Publishing News Roundup Series: Publishing in the Changing World
by Maureen Crisp • April 24, 2018 • Follow
Published in News • One comment
Publishing is always changing. Self-publishing in particular.
With switching to digital having been the first largest change in media in decades, it now seems like every week there is a new business changing addition to the media industry. It keeps authors and publishing professionals wondering what will be next?
Future Proof
It’s my eleven year blogoversary. The publishing world is very different now than when I started. I am very different… I have more grey in my hair. Writing remains the same but the way we publish has changed. The way we will publish in the future will be different again. As everyone in publishing likes to say… we live in interesting times.
This week Porter Anderson reported on a panel discussion held on the eve of the London Book Fair where publishers discussed how well the industry was able to face the competition in storytelling coming from TV, Netflix et al. The panel represented some of the biggest names in communication and the comments are really interesting. Read it and have a glimpse into the future.
Netflix is everywhere…. No seriously, they are everywhere. I was surprised when I found out they were in every country but four. Their global business is 70% of their revenue. Now think about the implications from a publishing perspective. Remember you are in the entertainment industry… Read this article for an insight into how you should be viewing your work….
Last week Google unveiled a little feature that could change book buying habits for ever.
‘Talk to Books’ takes the search into the realm of conversational AI. Ask the AI to search by sentence… and it will tell you all the matches. Take it further and ask the AI to buy it for you and then read it to you. Digital Book World looks at where this technology might take us.
Last month I highlighted a money laundering problem that used authors details without their knowledge. If you publish with CreateSpace you may need to go and change your passwords because hackers have started to target it.
This week Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware highlighted a problem with Publishers Weekly. PW is a respected industry magazine style resource that everybody in publishing refers to, so what are you to think when PW advertise two vanity publishers with questionable practices?
Amazon have been pulling reviews lately. This has disconcerted a lot of writers in the industry. After all reviews ensure how books get seen by potential readers… which means sales… which beget reviews…. Penny Sansevieri posted an article recently about what you need to watch for to ensure that the Zon doesn’t pull reviews on your book.
The European Union are implementing some changes that will hit everyone who gathers data from people visiting their websites. Before you think that doesn’t apply to me… it may do. Do you have newsletters or freebies on your site? If so the EU laws apply. Check out this handy FAQ about what you need to know.
This week I was talking about comparisonitis in my monthly newsletter. It is a creeping disease that overtakes you when you look at your work in progress and almost any other book that comes into your orbit. Joanna Penn has a great article on the subject. If you suffer from this or recognise the symptoms, this is the article for you.
In The Craft Section,
Subplot ideas– Now Novel- Bookmark
Learn about the colour of a page of type – The Book Designer
How should a character say nothing?– James Scott Bell- Bookmark
10 things about sequels– Janice Hardy
How to use commas in your writing– Grammarly
Elements of a great first chapter– Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
How to get book reviews without begging– Dave Chesson
Reviews and what to do with them– Draft2Digital
Beyond a refresh- Changing our brand– Jami Gold- Bookmark
Print On Demand – cost comparisons– Bookworks
How to come up with good comp. titles for your book– Nathan Bransford- Bookmark
How to write a sizzling author resource box– Joan Stewart
To Finish,
James Scott Bell is one of my Go To writing craft gurus. When I’m in the middle of a tricky scene or taking a break or… I reach for a writing craft book. This week James talked about competence, which can sabotage a writer. Are you satisfied with getting by in your writing craft or are you willing to try to be better.
Over the last eleven years I have written a blog post nearly every week, a monthly newsletter for nearly two years, ten short novels, four full length and I don’t know how many short fragments of stories that sit in a folder on my hard drive. The more I learn the more I feel I need to know. I like to think I have improved as a writer. If you were around in the beginning and are still with me now… I must be doing something right.
Thank you for sticking with me every week.
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.