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
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