24Q1: TOS Changes, Book Coaches, and Bad Haircuts
Hey Y’all!
It's been a hot minute since my last newsletter. Thanks for being patient with me. I've been with the business side of writing, which means I haven't been getting any writing done. Even my darling granddaughter prodded me the other day, asking if I still only had one book out. (Oof!)
Speaking of the grandkids, the eldest had her first "bad haircut" experience. She was going for a daring short haircut, but the stylist got carried away and dang near gave her a buzz. And while it probably would have been okay on an adult woman, on a nine-year-old girl, it translated pretty quickly to "you look like a boy." I felt so bad for her. Flash forward several weeks and it's grown into a very cute style that no longer solicits gender querying comments from the uninformed. Sadly, sweet child, this will not be your last bad haircut.
Summer approaches and we now have weekly baseball games to attend, allergies to contend with, and the fun of planning summer vacations. Now if I could just get some writing done!
Things I’m Working On
Amazon Ads
I continue to play with Amazon Ads and explore the analytics. I'll be honest, it's quite confounding to me. For my women's fiction novel, every single book sale in the Australian marketplace (where it's selling best) traces back to an ad click. (Versus in the U.S. and U.K., where it's rare to see an order tied to any ad.) So I've been focusing on Australia, trying to learn the secret sauce.
My "Also Boughts" are all over the board. And the successful targets don't look any better. They range from Mafia Romance to Cowboy Romance to books not even close. And I get that because romance readers enjoy all flavors of romance. It just makes it hard to narrow down my true target audience.
But I keep trying! When I figure something definitive out, I'll share.
Writing Group
I've attended multiple conferences attempting to find fellow writers to commune with. I've had some success with a couple of individuals whom I meet with regularly to discuss our work and all things "writerly." But finding a group is turning out to be more difficult. Different personalities, motivations, and goals sometimes exacerbate group dynamics.
However, I have a new group I'm excited about. We met (virtually) at the 2024 Women in Publishing summit during a networking session and the room had a great vibe. We've had one meeting to date, and another one scheduled for next month. It will probably take a few meetings to get comfortable with each other, but the experience levels in the room are varied enough that I think everyone will get something out of the experience. I'm looking forward to it.
Book Coach
If you've been following me on the socials, you'll know I've been stuck. For a while. I try to be positive and focus on getting other author business stuff done when I'm unable to write, but it's been too long.
I finally decided I needed professional help to move forward, and I hired a book coach. Our first meeting is today and I'm excited to see what comes of it. My hope is that she can help me figure out why I'm stuck and what I need to work on in my story to move forward. I'd like to get this next book published before the end of 2024 if I can.
Publishing and Product News
Sneaky Terms of Service Changes (Findaway)
When I first entered the world of Authorpreneurship, I found the idea of using Terms of Service agreements with distributors of my books quite odd. TOS agreements I'd worked with in the past were for websites or applications where you agreed you understood the risks and didn't intend to use the service for nefarious purposes. In my previous life, I was used to signing contracts with vendors and suppliers where, if anything changed, both parties would sign a new contract. But, TOS agreements are the standard in this industry, so I adapted.
The thing is, in this environment, the vendor can change the Terms of Service without you knowing. I mean, they're supposed to notify you. But how reliable is your email delivery? Are you going to get every single email sent to you? What if the notification disappears into your junk mail folder? The potential for a “bait and switch” is one thing I really don't like about running an author business.
And the big hubbub earlier this year over Findaway Voices' new TOS highlighted this issue. (They posted a new TOS declaring they had royalty-free, irrevocable license to create derivative works from your user content. It included a bunch of lawyer-speak that basically said anything you uploaded belonged to them, and they could do whatever they wanted with it without paying you.) Authors everywhere protested and Findaway quickly apologized and made changes, citing a clerical error. There's still debate on whether the outcome was positive for creators.
The takeaway I want to emphasize here is that you need to periodically check the TOS with your distributor/retailer. Make sure you download a dated copy of the terms of each vendor. Any time the terms change, download the updated copy and READ IT to make sure nothing major has changed. (And just to be safe, put “review terms” on your annual checklist of things to do.) You don't want to unknowingly lose your rights.
Plottr Subscription Changes
One tool I use to help visualize my story and organize my character sketches is Plottr. (PS - This is an affiliate link, meaning I earn a small commission from any sales from purchases made using this link.)
They recently announced a change to their offerings where you can buy Plottr Pro + Education, which includes courses, guidance, accountability, and a community to help with your writing beyond the plotting stage. I've attended and enjoyed some of their education and community meetup events.
New Vellum Feature: Reuse Elements
I'm a staunch fan of process efficiency and when I can eliminate steps from any process, I'm all for it. Vellum's new feature, Reuse Elements, allows you to set up various front and back matter pages in one file, then pull them over as templates in your individual book files. For a more detailed look, check out my article: Vellum's Reuse Elements
Latest Articles on Writing
Here’s what’s new since last time:
Using Scrivener Placeholders to Streamline Front and Back Matter. Scrivener Placeholders let you set up timesaving templates for your book. Here's how I use them for my Front and Back Matter.
Author Business: New U.S. Filing Requirement (BOI Reporting). If your author business is an LLC, you need to be aware of the new BOI reporting requirement for companies doing business in the US.
Awesome New Vellum Feature: Reuse Elements. Vellum's new Reuse Elements feature simplifies updating changes to your front and back matter.
Using Word Count Targets in Scrivener Part 2: Document Targets. In part two of this series, we dive into the Scrivener document targets and how Scrivener totals these numbers within your project structure.
Using Word Count Targets in Scrivener Part 1: Project Targets. How to use Scrivener's built-in tools to set and track word count targets for your overall manuscript and individual writing sessions.
Favorite Scrivener Tips. A list of my favorite Scrivener tricks, some of which I use every day, while others are obscure enough, I have to remember how I did that before.
What’s On Your Mind?
My main writing tools are Excel (for tracking things), Plottr, Scrivener, and Vellum. But a lot of my writing buddies use Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and even Apple Pages to write their books.
What writing tools do you use to help you organize, write, and produce your books?
Let me know your favorite writing tools in the comments (or reply via email and I'll share your suggestions).
Until next time, butts in chair and ink to paper!
Lancy