Choosing Your Own Path

 In Publishing News This week,

 

James Daunt, CEO of the biggest Bookstore chains in the UK and USA ruffled everyone’s feathers when he stated that Barnes and Noble would sell AI generated books. Then he quickly walked that back. “What he meant to say was much more nuanced”- Publishers Weekly interviewed him to find out how nuanced.

 

Remember Fan Fiction on Amazon? The fan writers got to play in the author worlds and Amazon paid the original author a cut. It got dropped because the trade publishers wouldn’t join in. Music publishers have just done this deal with Spotify. Does it open the way to a whole new world in copyright? Mark Williams examines how it could work for authors.

 

The numbers are out and audiobooks are hot. Spotify are rubbing their hands as revenue is soaring. Publishers Weekly interviewed Spotify to find out all the new goodies that are coming to ears near you. Translation, narration, and curated playlists are in the mix for authors.

 

Eleven labs are introducing seamless audiobook creation inside their Spotify partnership reports Dan Holloway of The Alliance of Independent Authors. Meanwhile, the voice actors have launched a court case over scraped voice prints. If you are thinking about narration, consider cloning your own voice to avoid this problem.

 

Accessibility issues were the topic this week on Joanna Penns’s podcast.  She chatted with Jeff Adams on how AI tools are helping authors with disability issues.

 

Mark Lefebvre wrote an interesting essay on choosing the harder path this week that got me thinking. How often do we just pick the first idea that comes off the rank? Sure, it’s a shiny new idea, but have we looked deeper? Are we really stretching our writing chops?  This year’s Pulitzer Prize fiction winner is Danial Kraus for Angel Down written in one sentence. Mark’s essay is a timely reminder to push further, reach deeper. It’s a great read!

 

Rachel Thompson continues her series on Author Visibility. This week she talks about creating trust for your readers before they buy. Have you put yourself in your readers shoes? This is another great essay from Rachel. Check out the whole essay series.

 

Nuria Corbi has a great little article on the ten things that she wished someone had told her when she started self-publishing. One of the important lessons is Don’t Rush. Take your time. Do it right. After 18 years watching this business, I can agree. If you rush you burn out. 

 

In The Craft Section,

Why research is important for fiction- Ellen Buikema

Hone your focus sentence- Joshua Dolezal- Bookmark

8 ways to show fear- Amgela Ackerman- Bookmark

How to create stronger scenes- Gabriela Pereira- Bookmark

When revisions feel flat- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

 

In The Marketing Section,

Your audience might not be who you think- Ines Johnson -Bookmark

Typesetting rules every author needs to know- Alliance of independent authors- Bookmark

When to think about publicity-Cassie Manners Murray- Bookmark

Being a cheerleader for others- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Author Bios when you can’t write about yourself- Rebecca Forster

 

To Finish

This is a skinny blog because I’m traveling again, literally, as I type this. 

Back to normal next week. 

In the meantime, there are some juicy articles to contemplate, especially the trade off on disability help and AI and Mark Lefebvre's article on choosing the harder writing path. It's nearly time for the monthly newsletter so if you want to get a roundup of the best bookmarked articles from the last month you are welcome to subscribe here.

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the free Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate all virtual coffee love. Thanks.

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash

Knocking Over Those Productive Writing Goals

In Publishing News This Week

 

The Commonwealth short story prize was awarded last week and already the knives are out as people study the story and conclude that AI must have been seriously used to write it. The author isn’t commenting but The Guardian has plenty to say after prestigious magazine Granta published the winning story.

 

James Pattison rides to the rescue of children’s literature with a new institute dedicated to early adolescent reading skills, reports Publishers Weekly. James has pledged $10 million dollars to the cause. He has a philanthropy history of growing readers through programs targeting reading, libraries, and bookshops. All power to him! 

 

Once upon a time, when a printer had made a serious snafu on a print book, the copies would be pulled and the print run replaced. Not so at Minotaur. They recently had a special print run for independent bookshops of the hotly anticipated thriller The Last Mandarin. Then something went wrong. Publishers Weekly reports that the bookshops have been told that 6 pages are missing and to direct customers to a QR code to read the missing pages. You can imagine the reaction.

 

Publishing Perspectives reports that the Anthropic settlement has gone through its final fairness hearing. At the hearing, objectors were allowed 2 whole minutes to explain why they objected to the settlement and the objectors have good points. It is US centric, it leaves out other countries, and there is no compensation for authors whose publishers never filed copyright. How is that fair? In my recent article on Literary Estates I commented on the amount of money that publishers have missed out on by not filing copyright.

 

After a period of consolidation, Storytel are back out acquiring audio book sites. Publishing Perspectives reports on their latest acquisition, the Dutch publishing company Overamstel. And they are paying cash…so they have some serious money to spend in Europe.

 

Are you looking for royalty software? Publishing Perspectives reports on a new venture that will do everything for the publisher regarding rights, royalties, workflows and liaising with authors. Crealo is a one stop shop. They aren’t saying it’s AI but….

 

Mark Williams likes to point out where AI might be of benefit to the publishing community. He reports on the new  president of the Korean Publishing Association and their conceptual shift of seeing AI as a reader. It’s an interesting article which examines how we might go forward in licensing content.

 

Tanya Anne Crosby, the CEO of Oliver Heber Books, recently wrote an article on what she is seeing with the changes over at Amazon. She writes about being hopeful that the changes are going to benefit the reader. She has great advice for how you can jazz up your marketing on Amazon and get those eyeballs.

 

If you are writing romance and need some high-level workshop learning check out the Writing Romance Mastery Summit says Alexa Bigwharfe. She breaks down what is on offer, 25 sessions over 5 days. It’s free but only if you show up. So those outside the US set your alarms. 

 

For some reason Anne R Allens inbox is the place to be for a scamming email. Anne has seen it all, often every day. her article Writers- Don’t Let Yourself be Groomed By Book Publicity Scammers is a must read for what to look out for.

 

Katie Weiland has a thoughtful post on How The Marketplace Is Shaping The Stories We Tell. She examines the role of the storyteller and offers some great advice for balancing the commercial with the creative.

 

Jenn Windrow has written a fantastic article on voice. Your Voice Is The Point – Stop Toning It Down. Writers often second guess themselves and edit out the very thing that makes their writing unique. Embrace your authenticity.

 

In The Craft Section,

Showing or telling- Tiffany Yates Martin-Bookmark

A great weird editing habit to get into-Alison Hammer-Bookmark

Round vs flat characters-Rapid Reads Press

The art of withholding information-Michelle Barker - Bookmark

Defeating the next book willies- James Scott Bell

 

In The Marketing Section

Mating signals on your bookshelf- Mark Lefebvre

Trade Book Reviews- Sandra Beckwith

Author Case Study – Kindlepreneur- Bookmark

How to turn your readers into your marketers- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

What happens after your KDP account gets terminated- Useful information!

 

To Finish.

 

Don’t look now but it’s nearly the middle of the year. Aaargh. If you have been thinking you have plenty of time left, you may need to revisit your publishing calendar, reprioritize your goals, or have an existential crisis. Dan Blank has a great essay on mid-year creative goals using clarity cards. He has a made the clarity card visual process available as a free PDF to help you. 

Liz Talley also looks at the mid-year blues. She shows how you can use business goals to help you get organized for the next half of the year.

 

Go forth with renewed purpose and crush those productive blocks!

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band.

If you want the weekly blog in your inbox subscribe to the free Substack version.

If you like the blog and want to buy me a coffee, I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Photo by Michelle McEwen on Unsplash