|
October 2021
The Write Better, Sell More Issue
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From Kathleen Kaiser, President
We are rescheduling the 805 Writers Conference due to COVID to 2022. Unfortunately, too many barriers were in the way to return to a live event. However, we will return once we are all healthy and able to see people again.
I want to welcome a new member to the WPN board, Lynn Varon. Last year, she joined our group and was actively involved with several projects, including writing for WPNews. We are all delighted to have her join us.
At this time, I want to thank Sandy Murphy for the great job she does every month finding the writers and pulling together helpful stories and educational columns. Along with Sandy is Lisa Angle, who uploads all of the newsletters to the website. And, Alexa Wood designs the email you receive. All three spend many hours trying to bring our members and readers the most pertinent publishing news each month.
Kathleen
Kathleen@kathleenkaiser.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From Sandra Murphy, Editor
You have questions? We have answers!
Worried about the publishing slowdown? Jay Hartman of Untreed Reads has suggestions for getting books to your readers despite shipping difficulties.
Bobbie Christmas, The Book Doctor, answers questions about show vs. tell and dialogue, both needed to make a story move along and take the reader with it.
Puzzled by Goodreads? Penny Sansevieri explains its inner workings.
Wondering about a web site? Lynn Varon says a web site is essential for authors and spells out how to do it and why.
Want to be a best-selling author? Check out the article from BookBub that gives an example of how it can be done.
We have information on conferences, a contest, what’s in the news, a writer-beware warning, and a success story to share.
As the weather turns cooler, bring out the hot chocolate and tiny marshmallows, cozy up, and write!
Stay safe,
Sandy, Editor, editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
An Update on Worldwide POD and Other Printing by Jay Hartman
There’s no question that the pandemic has caused all sorts of upheaval in the shipping of goods worldwide. Whether it’s a lack of raw materials to make items, the postal service and other shipping services taking longer to get the goods from Point A to Point B, or container shortages to hold those goods, production in most industries is seeing some real struggles.
With Q4 typically being the busiest time of year due to holiday gift-giving, what can you do to help ensure you’re successful? Here are some ideas.
Read more…
______
Jay A. Hartman, editor-in-chief at Untreed Reads Publishing, founded Untreed Reads to promote eBooks with an emphasis on independent authors and publishers. He’s written about the eBook industry for fifteen years and previously served as content editor for KnowBetter.com, one of the internet’s oldest sites reporting on eBooks and epublishing
|
|
|
|
|
Ask the Book Doctor: Show Versus Tell and Dialogue by Bobbie Christmas
Q: Which is more important when writing a story, dialogue or descriptions?
A: Without a doubt dialogue is more vital to a story than descriptions. I’ve read stories composed only of dialogue and even written one or two. The stories worked because the dialogue showed the conflict, moved the story forward, and resolved the plot.
Read more…
_____
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, 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/.
|
|
|
|
|
|
IGoodreads Giveaways: An Indie Author Go-To by Penny Sansevier
Many indie authors turn up their noses at incorporating giveaways and discounts into their book marketing because it seems counterintuitive to making money. But the number of readers interested in Goodreads giveaways is staggering. The most entered giveaway at the time I’m writing this has nearly 20K people vying for just 4 copies of the book!
Let’s look at how to maximize this strategy.
Read more…
_____
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.
AME has had dozens of books on top bestseller lists, including those of The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.
To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com
|
|
|
|
|
The Publisher Perspective: October 2021 by Jay Hartman, Untreed Reads Publishing
Q: I see my local library offers eBooks to patrons. How can I go about getting my library to carry my title? R.S., Salem, Oregon
A: 2020 saw a huge surge in eBook purchasing by libraries as physical
locations were shut down due to quarantine measures. EBook lending
numbers skyrocketed. That really hasn’t slowed down much in 2021.The
great news is most public libraries need to use part of their yearly
budget on patron requests, meaning library patrons can suggest titles to
carry, and the library (or the library consortium, depending on your
city/county/state) will then make a purchase.
Read more…
|
|
|
|
|
|
What Can a Website Editor Do for You? by Lynn Varon, Writer Web
We all know what copy editors do in the context of book publishing. What makes a website editor special?
Depending on a client’s needs, the role of a website editor can be very broad: copy editing and proofreading, content creation and management, page design, search engine optimization (SEO), ensuring accessibility, managing social media, tracking, and analyzing website traffic, ensuring maximum uptime, and more.
Read more…
____
Varon had one job for 18 years. As the managing editor of an 86-page monthly magazine (Queen of Rock & Gem), she edited millions of words, published articles by dozens of first-time writers, developed new features and columns, and revitalized the publication’s website. She survived three changes in ownership and weathered the Great Magazine Die-off of the Early Aughts while building strong professional and personal relationships that last to this day.
Reach her at: www.writerweb.net
|
|
|
|
|
How We Hit the USA Today Bestseller List with a Multi-Author Anthology
August 26, 2021 by Sierra Simone, Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, and Adriana Herrera (Guest Bloggers) reprinted with permission
We are a group of romance authors—Sierra Simone, Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, and Adriana Herrera—who joined forces to write a spicy little anthology, which began as a title: Duke I’d Like to F… DILF, but make him historical!
In this post, we’ll walk through how we planned and wrote our novellas, then published and marketed the anthology to become a bestselling title. We hope this helps other authors considering teaming up for an anthology of their own!
