Resources and tips for the self-published author.

Publishing News Roundup Series: Indie ReCon and Author Say Survey Results

by Maureen Crisp •  April 20, 2015  •   Follow

Published in News  •  No comments

 

Here is a huge congratulations to those who survived this year’s Indie ReCon!

Our latest news roundup has the latest on all news that is Indie ReCon, as well as some other great conferences. Here is the latest publishing world news:

 

You have this a day late as I was lost inside Indie ReCon What a package of awesomeness!!! And big congratulations to you all for surviving the immense amount of work… It was bloody marvellous at this end so I know it was a total nightmare at your end because I’ve been on the behind scenes of a big undertaking and I’m currently heading into another.

Lots of high fives from here!

Having Words

Pic Flickr /Creative Commons – Stephan Mosel
Seven years ago I published my first blog post. It was a couple of paragraphs. I was learning how to get to grips with blogging
technology. I didn’t know anything. (How do you do a hyperlink?)  Each week I would educate myself a little more about the publishing industry and what was happening overseas. Since then the publishing world has changed drastically. DBW has an opinion piece, looking back on a decade of change.
I’m heading up the planning team for the fourth National Conference of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (Oct 2-5). From seven legacy publishers of children’s books represented in our first conference (2009) only two remain.  The rise of small press and author publishers in NZ has become a real force because of necessity.
 
Indie ReCon (Free online. 3 days of awesome info.)
The speakers are excellent. (A total dream team for a conference planner.) I have spent the last three days soaking up the videos from the conference, getting up at odd hours in the night to follow the chats and wishing the kids would stay quiet. The best thing about Indie ReCon is that it is all posted online and archived so you can keep coming back to the awesomeness.
Jane Friedman  (a speaker at Indie ReCon) has posted a great conversation with two agents on Self Publishing children’s books. Don’t forget to read the comments.)
In other conference news WorldCon, which awards the Hugo’s each year, is on. And the news is not good. A cabal have block voted and are holding the Hugo’s to ransom. The Hugo’s are Sci Fi  fans biggest awards. It is not pretty. A Grand Master speaks out about the damage to the genre with these tactics. (breaking news; two authors have withdrawn their books from the awards.)
Jo Castle Millar wrote an interesting piece on Jon Ronson’s book, So You Have Been Publically Shamed. Jon’s book ARC went out for comment and two lines were taken out of context. The most dangerous job in the world… having an opinion.
The full Author Say survey results are out. They make interesting reading.  Authors are nodding their heads saying yep… all true. Everyone is interested in the publishers reaction. It is pretty damning. Will we finally see a change in
how they treat authors?(Not holding my breath.)
Delilah Dawson, has a new book out (HIT) and I’m seeing the amazing cover everywhere. She also has an interesting blog post which has struck a chord with authors. Social Media and promotion.  Publishers see it as an author necessity. Engage with your public. But what is good engagement and what about if you just don’t want to.  
In the Craft Section,
Editing behind the scenes – The Book Designer
Viewpoint changes and what to do about it
 
In the Marketing Section,
Promoting your book on Facebook. –Romance University
Website of the Week
Get thee to a quiet room and soak up the awesomeness! ( It’s free and mostly recorded so even tho we are in the Southern
Hemisphere we can still attend!) Absolutely Bookmark!
To Finish,
If anything demonstrates how much this industry we are in has changed it is this blog post, written for The Bookseller today on the London Book Fair (on now.) For the newbies reading this… All the advice at the bottom is essential! For the old hands… an author at a book fair? Yes, Times Have Changed!
 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.