In Publishing News this week.
Publishers Weekly has a report from Booksellers in the Washington DC area about book sales slumping as a result of the National Guard being deployed in the city. In response some booksellers have quietly protested by getting creative with their front windows.
KDP has just opened up Kindle Unlimited books to libraries. I haven’t found a proper link but the rumour is out there.
Following on from the Anthropic AI case, Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has been fielding enquiries over what to do if your publisher hasn’t registered you for copyright in the United States. There is a time limit on copyright registry in the US. Yes, you can claim copyright from the moment the story is written but if you want to sue someone over your copyright it needs to have been formally registered. Many writers are discovering publishers haven’t done this.
The Anthropic court case settlement does have implications for the Meta court case coming up. Mark Williams explores the out of court settlement news and how the publishing world might have missed a big opportunity. Suffice to say it won’t hurt Anthropic one bit.
Bookwire is hosting a conference specifically for the publishing community called All about AI. Just looking at the topics on offer – this is a get familiar with this subject or get left behind, conference.
Eleven Labs, who are leaders in the AI cloned voices for audio space, have now opened up a direct sales store on their site, reports Publishers Weekly. They have a good royalty rate there too. I think Eleven Labs is the only place where you can license your own voice- which takes author narration to another level. No more hours in a recording booth with dodgy sound.
Spotify are flirting with enhanced content on their audio books- You can add video and visual extras to your books which will play on the screen. Publishing Perspectives writes about whether this is a good thing or not.
Maris Kreizman has an interesting article on Lit Hub about the Harper Collins staff strike and why publishers have been poorly paying their staff. A Series of Unfortunate Salaries or Fighting the Publishing Industries Elitism.
Joanna Penn has an interesting interview with Clay Vermulm who writes short stories and collaborates with other authors in anthologies and podcasts. Check out the transcript for a different way of working.
Building a sustainable author future beyond GEO is a great article overview on how to remain visible in this AI search world. This is an article every author and publisher should read to understand how search is changing- then go for a deep dive into the subject with practical tips from Rachel Thompson on How to make AI work for you.
(Remember AI is a tool- don’t use it for creativity. Many editors are refusing to touch AI generated books because they are so bad at writing.)
It must be the change of the season- I’ve seen my first ducklings down under. (Shakes head at the folly of ducks) And it’s back to school up in the Northern Hemisphere.
So, it’s time for the writing craft bundles. There are two different bundles of resources out there for writers for a limited time. They have different prices (both under $100) but are chock full of different courses, books, workshops, printables…etcetc. Infostack Writing Craft 7.0 and Masterstack-Writing Craft. (There are writing for children guides in this one too.) If you are looking for your next year’s learning resources they’ve got you covered.
Donald Maass has written one of those articles that have you thinking about the topic for days. What is Truth in Fiction. It may just change the way you write forever.
In the Craft Section,
The power of giving up- Greer Macallister- Bookmark
Plot as Utility- John Gilstrap- Bookmark
Story Structure as architecture- P J Parrish- Bookmark
Dissecting the creative guides- Lisa Miller- Bookmark!
Write where you know- Kirsten Oliphant- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section
2 great articles from Penny Sansevieri-Basic elements matter more than you think and The genre mismatch problem with Ads- Bookmark Both
Transform your book into speaking opportunities- Stephanie Chandler- Bookmark
ACX review- Reedsy
Maybe I want authors to be celebrities- Interesting- Cassie Manns Murray
To Finish,
As I compile my list of articles, I’m always wondering what is the thread that runs through them. This week I was thinking about how publishing and writing is changing very quickly, and we may be running so fast to keep up that we forget why we started to write in the first place. Then I read this parody on publishing by Steven James based on The Lorax by Dr Suess.
Congratulations Julia Donaldson – The children’s author who has broken the record for all time book sales at 50 million according to NielsenIQ
Trust in your imagination!
Maureen
@craicer
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Pic Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
