Publishing News Roundup Series: Celebrities to Take on Publishing?
by Samantha Knoerzer • November 16, 2015 • Follow SamanthaKnoerze
Published in News • No comments
Celebrities and books don’t usually have a good reputation when paired together.
Particularly when it comes to children’s books, a lot of celebrities like to try out their writing skill. There are mixed options on this within the author community, with many posting their opinions online. Another new online phenomenon is poets being noticed and published though their Instagram and Tumblr poetry posts. As writers begin to move to social media to showcase their work, and publishers begin to follow to look for new talent, once again it seems that the publishing path has been re-geared toward younger generations who tend to use more of Instagram and less of Facebook. With this, as well as more and more celebrity authors, we look below at the affects they have on publishing:
Celebrity Writing
Many writers cringe when they read reports of celebrities writing a book,* children’s writers especially. We all know that writing a children’s book is hard. Every word has to be chosen with care. They may look easy because there are fewer words but they aren’t! The ‘celebrity’ who thinks their brand needs a book, an instant best seller with publisher or ghost writer doing all the work, just makes us all grit our teeth.
Gwyneth Paltrow has decided to launch a publishing company… an extension of her website where she will memorialise her thoughts for the world.
Gary Oldman is about to publish his debut novel about Vampire Cowboys which he hopes will become a series. What can authors to do in the face of these wonderful additions to the publishing oeuvre?
Mike Shatzkin looks at brand and merch and vertical publishing with publishers selling author experiences in seminars and events.
Poetry is becoming the new hot thing on Instagram and Tumblr. Three of the top ten poetry books have all come from poets posting their work online. It’s an accidental form of celebrity and an interesting
twist on publishing and promotion. Become a poetry phenomenon on Instagram and the deals will follow.
twist on publishing and promotion. Become a poetry phenomenon on Instagram and the deals will follow.
James Scott Bell has a Bookmark post on how to be a prolific writer. James talks about the structure of your day and the goals you need to set yourself.
Neil Gaiman was asked about writers block recently. He doesn’t believe in it but he does have some advice to get through a creative block.
Last week I linked to Anne R Allen’s excellent post on 5 delusions that block writers from succeeding. This week Anne followed up that viral post 5 more delusions blocking writers.
Robin Black has a great post on 21 things she wished she had known before she started this writing journey.
In the Craft Section,
Tips to tighten up writing– Sue Coletta – Bookmark
NaNoWriMo Triage center – Angela Ackerman
7 ways your characters can screw up their decisions to make a better plot.- Janice Hardy – Bookmark
What you need to know if you write in multiple genres – Joel Friedlander
In The Marketing Section,
Demystifying Amazon categories and keywords – Penny Sansevieri – Bookmark
Using keywords on Pinterest for authors – Bibliocrunch
How to promote a book without making yourself miserable – Jane Friedman – Bookmark
What NOT to share on Social Media – Bookmark!
Website of the Week
Three nifty little ideas for you this week.
Karen Marston had a website malfunction which prompted her to write a post on backing up. Here she talks about all the ways to back up your website.
Did you know Google has added a record feature to Google Docs? You can dictate your manuscript now.
After you have twisted yourself into a pretzel getting your NaNoWriMo word count up You may need this handy Infographic Yoga for Writers chart.
To Finish,
A few years ago the FABO team wrote a story collaboratively and had great fun doing it- but it was hard work. Joanna Penn has been writing a horror thriller with J Thorn, who has worked collaboratively with many writers. This is a great interview if you are thinking about how to do it without killing your writing partner.
Or you could always work with a celebrity….
*I’m sorry about that link – it is vile isn’t it? How the publishers could keep straight faces when faced with this prose….
Maureen
@craicer
About Samantha Knoerzer
I am the Social Media Coordinator and Author Relations Manager for BiblioCrunch. And I love to read, OF COURSE! From the classics to YA and children's, you can find me reading it all. I have a masters in publishing from NYU's Print and Digital Media Studies masters program, and have undergraduate degrees in music, marketing, and english. I have a passion for reading, music, and travel. My goal is to travel to as many places around the world as possible. If you need to find me, you can catch me traveling all around the world at any chance I get – always with a book in hand!