the literary ground without confronting or using a loud hailer to get your point across.

 

Stephen Pressfield, known for his popular books on creative resistance has been writing a really interesting series of posts on how to get to the 'I love you stage' in your writing. This is not just for romance writers. There is an I love you stage in all genres. Check out this post and then deep dive into the series.

 

Marissa Graff has an interesting article on when you start to lose your readers trust. 

 

In the Craft Section,

How to master story rhythm- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

2 elements you need to catch readers- C S Lakin

Types of POV head hopping- K M Weiland- Bookmark

5 plot hacks that can save your novel- Susan DeFreitas- Bookmark

9 ways to craft the perfect opening line- Ryan Lanz

 

In the Marketing Section,

7 ways to promote your book on Goodreads- Rob Bignall

Book marketing on a budget- Jenn DePaula- Bookmark

How to write a book press release- Fussy Librarian- Bookmark

Master consistency to promote an indie published book- Penny Sansevieri

The must have author success checklist- podcast from Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Joanna Penn has a great interview with Rachel McLean about scaling your author business. This interview had me thinking about all the possible ways to spin off stories, work with different tools and ways to work differently. If you are wondering how to scale the next mountain in your author journey this is a must listen or read. Absolutely fascinating.

 

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 ALEXANDRE DINAUT on Unsplash

Accessing your Fearless Superpower

 

 

This week in Publishing News

Coming soon are the new European Union laws on accessibility. This matters as digital books, if they are being sold in Europe, will need to comply with the accessibility guidelines. Publishing Perspectives reports that publishers are already asking for more clarification. Meanwhile Dan Holloway of The Alliance of Independent Authors has written a quick breakdown of what you need to do. First, use the Epub format.

 

Frankfurt Bookfair is ready to start, and Porter Anderson interviewed the fellows in the Special Program. They are all publishers who are near or in war zones. This is an interesting article that shines a light of the problems of publishing in a war zone.

 

Mark Williams looks at how Korea is managing to be nimble as they stay ahead of trends. This is interesting as smaller publishers can quickly pivot into new genre trends. It’s all about Horror right now but Happiness is around the corner.

 

Written Word Media has a comprehensive guide to Tax Deductions for authors. Even though the article is skewed towards the American tax system there are still items that go across all taxed nations. Take a look you might be able to claim back some tax.

 

Kevin Anderson has curated another StoryBundle of Writing Craft books. StoryBundle is a great way to get books – You pay what you think they are worth- The Author gets the money- A charity gets a slice, and everybody is happy. Don’t forget that reference books can be claimed on Tax as professional development.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed Ariel Curry on non fiction writing and marketing recently. If you have some non fiction projects that you want to dig your teeth into, check out the podcast transcript.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has a comprehensive guide on the Ethical and Practical use of AI for authors. This is a very useful article to help you understand how to use AI tools. Publishers are already getting on the AI train. You don’t need to use it for creativity but it could speed up those mundane challenging jobs that are part and parcel of the authors world.

 

Colleen Story has a great post on How to identify your writing business relationship type. She uses 5 well known stories to help you pinpoint where your writer business is and how you could help it get better.

 

The dream team of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have ticked over nine years with their great website One Stop For Writers. Take a look at all their resources and take advantage of the birthday discount. 

 

Greer McAlister has an interesting post in Writer Unboxed about ideas and how you can have many of them but they aren’t necessarily book ideas. Figuring out which ones are book ideas is the hard part.

 

Katie Weiland is up to the climax in her story structure series of posts. This is where the story lives or dies.

In The Craft Section,

All the different words for hard- Kathy Steinemann

Vulnerability in fiction- Angela Ackerman

The book in your head vs the book you write- Kathleen McCleary - Bookmark

Beta reader options- Lisa Poisso- Bookmark

7 tips for perfect character names- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Writing good bio’s- Bang 2 Write- Bookmark

How to be a great guest blogger- Sandra Beckwith

Lessons in Business Cards and Bookmarks- Debbie Burke- Bookmark

How Substack is revolutionizing writer careers- Jaime Buckley

How to get your book into libraries- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Sometimes the last thing you want to do is admit that you are an author. Aside from the inane comments like – have I read anything that you have written, or I’ve got an idea for a book, you write it and we’ll split the money, writers can feel shame that they have written something that didn’t quite work. Jennie Case writes about these feelings on Jane Friedman’s blog. It is natural to feel hesitant when you put your writing out there. But you do it. This is what Bridey Thelen-Heidel calls Fearless Writing. How to look the world in the eye and write and live fearlessly.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter to go out. 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.

 

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