Is AI Text Destroying Our Characters Humanity?

 

In Publishing News This Week

 

The end of March saw the closing date for authors to claim compensation from Anthropic in the Bartz vs Anthropic class action. However, this doesn’t mean that Anthropic is off the hook. This week the Association of American Publishers, along with the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical publishers joined a class action taken by the Concord Music Group publishers. Yes, song lyrics were ripped off as well as scientific, technical, and medical information. So Anthropic might have to delve into their $300 billion wallet and find some loose change.

Over on Lit Hub, Mary Childs has an article on feeling left out of the Bartz claim…her book was in the original theft, how come It wasn’t chosen to be in the compensation?

 

The Guardian reports that Penguin Random House is taking Open AI to court because their Chat GPT bot plagiarized their German children’s book. This court case is being taken in Europe. This is a specific case involving a chat bot. The case is compelling and Open Ai don’t really have a leg to stand on here.

 

Are animated micro dramas the next big thing? Harlequin thinks so. They have partnered with Dashverse, an AI entertainment company, to produce animated micro dramas inspired by their romance titles. They have a huge back list to mine if the first forty animations do well. 

 

Publishers Weekly interviewed agents and publishers about the Shy Girl controversy which I reported on last week. There was skepticism about Hachette’s claims that they didn’t know anything about the problem before it was brought to their attention. 

There are some telling comments about the disparity of power between what publishers demand of authors and what use of AI they make themselves. 

Mark Williams has been looking at the audiobook industry and finding the gaps that publishers are missing. Mark is a teacher in The Gambia, one of the poorest nations on Earth and he shares insights into a world where everyone has a smart phone but not a book or a credit card. There is a distribution model ripe for disruption. A fascinating article.

 

Jane Friedman has a great article about how the Bookstore Market has changed and what publishers should be doing to support them. The article is based on the recent Book Industry Study Group candid discussions at their recent event. If you know a bookseller pass it on. (I will be) Jane also has some author takeaways to think about.

 

Joanna Penn recently interviewed Anne Lamott and her husband Neal Allen on their new book Good Writing. Many writers will know Anne Lamotts book Bird by Bird which is one of those books on writing that every writer should read. Anne and Neal’s new book for writers is on crafting sentences. Read the transcript or listen to the interview it is fascinating.

This month Richard Charkin is reflecting on those strategy retreats that he attended when he was a publishing CEO and how quickly the high ideas and plans fell by the wayside to corporate bottom lines. This year will the strategy retreats focus on AI and will they change anything in publishing land?

 

Sara Hildeth writes this week about the rise of AI text generated newsletters. Her response is to question why writers would even bother to use an AI to generate text. The act of writing demands so much more from the writer. This is a thought provoking article on what it means to be a writer.

 

Written Word Media has an interesting deep dive article into what moves the needle as you go from Author to Authorpreneur. The transition to a business takes a different mindset and a willingness to look at marketing strategies.

 

Donald Maass has an interesting article on the writers toolbox of questions to make your characters and plot stronger. The important takeaway here is you can read loads of craft books but do you put the ideas into practice?

 

Mark Leslie Lefebvre is also looking at characters this week, specifically how your characters look at the world differently. Are you thinking about your characters world view and how they move through your story? 

In The Craft Section,

15 actionable tips for writing deep characters- Joanna Penn- BOOKMARK

Ego driven vs Soul driven character arcs- K M Weiland – Bookmark

Using contradiction to create micro tension- C S Lakin

How does fear play into Character arcs- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Types of backstory – Gabriela Pereira

 

In The Marketing Section,

How to beat your newsletter competition- Jane Friedman- Bookmark

How to build a powerful email list- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

AI systems can rescue you from difficult marketing tasks- R J Redden

Marketing myths – Rachel Thompson- Bookmark!

Amazon A content can upgrade your sales page- Penny Sansevieri

 

To Finish

Recently Tessa Barbosa wrote an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about the value of craft in the art of writing. “Creativity is a practice, just like meditation. It is about noticing things, making connections and asking questions." 

An AI can’t replicate your voice or point of view. Go out there and be human!

 

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.

 

Pic  

Photo by Emilipothèse on Unsplash

Counting The Cost

 

In Publishing News This Week,

 

The publishing world was rocked by the death of Porter Anderson. Porter was a long time commentator and publishing news journalist. I shared many of his articles on the blog over the last decade. He was a kind and generous man who will be missed. I still grin when I see the words The Industry. Porter coined this tongue in cheek phrase, “the industry, the industry,” when reporting on the impact of another merger of publishers or publishing shaking event. RIP Porter.

 

Publishers Weekly reports the deep dissatisfaction with the new owners of Edelweiss, the ARC copy review site and sales database. Prices have gone up sharply. Being in this catalogue was essential for small publishers but now they are being priced out.

Metadata. It’s important. And many people in publishing do not understand it. It is the difference between finding your book in an online catalogue where it is supposed to be or the book disappearing completely. Darcy Pattison has an informative post on metadata.

