(date: 2024-01-19 15:57:50)
date: 2024-01-19, from: Author’s Union blog
Our last post highlighted one of the amicus briefs filed in the Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit, which made the point that controlled digital lending serves important privacy interests for library readers. Today I want to highlight a second new issue introduced on appeal and addressed by almost every amici: the proper way to assess […]
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2024/01/19/hachette-v-internet-archive-amicus-briefs-on-non-commercial-use/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-19, from: Locus Magazine
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has announced that the 2024 Nebula Conference and Awards will be held June 6-9, 2024 at the Westin Pasadena in Pasadena CA, and virtually online. “The team has already begun preparations and we hope to once again welcome you no matter which way you decide to attend! Registration will be opening soon, but before it does, we’re looking for both programming ideas …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/2024-nebula-conference-news/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-19, from: Locus Magazine
These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs (Orbit US 978-0-316-46332-4, $19.99, 423pp, tp) October 2023.
These Burning Stars is Bethany Jacobs’s debut novel, and it’s an interesting and ambitious space opera – and a surprisingly self-contained narrative for an entry in that typically sprawling subgenre. Jacobs has the confidence to go big, and the control to bring her debut to a satisfying conclusion: I feel that fans of Megan E. O’Keefe’s …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/liz-bourke-reviews-these-burning-stars-by-bethany-jacobs/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-19, from: Final Draft blog
As the 2024 Sundance Film Festival approaches its 40th year, the best shorts in the independent film world will show on the silver screen in Park City, Utah. From January 18 through the 28 (with some titles available online from January 25 through 28), the 53 short films selected from 12,098 submissions, the highest number on record, we can learn a few things as screenwriters. Here are our five takeaways from the 2024 Sundance short films.
https://blog.finaldraft.com/five-takeaways-from-sundance-2024-short-films Save to Pocket
@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-19, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
Thank you!
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-18, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
The Ray Bradbury Centennial of Selected Shorts that I hosted is up online. Yetide Badaki. Javier Muñoz. Kirsten Vangsness. Three magical Bradbury stories…
www.symphonyspace.org/selected-sho…
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-18, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
Thank you! It was a magical night.
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-18, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
I love this review. That was what we were hoping for.
https://bsky.app/profile/neilhimself.neilgaiman.com/post/3kjbxq3zeus26 Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-18, from: Final Draft blog
“I think that approaching the grand things through the smallest entryways possible is the best way to go about taking on these massive issues… So yes, this movie is about race and racism and art and who’s allowed to make certain kinds of art - these are really big, unwieldy issues. But the reason that I think people can relate to them –and it doesn’t feel so top heavy or clumsy – is because you see it through a character that was deeply personal to me,” says Cord Jefferson, writer/director of American Fiction.
https://blog.finaldraft.com/write-on-american-fiction-writer/director-cord-jefferson Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-18, from: Locus Magazine
Fantasy 10/23 Flash Fiction Online 10/23 GigaNotoSaurus 10/23 Baffling 10/23
Unfortunately, October also brought the final issue of Fantasy, which closed in impressive fashion. First, in fiction, Ruoxi Chen’s “Fandom for Witches“, finds Lara, a Chinese-American girl lightly obsessed with the (definitely not Supernatural) fictional television show Sanctuary Road. The story deals with yearning, with fitting in, with all the messy bits of growing up and feeling alone …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/charles-payseur-reviews-short-fiction-fantasy-flash-fiction-online-giganotosaurus-and-baffling/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-18, from: Locus Magazine
Author David Baldacci has been named the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion to recognize “a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers.”
PEN/Faulkner executive director Gwydion Suilebhan said,
David Baldacci, whose novels have captivated millions of readers worldwide, has been a paragon of service to the literary community… PEN/Faulkner is dedicated to the idea that fiction creates empathy within and among communities …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/baldacci-named-pen-faulkner-literary-champion/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-17, from: Margaret Atwoods Substack
Is it a hot air balloon?
https://margaretatwood.substack.com/p/democracy-the-animation Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-17, from: Locus Magazine
Bittersweet in the Hollow, Kate Pearsall (Putnam 978-0-59353-102-0, $18.99, 384pp, hc) October 2023. Cover by Imogen Oh.
Linden James is the third of four sisters, and like all the James women, she and her sisters have some sort of magical ability. Linden can taste and recognize other people’s emotions; her second sister can tell when someone is lying, while the fourth sister can contact the spirits of the dead. …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/alexandra-pierce-reviews-bittersweet-in-the-hollow-by-kate-pearsall/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-17, from: Literature & a Latte blog
<p>If <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/how-to-create-an-ebook-by-compiling-your-scrivener-project" target="_blank">you've self-published an ebook</a>, you need to choose its pricing carefully. <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/how-does-ebook-pricing-work" target="_blank">Ebook pricing is perceived differently than that of print books</a>, since purchasers don't obtain anything tangible when they buy an ebook. <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-price-for-your-ebook" target="_blank">Choosing the right price for your ebook can be difficult</a>, and you may be tempted to try different prices to see how well your book sells. All ebook platforms let you change the price of your books whenever you want, so you can experiment with selling books at different prices.</p>Discounting ebooks can help drive sales, and help readers discover new authors. But they can also have other effects. If you discount one of your books, make sure to promote the discounts on your socials. If enough readers purchase the book, this will drive up the book's sales rank, and it could put it in the top 100 books on the platform where you've run the discount. Many readers look at these lists when trying to find new books to read, and getting on a best-seller list can keep the book selling, even after you've ended the discount.
