Resources and tips for the self-published author.

Publishing News Roundup Series: How to Get Energy to Continue Writing

by Maureen Crisp •  June 19, 2017  •   Follow

Published in News  •  One comment

 

Does being a writer mean you need to create everyday?

Some believe that since its a career you must always be productive. But doesn’t forcing creativity cause a bad product, or quite possibly, no product at all? Sometimes being creative can just mean sitting around and keeping your mind free for the ideas to enter.

 

Story ; Ears Eyes Heart

Pic Flickr Creative Commons /David Locke (Totally cute dog.)

 

Have you ever felt like your head had been taken over, hollowed out and then filled with cotton wool? I have been going around in a foggy daze for about a week. When life throws lots of big events your way it’s hard to find time to write or even generate much energy to create anything. (My cooking suffered as well.) This week we celebrated a family wedding and then got the news that a revered book colleague had died. For several days I drifted around the house never being able to settle. Life is a series of stories told through heart beats.
 
Many writers will beat themselves up for not creating something every day so it was with relief that I read Janice Hardy’s brilliant post why you shouldn’t write every day. Not only did it give me permission to rest my mind but it made me feel more positive about getting back into the writing grind.
 
Dan Blank took a close look at how Traditional Publishers marketed their books at Book Expo and drew some interesting conclusions for Indie Publishers. You don’t really need a fifty foot banner to draw attention to yourself.
 
How many of you listen to audio books? If you listen to podcasts you are more likely to listen to audio books. Can you guess the demographic that most listens to audio books? Publishing Perspectives has a great breakdown of the latest figures from this fast growing book market.
 
In a game changer for the audio book market which has been dominated by ACX, (*coughAmazoncough*) Draft2Digital has rolled out an exciting new service and it’s worldwide and non exclusive!
 
Book Marketing Tools has a great interview with Mark Dawson on Facebook ads. (He is often referenced as the Facebook ad guru.)
 
Editor, Sue Copsey has a fabulous post on what she sees when she gets a manuscript. Voice and heart makes a Manuscript stand out.
 
Frances Caballo has an interesting article on The Book Designer about the 5 necessary skills a writer must develop. While you are over on Joel’s site check out the new book design templates he has recently added.
 
Kris Rusch continues her Branding series. She has such interesting articles. This week she looks at brand image. You are what you write, aren’t you?
 
5 ways to write a perfect first draft by Katie Weiland examines the mental work your subconscious is doing. You may be writing a near perfect first draft and not recognising it
 
 

In The Craft Section,



Filter words and phrases to avoid– Kathy Steinemann- Bookmark


Indicating the passage of time – Jami Gold Bookmark


Story Genius– Joanna Penn and Lisa Cron- Bookmark


Develop your writing intuition– Angela Ackerman- Bookmark
 

In The Marketing Section,



Grow your fan base with a bookclub– Digital Book World


Improve your query letter– Jane Friedman – Bookmark
 

To Finish,

Last week I gave you a link to the Alliance of Independent Authors website where there is a load of great content from their Indie fringe conference. There are heaps of videos to sample. Alli have their own YouTube channel so hop on over to see all the  short Publishing 101 videos Paul Teague has been putting up. Here is one to get you started. 



R.I.P. John McIntyre: Book Ambassador and Hero

 

Maureen
@craicer

About Maureen Crisp

Maureen Crisp has been writing her weekly publishing roundups for over seven years. She is a traditionally published children's author as well as indie-published. She lives in New Zealand and is heading the team organising the 4th National Conference of Children's Writers and Illustrators. She is currently trying her hand at writing a children’s book series if she can drag herself away from forever tweaking her Mars novel or obsessing over space.