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WPNews, September 2023
The In the Know Issue
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From Sandra Murphy, Editor
Writers often feel overwhelmed and lost when entering the world of publishing, or even when knocking on the door to get a glimpse inside. In this issue, you’ll find tips on book tours, where to get contracts reviewed for free, how to edit, and how to market. There are two calls for submissions for short stories, two contests to enter, and the latest in book banning.
When it’s back-to-school time, whether for yourself or your kids, time is short. The heat of the summer (and it was 104 in St. Louis when I wrote this) will give way to cool if not downright cold temps when you’ll beg your kids to please wear long pants, not shorts, because it’s snowing! Good luck with that working.
It doesn’t matter if you write non-fiction, short stories, novella length, or full-length books, inspiration for ideas is all around. It doesn’t have to be a central theme or important clue. It can hover in the background for color and flavor. It can make readers laugh or cry. It can make them remember your name and your books.
When you’re having one of those days, mutter to yourself, “this can go in a story…”
Sandy, Editor, editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
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Ask the Book Doctor: About Style Guidelines by Bobbie Christmas
Q: I’ve been tasked with editing a magazine article that has quotes from several people. Some of the quotes use less-than-standard English. The article is in praise of these people, so I don’t want their quotes to make them look less than the great people that they apparently are.
Is it okay to correct some of the statements so they reflect more highly on the speaker, or am I breaking some kind of rule?
A: The answer depends on the style that the intended magazine follows. Some styles disallow changing a word from a quote. Chicago style, however, has less restraint, and it’s okay to change a quote slightly, providing it doesn’t change the speaker’s intent. Check with the intended periodical or the author of the article to determine the style you need to follow while you edit.
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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Two Suggestions for Rehoming Books
Pageturner
Any book, any time: A library in your hands
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Pageturner promotes the love of reading by providing Kindles and an unlimited library of books to elementary, middle, and high school students in Oakland and the Bay Area.
A non-profit organization, Pageturner is run by an amazing group of volunteers in partnership with dedicated teachers who care deeply about their students and the power of reading.
www.pageturnerbooks.org
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Check for a location nearest you.
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Twelve Tips to Edit Your Book
by Marilyn Levinson, first published August 17 on the Writers Who Kill blogspot, reprinted with permission
I like editing. The way I see it, the hard work of creating my novel is done. Now my job is to make my manuscript read as smoothly as possible so that no error or inconsistency pulls my reader out of the story.
Before I send my manuscript to my editor, I go over it three times. The first read-through takes the longest because I'm constantly making corrections. While I both add and cut words in the process, I end up having more words than I started with, which is fine. The next go-throughs move more swiftly, but there are always sentences that require changes and edits. Here are my recommendations of what to keep in mind as you edit your manuscript.
1. Make sure that Tuesday follows Monday. When writing a novel, I sometimes forget to make note of which day a scene takes place and move on, losing track of the dates. This can present a problem when you discover it's Sunday in your novel when you need it to be a weekday. This is especially true when you have a big event at the end of the book and you've mentioned how many days away it is from your opening chapter.
READ MORE…
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Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and books for young readers. As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library mystery series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel. Mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series. Among her YAs and books for kids are: Getting Back to Normal, And Don’t Bring Jeremy, which was a nominee for six state awards, and Rufus and Magic Run Amok, an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice. Many of Marilyn’s books take place on Long Island, where she lives.
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The Logistics of Touring, Part II: Making it Happen by Mark Parsons
Last time we discussed the overall steps in setting up a book tour. Let’s look at some of the important specifics around booking the events as well as scheduling your travel.
1. The Pitch.
Believe it or not, not every store you contact will immediately say “Oh my God YES OF COURSE!” when you ask about doing an in-store event. It takes time and effort on the store’s part to put on an event, including ordering in your books for it, etc., so the store has to do some quick and dirty ROI calculations to determine if they’re going to have a fighting chance of making a few dollars and/or bringing in some new customers in exchange for their time and effort. All of which boils down to your ability to bring people into the store.
Once you let the store know you share the same goals—bringing people into their store—and it sounds like you have a realistic view of how to do that, they’re more likely to want to have you do an event at their store.
2. Setting the Time and Date. Stores know their local customers and the best times for presentations, and you’ll want to defer to their experience, but much of this is common sense. READ MORE…
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Mark Parsons is a frequent presenter at conferences, festivals, and schools, speaking on the craft and business of writing. He is a critically acclaimed YA author; his newest novel is The 9:09 Project, out now from Delacorte/Random House. He has also written extensively in the nonfiction arena, authoring over two hundred articles for national publications as well as a pair of nonfiction books. You can contact him at markhparsons.com.
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Bits and Pieces – News You Might Have Missed |
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A few of the services offered with membership in the Author’s Guild include:
Featured Member Service: Contract Reviews
Did you know? Their legal team will review members’ publishing agreements at no charge and help writers understand what they’re giving away before it’s too late.
They don’t just know book contracts. They’ll review literary agency and freelance agreements as well.
