Editing Clauses in Publishing Contracts: What to Watch For - Writer Beware (R)

Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Writer Beware (R) site. With no digging at all in the posts he found one about editing clauses in publishing contracts.

 

Watch out.

Victoria Strauss's post includes samples of red-flag editing clauses. For example: these would be clauses which don't allow the author to see the editing changes made to the manuscript before publication or the publisher has the right to make complete re-writes without author input. There's also a section about what to do if you find one of these editing clauses in your publishing contract.

 

Panzer says, "There sure is a lot to watch out for if you deal with a traditional publisher."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea, a muffin and three chocolate chip cookies.

 

To read the post tootle over to editing clauses

Top Ten Publishing Industry Trends Every Author Needs To Know in 2019 - Written Word Media

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Written Word Media site. With just a little digging around in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about publishing trends for 2019.

I'll one busy kitty this year.

Written Word Media founder Ricci Wolman has posted about 2019's publishing industry trends.  With information gained from surveying readers, writers and publishers she has put together a list of trends indie authors/publishers need to take advantage of in the coming year. The list begins with an examination of the Amazon Marketing Service (AMS). The need for good editing and audio books are also examined as well as seven other trends.

Panzer says, "Yesterday we looked at Mark Coker's predictions for 2019 and today we look at Ricci Wolman's trends for 2019. Put the two together and you've got a head on your plan for the year."

Note: This is a long medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to publishing industry trends

Amazon laying off 58 workers at North Charleston self-publishing business - The Post and Courier

Panzer just can't get a nap today. He was just starting a little snooze when the news alarm started blaring in the Panzermobile. Heading into the Catosphere our poor kitty pilot was buffeted by crying and shouting. Following all the noise took him to the The Post and Courier site, where he discovered news about Amazon's Createspace business.

According to the post by Thad Moore, Amazon is laying off 58 workers at the North Charleston Createspace self-publishing business. Amazon is closing down the editing, marketing and design divisions of Createspace. Amazon said the company intends to continue printing books.

Please! No more news tonight!

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks Createspace is going the way of the dodo bird. Very soon Amazon is going to funnel paperback authors into the Amazon store only. No more sending your Createspace books to other bookstores and to libraries."

Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and three muffins for this reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Create Space

Self-Publishing firm finds national audience - New Hampshire Business Review

Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our inquisitive kitty boy found an interesting post about self-publishing at the New Hampshire Business Review site.

Always check things out first.

According to a post there by Liisa Rajala, self-published author J.J. Hebert has a company called MindStir Media. Based on his experiences with his self-publishing, Mr. Hebert decided to help other authors with the process, He hired editors and illustrators to be able to offer those services to authors. In order to be a full service company to authors, his next step was to start a self-publishing press, Seacoast. They publish hardbacks, softcover, and ebooks and report they've published 400 books now.

Panzer says, "The last section of the post is an interview with an author who has used the business for all of her books."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a b-i-g cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to self-publishing firm

Is The Self Pub Stigma Gone?

Only the best will do.

Panzer made a hurried trip into the Catosphere today. He was late for his after lunch nap and wanted to get to it before he fell asleep at the controls of the Panzermobile. Our kitty reporter of all things indie stopped in at the Indie Reader site.

According to the IR Staff, because indie publishing has been so easy in the past, a lot of material that was unedited, had bad covers and should have been left in a desk drawer to die a slow death was instead self pubbed. This lead to reader overload of ebook garbage and a bad reputation for everyone who self pubbed.

But, the IR Staff says the self pub stigma may finally be disappearing. The quality of indie books in general is improving. Indie books are being nominated for prizes and even winning some. Indie books are even making it onto some best seller lists.

Panzer says, "Humans should put as much time into self pubbing the best book they can as they put into talking about the book they self pubbed."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a b-i-g c-u-p of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Indie Reader

Ellis Shuman Writes: How to Write a Thriller like Dan Brown

Editing is a long road.

Panzer is still searching the Catosphere for editing help on his newest WIP (Work In Progress). He told you last week about a post he found at Jody Hedllund's blog about keeping readers' caught up in the action in your book.

