Entries Tagged 'Business In The Industry' ↓

The fabulous Margaret Simons, font of knowledge on the future of journalism and a guest speaker last year for QWC’s Wordpool (access the audio at ABC Pool), has compiled a table of pay rates for freelance journalists in Australia. It also notes insider knowledge about editorial processes and other handy tips. This has sparked off an interesting debate on the ethics of  freelancers being asked/forced to work for free. In response, Margaret crowd-sources advice and information for writers looking to get started.

Margaret Simons in conversation with Matt Condon at a QWC Wordpool event

For creative writers, the pay rates are no better. This article on The Writer Career Arc (or why we love the Susan Boyle story) points out that ‘… the literary apprenticeship is a lengthy one for the majority, …getting published at all is difficult, and to get paid enough to not do anything else but write is virtually a dream.’

Writing is a labour of love, and the financial incentives are few. But remember: many people do make a living out of their writing, so you can, too. Think creatively about opportunities, build your author platform as well as your craft, and don’t give up.

Just a quick post to share the joy…

The parallel importation of books decision has been finalised: in a win for writers and readers alike, the Productivity Commission’s recommendations have been completely rejected by the Australian government.

In face-savingly stern terms, the Australian government is directing the book industry ’to respond to the increasing competition from imports without relying on additional government assistance’, rather than be forced to rely on the (unwanted) government handouts proposed by the Productivity Commission.

The same could be said to the Coalition for Cheaper Books. The government is not going to help you shore up your profits by eating into the narrow margins enjoyed by suppliers all through the book industry, from authors to publishers to printers to independent booksellers!

Congratulations to all the writers and readers who have won this battle to protect Australian culture. And a big shout out to Sheryl and the team at Savings Aussie Books – enjoy your celebrations, ladies, they’re very well earned!

There’s something in the air, can you feel it? Writers everywhere are planning, focussed, determined, motivated…

I call it the NaNo Effect. Even if you’re not signed up to write a novel this November, the impetus to write is everywhere around you. It’s a vortex, sucking you in to a wonderful world of words on the page and social writing fun.

AWMonline is running extra Writing Races with loads of special guests. Subscribers, log in this Sunday 3-4pm to write alongside the science fiction short story writer, Peter M. Ball, whose novella Horn was published with Twelfth Planet Press this year. He’s kooky and charming and full of good ideas about how to get those words on the page – and he’s madly finishing off a novella in time to start a NaNo project!

Peter M. Ball with Spokesbear

Then next Tuesday 7-9pm we are getting really adventurous, launching into a cross-platform world of social writing fun at Digital Pizza. If you’re in Brisbane, call QWC 07 3839 1243 to book your seat. If you prefer the online world, join us for this special two-hour Writing Race, with Captains Kim Wilkins and Trent Jamieson, and special guest Racer Kate Morton!

Perhaps, as Liz Sinclair explains to Angela Meyer, you can use this month of frenzied writing to raise funds for your writing project or another good cause. Technology is rendering old business models for content producers obsolete, so maybe writers will need to get used to taking their wares to market themselves; artisans at online markets ftw!

And for insight into how the other half lives, check out this fantastic blog by Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent. Offering straightforward and practical advice on the process of getting an agent, this post demonstrates the quality that is not often attributed to Agents, but which frequently strikes me as being there in abundance: heart.

Have a great writing weekend, folks.

I have made a commitment to balanced blogging, since I Could Have Cats took me to task for my recent rant on the PIR debate. But then something like this comes along: Kindle hits Australia this month.

Regular Speakeasy readers will remember that one of the key issues preventing the sale of Kindle outside the US was the complexity of Amazon’s negotiations with local telecommunications providers, whose 3G networks are required for distribution of Kindle books. According to cnet:

A spokesperson for VHA said it hadn’t signed a deal with the bookseller. Telstra has yet to respond to queries. Optus said it "had nothing to confirm". On the site, however, it is possible to check wireless coverage that the device will access, which seems to be quite extensive.

So everyone’s being very coy, but if you compare coverage maps (and thanks to the very clever Mark Bahnisch for this tip), it looks like a pretty good pattern match for Optus. Don’t take my word for it.

Now, let us all take a brief moment to grok out on the fact that the gadget uses real ink. Mmmm, lo-fi…

I alluded to a little rant about this issue, and here’s the thing. Well, there are many things, as non-Optus (I’m postulating) customers will soon realise, but here’s my thing: Prices are all in USD! For some, this would be no biggie – your actual price information is just a conversion rate away. But it represents a barrier to the seamless integration of e-books into users’ experiences, one of the strongest benefits of digital publishing. It also makes me feel totally coca-colonised.

Still, if you look at this comprehensive list of kindle services, Australia is better off than most countries, especially Islamic countries, and even poor old Canada, still out in the Kindle wilderness…

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From Publishers’ Lunch:

Simon & Schuster is taking their successful Simon Spotlight Entertainment line and merging it with Pocket Books’ hardcovers and trade paperbacks to create a new imprint, Gallery Books. Pocket itself will return to focusing entirely on mass market publishing, as partner for all of the S&S imprints and continuing with paperback originals for "rising authors" such as Kresley Cole and Thomas Greanias.

