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2020
02/032020

The Future of Writing in 2020–and Beyond

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Making predictions about what will happen in the future is a dangerous game, and if I were smarter, I probably wouldn’t even attempt it. But as I prepared the new Red Sneaker book, What Writers Need to Know, I revisited my predictions for 2019—and they weren’t half bad. I did see some trends coming, missed a few, but overall, nothing I said was completely embarrassing. So here’s my attempt to prognosticate again for the coming year and the decade beyond.

1) Audiobooks Will Surge

I’ll start my list with this low-risk prediction. If you listen to the Red Sneaker Writers podcast, you’ve heard me crunch the numbers. Audiobooks have skyrocketed in sales each of the last five years, but in the past year, the growth was off the charts. The ability to download books in seconds to devices you’re carrying anyway, combined with the popularity of wireless earplugs, have caused many to read with their ears. Current projections indicate that audiobook sales could eclipse ebook and prints sales as early as 2023. Self-published authors are not taking advantage of this as often as they should, but recent developments in AI may change that. The growth may also be impacted by…

2) Voice-Tech Will Influence the Book World

My mother is 91 and she loves her Amazon Edge. Most times she wants to know something, Alexa is the first one she asks (when I’m not around). If my mom can figure out voice tech, everyone can. Alexa, Siri, Google Home, and the like may replace search engines as the primary way people find answers. And that means they will go there for book recommendations. Just as Amazon recommends books based upon your past viewing and buying habits, voice assistants will suggest books based on buying patterns, internet searches, podcast choices, reading habits, etc. That means future book marketing must involve the equivalent of Amazon Ads for AI—some way to influence what the voice assistant recommends.

3) EBook Sales Will Surge

The internet is full of contradictory information about electronic sales vs. print, but it’s clear that eBooks sell well, especially to compulsive readers of popular fiction. Tech, convenience, cost, environmental concerns all factor into this trend. Ebooks will surge in the coming years, especially with younger audiences and in time, all consumer sales will shift significantly in favor of digital books. And that will happen even faster if…

4) EBooks Will Evolve

In the early days of eBooks, there were a few attempts to integrate tech into tales—illustrations that responded to touch, textbooks that revealed answers on command. When I first proposed The Game Master, the idea was that in the digital version, all the puzzles BB Thomas solves and the games he plays in the novel would be interactive. Ultimately, publishers thought I was too far ahead of my time and that it would be too expensive—but soon that will no longer be true. Ebooks will evolve and include digital glossaries, voice assistants, audio playback, and dynamic page-viewing. In time, these features could appear in print books as well—if there’s market for it.

5) Publishing Will Grow Overseas

Have you noticed how many services are adding foreign pub features? There’s a reason. Books sales are growing in many foreign countries faster than in the US. Amazon will now let you buy ads targeting certain other countries. Findaway Voices, Kobo, and many others have announced initiatives designed to increase their distribution overseas.

6) Social Media Will Continue to Dominate Book Marketing

Social media is time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, but it is the most effective means of generating word-of-mouth for your books. Influencers are being paid thousands of dollars to recommend products because many people, especially young people, are paying attention. Why should books be any different? Instagram put Rupi Kaur at the top of the bestseller list. Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club made Where the Crawdads Sing the top-selling book of 2019. influencer marketing could become an effective way of promoting your books.

7) An Ebook Subscription Service Will Rise

Many subscription services exist and given how easily they can transmit recommendations and books to phones, eventually one of them will do it right and become the dominant player, in effect, the Book-of-the-Month Club for digital books. The problem so far has been that the Big Five wouldn’t license their books, but that will likely change—because if it doesn’t, the Big Five will see their market share erode even more than it already has. Maybe Scribd will rise to the top, maybe Spotify, but if I had to make a bet, I’d place my money on…

8) Apple Will Become a Big Player in Books

So far, Apple has let Amazon have the book world largely to itself. After the 2010 price-fixing case, Apple’s interest in books soured. But I don’t see that lasting forever when there’s money to be made. Apple reformed iTunes last year to create a separate Books app. Apple needs people to keep buying its phones, and if large numbers are reading or listening to books on their phones, Apple will want to sell the content. Apple could even add design changes to its phones to enhance readability, which would give people an even greater reason to buy phones and books from them.

