We stay on top of happenings/trends in the publishing world to help out busy writers who are spending their time doing what they should be doing: writing.
1. 25 more hard truths about writing and publishing
These are excellent points, written by author Chuck Wendig. Tough truth, but also hope.
2. How Amazon Could Destroy College as we Know it
We always like to link to the amazon-will-take-over-and-ruin-the-world articles. It’s really just to make you feel guilty every time you enjoy the unbelievably consumer friendly one-click world they have created. This article is a good one, though. Posted by Vox.com.
3. 7 Mistakes your making with your author blog and how to fix them
Nearly every author has a blog. If you don’t, you should get one. At the very least it forces you to practice writing. At the most, it’s a great way to stay in touch with your fans. This article by the Creative Penn has some good dos and don’ts.
4. A free e-book about Twitter for Writers
If you’re still struggling with what, when, how, and why to tweet, this free e-book is a good primer.
5. Are big publishers using SEO Stacking on Amazon to stack the deck?
This is a really fascinating examination of a specific book by a major publisher and the really fishy reviews it received on amazon.
6. The downside of a world where everyone’s an author
Yes, it’s a mostly wonderful thing that anyone can become an author. However, some of the authors who never would have been published in the old days are jumping into this new publishing world feeling slightly entitled. Writer Derek Haines does his best to put them in their place.
7. 10 Things to consider when choosing a publisher
We find articles like this every week. It’s an important subject for prospective authors, but too many don’t bother to read them. This particular piece has tips for the traditional and the non-traditional route.
8. Author Groups That Can Help
Novels are notoriously difficult to promote. If you ever go to a novelist’s book signing, talk to the people in the crowd there. The crowd will almost certainly contain fellow novelists. It’s true. This article will connect you to author groups filled with people just like you…people that will happily attend your book signings when they occur.
9. What is Kindle Scout?
It’s a contest. Jane Friedman explains.
10. Need Help With Your Publicity?
Chicago Author Solutions (that’s us!) has an assortment of publicity packages that can help you publicize your book. We’ve had an incredible streak of success placing authors with traditional and non-traditional media outlets. Click at the link for more info.