Creative Growth + literary links, industry updates, & author equity
Peach tree update + creative infusions; in-person workshop; anthology update; smart design; kidlit museum; literary boston; author's equity; top banned books; publishing changes; ereaders; iced tulsi
Greetings readers & writers,
For those who’ve been following along for a while, you know that every spring I gotta talk about my little peach tree as a not-so-subtle metaphor for my writing career (and the writing process in general).
Last spring, a late frost killed all the blooms for most stone fruit trees in New England, which meant no fruit. In fact, any fruit our tree has produced in the past few years has been quickly eaten by suburban wildlife. I’m not proud of the day I ran out into the yard, yelling at the chipmunk sniffing at the tiny, unripe fruits. It did no good.
Usually, I do my best to tend it myself, spraying the bark to prevent leaf curl, which has also been plaguing it lo’ these many years. But this spring I realized — the tree has grown significantly. Despite the fungus and the critters and the frost and too much rain or not enough, it’s nearly 10 feet tall and it’s become a little more than I can handle on my own.
So this spring, the tree is getting a professional treatment, a light pruning, and a fertilizer boost from actual tree people who know what they’re doing.
When life is life-ing and the publishing world feels like it’s churning writers into compost, progress can seem impossible. But growth is happening. Even in winter, even in the times when things are taken from you or turned down or rejected or, I don’t know, eaten by chipmunks. Sometimes, you just need a creative infusion — fellow writers, classes, books, art, nature — and/or a little professional guidance.
Taking a chance on a writing workshop with pro-writers last year was a major creative infusion for me. So has been working on a group writing project. Now I’m making plans for another writing getaway this fall. Just like the little peach tree, I’m blooming little by little — a short story here, a submission there— and hopefully, with that extra investment, that extra TLC, something will fruit. And you can too.
Either way, lets spread our leaves and soak up all that sun together.
*
Upcoming In-Person Class!
Dawn Ellis creates nurturing and supportive spaces for new parents (she did for me and my babies many moons ago) and she has a beautiful new studio in which to do it. What better home for my “Writing Like a Parent, Parenting Like a Writer” class? Now adapted to reach creatives of all stripes who are in the parenting and caregiving trenches, Connecting with Your Creativity will be my first time teaching this class in person in a hella long time. Hope you can join us!
Check out this mini interview with yours truly in the latest anthology update!
I share how marketing and fiction inform one another; what’s inspiring me right now; and my favorite time traveler! New Year, New You is still available for pre-order!
Writing/Marketing Resources
The design nerd in me really dug this article about how Harper Collins saved paper and printing costs through smart font choices and design. {Fast Company}
For anyone near Kansas City looking for inspiration, The New York Times ran a great feature on their new children’s literature museum, The Rabbit Hole {free link} where kids (and adults!) can literally interact with (and read inside!) scenes pulled straight from their favorite picture books.
Literary Boston (formerly known as the Boston Book Blog) is back! I’ve always loved Jessica’s mission to create a Greater Boston hub for book events, new releases, and fresh literary voices, while featuring Boston’s contemporary and historical bookishness.
Sally Wiener Grotta’s very robust report on what “author equity” means to publishers, according to professionals at last year’s U.S. Book Show, and how it’s highly relevant to authors themselves is definitely worth a read — especially considering the new publisher of the same name (see below)!
Industry News:
The American Library Association has compiled a list of the Top Ten Banned Books of 2023, a snapshot of the book challenges schools and libraries are facing in the U.S.
One of the last remaining independent book distributors, Small Press Distribution, has shut down — leaving indie presses scrambling to claim their books from Ingram before a “recycle” deadline. {Publisher’s Weekly}
Three publishing industry veterans, along with several well-known authorial investors, have started Authors Equity, a publishing company based on a profit-share model. Thoughtful takes from around the web: Today in Books | LitHub | The Baffler
Move over Kindle, Kobo Rakuten is releasing the first dedicated e-readers that use color e-ink technology rather than an LCD display. {Tech Radar}
Tea
Ladies and gentlefolk, we have entered the transition period between hot tea weather and iced tea weather. Rejoice! Enter: Organic India’s Raspberry Peach Tulsi. Tulsi, also known as holy basil, is one of my favorite herbs, with a flavor profile that ranges from mint to chamomile, to my taste buds, without ever being too much of either. Juicy from hibiscus and elderberry, floral and lemony from the tulsi, this tea is immensely refreshing over ice or invigorating hot on a chill spring morning.
This is your season, in whatever way you need it to be. You got this.
~Allison
Writer & Marketing Coach
Keep Writing, Keep Connecting! Substack | Facebook | Website | BlueSky | Anthology
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