The new line is expected to launch in spring 2010. CEO Carolyn Reidy writes to employees that "as a company we need to insure that each of our imprints has sufficient strength and support, especially in this difficult environment." Reidy notes that Gallery will have immediate strength in areas where Pocket and SSE "have already forged well-earned reputations, such as women’s fiction, pop culture and entertainment," while it "will also operate with a mandate to acquire top authors and hot prospects in a broad range of publishing categories, both fiction and nonfiction."

Large publishers often lack agility in the marketplace, constraining their ability to respond to economic and cultural trends. It will be so interesting to see how Gallery Books performs.

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Budding scriptwriters pease note, next week is your last chance this year to throw your hat into the Neighbours pool:

The Australian Writers Guild has once again joined forces with FremantleMedia Australia to present the Neighbours Scriptwriter Training Initiative. The initiative provides the opportunity for two writers to join the Neighbours writing team for six weeks as trainee storyliners and learn what it takes to write for Australia’s favourite serial.

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FYI, Speakeasy will now be posting once weekly, as we move into the production schedule for the next AWM print edtion.

Write on, everybody!

A writer has brought this to my attention: a recruitment notice on the job site Seek for writers of children’s books. While it certainly seems to be an exciting opportunity, this approach raises a few questions: how does a publisher responsibly handle the potentially high number of submissions resulting from such a wide call out? How does a writer investigate the suitablity and credibility of the publisher involved, when so little information is supplied? And note, the burden of proof here is on the aspiring author, who must provide a CV and a sample, while the publisher provides only an email address. I’m interested to know, would you respond to this type of call out for manuscripts?

Over at Publishers Weekly there’s an amazing example of how digital publishing is both challenging and complementing traditional publishing: Kemble Scott released an e-reader edition of his second The Sower through scridbd.com, and quickly gained interest from a range of publishers. Since it was available as print-on-demand, The Sower did not have to wait the standard year or more to work it’s way through the traditional publishing process, which kept its contemporary cultural references fresh. Scott clearly understands marketing very well, and has great relationships with independent booksellers in the Bay Area. Now published in a limited hardcover edition, The Sower has reached the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller list. Says Scott, "This book was completely done outside all of the traditional gatekeepers of publishing… [P]eople can read the book for its merits and its content and not for the way it was published.”

Lastly folks, TINA is nearly upon us! This Is Not Art: Independent, Emerging and Experimental Arts Festival includes the National Young Writers Festival, as well as the Crack Theatre Festival, Sound Summit, Electrofringe and Critical Animals. So if you like writing, poetry, spoken word, zines or comics, get involved! TINA runs from 1-5 October in Newcastle Australia, so go for the festivals, and check out the beaches while you’re there…

Write on!

QWC rejects Commission’s stance on parallel importation of books
As you know, Speakeasy and the Australian writer’s Marketplace are both published by Queensland Writers Centre. QWC has released this statement on recent developments regarding the parallel importation of books:

On Tuesday 14 July, the Productivity Commission published the report of their investigation into copyright restrictions on the parallel importation of books. Since then, the issue has received a great deal of media coverage and we’ve had many calls and emails at QWC about this issue.

QWC does not support the removal of copyright restrictions on parallel importation of books. We believe it will be harmful to Australian authors and local content. You can read our submission to the Productivity Commission in this pdf. 

We are working through a number of channels to address this issue. We also support the efforts of the Australian Society of Authors, Australian Publishers Association and Australian Booksellers Association to achieve a more reasonable outcome for our industry. You, too, can help.

To learn more about how authors are affected by this issue, we encourage you to read the information on the Australian Society of Author’s website.

To take action against the report or find out how you can support the cause, visit Ausbooks or the Australian Society of Authors.

Agent Sydney breaks down the issue of ‘cheaper books’ for us over at Call My Agent:

Whenever you pay less for something than it is worth, someone loses. The loser is NOT going to be the public company that sells you the product; it is going to be the primary producer. This is the lesson our farmers have learnt. This is the lesson Australian writers are about to learn. If you value your Australian stories and the films and TV shows that are made from them – such as Underbelly – you will value the writers who created those stories. They are irreplaceable.

Lifting the current restrictions on the parallel importation of books will likely not make books cheaper, but it will definitely cheapen them.

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I am still entrenched in Tweet Camp at Booksquare University, and can highly recommend it as the place to learn everything about engaging with Twitter for business or pleasure: from simple tips like what sort of tweets there are and how to build your tribe, to a guide to Twetiquette and suggestions for integrating your Twitter use into your existing online presence and use of social media. The resources are fantastic, very professional and occasionally hilarious, like this guide by Constructive Grumpiness on 10 Irrational Behaviors on Twitter that’d make you look crazy in Real Life.

More about a writer’s life online: an upcoming QWC Wordpool seminar will look at the rapid changes in Australia’s writing and publishing industry: where will books fit in the digital future and how will this affect how we read and write? Join cyber celebrity and industry heavyweight, Mark Bahnisch, in a discussion as to what this means for Australia writers and readers, as he attempts to answer… what is the future of writing? Details here.

