This Week in the Blogs, December 31, 2016 – January 6, 2017

by Shelley Sturgeon | Jan 8, 2017

So now that the holidays are over are you gung-ho to get on with your writing and self-publishing projects and make 2017 your most successful year ever as an indie author? This week’s selection of articles which include a look back at the book publishing industry in 2016 and predictions for 2017, are bound to help you with that. Enjoy!

Mark Coker on Smashwords Blog
2017 Book Industry Predictions: Intrigue and Angst amid Boundless Opportunity
“Each year I polish off my imaginary crystal ball and attempt to divine how the boiling crosscurrents of technology, competitive intrigue, author aspirations, and reader tastes will shape the opportunities facing authors, publishers and retailers for the year ahead. … As I caution each year, the prediction game is fraught with folly. No one really knows what will happen tomorrow, though there are plenty of clues.”

Frances Caballo on Social Media Just For Writers
Indie Authors: Follow These 40 on Twitter in 2017
“As you probably already know, Twitter is where I spend most of my time online. My day starts with Twitter and ends with Facebook, but as a Twitter fan woman, Twitter is my darling amongst the social media I use.”

Jane Friedman on Jane Friedman
Looking Back at 2016: Important Publishing Developments Authors Should Know
“The following post is a round-up of 2016 news and trends covered by The Hot Sheet, an email newsletter about the publishing industry written specifically for an audience of authors.”

Jason Matthews on How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks
Do I Need to Copyright My Book?
“Like ISBN, copyright questions are common and the legalities of it can be complex. In most cases, copyright is something an author won’t need to spend much time worrying about.”

Chris Syme on Smart Marketing for Authors
Pain Free Book Marketing Starts With A Plan
“In our podcast this week we talked about the SMART Marketing Manifesto. That acronym embodies the five principles of marketing every author needs to grasp to master pain free book marketing: sustainable, manageable, audience-specific, relevant, and tactics-last.”

Too Good To Miss

Danny Mancini on The Writers’ Academy
15 Top Creative Writing Blogs That Are Actually Helpful
“If you’re reading this, you’ve noticed the huge amount of creative writing blogs out there today. And unfortunately, many are pretty unappealing or poorly made. However…”

Self-Publishing News You Can Use

By Amy Collins

London Book Fair

The London Bookfair has changed dates for 2017. It will be in March this year and will be held in conjunction with London Book and Screen Week. The 7-day festival will run concurrently with the 3-day book fair. This combination makes exhibiting and participating in the Book Fair a better gamble than usual. Remember that exhibiting at a book fair is just the first step. Setting up meetings, walking the floor and introducing yourself, contacting industry folks ahead of time will help you make the most of your time in London. London Book Fair is March 13-16th and the Book and Screen Week is the 13th – 19th.

B&N Holiday Sales Down Almost 10%

WOW! Barnes & Noble reported this week that 2016 holiday sales came in below expectations, with comparable store sales down 9.1% in the nine-week period ended December 31, 2016 compared to a year ago. The retailer attributed the decline to lower store traffic as well as to a decrease in adult coloring books and supplies.