Additional Member Services
Contract Reviews • Copyright Advice • Dispute Intervention • Author Websites • Domain Registration • Custom Email Addresses • Discounts & Offers • Health & Supplemental Insurance • Press Cards
https://authorsguild.org/legal-services/contract-reviews/
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Stats You Should Know
from Penny Sanseveri
Wordsrated.com recently completed an in-depth statistical report on the fiction book market. The big takeaway is that over 52.88% of all print book sales in the United States during 2022 were fiction books, making 2022 the second consecutive year when fiction books outsold nonfiction!
Adult fiction accounted for 24.7% of all book sales with more than 189 million books in this genre sold.
Children's fiction books accounted for 24.08% of the market with 184 million books sold.
YA fiction accounted for 4.06% of all book sales with 31 million books sold.
More interesting statistics Wordsrated.com compiled about fiction book sales:
Best-selling fiction book of all time: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with 140.6 million copies sold.
According to official stats, there are only 99 authors who have sold more than 100 million books so far.
All of the top 10 best-selling books of all time are fiction books, and 43 out of the top 50 belong to fiction.
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Check out our podcast with guest Kelly Anne Manuel, children’s books author.
An Uncommon Author's Odyssey: Crafting Modern-Day Nursery Rhymes
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Step into children's literature with our latest episode of Talking Book Publishing! Join hosts Kathleen Kaiser and Adanna Moriarty as they dive into a captivating conversation with Kelly Anne Manuel, the brilliant mind behind 31 unique and delightful children's books.
Kelly Anne's journey is as extraordinary as it is inspiring. She embarked on her writing adventure in March 2020. Within a year and a half, she transformed her creative vision into a collection of modern-day nursery rhymes for children. These charming stories are brought to life through rhythmic verses that flow effortlessly like a breath of fresh air.
Discover the magic behind Kelly Anne's imaginative process. The remarkable synergy between her words and the illustrations resembles the movie Field of Dreams. Where creativity blossoms, and if you build it, they will indeed come. With an iPad, a cell phone, and an unwavering determination, Kelly Anne's poetry evolved into a spectacular series of books that captivates the hearts of young readers and their parents alike.
Prepare to be transported into a world where words find their perfect artistic match. Don't miss this episode as we delve into the spellbinding world of Kelly Anne Manuel's imaginative creations. Welcome to Talking Book Publishing, where the magic of storytelling takes center stage!
We’d like to hear from you. If you have topics or speakers you’d like us to interview, please email us at podcast@talkingbookpublishing.today and join the conversation in the comments on our Instagram @writerspubsnet.
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What authors need to know in 2023 by Richard McCartney, founder of KBookPromotions
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Judge Sets Second Hearing on Motion to Block Texas Book-Rating Law
https://tinyurl.com/5d6nvch3
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New PEN America Report Documents Surge in Educational Intimidation Bills
https://tinyurl.com/5auu6jau
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Calls for submissions: short stories
Magick & Mystery (Rated R)
Deadline –September 30, 2023 Publication – November 2023
Word Count: 3,000-20,000 Theme – All witch stories for all genres
A Winter Promise (Rated R)
Deadline –October 31, 2023 Publication – December 2023
Word Count: 3,000-20,000
Theme: All Christmas stories. If Christmas is involved, the story qualifies. All genres. Happily Ever After (HEA) not required.
https://dragonsoulpress.com/shortstorycalls/
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Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Novel Competition
https://us.macmillan.com/minotaurbooks/submit-manuscript/
No entry fee. Deadline December 15, 2023. The competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, age 18 or older, who has never authored any published novel in any genre, as defined by the guidelines below, except that authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a novel. If a winner is selected, Minotaur Books will offer to enter into its standard form author’s agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning manuscript. After execution of the standard form author’s agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000.
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Vivien Shipley Award
https://ctpoetry.net/the-vivian-shipley-award.html
$15 entry fee. Deadline September 30, 2023.
Submit up to three poems per entry fee. First prize $1,000. Second prize $100. Third prize $50. Winning poems published in Connecticut Review.
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Online Conference
Artificial Intelligence: Revolution and Opportunity in Trade Publishing
Starts September 27, 12:00 p.m./Ends September 27, 4:30 p.m. $49
Provides an intimate glimpse of where AI may be taking the publishing industry.
This half-day online program gathers the industry’s top thinkers on emerging technologies to tackle the topics on everyone’s mind: Will AI affect editorial? Product acquisition? Marketing? Production?
Markus Dohle, former CEO of Penguin Random House, will offer some opening remarks. He will reflect on how the publishing industry has changed over the years and where AI could fit in the future. Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and one of the most insightful and engaging advocates for AI, will give the closing keynote address on the practical uses of AI from his perspective as a teacher and as a published writer. Sessions will cover:
- AI and Editorial: The impact on writers and editors, within or without a single-source publishing workflow.
- AI and Marketing: Will AI make publishers more effective marketers, particularly online?
- AI and Production: Using AI for design, production, e-book creation, single-source publishing, etc.
- Legal Concerns Surrounding AI and Publishing: An overview of the most important issues concerning authorship, copyright, and contracts.
- A Vision of the Future of AI and Trade Book Publishing.
The program will be hosted by Thad McIlroy, digital publishing analyst and PW contributor, and Peter Brantley, director of online strategy for the University of California Davis Library and founder of the Books in Browsers conference.
This program will be available for playback through October 27, 2023. All registrants will have access to the recordings.
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