Entries Tagged 'Friday Fry-Up' ↓

INDUSTRY NEWS

• The Australia Council is looking for a new CEO

GETTING PUBLISHED

• Charlie Jane Anders has a great post about How to Write For Money without Selling Out over on i09
• Sophie Masson on Writing an Outline for Writer’s Unboxed.

WRITING ADVICE

• Alan Baxter on The Importance of Research
• Publishing Perspectives has some useful keystroke tips designed to speed up your processes while you’re working on a computer
• Brain Pickings lists 8 Great Pieces of Writing Advice from Kurt Vonnegutt and another post featuring advice from F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 99U on maximizing your creativity by switching tasks
• Michael Pryor has 5 Tips for Revising and Editing your work

UNDERSTANDING THE INDUSTRY

• Publishing Perspective has an article about literary start-up Plympton and their experience selling e-serials on the kindle; also worth reading is  10 Strategies for Publishers to Succeed and Survive
• Router’s has an article about a legal case surrounding media’s use of photographs tweeted during the 2010 Haiti earthquake
• The Shazkin Files takes a look at ebook sales stats and the difficulties of interpreting current data

AUTHOR PLATFORM

• Writer Unboxed has 7 Ways Twitter is an Endless Writer’s Holiday Party and a great post about Resolutions to Tweet Better in 2013
• Brad Phillips notes 5 Things Bad Radio Guests Do (and 7 Ways to Rock on Radio)

INDIE PUBLISHING

• Jane Friedman’s post on Commodity Publishing, Self Publishing, and The Future of Fiction makes for some fascinating reading, with some very interesting responses in the comments
• The Kobo Writinglife blog weighs in on Power Pricing for ebooks.

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

INDUSTRY NEWS

• Harlequin has teamed with Cosmopolitan magazine produce the Red Hot Reads joint ebook venture

GETTING PUBLISHED

• Virginia Lloyd on What Australian Publishers Want
• Deanna Uroske looks at Six Essential Issues in Any Ebook Contract Negotiation

UNDERSTANDING THE INDUSTRY

• Christopher Currie blogs about what it’s like a year after your novel has been published
• Forbes has an article about the best and worst parts of freelancing
• Shawn Coyne on the recent moves to monetize slush piles

AUTHOR PLATFORM

• Monica Valentinelli discusses why she doesn’t use social media for business communication

INDIE PUBLISHING

• Bob Greenburger on why there’s No Need for a Writer to Be Discouraged
• Publishing Perspectives has 13 Tips for Publishers when it comes to metadata

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

OPPORTUNITIES

• The Emerging Writers Festival is offering a 6 month Digital Mentorship for aspiring bloggers and digital content creators. Applications close 16 December
• HarperCollins has launched an electronic imprint dedicated to young adult short stories and novellas

EDITOR AND AGENT INTERVIEWS

• Publishing Perspectives has an interview with YA Publisher Dan Weiss about Publishing for Gen Y and “New Adult” Literature
• Dear Author interviews Kate Cuthbert, the editor of Harelquin Australia’s recently launched Escape fiction line
• The Australian Literature Review has an interview with Tara Wynne, agent with Curtis Brown

GETTING PUBLISHED

• Esquire has a great article about why we’re in a golden age for writers
• The omnivoracious blog and how to talk about your book
• Angela Slatter looks at what not to do when you’re an aspiring author

UNDERSTANDING THE INDUSTRY

• Diana Peterfreund on The Competition and literary friendships
• Yuka Igarashi (via the Granta blog) on the perils of being a copy-editor
• Ryan O’Neil on the pleasures of linked short-story collections
• K. A. Mitchell asks what should a romance writer look like?
• Writers Beware has some commentary on Archway Publishing, Simon and Schuster’s new self-publishing imprint

WRITING ADVICE

• Charlie Jane Anders discusses How to Know if the First Draft of Your Novel Just Isn’t Worth Salvaging
• Kylie Scott has some advice on How Not To Write a Sex Scene in 10 Simple Steps
• Amie Kaufman offers Three Ways To Improve Your Critique Using Conflict Communication

AUTHOR PLATFORM

• James J. Parsons discusses How to Be (in)Visible
• Dan Blank asks Do You Cringe When Authors Market Their Books?
• Porter Anderson on social media and author narcissism (via Writer Unboxed)
• Jane Friedman looks at 10 Ways To Build Long-Lasting Traffic To Your Author Website

INDIE PUBLISHING

• Jonathan Snook on selling a book via his website versus selling it via Amazon

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Writers Victoria is taking applicants for the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship, which will award $10,000 to an Australian writer to support the writing and research of a new biography. Details are available on their website
• SA Writer’s Centre are looking for a writer in residence for early 2013