What does all this mean for you, the Red Sneaker Writer? First, it means you should write, because there’s a big audience of readers out there. Put your heart and soul into your book and make it as good as you possible can. Then, whether you pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing, you will have to make smart choices. Audiobook. Advertising. Foreign distribution. Social media. Subscription service. You must stay on top of this ever-changing world we live in. Write from the heart—but keep your eyes open to what’s happening in the world around you.

 

P.S. What Writers Need to Know can be ordered NOW!

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Guideposts Library
10/222018

My Guideposts Workshop Experience

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Winning the Guideposts contest has been a dream of mine for at least a decade. I’ve made several submissions and have always anticipated the contest deadline for months prior.

This year. Not so much. The deadline blindsided me. It snuck up on me like this week in Oklahoma when Old Man Winter showed up in the middle of October. What happened to fall? Are we just skipping it this year?

I was shocked. Three days before the deadline I stumbled on the Guideposts website for some random reason.

Wait! WHAT??

The deadline is in three days? I thought the contest was just last year. No one in my critique group mentioned the contest. Not even my critique group leader and Guidepost writer extraordinaire, Melanie Hemry, reminded me. Crickets! What was up with that?

Frantic, I scrambled through my files looking for something to submit. The first piece was perfect. Until I realized I’d already submitted it. The second piece I found was perfect too. Until I realized I’d already submitted it. The third piece…you see where this is going. They were all REJECTED.

Without time to write anything else, I rummaged through my files and found a blog post I wrote in 2009. Speed crafting a cover letter, I attached my submission and hit send. What did I have to lose?

Sometimes good things happen when we least expect it. When we have nothing to do with the glory because God wants it all (which always makes a much better story). Out of 3500 submissions, nothing I did warranted a win. A piece never critiqued. A blog post just shy of a decade old. An entry pushed into the contest just before the finish line.

Only God.

∞

One of the other workshop winners, Cynthia Dobbs, is also from Oklahoma. Originally from India, she ministers with her husband to students on the campus of OSU in Stillwater. Even though she favors orange and I red, we became fast friends.

 

We made our travel arrangements to fly out together. Cynthia showed up at the airport with a backpack and one small bag that would fit in the overhead compartment. I showed up with my sure hope I can cram it in the overhead bin carry-on and my 6XL suitcase that I hoped would not exceed the 50 pound weight limit.

We were instructed to bring “comfortable” attire. What exactly does that mean? Sneakers and sweats? Yoga pants and hoodies? Or did their version of comfortable cover the other spectrum of casual? A variation of sophisticated New York swag à la Madison Fifth Avenue‘s finest?

A vision of being nominated for an episode of What Not to Wear startled me.

I better pack my entire closet.

Just to be sure.

Besides that, I had to accommodate my treacherous travel disability—the I’m not the mood to wear that today dilemma.

#NoShame

Monday afternoon, October 8, we arrived in New York and caught an Uber to Rye, New York on Long Island Sound. The workshop would be held at the Wainwright house. We arrived just before dinner.

All of our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner were buffet style. We had an entire hour for every mealtime, which left plenty of time for conversation and connection. And the food…all I can say is I scoured Pinterest when I got home for recipes. My taste buds were so happy! I’ve already made the curry chicken we had on the last day. Coconut milk, celery, raisins. MMMMMmmmmm.

The female workshoppers and some of the editorial staff stayed in the Fonrose house next door to the Wainwright House. Named after Mrs. Fonrose, it was rumored that her ghost roamed the hallways at night. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep. Plus, did you notice…four women in one room? ZZZZZzzzzzz. Think sorority sisters with a mix of menopause.

Locked into a mansion with 11 other workshoppers and a plethora of Guidepost editors, I felt as though I stepped into another time zone. All of our sessions, morning, afternoon and evening, were held in the library. How appropriate.

There are too many people to name in all of these photos, but pictured in the bottom left are three of the editors, Edward Grinnan, Amy Wong, and Jim Hinch along with one of the workshoppers, Dixie Kethley.

