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WPNews, August 2022
The Benefits Issue
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WRITERS AND PUBLISHERS:
Please tag @writerspubsnet and #writerspusnet on Twitter and Instagram to have your book/publishing posts shared with our membership!
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From Sandra Murphy, Editor
Newsletter subscribers, do you know about all the benefits of a paid membership in WPN? We’re updating them over the next few months, so there may be changes of the improvement kind. What would you like to see?
And from August 1 through August 31, save $20 on the membership fee, now only $55!
WPN Member Benefits
Your book on the WPN website: upload your cover and fifty words about your latest book. The Books by WPN Authors page is open to the public, so everyone who visits the WPN website has the opportunity to see your announcement.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online, the gold standard for grammar, access at a discount to members. Have answers to your grammar questions live at your fingertips.
WPN at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
in April. If you want to sell your book(s) in the booth yourself or have your book exhibited, please review this information. Join us in our large 20′ x 20′ corner booth on the main entrance walkway through the entire festival. Members receive a discounted price.
Market Update. The valuable Market Update appears every month, letting us know exactly what is going on with magazine and book publishers. Each issue of the Market Update lists dozens (sometimes hundreds) of opportunities and resources for freelance writers, artists, photographers, and publishers as well as authors who are seeking a publisher or promoting one or more books. Locate thousands more resources and informational tidbits in the vast WPN Market Update archives.
Audio recordings. Audio recordings on topics ranging from publicity to overcoming writer’s block are available for members to download at their convenience from the private member area of the WPN web site.
Free ebook. Members may choose a free ebook when they join or renew. Look for a new offering: The Cure for the Common Word by K. D. Sullivan. In it you’ll find more than fifteen alternatives for each of the one hundred most commonly overused words in the English language. Along with a list of synonyms, each common word is accompanied by definitions, sample sentences, witty quotes, explanations of why the word fails to communicate, and much more.
Members-Only Discounts. WPN members receive discounts on products and services such as editorial services, book-cover design, interior layout services, consulting, printing, and writing software. The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) also offers all WPN members a $30 discount on IBPA membership, as do our other affiliated groups.
Free digital issue of Story Monsters Ink magazine
One-Year membership listing at authorbookings.com or SchoolBookings.com, any marketing & publicity services (includes Goodreads giveaway, social media contests, email campaigns, NetGalley review program, and consulting).
Event Calendar. Members may submit events. After approval, your event will be available online for everyone to see.
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Membership at a reduced price, so many benefits with more to come,
and too hot to go outside? What are you waiting for? Join now and stay
cool,
Sandy, Editor, editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
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Ask the Book Doctor: How to Break up a Long Memoir by Bobbie Christmas
Q: After five years I have completed my autobiography. After submitting many query letters with the word count of 777,568 I have been informed that as a new author no one is going to take a chance and publish me, because the cost would be great. I am told the book should not be more than 90,000 words. How can you help me to condense my book, and what would the cost be?
A: The advice you received is correct, that publishers prefer most first-time authors to keep their books at or under 100,000 words. Because the length of a manuscript affects the cost to produce it as a book, publishers rarely accept manuscripts of 500,000 words or more, unless the author is already established and has a strong fan following. READ MORE…
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Bobbie Christmas is a book editor, author of Write In Style: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications. She will answer your questions too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or BZebra@aol.com. Read Bobbie’s Zebra Communications blog at https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/.
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Untreed Reads has an affiliate program!
Jay Hartman is taking a bit of time off and will be back with his regular column in the September issue. Meanwhile, take a minute to sign up for the Untreed Reads affiliate program. Tour the updated website. Print books are always 25% off list price, or check out ebooks.
By signing up for the program, you’ll earn 10% of the net purchase whenever someone uses your link to make a purchase of a paperback, hardcover, or large-print title through our website. This includes your own purchases! It’s a great way to earn a little extra money for yourself or your organization while supporting an independent press and its authors. READ MORE…
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New PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE
Untreed Reads purchased ad space for August with IBPA to promote their mystery short story anthology Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the '60s. The ad went out to thousands of libraries worldwide on July 26th. Untreed Reads was the only publisher to mention Overdrive as one of the places to find the title.
I wrote into Overdrive to ask if there was a way they could help us get more visibility for the title. I explained we were doing a grassroots campaign to get people to request it from their local library through the Overdrive app by following the instructions in my article at Writers & Publishers Network (https://writersandpublishersnetwork.com/the-publisher-perspective-october-2021/.)
