When writing about true events in the modern era, an author has to make sure they have full permission to do so, or change the details. Plagiarism is an easy mistake to make and it can have serious consequences if not done properly.
Any Excuse
In Publishing news this week,
Heading into the last quarter of the year and Author social media has been commenting on the saga called Bad Art Friend. I don’t think there are any winners in the story of writers behaving badly. The real winner was the man who got the kidney.
If you are going to write about a true event – change the details.
Dave Eggers is launching a new book. However, he has a caveat. He is only allowing certain bookshops to stock it. Maverick move or cunning publicity stunt- Check out the Guardian article and see who gets the new book.
Another publishing platform follows in Wattpad’s footsteps. Techcrunch reports that Inkitt has scored some big money to get into film, audio, and merch, all from an AI figuring out what the top stories are on their platform. While we’re on the tech side- StoryOrigin has launched a Beta reader model for authors.
If you have been trying to figure out just how we ended up in a paper – ink – labor – haulage- book shortage, read this explanatory article from Vox. And order your Christmas books now!
The New Publishing Standard has an interesting article on Podcastle- an AI podcasting production platform. I went down a rabbit hole checking them out and they really sound interesting. It seems like every week I have something about AI and audiobooks in my blog. This form of publishing is rising like a rocket.
Fiction has been renamed. I can see you all scratching your heads and saying To What? Fiction is now ‘Upmarket Fiction’. Anne R Allen explains how this term became a catch all. I think I’m still firmly in the down-market fiction bookshelves…
Kristine Rusch has been musing on writer burnout. When everything gets too much, and you come to a screeching halt in your work what do you do? Do you take your own advice?
Be kind to yourself- We are living in interesting times.
Joanna Penn talked with Katie Weiland in the latest Creative Penn podcast. K M Weiland has been writing excellent blog posts on the craft of writing for years and has a series of excellent craft books. (I have some.) Check out the podcast and/or the transcript on outlining. Lots of meaty craft tips.
Do you need a Writing Coach? Jane Friedman has a guest post from Seth Harwood, a writing coach, on what it is they do and how to figure out whether you need one.
Now Novel has an interesting article on how to develop a story idea. This is chock full of advice so bookmark or print it out to study.
In The Craft Section,
7 ways to write pertinent antagonists– K M Weiland – Bookmark
Writing and the art of surrender– Lindsay Syhakhom
How to write conflict without bad guys– Angela Ackerman- Bookmark
Self editing tips– Write Life
How to kill your side characters– Sacha Black – Bookmark
10 ways to write better plots – Now Novel
In The Marketing Section,
Maintaining an Author blog is easy- Anne R Allen – Bookmark
How to be your own book publicist– Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark
Don’t rely on Facebook– Miral Satter- Timely!
Be where your readers are– Frances Caballo
Promote your book before its published– Bookbub
3 simple ways to improve your platform– Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark
To Finish,
The Alliance of Independent Authors collected a list of craft books that their members think are indispensable. There are some familiar titles on the list. If you are thinking of getting any of them for Christmas, order now.
Every year Kevin Anderson curates an excellent collection of writing craft books for NaNoWriMo. It’s out now and there are some hot off-the-press ones in this collection. As I said in my newsletter- It’s a win/win. The authors get the money directly, you get great books and for another win you get to support a charity.
Maureen
@craicer
Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Daniel Oberhaus (2020)
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