The winning workshoppers (alphabetically by first name) include:

Christy Johnson, Cynthia Dobbs, Danita Jones, Darryl Stewart ( the only guy!), Diane Stark (Dee), Dixie Kethley, Edwina Perkins, Ericka Loynes, Jeannette Levellie, Leah Latimer, Leanne Jackson and Mayra Fernandez.

Each of us were each assigned a small group with one of the managing editors. Cynthia and I were both in Jim Hinch’s group. Each afternoon, we broke up into our small groups to applaud admire critique the manuscripts we’d submitted.

The rest of our sessions were instructional seminars conducted by various editors. I learned so much about the art of writing and all things Guideposts. There’s no way to describe the memories made. The workshop was an experience of a lifetime!

Most of my friends asked if I got to see the sights of the city. There was no time in the schedule for that. This was a working trip. BUT we were dismissed at 1:00 pm on Friday afternoon and since our flight didn’t depart until 6:00 pm, Cynthia suggested that we should take a train ride to Grand Central Station. Fun fact: the train ride was an hour and an Uber ride to the airport another. So we only had at best one hour in the city. I agreed. It was better than sitting at the airport, right?

But remember the closet I’d packed? Can you picture me hauling my sure hope I can cram it in the overhead bin carry-on AND my 6XL suitcase around the streets of I♥NYC?

Desperate times called for desperate measures. My suitcase had a zipper that when unzipped gave a little extra width to pack in more. As luck would have it, I jammed and CRAMMED my other bag inside it. Even though Cynthia took this picture without my luggage, I wanted to give you a visual of how crazy I looked strolling the streets of NYC with all of my worldly belongings in tow. No mistaking this tourist. But at least I set foot in the city.

I will give you every place where you set your foot (Joshua 1:3).

Never give up on your dreams. Whether it’s a writing dream, a relationship you’re praying for or any other purpose God has laid on your heart, He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ask, think or imagine! And usually when you least expect it:)

May every blessing be yours!

PS Visit my own blog to see even more pictures!

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Contest Award Winners
09/102018

2018 Writer’s Conference Contest Winners

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Congrats to everyone on their winning submissions to our 2018 Writer’s Conference!  Here is the list of winners, some of which have received contracts for publication!

 

Flash Fiction

WINNER: Maeve Maddox, “Priorities”

1st Runner-Up: Storme Maynard, “Shooter”

2nd Runner-Up: Nancy Hartney, “One Clean Shot”

 

Poetry

WINNER: Shari Heinrich, “Forever”

1st Runner-Up: Karen Jo Bullock, “Sacred Land”

2nd Runner-Up: Macie Craven-Tims, “When the Words Appear”

 

Writing for Young Readers

WINNER: Shari Heinrich, “What Eve is This?”

1st Runner-Up: Jeris Hamm, “Sunny’s Dark Day”

2nd Runner-Up: Doris Degner-Foster, “The Mystery of the Disappearing Horses”

 

Nonfiction

WINNER: Cameron Herrin, “Federal Overreach”

1st Runner-Up: Carol Mersch, “Guilty When Black”

2nd Runner-Up: Christie Lee, “Oh, No, Not at My Age!”

 

Fiction

WINNER: Paul Wesselhoft, “Sophie”

1st Runner-Up: Storme Maynard, “The Tattoo Murders”

2nd Runner-Up: Nancy Hartney, “The Blue Bottle Tree”

Honorable Mention: Rita Ouelliette, “In the Crow’s Nest”

Honorable Mention: Nelda Holliman-Paden, “The First Job”

Honorable Mention: Gloria Baumann, “The Orange Bracelet”

 

Novels

WINNER: Annabelle (Dando) McCormack, Into the Sullen Dark

1st Runner-Up: David Knapp, Battleground Paradise

2nd Runner-Up: Macie Craven-Tims, The Barky Bunch Doggie Day Care

Honorable Mention: Kristy Dewberry, The Chubby Club

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Broken Pencil
09/222017

What you don’t know is hurting your writing career…

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Thousands upon thousands of people are interested in writing–everything from books to blogs to memoirs to articles.  You name it, tons of people have thought about writing it.  And you’ve probably heard all the statistics–how hard it is to get published.

But maybe you haven’t heard the other part to that statement–because here it is…the more you know, the easier it gets.

