Resources and tips for the self-published author.

Book fairs are preparing to move back to in-person events. What are next steps to do so?

Though many book fairs went off without a hitch this year, convention organizers are still planning for in person conventions in 2021. Some, like the London Book Fair, have moved their dates back in order to allow more time for appropriate preparations. Other measures will also have to be figured out to ensure appropriate safety measures are taken. Organizers just have to find out what those other measures will be.

 

Book Marketing

 

 

This week in Publishing…

In welcome news this week Amazon has introduced series pages and now you can run ads to them. General jubilation in the author community. 

 

Meanwhile, The London Bookfair dates for next year have been announced. Instead of a Spring fair, it’s in Summer…giving everyone that much more time to be vaccinated and be ready to spring back into the publishing calendar that we used to know. (Prediction – I don’t think we’ll see life as we used to know again.)  

 

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard reports of Storytel’s Interim report. Storytel is based in Sweden and is digital subscription model. With moves into India and acquisitions all over Europe, the  audiobook subscription market is getting bigger and bigger- But will it overtake print books? We could be watching the tipping point. 

 

Big Bad Wolf is set to unleash 20 million English Language books in a four day flash sale in Malaysia. (If you ever wondered where your ‘pulped’ books go on your royalty statement.)

 

A simple hack for when you want to make your literary criticism essay go viral… Attack the author.  The Nation looks at the ethics of this.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors have a great article up on Leveling up your author business. This is a must read. All authors are keen to learn. If we are learning we are growing our business.

 

Joanna Penn has an interesting interview this week on Networking for Authors. How often do you poke your head outside of the bubble and just chat with other authors. Lot’s of lovely things happen when authors get together. Check out the interview and pick up some tips.

 

Jami Gold has a great guest article on her site this week. What sort of marketing plan suits us? If you want to learn anything about marketing books talk to a Romance writer. Siera London shares lots of tips to be thinking about.

 

in the Craft Section,

5 components of the perfect scene– C S Lakin- Bookmark

Why you should side write your protagonists origin scene– Marissa Graff- Bookmark

6 questions to ask when editing scenes– Go Teen Writer

Use a character’s career to support your theme-Becca Puglisi

Emotional truth and storytelling– Robin Farmer – Bookmark

4 story weaknesses that lead to sagging middles– Tiffany Martin- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Maximising books sales with Facebook and Bookbub– Melissa Storm- Bookmark

3 tips for better author blogs– Sandra Beckwith

 

The fabulous David Gaughran latest book marketing video– MUST WATCH

5 basic rules of Social Media– Frances Caballo- Bookmark

How to announce a book launch to your mailing list– Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

How to launch a book during a pandemic– Samuel Moore Sobel

 

To Finish,

Every now and then I drop into the Killzone blog because I am in awe of this collective of writers. They have a great roster of writers talking about all sorts of things. They were the first author collective to do swag and this is where I found writing craft guru James Scott Bell. This week James was writing about the terrible task faced by writers everywhere. How to weed out books. I confess I fail utterly at this. Do you have a non-negotiable criteria list for keeping books?

 

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.