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Writing Race AWMonline forum tonight from 8-9pm AEST – come and check it out.

Tristan Bancks is running a BBWF 09 workshop You’ve got to be kidding! on writing novels for children. He has also co-authored a YA novel its yr life with former Home and Away co-star Tempany Deckhart. They teamed up between Australia and LA via email to write a suspense novel filled with links, web references and partly written in text-speak: interesting that the online collaboration method of writing is reflected in the composition and digital enrichment of the book itself.

The Write Around the Murray Festival offers events, workshops, school programs and more, reflecting the vibrant literary culture around Albury City and region.

Check out SavingAussieBooks – go for the lols, but stay for Darren Groth’s irrefutable ’stache-tastic logic in The Magnum PI Arguwrite Against PI.

Today was the final day for submissions to Hachette Australia and QWC’s national manuscript development competition, with QWC receiving close to 200 submissions. To everyone who submitted, hearty congratulations for taking that big step and putting your manuscript out there… Give yourself a pat on the back, and enjoy a glass of your preferred celebratory beverage!

Have a happy writing weekend, all.

By now, you would have heard the anguished cries of authors around Australia railing against the Productivity Commission’s recommendations to lift all Parallel Importation Restrictions (PIR). The Commission’s report can be summed up a few keypoints:

• repeal PIR protecting Australian publishers and independent booksellers in 3 years
• ‘review’ the financial assistance needs of the Australian literary sector
• ABS to survey industry and measure impact of changes in 5 years

In case you didn’t catch the drift there, the Commission is recommending that the currently self-sustaining Australian literary sector be forced to take taxpayer handouts, so that profits can be syphoned off to big booksellers.

Heading the media charge to spin these findings in favour of Australian readers is Dymocks CEO, Don Grover, who heads up the so-called Coalition for Cheaper Books."This will only serve to bring in a more competitive market," says Grover. Excuse me? How is a market where smaller booksellers are wiped out and fewer Australian titles available for sale more competitive? Ah, I see, he mispoke. He clearly meant to say "…a more profitable market. For me." Got it.

Bob Carr claims the report is "A win for Australian literacy". Awesome! This from the man whose political legacy has been to completely trash the infrastructure of the state of New South Wales, and now has the Australian writing and publishing industry in his sights. Good to see he is at least consistent in his strip mining approach to social equity and infrastructure, since the books available to Aussie kids will finally teach them how to pronounce "mom" and "zee" correctly. Bring on the Republic.

To take action against the report or find out how you can support the cause, visit Ausbooks or the Australian Society of Authors.  

For a balanced overview, see this article in The Age. For the flagrant misuse of teen cleavage to sell a lemon, see the front page of The Australian.

We’re grafting these branches onto a tree that already had an organic, balanced structure. Knowing that we’re changing the organism, we’re trying not to do anything toxic to it, and to keep everything in some kind of balance. At this point, I don’t know what the result will be. I have some intuitions, but my mind is completely open. [Walter Murch, quoted in The Artful Edit by Susan Bell.]

Editorial Ass has a couple of interesting articles on editors, money, and literature. They argue that editors tend to be an underpaid lot, as are most people who work in publishing, which has implications for the shape of literature as a whole.

Lack of adequate financial remuneration doesn’t stop ‘em, though – thank goodness. Last year, 112 Australian editors gained accredited status. Editors around Australia are again gearing up for the next round of Accreditation exams to be held simultaneously in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, and Perth.  The three-hour exam will be held on Saturday 12 September, and registrations are open until 31 July 2009. Today is your last chance to take advantage of the early-bird discount. See The Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) for information and registration, or contact your local Society of Editors for  workshops and practice exams.

A book can be really tender shoots at first. And if you have the wrong kind of editing at that point it can kill it. Kill something that is potentially very good. It’s tremendously imporant to figure out who that other set of eyes ought to be. Because there are people out there who may acutally be envious of you… [Tracy Kidder in The Artful Edit.]

Good advice. Let’s respect our craft by working with people who possess the requisite skills. But also, let’s keep our feet on the ground, and not get carried away by the imagined value of our manuscript - as does the self-published author in this Writer Beware article. This cautionary tale gives us a reality check: literary theft is not common, mostly because it just doesn’t pay. Better to expend our energies in developing our unique voice, rather than fighting legal battles with writers whose ideas spring from the same fertile ground.

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It’s about time for another Fri(edbrain)day of random links:

Advance, or no advance: romance writer Jackie Barbosa divides the royalties pie.

This London Grip article on Emerging Trends in Business and Social Technology takes us from Consumers to Prosumers to Selfsumers to … sumer-wrestling, perhaps?

For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music  – the new Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse album.  Such a great CD,  but if someone hadn’t accidentally dropped it onto the interwebz, we’d never have heard it. There’s a legal stream here.

And finally, new book smell in a can for e-readers? Don’t be ridiculous. "Eau, you have cats!"