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you get a snail-mail letter from Monica Susan Main? She met you at a conference and somehow has your home address but not your email. However, she wanted to get in touch with exciting news! After your lengthy chats at the conference (never says which one or when), she knows you’re anxious to get published and boy, does she have the perfect opportunity for you! It’s a James Patterson-co-authoring situation. If you’ll just sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement, and watch four videos, and not ask too many questions, well, you’ll be on the best-seller list in no time. Apparently, Monica has a big budget for postage, as many letters went out. Writer beware!
https://tinyurl.com/4esb2rkv
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Truth is stranger than fiction. Why on earth would a single mother with a huge career, a small child, and no cash decide to bulldoze a Los Angeles canyon and drag a 1909 home up the hill, in two pieces? Find out in Into Dark Corridors: A Tale of Hands, Heart, and Home by Constance Hood.
|
|
|
|
|
|
WPN member Charlotte Rossler has released a new memoir.
Baby Doll: My Mother, My Secrets is a comeback story. We watch and applaud a broken young girl grow into a strong woman who frees herself from family secrets, crime, and addiction, to claim her own bright future then triumphantly set out to find the two sons she left behind years earlier.
|
|
|
|
To be released October 14
Life coach Victoria Alai's new memoir and life guide
Anecdotal life moments and expert observation, Survival 101: A Guide to Staying Afloat in the Deep Waters of Life by Victoria Alai combines many schools of thought into one guide for her readers. The book is a modern take on survival vs. thriving and how to change one’s thinking with clear and concise actions that transform from a scarcity mindset to an abundant one.
|
|
|
|
Bits and Pieces–News You Might Have Missed |
|
|
|
|
HBG Delays Office Return Until 2022
Hachette Book Group and Macmillan are pushing any official return date to the beginning of next year. Any HBG employee who can work from home can still do so. Offices in Berkeley, Boston, Boulder, Nashville, New York, and Philadelphia remain open to any staff member who wants to use them, as long as they are vaccinated and follow capacity limits. Four weeks’ notice will be given when the company decides to reopen the offices fully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disney is STILL NOT PAYING! Although there have been
negotiations, Disney seems to be making it as difficult as possible for
authors to receive monies they are rightfully owed. Disney claims they
bought the properties but not the obligations that go with them.
From a recent press release:
“Writers, artists, illustrators, letterers, and other artists are
valued members of the creative teams that produce art and literature
that is enjoyed by millions,” said Mary Robinette Kowal, Task Force
Chair. “We are inviting these talented artists to share their stories
and we will fight for them to receive the money that is owed to them.”
The Task Force’s goals are to ensure that all writers and creators
who are owed royalties and/or statements for their media-tie in work are
identified and that Disney and other companies honor their contractual
obligations to those writers and creators after acquiring the companies
that originally hired them.
Should you boycott Disney? No. That would affect those who are being
paid. For suggestions on how to bring this injustice to the public, read
more here: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2021/09/disneymustpay-update-disney-is-still.html
|
|
|
|
Carla and the Christmas Cornbread By Carla Hall |
|
Celebrity Chef Carla Hall (Food Network star) has written a children’s book based on a childhood memory. Available for pre-order, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread will launch on November 2, 2021.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jason Reynolds Extends Term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature |
|
His original plan was derailed by the pandemic. The additional term will give him the opportunity to meet with students in rural areas in person. He has plans for an archive of student stories as well. https://tinyurl.com/jyupy4p3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Old Stories in New Formats: The Growth of Graphic Adaptations for Young Readers
https://tinyurl.com/p259prnj
****
Astra Forms Children’s Division, Introduces Imprint
In 2020 Beijing-based Thinkingdom Media Group created a subsidiary,
Astra Publishing House. APH has now established a children’s book
division, Astra Books for Young Readers.
https://tinyurl.com/3z34r9c8
****
Dohle Promises Competitive Bidding Between PRH, S&S
Editors at the two houses will be able to bid for the same book—even if they are the only publishers interested in the title. https://tinyurl.com/vhhmyejx
****
Zando Taps First 'Publishing Partners'
Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn and screenwriter/producer
Lena Waithe have agreed to work on their own imprints for former Crown
publisher Molly Stern's new Zando publishing house.
https://tinyurl.com/sk7a7pfk
****
Author Sara Gran Launches Dreamland Books
Dreamland will publish her books and an additional two to four titles
a year from other authors with the purpose of having more control over
the work and more creative and financial ownership. https://tinyurl.com/f9xzdvsz
****
Publishers, Amazon Ask Court to Dismiss “Illogical” E-book Price-Fixing Suit
Amazon and the Big Five publishers deny price fixing for e-books and
say it would make no sense to create a monopoly for Amazon who the
publishers would then have to deal with. https://tinyurl.com/fepbjtvf
****
How HarperCollins Will Integrate HMH Trade
The majority of acquiring editors at the imprints will remain,
although some layoffs have taken place. No numbers were given about how
many jobs were cut.
https://tinyurl.com/4bbb4hjm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It’s recommended you buy travel insurance in case in-person conferences are cancelled at the last minute.
Sleuthfest, an annual conference for writers and fans of mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction, is scheduled for July 7-10, 2022, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Florida. www.sleuthfest.com for details as they become available.
SleuthFest kicks off Thursday evening with Freddie’s Noir at the Bar.
Friday and Saturday are filled with workshops by our SleuthFest faculty, which includes Tracy Clark, Lori Rader-Day, and Neil S. Nyren. There will be craft talks, panels, and forensic classes as well.
Agents & Editors will be accepting pitches.
Friday evening is the Guest of Honor Gala. Scheduled Guest of Honor is Jeffrey Deaver.
Saturday evening is the Fla-Mingle Cocktail Party and Razzle-Dazzle Raffle Drawing.
Registration will open on February 1, 2022.
****
Kauai Writers Conference, November 8-11, 2021, $795, david@kauaiwritersconference.com, www.kauaiwritersconference.com
The in-person conference focuses on fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and screenwriting.
*****
The 805 Writers Conference has been rescheduled to November 5 & 6 2022 due to COVID.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|