WRITING ADVICE

• Brain Pickings has some great posts on the Daily Routines of Famous Writers and Joan Didion’s notebook habits.
• The Judges Report for the Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize contains some great feedback on the types of submissions the competition received in addition to the strengths of the winners.
• Inkpunks has a great primer of Writing About Fighting

INDUSTRY NEWS & COMMENTARY

• Bryce Courtnay has lost his battle with stomach cancer
• Hot on the heels of the Penguin-Random House merger, there’s reports that Simon and Schuster is in talks with Harper Collins
• The Tolkien Estate is suing Warner Brothers, the company behind the forthcoming Hobbit adaptation, claiming the company is overstepping its rights when it comes to merchandising the film (the article is particularly interesting because the crux of the lawsuit seems to revolve around digital rights management)
• Joel Naoum of Momentum Books looks at The Business of Storytelling in a Digital World

PLATFORM BUILDING

• The Creative Penn on building an email list for writers and authors

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

PUBLISHING ADVICE

• SF author Charlie Stross outlines some of the misconceptions that are common among new writers.
• Dear Author explores The Evolution of a Series.
• Carrie Vaughn on Micropayments as a Much-Needed Pat On the Back (via Genreality)
• YA Highway on managing relationships with Non-Writing Spouses

WRITING ADVICE

• 8 Urban Myths to Squelch During Author Critique Sessions
• Booklifenow.com on How To Write When You Don’t Have Time

INDUSTRY NEWS & COMMENTARY

• The President of the US Author’s Guild has released a public statement regarding the Penguin/Random House merger.
• Forbes.com takes a look at Which Major Publishers Do Best at Ebook Sales
• A recent study has shown that school text books may play a pivotal role in establishing national attitudes (via Publishing Perspective)
• The MacMillain Dictionary has decided to phase out print editions in favour of its electronic services

NANOWRIMO

• Monica Valentinelli posts about NaNoWriMo By the Numbers.
• Diana Peterfreund asks Why the NaNo Hating?

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

The AWM team is off to GenreCon this weekend – if you’re a genre writer in the Sydney area, come check us out. For everyone else, here’s a handful of tasty writing and publishing links to get you through the weekend:

OPPORTUNITIES

• The program for Melbourne’s NonfictionNow conference will be running November 21 – 24. Program details are available now.

PUBLISHING ADVICE

• Stroppy Authors guide to publishing is teaching folks how to speak publisher. This week – F is for Flat Fee.

WRITING ADVICE

• Dan Blank discusses authors building support teams over on Writer Unboxed.

INDUSTRY NEWS & COMMENTARY

• The Board of the Eleanor Dark Foundation Ltd has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer for Varuna The Writers’ House. Jansis O’Hanlon will take up the position in late November, 2012.
• Jane Friedman asks Do Publishers Need to Add Offer More Value to Authors? as an accompaniment to her piece The Future of the Author-Publisher Relationship.
• Joel Noaoum on why Momentum dropped DRM from their ebooks and who really owns your electronic bookshelf?
• Jason Sizemore of US-based Apex Book Company explains why he runs a genre magazine and proposes we read more short fiction

PLATFORM BUILDING

• A bit of a retro link for this one, but we find that Jane Friedman’s definition of Author Platform is worth revisiting from time to time.

NANOWRIMO

• 5 Nano Tips from Susan J. Morris on the Omnivoracious blog.

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

OPPORTUNITIES

• The Poetica Christi Press 2012 Poetry Competition is open to entries until October 31st. The theme for the competition is Exploring the Depths and first prize is $300

WRITING ADVICE

• Ivan Ewert on Writing Horror (When You Didn’t Think You Could) at Booklifenow.com
• Gabriela Pereira has 3 Steps for Using Writing Prompts to Write Better & Get Published at janefriedman.com

INDUSTRY NEWS & COMMENTARY

• The heirs of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster have been denied the opportunity to reclaim their copyright
• HarperCollins has celebrated the 161st anniversary of Moby Dick by showcasing the original, handwritten book contract on their tumblr.
• Stuart Glover discusses Little Magazines, McSweeney’s, Jordan Bass, and the Future.
• Publishers Weekly are reporting that Penguin and Random House may merge. The two companies are in discussions, although this is a long way from reaching an agreement.

PLATFORM BUILDING

• Chuck Sambuchino looks at the numbers associated with author platforms for Writers Unboxed and asks How Much is Enough?
• The Book Designer discusses Why Your Blog’s “About” Page Matters

INDIE PUBLISHING

• It’s not exactly news that indie publishing is booming these days, with more writers taking the self-published options, but Publishers Weekly is now reporting a triple-digit growth in the number of self-published authors since 2007.
• Australian Indie Author Sarah Billington has started a petition asking Amazon to make payments to International authors electronically instead of via cheque.
• Sam Missingham on why SEO and Discoverability are important for indie authors.