I'm thrilled to announce not only are they supporting us, but for the first time in twelve years, Untreed Reads will be the focus of an editorial piece in Overdrive's newsletter, which goes out to thousands and thousands of subscribers around the world. I can't overstate this visibility's importance to our catalog and authors.
Overdrive asked Untreed Reads to provide 20 additional titles for this editorial, along with Peace, Love, and Crime. So KD (Publisher) and I put our heads together, and here's the stellar lineup:
Monkey Business: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Films of the Marx Brothers, edited by Josh Pachter
The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell edited by Josh Pachter
Murder by the Glass: Cocktail Mysteries edited by Teresa Inge
Moon Shot: Murder and Mayhem on the Edge of Space edited by J. Alan Hartman
Year's End: 14 Tales of Holiday Horror edited by J. Alan Hartman
Only the Good Die Young: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Billy Joel edited by Josh Pachter
Eccentric Symmetries by Nancy Springer
The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving edited by J. Alan Hartman
Discount Noir by Patricia Abbott
Dead & Breakfast and Other Stories by Marilyn Todd
L.A. Child and Other Stories by Penny Jackson
Murder Manhattan Style by Warren Bull
Say You're Sorry: 12 Stories of Bad Manners and Criminal Consequences by Sarah Shankman
Women Up to No Good: A Collection of Short Stories by Pat Murphy
Murder She Did: 14 Killer Short Stories by Gillian Roberts
The Osgood Casebook: The Nurseryland Mysteries by Herschel Cozine
Mobsters for the Holidays by Beth Mathison
Now You Sea God: A Josh Katzen Collection by T. Lee Harris
Autumn Glory and Other Stories by Barbara Metzger
It's a Wonderful Regency Christmas by Edith Layton
The editorial will appear sometime in late August. I encourage you to go into the Overdrive app for your local library and request they carry these titles!
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Breaking down BookTok:What brands can learn from this social-literary phenomenon.
Do your research before joining TikTok. Reports say they harvest everything: search and browsing histories; keystroke patterns; biometric identifiers—including faceprints, something that might be used in “unrelated facial recognition technology,” and voiceprints—location data; draft messages; metadata; and data stored on the clipboard, including text, images, and videos.
https://tinyurl.com/55e4fwns
BookTok is a TikTok subculture where book lovers discuss the books they can’t stop talking about.
#BookTok has over 61.9 billion views, with some individual videos reaching upwards of 100 thousand likes. As of July 17, 2022, ten of the 15 books listed on the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction Best Seller list are #BookTok recommendations.
Find out more here: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/booktok/.
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Bookstagrammers: Instagram users who focus on artfully staged book photos and/or reviews. It’s been around longer than you might think. Read Four Tips on Creating Your Own Bookstagram
from Penguin-Random House here: https://authornews.penguinrandomhouse.com/four-tips-on-creating-your-own-bookstagram/
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Breaking down BookTok: What brands can learn from this social-literary phenomenon.
Do your research before joining TikTok. Reports say they harvest everything: search and browsing histories; keystroke patterns; biometric identifiers—including faceprints, something that might be used in “unrelated facial recognition technology,” and voiceprints—location data; draft messages; metadata; and data stored on the clipboard, including text, images, and videos.
https://tinyurl.com/55e4fwns
BookTok is a TikTok subculture where book lovers discuss the books they can’t stop talking about.
#BookTok has over 61.9 billion views, with some individual videos reaching upwards of 100 thousand likes. As of July 17, 2022, ten of the 15 books listed on the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction Best Seller list are #BookTok recommendations.
Find out more here: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/booktok/.
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Bookstagrammers: Instagram users who focus on artfully staged book photos and/or reviews. It’s been around longer than you might think. Read Four Tips on Creating Your Own Bookstagram
from Penguin-Random House here: https://authornews.penguinrandomhouse.com/four-tips-on-creating-your-own-bookstagram/.
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Sit. Stay. Die. a short story by Michael Bracken and Sandra Murphy, published in the July/August issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Sandra was asked to write a blog post for EQ and discussed how her experience as a pet sitter made the story come to life. Read it here:
https://somethingisgoingtohappen.net/2022/07/14/adding-your-life-to-your-writing-by-sandra-murphy/.
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6 Strategic Benefits to Self-Publishing an ebook by Penny Sansevieri
We get a lot of authors come to us looking for help with a new release, not realizing how strategic self-publishing an ebook can be.
This happens for two primary reasons:
1. The author is using a publishing service and assumes s/he must use the service for every edition of his/her book, or likes the convenience factor, which is fair!