The publishing world is a beast.  There is a lot to know.  TOO MUCH to know. It can feel overwhelming trying to wade through all of the internet to find what you’re looking for.

That is precisely what writer’s conferences were designed for–what WWSW was designed for.  We understand the difficulty of trying to get through the muck to find information about your particular interest.  From fiction to freelance writing, from children’s books to branding your blog…how do you know where to start?

Start here, at WWSW.

We have experts (the real kind, not the ones who say they are and aren’t), who are here not only to share their information, but to reach out to you–answer your specific question–and meet you where you are.

Here is a small sampling of what we’ve got going this year at the conference:

Book pitches — what they are and how to do them
Children’s books — the scoop on this speciality
Facebook — how to use it to get attention for your passion
Fiction — approaching story with a different eye
Advertising — what to expect whether you self-publish or traditionally publish
Magazine articles — leveraging it for income and future books

And by small sampling, we mean that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  We’re passionate about teaching you what you need to know, introducing you to other driven and curious writers, and encouraging you in this amazing pursuit of using words to change lives.

Our Advance Purchase Price (a spectacular deal for this 2 day conference) ends September 30th, so grab your ticket while you can.   Info here.

And remember,  we have two fantastic editors coming who are eagerly looking for talented writers and life-changing stories.  Read more aboutAlice Crider and Jim Hinch.

Other questions?  Visit our website or email us here.

PS — Know someone else interested in writing?  Share this email with them!  Or better yet, grab your buddy and come together. We have a good time. Also, we have great coffee. That’s a must for writers.

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Conference
09/142017

A Writer’s Conference Can Change Your Life

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Why are we passionate about writer’s conferences?

At my first writer’s conference at University of Oklahoma, I met Kathryn Fanning. A few months later I attended her freelance writing class at the library. That led to being in her critique group, and the first thing Kathryn taught was to write what you know, which for me was: children, education, learning and parenting. 

I gained “clips” by writing magazine and newspaper articles on these topics while writing my first book.  I shaped all the chapters to easily adapt to magazine articles—which was a secret I learned at my second writer’s conference in Minnesota.

My book HOMELIFE was rejected by the first publisher. So I figured I’d better keep writing and submitting magazine articles while I finished it. Persevering in that direction led to my first break in the national markets, a sale to Family Circle Magazine in NYC. I became a parenting/education writer for that magazine for a number of years.

Flash forward two years…I was still writing that first book and attended a writer’s conference in Tulsa with Melanie. At lunch I met a young woman who asked all of us at the table to tell what we were writing. When it was my turn, I said, “A book for parents entitled HOMELIFE: The Key to Your Child’s Success at School.”  She turned to me and said, “We’ll take it.”

So it was at a writer’s conference that I met my first acquistions book editor and two weeks later I had a contract.

When we lived in Yarmouth, Maine, I found a writer’s conference only 30 minutes away at Old Orchard Beach. Though it was a small event, I went to a helpful seminar taught by Oscar Greene. He told me some inside information about a column Guideposts was looking for: “Quiet People.” I wrote it and that was my first story in Guideposts. All because of a little writer’s conference up in Maine.

So you can see why I’m enthusiastic about writer’s conferences and especially WWSW that Melanie and Rene and I founded 5 years ago. Every conference I went to had a gem of information or connection that led to a sale or breakthrough. This year you’ll have wonderful speakers to learn from—and attending Write Well, Sell Well’s 2017 Conference may just lead to your own writing breakthrough.

  • Register and join us on October 20-21
  • Come to my workshop on writing and selling articles for print and online publications.
  • Before and after you’re published, you’ll need to know how to become a dynamic speaker and radio interview guest. That’s one of my sessions this year.

Whether you are a fiction or nonfiction writer, you will take away something that will prove very valuable to your writing career—just as I did! See you at WWSW 2017!

~ Cheri Fuller

P.S.  Did we mention ALICE CRIDER will be there???  Want to meet her for $25 off the Advance Purchase price?  Enter ALICE in the promo code section when you check out.  Time’s running out for the Advance Purchase price so don’t wait!  We’re offering this great deal to make it affordable for YOU to come!

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