A response to Amazon’s decision to discontinue its digital magazine subscription program All the Ways We Have to Reach You by Janet Hutchings re: Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. The article includes the interesting history of its publishing. Posted on March 30, 2023 by somethingisgoingtohappen
8 Tips for Authors to Boost Their Homepage by Camilla Monk
She says the average visitor to a webpage is there for 54 seconds, and most never leave your homepage. As the old saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Make it a good one.
Why Every Author Needs to Work with a Professional Editor by Ramona Marek
A professional editor makes your work be its best.
Ramona (right) with her academic editor mom (left)
Apple is now using AI to increase the number of audiobooks it can release. To begin, they are using two male voices and two female voices. Authors receive royalties as usual. The popularity of audiobooks surged in 2021.
Applications for the 2023 Pride Award are open June 1 to July 31 for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers. The Pride Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Although this article is from 2021, you can still pick up good tips for book promotion.
The Writer magazine’s article, “The Fine Print,” shares what to look for in a small publisher. The pluses are personalized service, many don’t require authors to have an agent, shorter timelines to publish dates, and often more input on cover art and other aspects of the book and its promotion. POD, or print-on-demand, produces a copy when it’s ordered. There’s no print run with hundreds of books in a warehouse. Quality remains the same. Bookstores won’t carry POD books, but the upside is that authors won’t have to worry about returns. POD is better for the environment too.
Publisher Drops Author After TikTok Backlash and GoodReads Review Bombing
Meant as a sarcastic joke that fell flat, the results were far-reaching.
A Utah School District has banned the Bible from multiple school bookshelves for its ‘Vulgarity and Violence’
Downsizing your book stash and looking for a good home for them? Here are suggestions:
These lists have some duplicates but also new ideas.
https://www.rd.com/list/donate-used-books/
https://boogiedownbooks.com/donate-books
https://libguides.ala.org/book-donations/seeking-books
Why Boston is turning bus stops into digital pop-up libraries
Twenty bus stops were set up with QR codes so riders can access audiobooks, newspapers, magazines, and ebooks without a library card. The effort’s pilot program is called Bro
wse, Borrow, Board and runs through August.
Do you collect pretty pictures on Pinterest and that’s as far as your knowledge goes? Here’s an article about ways to utilize it to sell books.
It’s hard to keep track of which companies own others. Here’s the scoop on Amazon.
Reading And Writing Podcast – Michael Bracken, interviewed by Jeff Rutherford
Michael Bracken, a prolific writer of short stories, explains his process for writing and how he chooses stories for the anthologies he edits. (from December 2022)
Tending Orchids by Christopher Latragna or how to convince yourself to write
From Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast—A mystery podcast produced by Kings River Life Magazine (kingsriverlife.com) with short stories & first chapters read by local actors. The Rabbi’s Wife Stayed Home was published in Mysterical-E – Mystericale.com in April 2014.
Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington’s Sarah Blair cozy mystery series (One Taste Too Many, Two Bites Too Many, Three Treats Too Many, Four Cuts Too Many, Five Belles Too Many). She also is the author of Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery. Her award-winning Maze in Blue, is a mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus.
