Publishers News Roundup Series: The Rise of Readership During Qurantine
by Maureen Crisp • May 29, 2020 • Follow
Published in News • No comments
Though quarantine has been rough, there may be an upside for publishing.
The upside being more time to read, and it has been showing in the polls. More people are reading and changing their general reading habits to fit the needs of quarantine. As these changes occur, how can self-publishers change their habits to fit the needs of readers?
To Market To Market
Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Martin Hearn
As we tentatively move onto the streets and look around at what is now our new normal life, there have been a few articles trying to make sense of the statistics of bookselling in a coronavirus era.
Everybody is busy trying to reassure themselves and others that bookselling remains viable. If you factor in the printers, sales reps, warehouse and supply chain along with book designers, editors, illustrators, cover designers, formatters, not to mention the poor old author in this list, you can see a lot is riding on maintaining or shoring up the publishing industry.
So, what are the trends coming out of lockdown?
The Guardian reported a rise in people reading. (Thank all deities) And the popular genres of crime and thrillers were to the fore. With kids stuck at home children’s books also had a nice uptick.
Publishing Perspectives report that French Publishers Association surveyed its members to ascertain how bad the hit was to their members. More than a quarter are looking at heavy losses but there was some encouraging signs in the changes in reader habits.
Jennifer Kovitiz has written two big articles on what independent presses can do to survive. Part One. These are comprehensive reports so set some time aside to read them and take them in. Part Two.
Nate Hoffelder reports that Kobo Plus may be making some moves. They have been trialing their subscription model for a few years in Europe. With the rise and rise of subscription models for consuming entertainment… Keep an eye on your Kobo dashboard and inbox.
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have a new Writing Thesaurus to add to their popular series. It’s the Occupation Thesaurus- Coming very soon… Angela also has a great article on giving yourself a creative kick in the pants.
If you need to get stuck into upskilling writer learning as a way of shaking you out of lockdown blues, here is a comprehensive list of FREE writing courses from around the world. There is something for everyone in the collection of 98 online writing courses from Couponchief.
I get sidetracked on Font sites… yes, I admit it. I’m fascinated by the subtle way a font can change the emotional message.
Rafal Reyzer has a guest post on The Book Designer on how your font choice, when writing, can change your writing mood.
Kristine Rusch has an interesting article on what’s happening to the film and television industry. How does it impact authors you wonder. What happens to all those options and contracts when something big like a pandemic hits? What about the writers stuck in the middle?
Anne R Allen has a great article on what to do when you realise that your novel has far too many characters. Do you really need to provide a backstory for everyone? Can you get away with not naming someone? Check out her great tips.
In The Craft Section,
7 possible hooks for your opening chapter– K M Weiland – Bookmark
How can we identify our story’s point of view- Jami Gold- Bookmark
What is an epilogue?– Jerry Jenkins- Bookmark
How to write dystopian fiction– Now Novel- comprehensive!
How plotlines add dimension– September Faulkes- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
Five marketing skills you have already- Gabriela Pereira- Bookmark
3 social media mistakes authors make- Sandra Beckwith
Heart-centered book marketing and 4 steps to your author branding statement– Beth Barany- Bookmark
New Tool on the block.
If you publish wide check out WideWizard. A free tool that publishes your metadata to all your sites. Fill it in once and click a button.
To Finish,
Last week I mentioned David Gaughran (All round nice guy and champion of the little battling author) in the To Finish section and here I am linking to him again. He has been almost nonstop filling his YouTube channel this week with detailed looks at different marketing ideas. David is unleashed. If you are realizing that authors must market their books check out his channel and get hypnotized by his epic lockdown beard and his wealth of information on book marketing.
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.