It can be useful to think of discounting some of your books from time to time. If you write in a series and have already published several books in the series, it's a good idea to discount the first book in the series, perhaps even permanently. Selling a first installment for $.99 or £.99 could help attract readers who might not be sure that they are interested in your books. That price is cheap enough that someone can take a chance, and, if they don't like the book, not regret the expense. If they do like the book, they might go on to buy the rest of the series.
Even if you don't write in a series, you might want to discount one of your early books. The reason is the same: to get readers to discover what you've written. If they like it, they might buy more books. A good time to do this is when you've just published a new book at full price; if readers like the discounted book, they may pay full price for the newest title.
You can run short-term deep discounts for one or more of your books if you wish. You could try discounting a book for a week or two, and see if sales increase for that book and others. Amazon lets you run Kindle Countdown Deals, which are timed discounts. Amazon also runs Kindle daily deals and monthly deals. While Amazon's marketing team selects the books for these deals, you can nominate up to two books for these promotions. Amazon says that this process is in beta, and there are probably thousands of authors nominating their books, but it can't hurt to try.
Getting on Amazon's daily or monthly deals can have a huge effect on your books. While most of the deals are sold at $.99 or £.99, and you don't earn much from them, you may sell hundreds of books in a one-day deal. As with other discounts, this bumps your sales rank and can put your book in the best-seller lists. It can also give you valuable exposure, which is generally worth much more than what you've lost selling the books at a deep discount. Those readers who don't buy your book will still see your name, and your book's cover, which may resonate with them the next time they see it.
Deep discounts also target a core group of big readers, who have a TBR pile - either real or virtual - that is imposing. According to Statista, 39% of Americans read more than 20 books a year. These voracious readers often look for new authors and are likely to buy books when they're discounted, giving them opportunities to try out new authors or to buy back catalog from authors they like. I confess to having a couple hundred of ebooks in my Kindle library that I haven't read yet, but I often dip into these books when I'm looking for something to read and don't have a new book waiting. At £.99p each, it's almost as if the books are free. (Of course, if I add them all up, then it's far from free.)
Your books have a natural life cycle. If you have enough regular readers, and promote your new books via a mailing list and social media, new books will sell well for a month or two, then sales will drop. When you think sales have bottomed out, try a deep discount, and see if that gives you a bump. If you've published several books, take the time to set up a spreadsheet with monthly sales, so you can spot the best time to run discounts. And make sure to promote those discounts on the same channels you use to promote new books. Your existing readers, who may not have all your books, may buy discounted books, and you may pick up new readers. Even though it seems counter-intuitive, discounting your ebooks can be beneficial over the long term.
<p>Kirk McElhearn is a <a href="https://kirkville.com" target="_blank">writer</a>, <a href="https://kirkville.com/podcasts/" target="_blank">podcaster</a>, and <a href="https://kirkville.com/kirks-photos-2/" target="_blank">photographer</a>. He is the author of <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store" target="_blank">Take Control of Scrivener</a>, and host of the podcast <a href="https://podcast.scrivenerapp.com" target="_blank">Write Now with Scrivener</a>.</p>
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-17, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
There should be purple vinyl LPs signed by us all on sale.
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-17, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
We got a four and a half star review! Tomorrow night is Melbourne and then we are done.
limelight-arts.com.au/reviews/neil…
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date: 2024-01-16, from: Locus Magazine
StokerCon 2024 has announced new Guests of Honor Justina Ireland and Nisi Shawl, who will be joining previously announced guests Paula Guran, Jonathan Maberry, and Paul Tremblay.
StokerCon 2024 will be held May 30-June 2, 2024 at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley Hotel in San Diego CA.
For more information, see the official website.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});While you are here, please take a moment to support …Read More
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date: 2024-01-16, from: Final Draft blog
When you’re trying to finish writing a screenplay, two of the biggest obstacles is staying productive and motivated. There will be days where you stare at the empty page and wonder if you can really take this thing all the way to the end.
https://blog.finaldraft.com/keeping-track-of-your-screenwriting-productivity Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-16, from: Author’s Union blog
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash Over the holidays you may have read about the amicus brief we submitted in the Hachette v. Internet Archive case about library controlled digital lending (CDL), which we’ve been tracking for quite some time. Our brief was one of 11 amicus briefs filed that explained to the court the […]
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2024/01/16/hachette-v-ia-amicus-briefs-highlight-on-privacy-and-controlled-digital-lending/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-16, from: Locus Magazine
The September House, Carissa Orlando (Berkley 978-0-59354-861-5, $27.00, 352pp, hc) September 2023. Cover by Daniel Brount.
