Thursday, June 27, 2024

Author Anxiety

 


 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Readmagine conference is underway in Madrid and after the opening keynote from Madeline McIntosh from the brand new Authors Equity publishing house, a roundtable discussed  ‘publishing in the age of anxiety.’ This has been a theme through all the bookfairs this year. Publishing Perspectives reports on the big discussion points.

 

Authors Against Book Bans was officially launched this week in America. They have 1500 authors signed up to support librarians and schools who are battling on the front line of freedom to read.

 

Dan Holloway reports on Spotify bringing in a new tier to placate the Spotify music fans. It won’t have audiobooks available in it, but if you pay a dollar more…. Meanwhile, a Spotify executive who left the company has ventured out into publishing and is creating deals with Simon and Schuster for all things media. Watch out for even more rights grabbing in contracts as publishing companies become media companies with publishing as a side hustle.

 

Dave Morris writes about traditionally published authors being told that it is super hard to make eBooks. He was asked if this was true by a best-selling author whose publishing company assured him it was.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors decided to canvas their authors for their best tips for success in 2024. They came up with 25 tips and tricks for success.

 

Jane Friedman has an interesting guest post from author brand strategist Andrea Guevara, on being yourself so others can find you.

 

Joanna Penn has an inspirational interview with disabled writer Daniel Bate on how he overcomes his challenges and manages to write, and what sort of technology and apps allow him to do it. This article has been written by Daniel using dictation software as he is blind, paralysed, and dyslexic.

 

Dave Gaughran has a new series starting on his YouTube channel. How to turn your book cover into a killer Facebook ad. If you haven’t come across Dave before I recommend you check him out. He is highly regarded by everyone who is anyone in the Indie Author community for the quality and expertise of his advice, all of which is free.

 

Penny Sansevieri looks at why your Amazon Ads might not be working and Sandra Beckwith talks about author technophobia and how to overcome it.

 

Written Word media have a comprehensive post on 100 book marketing ideas for authors.


Katie Weiland has a great post this week on 9 ways to maintain your creative focus while you juggle writing and life.

 

How do you know when you are telling in a story? Check out this great post from Suzy Vadori on how to spot the signs.

 

In The Craft Section,

Choosing the chosen one- Vaughn Roycroft- Bookmark


The most important thing to include the story- Angela Ackerman


Getting the best response from your characters- Janice Hardy


How are Archetypes different from Tropes- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark


Inner conflict -the driving force- C S Lakin- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

Beyond the words, the impact of a brand style Deb Vanasse-Bookmark


Using hashtags-Kathy Steinemann


Using Bookfunnel as a landing page – Katie Cross-Bookmark


Canva tips for authors- Jeevani Charika- Bookmark


Book marketing strategies- Dale Roberts

 

To Finish,

You know the scenario… you are at a party and inevitably someone asks what you do? You tell them and you get the reply, ‘Have I heard of you?’ Aside from being annoying – how would I know what you’ve heard? How do you navigate the conversation after that? James Scott Bell looks at this dilemma and how to rise above it.

I am reminded of my uncle who used to make up highly technical terms for ordinary jobs when he was asked these questions. 

I am a content creator for an international media company currently specializing in long form content for juveniles in the speculative genre. 

Or you can just invent a boring job title.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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Pic: Photo by Cosiela Borta on Unsplash

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The Freedom To Read

 


 

In Publishing News this week,

 

This week the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) issued a statement on The Ongoing Violation of Children’s Rights in Gaza. IBBY is an international organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting reading all over the world. Every two years they award children’s literature’s highest honour, The Hans Christian Anderson Medal (often referred to as The Little Nobel.) Publishing Perspectives highlights the statement as not casting blame or fault. An exercise in deft diplomacy, calling everyone to work together on behalf of the children.

 

Down here in the Pacific, we watch the political moves happening around the pond. This is also true of the Book Fairs that have been gaining more prominence down our way. 

The Beijing International Book Fair has just kicked off with 71 countries attending this year. Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard looks at who is attending and speaking. All eyes will be on the AI in publishing event happening at the fair.

 

Publishing Perspectives highlights the World Expression Forum which recently met in Norway and dedicated a portion of its programming to how the freedom to read is tied up with democracy. They caution that the publishing industry can’t be complacent.

 

Not complacent is the American branch of Oxford University Press, whose workers are picketing outside the office. 

 

GoodeReader highlights a new piece of tech aimed at the educational market. A foldable eReader tablet you can read and write on, from ReadTych. Is this what we have all been waiting for? 

 

Two fantastic podcasts caught my attention this week. The SPA girls interviewed Maggie Marr, a specialist contract lawyer and writer. This is a great insight into contract language, negotiations, and best practice. Everyone should listen to this. 

Joanna Penn interviewed Steve Pieper on click testing and selling direct. Steve looks at how click testing works and why you should do it. Check out the podcast or read the transcript.

 

Are you looking after your health? It’s the Winter season down here and I’ve been simmering chicken soup most of the day. While the house is smelling wonderful, I’m also reminding myself that I need to follow the advice for writers in caring for your health by Emily Young.

 

The Mary Sue published a list of the greatest Young Adult reads of all time. Any list is subjective, but they may have nailed it with this list. What do you think?

 

Choosing names for your characters is often fraught. Sometimes the right name is elusive, and you can’t quite get a handle on the character until you have the name sorted. Ginny Moyer likens it to naming a child. It means just as much.

 

In The Craft section,

10 tips on writing a fantasy novel- Lucy Hay- Bookmark


Finding your story's throughline- Mythcreants


Avoiding headhopping- Anne R Allen – Bookmark


Scene structure and transitions- K M Weiland – Bookmark


Redeeming your villain- Becca Puglisi

 

In The Marketing Section,

Why you should care about library distribution-Draft2Digital


Direct sales strategies- Bookbub- Bookmark


What’s in a title- Jane Corry – Bookmark


When is the best time to release a book- Sue Coletta- Bookmark


Learning to love Amazon’s freebies- Caroline Howard Johnson

 

To Finish,

How often have you closed a book and decided not to finish it. I used to force myself to read the rest of the book hoping it would get better but now I shake my head and put it down. Amy Bernstein has a great post on Jane Friedman’s blog on making sure your book doesn’t fall into the DNF book club. 

With so much news on the ways to stop people reading, you owe it to your reader to give them the best reading experience you can.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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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 Thought Catalog on Unsplash

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