Publishing News Roundup Series: What Will Publishers Do about Covid19?
by Maureen Crisp • March 20, 2020 • Follow
Published in News • No comments
As Covid19 begins to close things down, what will the book industry do to keep its business running?
A handful of book fairs have begun to close down. Groups are being asked to be limited to no more than 50. Publishing offices are beginning to close. What effect will this all have on the publishing industry? It may better promote self publishing, which is centralized online, but with the loss of book fairs and in person promotions, could it also negatively affect sales?
Tricky Questions Big Consequences
This week everyone in publishing has been talking about whether the Book Fairs are on or off or postponed or delayed or canceled altogether.
With restrictions on movement and fears about Covid19 and a potential pandemic, the Book Fair season is looking shaky.
Bologna, the biggest children’s book fair has been postponed until May 4th-7th.
London is going ahead but organisers are noting there will be restrictions in place and a smaller fair. There are still going to be plenty of good discussion along with lots of hand sanitiser. LBF are warning about shaking hands.
With the postponement of major book fairs, there is a knock-on effect happening. May looks like it will be very busy with make-up book fairs. Already publishers are delaying publication because they can’t get books printed in China in time as restrictions on movement slows down the industry.
Ingram Spark are tightening up the rules on what gets printed through them. In their sights are Indie Publishers with badly copied PDF’s, journals with blank pages and anything they think looks dodgy like workbooks. This could catch writers on the hop especially those who publish reading copies and workbooks to go with their books
Jami Gold has a quick rundown on the RWA where we are now report which was just released. Can something rise from the ashes? The bulk of Jami’s post is on how to cope with disappointment. Do you use it to spur yourself on or wallow with chocolate cake?
Kris Rusch has a great post on challenging your comfort zone. Have you been writing the same old thing, book after book? When did you last live on the edge creatively?
Ruth Harris has an excellent post on the five mental traps that the writer can get caught up in. Yes, your writing brain is out to sabotage you. How can you recognize the signs?
Fae Rowen sat down and wrote a list of things she wanted to achieve in her writing in the next decade. They all have to do with craft. This is a great list to mull over and steal from.
In The Craft Section,
How To Rewrite Your Whole Darn Book– P J Parrish – Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
Unique marketing ideas for March – Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
To Finish,
During the Christmas/Summer break I went to the movies. I was keen to see Knives Out for various reasons. The cast, and the premise. An old fashioned whodunnit mystery. It seemed so fresh again to be in an audience that were treated as intelligent. After I got used to Daniel Craig’s accent, I enjoyed being surprised by the twists and turns. Excellent storytelling. Is this genre making a come back? How are your sleuthing skills?
Pic: Angela Lansbury- Murder She Wrote- TV Series 1984-96 IMDB.com
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.