In Publishing News this week
As I write this the news is filtering out of the layoffs at The Washington Post. Hundreds of journalists have lost their jobs, among them the editor of the Book Review page. Book reviews are hard to come by at the best of times. Lit Hub examines the astounding impact of the Washington Post Books Page. Bezos started Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore. Shake your head and weep.
In happier news, Bookshop.org and Draft2Digital have inked a partnership deal. This opens up the Independent Bookshop supporting marketplace to the one of the biggest Independent print on demand publishers. That’s worth celebrating.
Publishing Perspectives reports on an advanced seminar for Booksellers in Italy and the key points to come out of it for publishers and booksellers looking at the international market. Know your customer and provide a high level service. Make your bookshop a destination, the article suggests. As I was reading the article I was thinking of the new romance bookshop in Auckland, Enamoured Books. They are off to a fantastic start!
The hot new craze is microdrama. I was contacted by a publicist for Reelshort to talk about what they were doing. I was interested in the concept as a writer. Short cliff hanger serial story episodes that commuters read on their phones. It was a big thing in Asia a few years ago. If they need writers that would be an interesting gig. Now TikTok has launched a new microdrama serial app and is set to cash in on the commuter trip.
Mark Williams has commentary on the UK government’s new partnership with AI and how the UK publisher’s association has been left out in the cold. He is pro AI from the point of view of its here deal with it camp. Meanwhile, San Diego Comic Con and the science fiction writing community are tightening the rules around using AI in award criteria.
The Book Industry Study Group recently hosted an event on rights selling; If You Don’t Know The Value of Your IP You Don’t know The Value of Your Company. One of their keynote speakers, Thad McIlroy talked about licensing for AI. This could be a limited lifeline for publishers depending on the judgements in current court cases against AI companies this year. The American Copyright Alliance had a quick rundown of how many court cases against AI companies will be heard in 2026. It is not a small number and makes interesting reading as companies scramble to settle out of court.
Alicia McCalla has an interesting viewpoint on AI, What actually scares me about AI.
She talks about AI hallucinating the books she has written. Just before Christmas we had that happen in New Zealand where children’s book authors were credited in a newspaper article with books they had not written. There is a solution, says Alicia, be proactive for AI to find your work.
As we roll onward into another year of writing, it’s a good time to revisit the scammers who want to shatter your dreams. Anne R Allen has a recap post on the sharks out there. Victoria Strauss has a warning post on a new scam using agent identity theft as the twist. Don’t forget to point out these scams to new authors out there.
The Dream Team, Angela and Becca have a new thesaurus coming in April. When I met Angela last year, she told me that many psychologists are using these books to help them in their practice. A whole new world out there for a writing thesaurus book. If you haven’t checked out these award winning books, you are missing out!
If you are after great books check out Dean Wesley Smith's new Kickstarter. He has four updated books on publishing and writing, The Essential Indie Collection. I’ve got the originals of these books, they are amazing resources on mindset and author business.
Joanna Penn recently interviewed Melissa Addey on researching like an academic and then using this to spark your creative writing. I love researching but knowing when to stop and write the story is the tricky part. Melissa has some great advice here. As an academic she has an interesting view on researching for her novels and the horrors of academic publishing.
In The Craft Section,
Reading with purpose- Gabriela Pereira- Bookmark
Meet the villain- Gwen Hernandez- bookmark
Becoming your character- Boo Walker
Coping mechanisms Thesaurus- Becca Puglisi
What makes a good ending- Janice Hardy- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section
Author press kit blunders- Sandra Beckwith-Bookmark
The hidden cost of spam- Lisa Norman
Publishing secrets every new author needs to know- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark
The 2026 reader survey results- Written Word Media- Bookmark
The ultimate guide to crafting a book pitch- Penny Sansevieri
To Finish,
As we head into February and your writing goals are sorted it’s time to look at your author business. Here is where Becca Syme comes in. Becca is one of the most respected author mindset coaches out there. She often guests on the big writing podcasts. She recently made available her keynote talk from a recent conference on the phases of an author business. Clear and practical advice. A must watch.
Maureen
@Craicer
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Pic Photo by Iuliia Pilipeichenko on Unsplash