2. The author wants to test the market with the print book first and doesn’t have a set date for the ebook.
If you fall into the first category, just know you can absolutely use a publishing service to help you get your print book out there, secure distribution, make your title more accessible to libraries—the list goes on for print benefits. But these services typically don’t insist you use them for all editions. READ MORE…
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Penny C. Sansevieri, founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an adjunct professor teaching self-publishing for NYU. She was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com.
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The Complete Guide to Influencer Marketing for Authors reprinted with permission from Written Word Media, July 13 by Clayton Noblit (photos added)
Influencer marketing plays a major role in the digital-marketing landscape. Influencers have hundreds of millions of followers across multiple platforms, and their massive, targeted audiences have resulted in nine out of ten marketers working with influencers. And with the rise of BookTok and Bookstagram, authors are getting in on the game.
What are influencers?
Influencers are people with large, engaged, followings on social media or other platforms. READ MORE…
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Bits and Pieces – News You Might Have Missed |
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This is the trial about Penguin Random House’s bid to take over Simon and Shuster, creating what many call a monopoly and hindering writers from being published by reducing the number of available publishers.
Showdown: DOJ’s Bid to Block PRH Acquisition of S&S Is Heading to Trial
Oral arguments start August 1. https://tinyurl.com/jf2mnj2f
In Final Briefs, DOJ, PRH Flesh Out Arguments Ahead of Trial
https://tinyurl.com/29dnccy9
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A Third of Canadians Read Daily https://tinyurl.com/2p8cutbe
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Ten Most Puzzling Impossible Crime Mysteries https://tinyurl.com/5et595dj
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The Real Regency: PW Talks with Vanessa Riley Lady Worthing, the multiracial heroine of Riley’s series launch, Murder in Westminster (Kensington, Sept.), confronts mysteries of race, crime, and class in Regency London. https://tinyurl.com/2z4nbd7t
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Barry Windsor-Smith’s Monsters Wins 2022 Eisner for Best New Graphic Novel
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Penguin Random House’s Crown imprint, bought Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. Look for it November 15, available for pre-order in English and Spanish. First printing will be 2.75 million copies.
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Harper Collins Select imprint bought Joanna Gaines’s The Stories We Tell. Publishes in November, with a first printing of 1.5 million copies.
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Spring 2023 Children's Sneak Previews
https://tinyurl.com/4uhmbavr
There’s a lot of diversity in this list. To mention just a few: Under the Sea Seder by Ann D. Koffsky, Purr-im Time! by Jenna Waldman, illus. by Erica Chen, Big Wolf’s Yom Kippur
by David Sherrin, illus. by Martin Moron, My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom, illus. by Steph Littlebird, The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story
by Dezh Azaad, illus. by Nan Cao, Dear Mothman by Robin Gow, Go Green! Energy: My First Pull-the-Tab Eco Book by Pintachan, Old Enough to Make a Difference by Rebecca Hui, illus. by Anneli Bray, A Child’s Introduction to Pride by Sarah Prager, illus. by Caitlin O’Dwyer, Up Where the Stars Are by Ryan Jacobson, illus. by Michelle Hazelwood Hyde.
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Four best creativity websites from Writers Digest for 2022
Electricliterature.com—publishes two literary magazines: Recommended Reading for short stories and novel excerpts and The Commuter for flash fiction, poetry, and graphic narratives.
FantasyNameGenerators.com—random generators for everything from creature names to descriptions of weapons and settings to riddles, swear words, and calendars.
Inkarnate.com—a map-making platform, free but additional benefits with the paid version. One sample:
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LitHub.com—articles on craft, author interviews, reading lists on literature where it meets contemporary culture.
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Ingram to Launch Wholesale Business in United Kingdom For two years, the UK has had only one major wholesaler. David Taylor, senior vice president, Ingram Content Group UK says, “Ingram is establishing a UK-based wholesale offer for books for any title that we can supply from our Milton Keynes operations. We will launch the full service in September 2022.”
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The Pitch
Publishing Gets the Reality Show Treatment with America’s Next Great Author
America’s Next Great Author pilot offers competition as path to publication
https://tinyurl.com/3ke3j7mk
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Beware of
America’s Next Great Author: The Author Reality Show Idea Rides Again
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware® July 15, 2022
https://tinyurl.com/2jszbn7y
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Progress Update on the Smashwords/Draft2Digital Merger from D2D |
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It’s been a little over four months since Smashwords and Draft2Digital merged into one big, new, industry-changing company. In that short time, we’ve been working behind the scenes to integrate the tools, services, and resources of both companies into a cohesive, author-empowering whole.