Well, today my bad boy found a post at the Ellis Shuman Writes blog that he thinks you'll find useful. This is an older post (from August 27, 2013) but still totally relevant.

Shuman has read all of Dan Brown's books. He's spent time evaluating how Brown's writing has managed to have such a wide readership. He explains what he's discovered about Brown's formula for writing a thriller. Shuman uses a step by step style that's easy to understand.

Panzer plans to take Shuman's 13 steps and evaluate his plot against them.

Panzer says, "Nobody ever said editing was fast, easy, or fun!"

If you want to know how Dan Brown writes a thriller, tootle over to Ellis Shuman Writes: How to Write a Thriller like Dan Brown: I remember boarding a flight from Israel to the United States in January 2004, with a copy of The Da Vinci Code in hand. The plane made a...

6 Ways to Keep Readers Up Past Their Bedtime

Just what I was looking for.

Panzer was out searching for some help on editing. He stopped at Jody Hedlund's blog. The post he found there isn't specifically about editing, but it has some good tips on making sure your work is engaging to your readers.

Among other points, Jody addresses Panzer's biggest bugaboo which is making sure scenes count. He has a problem including scenes that don't move the plot forward. That means they're just plain boring. Boring scenes need to be eliminated at the editing stage ... not at the reading stage!

There are five more tips in Jody's post that are just as relevant during editing and my bad boy will be checking them all in his newest project.

If you need help getting your newest project into shape, tootle over to 6 Ways to Keep Readers Up Past Their Bedtime

My Wattpad Experience, Emily Benet

With a little help from friends.

Panzer has mentioned here before that he has a Wattpad account. He loves discovering new writers there!

You post your writing work there in chapters. Readers give opinions and encouragement to help you with your work.

He was doing the Happy Cat Dance when he read this post at The Writing Platform by Emily Benet. She explains how she set up her Wattpad profile and through it was able to get marketing help with her writing.

If you want to read about what Wattpad can do for your writing, tootle over to My Wattpad Experience, Emily Benet

Before Revising Your NaNoWriMo Novel

As Panzer and I told you a few days ago, we took part in this year's National Novel Writing Month.

We're still recuperating, so we haven't started the rewriting and editing on our novel yet. We're glad we haven't because Panzer found a post by Angela Ackerman at the Writers Helping Writers blog. Angela discusses the things to do before you start your rewrite and edit of your NaNoWriMo novel.

The first thing is to let the novel rest. Set it aside and don't read it. While it's resting you need to think about your character development and plot development. Were there some things that didn't seem to work while you were writing? These steps will get you ready to start the rewriting and editing.

Panzer says, "These should be what you do with everything you write."

If you want to know how to go about rewriting and editing your work, tootle over to Your Nanowrimo Novel

What Makes a Reader Pick Up a Book By a Debut Author?

I don't agree.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere looking for marketing ideas. He found an interesting post from April at Jody Hedlund's blog.

Jody discusses the five things she believes a reader looks for when deciding if a debut author's book is worth looking at. Among the five are the standard have a good cover and have lots of reviews, but also included are word of mouth, written by a friend and whether it's traditionally or indie published. She has an argument for why readers consider each point.

Panzer agrees with all of the points discussed except whether readers actually care if a book is traditionally or indie published. A few years ago that was important, but today that's no longer true. A whole editing industry has grown up around indie publishing. Indie published books are as well edited now as traditionally published books.

If you're interested in Jody's view, tootle on over to What Makes a Reader Pick Up a Book By a Debut Author?

Aaron Patterson's Blog: Building a career: Guest Post By Allan Leverone

Panzer and I were out in the Catosphere and we stopped in at The Worst Book Ever, Aaron Patterson's blog.

The blog post title, Building a career is a little misleading. It's not specifically about building your career but, instead, about the necessary steps every indie ebook writer needs to take to have a successful ebook. You know the drill: the best editing; the best cover art. It's a good reminder for all of us from guest poster Allan Leverone. 

Panzer says check out  Aaron Patterson's Blog: Building a career: Guest Post By Allan Leverone: Building a career: Guest Post By Allan Leverone It’s been said that over eighty percent of the U.S. population believes they have a book i...

Panzer and I will see you later. We're off to check out some more interesting blogs in the Catosphere.