 

Bloomsbury has partnered with AI reports Publishers Weekly. If you sucked in your breath at that headline, you are not alone. However, they are using AI technology for discovery and engagement. Not for writing. Only for learning outcomes in their academic division. Really. 

 

Anne Trubek has an interesting article on Will AI Written Books Destroy Publishing. She lays out where AI and the publishing contract language of indemnity diverge. This is a soothing post for most writers worried that AI written books will replace them.  

 

Mark Williams has an interesting post on the music industry and how the music publishers are using leverage with the AI companies to get favourable terms. This is something that the publishing companies are trying to do. With the recent court case judgement of training AI’s coming under fair use if you buy a copy, publishers might have missed a trick with licensing.  

 

Written Word Media have published the results of their annual survey of writers. One of the interesting ways they present this data it what each finding means for the author reading the survey.

 

Richard Charkin has an interesting column on the measurement trap and how what you measure in publishing gets in the way of why you are measuring. Is the industry failing to understand the basics of good publishing judgement? 

 

Agent Richard Curtis has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog about the Importance of Print and why it never died. Print might still be alive but some formats of it are shrinking fast. 

 

Jenn Windrow has an excellent post on making your writing sparkle. She see’s developmental editing like a Christmas Tree. Has it got a good structure? What about the sparkle?

 

 

In The Craft Section,

The case for shrinking your novel- Amy Bernstein- Bookmark

Keeping score- Donald Maass- Bookmark

Four moments you should hold the conflict- Becca Puglisi

The most powerful writing tip- Sue Coletta- Bookmark

Naming your book- Penny Sansevieri

 

In The Marketing Section

Can Facebook ads sell books- Randi Minetor- Bookmark

Understanding IngramSparks title processing

Amazon royalties explained- Dale Roberts - Bookmark

Long term author career- Podcast with Joanna Penn and Jennifer Probst – Interesting

The Taylor Swift Newsletter strategy- Katrina God- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

The last month of the calendar year and everyone is thinking I haven’t met my goals.

If that is you, cut yourself some slack. Are you further ahead on your writing journey than the start of the year? If you need some concrete help in goal setting check out this article from the SPA Girls. They are fantastic and one of my go to podcasts.

As it’s December, there will be lists of writer gifts out there. Katie Weiland has 12 days of writing gifts to get for yourself or a friend. Treat Yourself.

 

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.

 

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This Crazy Thing We Do

 

 

In Publishing News this week

 

A tentative agreement has been reached with authors and Anthropic reports Publishers Weekly. This means an out of court settlement is on the cards. If you have a claim against Anthropic scraping your work to teach its AI you need to register before September 1^st. Tech Dirt has an interesting commentary on why Anthropic may have settled- the threat of extreme statutory damages. However, they say this might not be an ongoing trend given what the judge declared about training AI’s.(Fair use- if they bought a copy of the book.)

 

Mark Williams has an interesting article looking at the middle ground of the two extreme positions of AI use in publishing. Four perspectives of AI collaboration in publishing. He lays out the pro’s and cons of a thoughtful use of AI. 

 

Publishing Perspectives has a breakdown on the Book Sales numbers from The Association of American Publishers from 2024.In a $32 Billion industry, print is still up there. However, online sales accounted for over 30%. Audio sales drove much of the revenue.

 

While print last year was booming, lack luster sales this year has Bloomsbury axing some of their children’s division team. The Bloomsbury Boom and Bust rollercoaster of children’s publishing. (They get saved every twenty five years by some big name author.)

 

Mary Kole, specialist children’s editor and agent has written an interesting article on research she has done on the latest sales trends in Midgrade writing. Midgrade is quietly having a moment.

 

Some children’s writers have got together to launch an MFA in writing for young readers. After teaching at other programmes they decided what the world needed was a dedicated MFA just for children’s books. They have a great faculty and only five in person residencies over two years with two intakes a year. They are fundraising to keep the costs low. 

 

Jennifer Probst has a great article on the 7 steps to thriving as an author in a changing publishing world. Every now and then an article comes along and socks you between the eyes. This is a must read.

 

Jane Friedman has made her newsletter free for its 10th anniversary. In this article she looks at how publishing has changed since 2015. Does anybody remember the world before Kickstarter, Audio books, and Direct Sales platforms?

 

James Scott Bell has a great article on the origin of Kill Your Darlings, No it’s not a horror story. It’s being aware when you have overwritten.

 

Katie Weiland has concluded that story is almost dead in this year’s films. What happened to modern storytelling and 6 ways to find its soul. In the film story cycle we may be in for a return to those great film stories from the 80’s. 

 

Erin Halden has an interesting article on Antagonists. – Do you know about antagonist hierarchy. That is the layers of antagonism in your story. Not every antagonist is a mastermind criminal sometimes they can be the burnt toast in a scene.

 

In The Craft Section,

How much research is too much- Ellen Buikema (You can never have too much-MC)

5 ways to engage the senses- Lynette Burrows-Bookmark

Deep POV- Lisa Hall Wilson- Bookmark

Writing with subtext- Tammy Burke- Bookmark

What bad movies can teach you- Alex Cavanaugh- Excellent! 