The integration of our two platforms, as promised, will take many months. That’s good news for authors and publishers, because we’re deliberately taking things slow, moving step-by-step at an even pace, and working to make the merger a positive experience for authors, publishers, and readers. Taking our time means doing things right.
And that means a better experience and a better service for you.
We see the integration happening in three phases:
Phase I (in active development!)
Draft2Digital authors will gain distribution into the Smashwords Store, just as they distribute to other retailers.
D2D will also roll out their support for the Smashwords Erotica Certification System to D2D authors.
Upon the completion of Phase I, D2D authors will be selling in the Smashwords Store, but they will not yet have access to all the unique and exciting bells and whistles Smashwords has to offer. That’s coming next in Phase II.
ETA: Q3 or Q4
Phase II
In this phase we’ll give D2D authors access to the same tools Smashwords authors have enjoyed for years, including Smashwords Coupons, self-serve merchandising, Smashwords Interviews, the ability to enroll in site-wide sales (such as the summer/winter sale), and the ability to run exclusive early releases with Smashwords presales.
ETA 2023
Phase III
Once D2D-distributed authors have access to the same Smashwords Store tools as current Smashwords authors, we’ll start migrating current Smashwords author accounts, Dashboard, publishing tools and workflow into Draft2Digital.
This has to happen after Phase II is complete because we don't want current Smashwords authors to lose access to their favorite tools once their Dashboard is live at draft2digital.com.
After these three phases are done, the integration will be complete! From there, it’s all about innovating and improving, and building new tools and services to power up your publishing business.
ETA 2023
Many authors have asked if they should continue uploading new titles to Smashwords, or if they should start uploading straight to Draft2Digital. The answer is, “It depends.”
If the Smashwords Store is an important sales channel for you, and if you regularly utilize our awesome tools for coupons and self-serve merchandising, then it's probably best to continue uploading to Smashwords, as you always do.
If you want to start experimenting with Draft2Digital's tools and distribution, or if you want to sign up for the D2D Print beta (more on that below), you can open a Draft2Digital account anytime.
Our plan is to provide an interface to merge your two accounts into one when we get to Phase III.
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Sign Up for the D2D Print Beta
One of the many great benefits that Smashwords authors and publishers will gain from the merger with Draft2Digital is ready access to D2D Print, a dare we say revolutionary new approach to print on demand.
Say goodbye to complicated, time-consuming, and expensive print on demand.
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Draft2Digital’s technology can convert your Word or RTF file into a beautifully designed ebook or print-ready interior, and it will use your ebook cover to automatically generate a wraparound cover for print, with a color-matched spine and back cover.
Of course you’ll also be able to upload your own print-ready interior and cover if you have them!
Print-on-demand publishing has never been easier, and our print distribution is backed by Ingram, the world's largest book distributor.
If you heard some of Mark Coker's early interviews after the merger, you know he thinks D2D Print will be just as disruptive to print self-publishing as Smashwords was for ebook self-publishing.
Don't take our word for it; we want to know what you think of it. Try it yourself by signing up today for the beta-testing waitlist D2D Print.
Just visit and sign up at https://draft2digital.com/printbeta/.
To sign up, you'll first create an account at Draft2Digital. If you like, you can use the same email address you use on your Smashwords account. Hundreds of Smashwords authors are already signed up and producing books with D2D Print. Most authors on the waitlist don't wait longer than a week.
Signing up now for D2D will also give you a chance to start playing with some of D2D's nifty tools, including free, stylized layout templates, automated end matter, split payments for co-authors, and a lot more where those came from!
We’re excited by the progress happening behind the scenes, and we can hardly wait to bring you all the great new, improved, and combined tools.
It’s a whole new era for Draft2Digital and Smashwords.
The Draft2Digital/Smashwords Team
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Yale Drama Series: David Charles Horn Prize
This contest is for a full-length play in English of at least 65 pages, and is meant for emerging playwrights. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted. Apart from a cash prize, there will be publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event.
Value: $10,000
Deadline: 15 August 2022
Open for: All playwrights
Details https://yalebooks.yale.edu/yale-drama-series-rules-and-submission-guidelines/
Lunch Ticket: Diana Woods Award in Creative Nonfiction
This award is for a creative non-fiction piece of up to 5,000 words on any subject. The contest is open in February and August.
Value: $250
Reading period: 1-31 August 2022
Open for: All writers
Details https://lunchticket.org/contests/dwm/
The Academy for Teachers—Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest
They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6 and 749 words, about teachers and schools. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden.
Value: $1,000, and publication in A Public Space
Deadline: 1 September 2022
Open for: All writers
Details https://www.academyforteachers.org/contests
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For Conference information check September and
beyond from last months newsletter!
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