The 21st Century Update!

Excellent Uncommon Advice

Tue, 22 May 2007 03:16:17 GMT

This article is an excellent boost for would-be writers looking for an antidote to all the doom and gloom about the publishing and writing worlds.

A Little Levity On The Subject Of Rejection

Wed, 31 May 2006 15:30:08 GMT

Here is a fine example of one writer reacting to rejection the way we would all like to...

Covers -- Straight From The Bookseller's Mouth

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 16:10:11 GMT

This is an interesting article from PWDaily.

Marcella Smith, Barnes and Noble's director of small press relations, Marcella Smith, and publisher Workman's CEO Walter Weintz talk about what does and doesn't work in book covers. It's a short article but interesting.

link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6318733.html

Computer Game Company Moving to Self-Publishing Model

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 02:39:51 GMT

Here 's an interesting article about a computer game company that is diismissing the big publisher/distributor model in the gaming world.

The article has lots of parallels for authors and this quote from the company's CEO could have come from anyone complaining about the book publishing industry,

"...but it's no news to you that the most common complaint is that there's a creative crisis, publishers are risk-adverse, not willing to fund new ideas."

Sound familiar?

Link: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060320/cifaldi_01.html

Will Write For Chocolate

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 02:17:23 GMT

Here's one to add to your regular websites to check:

Will Write For Chocolate

It's a new series of comic strips accompanied by essays on the writing life from Debbie Ridpath Ohi, founder of the late, lamented Inkspot, and regular contributor to WritersMarket.com.

They mix Debbie's humorous observations on the writing life with her insights as an experienced freelancer.

A great short and inspirational pick-me-up for any writer.

Good To Great Self-Publishing

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 23:53:56 GMT

Business Guru Jim Collins (author of Built To Last and Good To Great) has published a 35-page booklet that expands on Good To Great's theories and helps non-profit organizations apply them.

He's self-publishing the booklet through Amazon's short works program and this MSNBC article is very matter-of-fact about Collins and other business gurus going the self-pub route.

With more big-name authors choosing to self-publish, any stigma attached to self-publishing continues to erode...

Text link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10313611/site/newsweek/

Small Press Fair Dec 3-4

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:12:33 GMT

The 18th annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair is being held on December 3 and 4 at the Small Press Center in Manhattan.

It's not too late to register for exhibition space. For more info: www.smallpress.org.

Returns: A Horror Story

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 19:03:33 GMT

Angela Hoy has done a two-part series about the horror that is the book returns system in her newsletter, Writers' Weekly. It (and the weekly enewsletter) are well worth a read. In it she highlights this article by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of The Wall Street Journal.

Most authors have no clue how the book selling industry works until they're up to their armpits in it and sinking fast. If you're thinking of publishing, read these articles.

Hoy runs a POD company and so has a vested interest in the issue, but that doesn't mean she's wrong!

Links:
Writer's Weekly Article: http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/002963_09212005.html
Writers' Weekly: http://www.writersweekly.com
Trachtenberg article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05154/515469.stm

Promote With A Serial

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 15:41:15 GMT

Here's a helpful article from Go-Publish-Yourself.com (itself a helpful site) author Chris Willitts, about how to promote your book by serializing it and giving bits of it away for free. Everyone likes to get something for nothing, right?

link:
http://www.go-publish-yourself.com/articles/book-marketing/WillittsC2.php

International Edible Book Festival

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 14:33:30 GMT

This doesn't take place until April 1, and surely that gives you time to come up with some way to use it to promote YOUR book...

The International Edible Book Festival
http://www.books2eat.com/

Author Marketing Experts

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:38:58 GMT

Penny Sanseveri offers a great newsletter for authors who need to promote their books. You can visit the site and subscribe to the newsletter here. (http://www.amarketingexpert.com/index2.htm)

I can't vouch for the actual publicity services, since I haven't had any feedback on that, but I have followed this newsletter for a number of years now and I believe it offers sound advice and inspiration for any author. (If anyone has any feedback on the publicity services, email me at editor at jdwrite.com (substitute the 'at' with a @).

FollowThe Reader

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 20:39:03 GMT

I've added a new article to the site, about how to chase the elusive reader (after the recent BISG report about the 44 million fewer books sold last year).

You can read Follow The Reader here.

Tips include: creating content online, including blogs and the latest rage: podcasts.

Chinese Writer Sues To Self-Publish

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 21:20:47 GMT

When we're arguing in online forums about who has the best services to help independent authors, we should take a minute to remember how fortunate we are to have the chance to publish more or less whatever and whenever we want.

Link:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/15/news/china.php

Poetry Prized

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:36:12 GMT

Here's an article about a culture slightly more hospitable to poetry than most.

Link: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/may/29/yehey/opinion/20050529opi5.html

Book Sales Slump

Sun, 29 May 2005 13:05:02 GMT

44 million fewer books were sold in last year than in 2003.

The Book Industry Study Group reported the depressing figures, as noted in this article, and there's a suggestion that it's because of all the alternatives to books out there: DVDs, video games, the Intenet.

