Arcana • Issue #3
Hello! Welcome to Issue #3 of Arcana, a newsletter that examines the intersection of storytelling and the business of books. We’re continuing our run of difficult themes with the 8 of Swords. (I promise this newsletter will have more hopeful articles in the future. Eventually.)
8 of Swords
Feeling stuck? This card thinks so.
You might be struggling to convince yourself to do a thing you know you need to do. Or maybe you keep telling yourself you can’t do it, that you don’t have the skills. That your work isn’t good enough. That you haven’t put enough work in yet to deserve to take that next step. But when we look a little closer, we can see that the material wrapped around the figure on the 8 of Swords doesn’t look very tight. It’s almost like they could break themselves out of it with just the littlest bit of effort…
Let’s think of the swords surrounding the figure on this card as ideas, thoughts, words (maybe even the expectations of other people). When we look at it this way, the feeling of being stuck might be considered hesitation. It’s our thoughts holding us back. Nothing external is in our way. To quote Taylor Swift: “I’m the problem. It’s me.”
But even if/when we acknowledge the fact that nothing is holding us back but our own thoughts, it doesn’t make the stuck feeling go away. So what do we do when we can’t face the thing we know we should be facing? We find something else to do.
If you’re frozen from writing your manuscript, or submitting your query letter, or perfecting your pitch—any of the many things you feel like you should be doing—there are plenty of other things that will help you in the end but in the moment make you feel like you’ve stepped away from the task you feel pressured to do.
When you can’t shake the stuck feeling, try one of these tasks instead:
Update (or create) your website. It’s your digital business card.
Speaking of business cards…print new ones.
Attend a local literary event. Check your local bookstores and the library.
Register for a publishing workshop or webinar. It’s not possible to learn too much.
Listen to a business podcast. Being an author is so much more than creating a good book. Don’t forget that you’re an entrepreneur.
Make a new connection. Reach out to someone in the industry you admire and say hello.
Update your bio. What new accomplishment can you add?
Rearrange your writing space. A new environment might inspire creativity.
Read a book. Duh.
Feeling stuck is not the same as being stuck. The seemingly insurmountable obstacles in front of us are built from fear and doubt, and the key to moving forward is taking any step at all. All it takes is dipping your toe in the water. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself swimming in the deep end, obstacle-free.
The takeaway: Stop making excuses.
Let’s Talk About It
Recent topics influencing our industry and taking over conversations.
The publishing industry is doing just fine when it comes to selling books.
Sunrise on the Reaping, the new Hunger Games prequel by Suzanne Collins, sold 1.5 million copies in its first week. That’s twice as many copies The Ballad of Songbirds sold in its first week in 2019, and three times as many copies as Mockingjay in 2010. We can look at statistics and see that book sales have continued to drop over the last few years, but there are some genres (like rom coms and romantasy) that continue to sell exceptionally well—and big blockbuster books like Sunrise on the Reaping that prove consumers are still willing to spend their money on books.
Q: Does the success of books like Sunrise on the Reaping reflect readers’ overall interest beyondfranchises with a built-in fan bases? What makes a reader decide to spend their money on a book anyway?1
Have you searched for your book in LibGen’s database? The Atlantic published a search tool that tells authors if their books were used by Meta to train one of its AI models. Word on the street is that 7.5 million books were used. And authors are rightfully outraged about the unauthorized use of their books. Meta considered licensing books from publishers, but abandoned the idea because of, among other reasons, the cost and the time that it would take to get permission. (So obviously the natural solution is to use the books without permission.) I’m sure this won’t be the last we hear about this one.
Q: With the content of books so readily available on the internet, how can we possibly protect books from these major tech companies developing their AI tools?
Here is what you had to say about the topics in Arcana Issue #2.
On tariffs and the price of publishing books: “Publishers in different countries have always differed in the first edition being hard back or soft cover. I think more books will only be printed with soft covers. Even fewer books will have over 100,000 words compared to those in today's market.” – Peter Taylor
Upcoming Events
Query Letter Workshops for April and May are still open for registration, although only a few spots remain for both months. These workshops include a live class, a critique of your query letter, and a Q&A session.
And the Graphic Novel Proposal Workshop series starts tomorrow! This round is sold out, but you can add your name to the waitlist if you want to be first in line to sign up for the next one.
Lately…
📚: Elphie by Gregory Maguire
I will always drop all other books to read a new Maguire novel.
📺: Doctor Odyssey (Apple TV)
All the “prestige” TV shows I was watching are over now, but luckily cruise ship doctor Joshua Jackson is still around to literally save lives.
🎶: “Relationships” by Haim
I can’t get this song out of my head. I can’t remember the last time a song was such an earworm. (Also, I hate that term. Gross.)
🎮: Balatro
So addictive.
Arcana will return on the next full moon.
What are these Questions all about? In each issue of Arcana, there will be questions for you to consider and respond to, and then I’ll select a few responses to share in the next issue. There’s no fun (or education for me; this is truly a selfish decision) in only sharing my opinion about these industry-wide topics.