Publishing News Roundup Series: The Mysterious Effectiveness of Publicity
by Maureen Crisp • April 4, 2016 • Follow
Published in Publishing Tips • No comments
Publishing works in mysterious ways.
Authors find success sometimes in the strangest ways. Unique moments of free publicity is one of the most successful. Below we show a few instances of this, including Eilis O’Hanlon’s book which was dropped from print until plagiarism on Amazon brought it back into the limelight. No matter what you learn about book promotion, remember this: publicity is extremely effective for recognition, even sometimes negative publicity.
The Ebb and Flow of Publishing
This week in the publishing blogosphere there was a lot of sympathy for the plight of Eilis O’Hanlon. Eilis has traditionally published her crime novels with her partner. They enjoyed modest success then in the ways of publishing… editors move… the series gets dropped and copyright reverts and the book goes out of print. That is until the book get plagiarised and finds a new success on Amazon.
This week Caroline Paul was shining a spotlight on publishing dilemma. Why boys should read girl books? There are some great arguments for this and a disquiet among authors that the push to be gender specific has not done children any favours. Melinda Szymanik explains this very well in her opinion piece.
Molly Green posted a breakdown of her earnings last year. A few authors are doing this now to explain why they are choosing to self publish. Transparency does educate. Her post makes interesting reading. As ever you should read the comments to get a fuller understanding.
Publishing Perspectives shines a spotlight on a new publishing company. Assisted publishing using people working in traditional publishing. It’s another way people can buy the services of a traditional publisher.
Joanna Penn interviewed Mark Lefebvre of Kobo about their global expansion into Asia and the new opportunities for authors who publish with them. This makes interesting reading. Kobo is 2nd in sales of eBooks behind Amazon and they are growing.
In the Craft Section,
When to write the end– K M Weiland- Bookmark
Revelation Midpoint– Sara Le Tourneau- Bookmark!
7 things that will doom a novel– James Scott Bell- Bookmark
Why every writer needs a VIP– Ruth Harris- Bookmark!
In the Marketing Section,
How to build a media kit– Molly Greene- Bookmark
Don’t make these rookie marketing mistakes-Miral Sattar
Website of the Week
The cool One Stop for Writers website has got even cooler. Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have put together visual story maps. This is a handy aid to those writers who struggle with structure.
To Finish,
Stephen King’s book On Writing is one of those must have craft books in your writing arsenal. Here he has 17 screenwriting lessons. These are really writing lessons regardless of the medium.
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.