But people are still reading. To make sure they choose your content:

Make sure your content is really, really great;
Go where the readers are: online. Create great content online to market your published books (Seth Godin is a prime example of how this can work);
Consider making other editions, such as audio books and ebooks. People aren't sitting still, just reading, but they are commuting and they are reading on screen and they are listening to Podcasts and mp3s. Get your content into the form that the consumer demands and list it at the many online portals for these formats.

Macmillan New Authors' Imprint

Sat, 28 May 2005 12:18:39 GMT

Here's an article about a new imprint from Macmillan in London.

Authors are already attacking the imprint because, while it will pay what is variously reported as 20% or 25% royalties, the publisher will not pay an advance and keeps all rights. That's certainly something to beware of, but unless you think your first book is going to be your best and most enduring, other factors might still make this a good option for you.

Macmillan will offer basic copyediting but will send you to a freelancer if you want more substantial editing (and you pick up the fee).

In my opinion this is a really interesting model. One of the criticisms of the model is that if a publisher doesn't invest in an advance that they want to earn back, they have no incentive to promote your book. In reality, most books in the traditional publishing world DON'T earn huge advances anyway and aren't promoted heavily. At least this way, you'll know going in that you're going to have to do all the promotion.

The all-rights clause sets a worrying precedent, but with the blossoming of new publishing alternatives in the past few years, I don't think that any one model is going to take over and cause the End of The World. At least this way, a new author gets some limited clout in the form of a known imprint name, and they get access to good distribution channels and whatever expertise the publishing staff of this new imprint possesses. That might work a lot better for some new authors than the go-it-alone self publishing options.

As long as writers make informed decisions, and realise that they no longer have to go cap-in-hand to publishers to get their words out, this will become one of many publishing options, and one that might work well for some new authors.

Read the article and see what you think.

Link: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1473765,00.html

POD Article

Wed, 25 May 2005 22:24:43 GMT

Here's a largely-positive article about self-publishing and print on-demand from the Syracuse New Times.

link: http://newtimes.rway.com/2005/052505/cover.shtml

Amazon buys BookSurge

Sun, 10 Apr 2005 12:35:56 GMT

Amazon gets into the POD space, with a purchase that makes perfect sense for a retailer whose aim is to make everything available to everyone...on demand.

Although a couple of big companies have dipped a toe in the POD-for-authors waters (Barnes and Noble's investment in iUniverse and Random House's investment in Xlibris) no large company has really taken it seriously. Amazon does this kind of thing (streamlining and serving the customer) REALLY well. I'm excited to see what they do with it. It's almost enough to make dust off my resume and see if Amazon wants to lure me back into the 9-5. I'd certainly be interested in being a fly on the wall as they try to get POD right.

link:
http://archives.subscribermail.com/msg/SURGE2F46163.htm

B&N Sales Up

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 19:41:43 GMT

Barnes & Noble reported that holiday sales were up 5.7% overall, up 2% for same-store sales.

What does this mean for you?

That people are still buying books, and that books make a great gift. How can you convince people to buy your book for upcoming holidays?

More:
Barnes & Noble press releases

Checklist for Finding An Agent

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 19:53:54 GMT

Useful introductory article on how to go about finding an agent, from New York city's Small Press Center site.

Insights into Xlibris Biz Plan

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 14:55:22 GMT

This article, from a newspaper in the Phillipines, features comments from Xlibris CEO John Feldcamp about deals and doings behind the scenes at the POD company. These include deals with Borders and The Wedding Channel.

text link:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2004/11/18/bus/xlibris.to.increase.biz..html

Self-Publisher's Boutique

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 14:11:29 GMT

Here's an interesting idea from a bunch of self-published and small press published authors in New Mexico. They have set up a bookstore to sell their books over the holiday season, with all the authors volunteering to work 8-hr shifts here and there.

I've seen plenty of these co-ops for crafters in the mall. Why not authors?

Text link: http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/112704_news_nmbooks.shtml

Publish America

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 04:33:38 GMT

Interesting post on the Writers' Weekly Whisperings and Warnings page about Publish America and a series of Publisher's Lunch articles on the subject.

The post includes one reader's summary summary of the issues.

Gaiman on Early Writings

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 04:16:29 GMT

Writer Neil Gaiman answers a question from a young writer about starting out, knowing if you're any good, how to proceed and whether or not to give up.

Gaiman's blog entry (scroll down to the bold text, which is the question)

This is an interesting blog for any writer, as Gaiman talks about every day life as a working writer, and weighty issues like freedom of speech and what he tells his children about Santa, the tooth fairy and "the crazy knife lady in the attic" (I guess it must be a bit wierd having a comic book writer for a dad). He also regularly answers questions from his readers, ranging from fans to aspiring writers.

Self-Published Somerset Maugham Award Winner

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 03:52:37 GMT

The winner of the Somerset Maugham Awards gives an interesting interview about slipping through the cracks, self-publishing and being the first self-published author ever to win the prestigious award.

Star Article