Books that can make you feel things are special, and Carissa Orlando’s The September House will make readers feel a lot of different things. The September House is a strange horror novel in which the horror elements are mostly dealt with using the kind of nonchalance people display while waiting in line at the …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/gabino-iglesias-reviews-the-september-house-by-carissa-orlando/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-16, from: Locus Magazine
Avery, Amy: The Longest Autumn (Macmillan/Flatiron 9781250896490, $28.99, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 01/16/2024)
Fantasy mystery romance novel. Seasons stop turning when the mortal Time and the god of Autumn are trapped in the mortal world, and the two are torn between the need to fix things and their forbidden attraction to each other. A first novel.
Bertino, Marie-Helene: Beautyland (Macmillan/Farrar, Straus, Giroux 9780374109288, $28, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/new-books-16-january-2023/ Save to Pocket
@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-16, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
The show was last night. We will do something similar in Melbourne on Thursday night.
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date: 2024-01-16, from: Locus Magazine
The Writers’ Prize, formerly the Rathbones Folio Prize, announced shortlists in three categories: Non-Fiction, Fiction, and Poetry. Titles or authors of genre interest include The Fraud by Zadie Smith (Penguin) for Fiction.
Winners will be announced March 13, 2024 at the London Book Fair. Each category winner receives £2,000 and the winner of the Writers’ Prize Book of the Year will receive £30,000.
For more information, including the complete shortlists,
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/2024-writers-prize-shortlist/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-15, from: Locus Magazine
Author Howard Waldrop, 77, died January 14, 2024. Waldrop was one of our most accomplished and celebrated authors of short fiction, known for his erudite, playful, and allusive work. His most famous story, “The Ugly Chickens” (1980), won World Fantasy and Nebula Awards, and was a Hugo Award finalist.
Waldrop’s first work of genre interest was “Lunchbox” in Analog (1972), and he went on to publish scores of stories, including …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/howard-waldrop-1946-2024/ Save to Pocket
@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-15, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
You are so welcome!
https://bsky.app/profile/neilhimself.neilgaiman.com/post/3kj2dzoz3cc2h Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-15, from: Locus Magazine
The Guardian: Lisa Tuttle reviews Aliya Whiteley, Alice McIlroy, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Emma Hinds, and Maud Woolf
Scott Edelman dines with Nina Kiriki Hoffman and Pat Murphy
Washington Post, 13 Jan 2024: A 1993 dystopian novel imagined the world in 2024. It’s eerily accurate. — George Bass on Octavia Butler’s ‘Parable of the Sower’ …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/around-the-web-lisa-tuttle-reviews-scott-edelman-dines-george-bass-recalls-octavia-butler/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-15, from: Locus Magazine
Rebecca Ross’s Ruthless Vows (Wednesday Books) is #1 on the YA lists of both New York Times and Publishers Weekly this week.
Title Debut / #wks on any list NYT 01.21 LAT 01.14 USAT 01.07 PW 01.15 Amz (01.15) UK: Amz UK (01.15) Canada: Amz.ca (01.15)
Items on list -x- number of lists surveyed
10×3 10×2 150 15×3 100 100 100
Hardcovers
Alderman, The Future 01.15.24 / 1
124 ++ …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/weekly-bestsellers-15-january-2024/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-15, from: Locus Magazine
SF writer Tom Purdom, 87, died January 14, 2024.
Thomas Edward Purdom was born April 19, 1936 in New Haven CT, and lived in Philadelphia PA with his wife, Sara Wescoat Purdom. He began publishing SF with “Grief for a Man” (1957), and debut novel I Want the Stars appeared in 1964. Other books include The Tree Lord of Imeten (1966), Five Against Arlane (1967), Reduction in Arms (1971), and …Read More
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date: 2024-01-15, from: Locus Magazine
AI JIANG was born June 18, 1997 in Fujian, China, and emigrated to Canada with her family at age four. She attended the University of Toronto, the Humber School for Writers, and the Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh in 2022.
She began publishing work of genre interest with “Hello’’ (2021) in The Dark, and more than 35 stories have since …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/ai-jiang-where-the-ghosts-live/ Save to Pocket
date: 2024-01-14, from: Locus Magazine
Analog 9-10/23 Clarkesworld 10/23 Flash Fiction Online 10/23
Analog’s September/October issue opens with the excellent novelette “The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson” by Howard V. Hendrix. Teenage figure skater Krysalice is approached with the opportunity to implant experimental technology that will give her better reaction times and improve her sense of spatial relations – a kind of natural GPS akin to the way birds navigate as they migrate – enhancing …Read More
https://locusmag.com/2024/01/a-c-wise-reviews-short-fiction-analog-clarkesworld-and-flash-fiction-online/ Save to Pocket
@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-14, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
Still Melbourne tickets for Thursday available, but Sydney Opera House appears to have sold all of its tickets for tomorrow.
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@Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky (date: 2024-01-14, from: Neil Gaiman @ BlueSky)
I signed a lot of books for the lovely people at Galaxy Bookshop in Sydney this morning.They should all be for sale at cover price. Hurrah!
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