NANOWRIMO

• Kevin J. Anderson is one of Science Fiction’s most prolific authors and he’s started a series of posts about writing productivity for NaNo participants

And that’s the fry-up for this week. As always, we’re interested in hearing about any links we may have missed in the comments, and we hope you have a great weekend of writing ahead of you.

We’re testing out a new approach to the fry-up this week, separating the weeks links into categories to make it a little easier to navigate and find the information that’s most relevant to you. Let us know what you think and, as always, let us know about any links we’ve missed in the comments.

OPPORTUNITIES

• The Text Prize is open to fiction and non-fiction written for Young Adults, with $10,000 prize money going to the winner
• Wild Writers has launched the first annual Wild Writer’s competition for students from Grade 5 to Year 12
• The Pitching Program at the inaugural AWM GenreCon is now open. We’re open to applications by all GenreCon attendees until October 24th

WRITING ADVICE

• Daily Writing Tips on How to Write a Lead Paragraph
• The Writer’s Forensic Blog has The Essential Characteristic of a Thriller Hero

INDUSTRY NEWS

• Screen actor Johnny Depp has joined the publishing world, teaming up with HarperCollins to start the Infinitum Nihil imprint

PLATFORM BUILDING

• Andrew Nette discusses the importance of identifying your community when building an author platform
• Mary Robinette-Kowal on The Difference Between Audience and Market
• AuthorBuzz has a list of 11 Things Not To Do Before Your Book Launch

INDIE PUBLISHING

• J. M. Ney-Grimm with a cover design primer

NANOWRIMO

We’re halfway through October, which means the internet is gearing up for the annual write-fest known as NaNoWriMo in November. If you’re among the swarm of writers preparing for the month-long sprint to produce a novel draft, this handful of links is dedicated to you:

• Writer/Editor Jennifer Brozek offers her NaNoWriMo tips
• James Scott Bell discusses how to write a novel in a month over on The Killzone (personally, I’m a big fan of the Furious Five Hundred to start the day)
• We were reminded of Scott Westerfeld’s phenomenal 30 Days of NaNoWrimo Tips from last year
• Chuck Wendig has collated a NaNoWriMo Primer from the advice previously posted on his site (as always, we warn you that Chuck Wendig’s advice isn’t for the faint of heart)

We’re playing it fast and loose with the Fry Up this week, on account of the AWM team heading off to join our friends at it:Book Australia at BookCamp.

The EWF blog has a brilliant post on the pay-rates of many Australian fiction and non-fiction markets that deal with emerging writers. A great resources and well-worth checking out (and, contrary to the standard internet wisdom, it’s worth reading the comments too).

Tim Parks has a fascinating article on the relationship between money and writing in the New York Review of Books.

Diana Peterfreund on countering bad writing advice given to aspiring writers.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch on why Content is King and writers are lining up to get screwed.

Australian literary blogger Angela Meyer gets interviewed about blogging and social media at The Signal Express.

Matthew Turner highlights 5 Free Services That Help You Build Author Platform for janefriedman.com.

A man in Manila has created an informal public library by putting his book collection out on the street for anyone to peruse and borrow from.

Writer Unboxed on Rebuilding the Optimism.

Nextness compiles 25 Lesson for Creatives taken from Patti Smith’s Just Kids.

The Digital Reader on How Technology has Changed Stories.

It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s the links that caught our attention this week. How about you? Let us know about anything we missed in the comments.

In one of the more worrying pieces of industry news this week, California literary agent Pam van Hylckama Vlieg has been attacked by a disgruntled author whose manuscript was rejected. Obviously, this isn’t a tactic we recommend to aspiring authors.

Anna Spargoryan has a great post on Crowdfunding and What Happens When You Don’t Get Over the Line over on the Emerging Writers Festival Online Journal. With so much being made of successful crowdfunding efforts (or, these days, massively over-successful crowdfunding efforts), it’s great to see that there are still positives to be drawn from a project that doesn’t reach it’s funding goal.

Of course, as publishers, authors, and others  start embracing the crowd-funding model, how do you start managing the inevitable deluge of emails asking for support, re-tweets, and blog posts to get the message out? Robin Laws suggests some New Etiquette for Freelancers in the age of Kickstarter.

Joanna Penn discusses her recently adopted habit of editing on the kindle, with the switch in format allowing her to examine a familiar manuscript with new eyes.

Open Culture has a rare audio recording of O. Henry sharing the Secrets of Writing a Short Story.

Chuck Wendig offers some simple-but-brilliant advice on Building a Better Character (as usual when we link to Chuck’s advice, it comes with a warning that there will be a combination of irreverence and foul language in addition to some very smart thinking about writing).

And finally, Angela Slatter breaks the bad news to aspiring writers seeking an agent – There Is No Secret Handshake.

Those are the links that caught our attention this week – how about you? Let us know in the comments if there’s something you think we’ve missed, advice you found useful, or a post of your own that you’d like to share with the Speakeasy readership.