 

In The Marketing Section,

Leverage someone else’s network- Sandra Beckwith

Why every author needs a platform- Written Word Media- Bookmark

Holiday marketing – why prep matters- Penny Sansevieri

10 Amazon KDP secrets- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

How to write a Book Proposal- Reedsy- Bookmark

 

To Finish

To shamelessly rip off Steven Colbert’s monologue, I trawl through the web to harvest those snippets of interest, tossing them into a pot with spices and creating the hot stew of information that is my weekly roundup. This is a niche blog that writers and publishers tell me is required reading. Even if I take you down some rabbit holes. (Hat tip of thanks to those of you who have chucked a dollar or two into the coffee fund.) 

If you have ever had to explain publishing to someone not in the industry you will appreciate the Diana Urban article about the Publishing Sitcom.

 

Yes, we’re mad to do this crazy thing called writing.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter. If you want the best of my bookmarked links 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, It is much appreciated. 

Thank you.

 

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Who Has The Power?

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

The first of the AI lawsuits has been decided with a Californian Federal Judge handing down a pre-trial ruling that the Anthropic company was using fair use to train its AI using copyrighted material. However, the fact that they used pirated material was a problem. Read the article from Publishers Weekly and find out what the AI companies are doing now to get around licensing the work for training purposes. I wonder if the judge will address the trampling of the moral rights of the authors.

 

Publishing Perspectives looks at the latest statistics from the American Publishers Association and sales are down across the formats. These numbers are just snapshots they hasten to add. Hopefully it is not a downward trend.

 

On the African continent Mark Williams based in The Gambia looks at how AI is making an impact in publishing. If you can’t get any print books and only sporadic internet what are you to do? Mark talks about how publishing in Africa is quietly breaking records as they figure out ways to get books into the hands and ears of people across the continent.

Mark also looks at a little Romanian startup with big plans to grow across Europe and Latin America. It’s not about competing with everybody else but looking at who everybody else is overlooking and filling the gap.

 

Because writing and journalism go hand in hand, I try to keep an eye out for what is trending in journalism writing. Reuters, one of the world’s biggest news agencies, has released their digital news report for 2025, a snapshot on where people get their news from and who they trust to give them news. Ouch. Social Media wins out. 

Adam Tinworth drills into the data and points out how journalists have to change to cope with the emerging media tsunami.

 

In fun uplifting news, London has its first dedicated romance book store, The BBC reports. Finally, some positive reporting about this genre. Could it be because the Romance genre was behind $1billion worth of sales last year in the UK? The bookstore is loud and proud with a Smut Hut inside it. Interesting how the BBC just couldn’t bring themselves to name the bookstore.

 

The Alliance of Independent Authors has an interesting article on the audiobook book boom and how indie authors and publishers are looking closely at KDP’s AI Virtual Voice. Is it worth doing and how do you price it for the consumer?

 

Anne R Allen has an excellent article on building inventory. This is a positive spin on not being published. I am reminded of one of our most beloved children’s authors who when an American Big Publisher saw her work at an exhibition came calling. Do you have anything else besides that story, she was asked. Margaret Mahy pulled a suitcase out from under the bed. It was stuffed with stories. 

 

Johnny B Truant has been writing lately about the Artisan Author. He has an interesting article on taking back the power over your author career. Have you really looked at who has the power? It is often not the author. So what can you do about it?

 

Savannah Cordova has an interesting article on Angela and Becca’s blog about writing what you know. She turns this familiar writing adage on its head. Know What You Write. 

 

In the Craft Section,

Different character arcs for the same character- K M Weiland Bookmark!

Do you have to use the 3 act structure?- C S Lakin

Semi colons and other punctuation- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

The importance of conveying character- September Fawkes- Bookmark

6 cheats to tell well- September Fawkes.

 

In The Marketing Section,

5 tips for stella cover design in 2025- Savannah Cordova

10 Amazon KDP secrets- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark

Pinterest -best kept author marketing secret- Melisa Bourbon- 

Bookmark

2 Great posts from Written Word Media- Pen to camera don’t ignore YouTube and Marketing on a shoestring- Bookmark

 

To Finish

Being a kiwi… a New Zealander, I am used to seeing the Haka – often described as a Maori War chant by overseas commentators, at important events. To the outside world it is mostly seen on television at international sports matches to honour the opposition by bringing your best game. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, it is also performed to honour someone who has achieved great mana or made a community impact by their life and actions. School prizegivings and graduations are often punctuated by Haka from the families of students. It stops us all in our tracks. The recipient is usually in tears for the honour bestowed. The Haka is never taken for granted. Recently Elizabeth Heurgo wrote in Writer Unboxed about the passion of the Haka and how she is using it to tackle the blank page. It’s a fascinating essay linking the Haka to Literature and Booker Prize winners. Your blank page may generate the honour of a haka for your work. You just have to write. 

 

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 Substack version.

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

 

Photo by Mateusz Wacławek on Unsplash

Reinventing Ourselves

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

Publisher’s Weekly writes about the reinstatement of BookCon for American publishers.  Back in pre covid days America had Book Expo which died. While other countries managed to keep their big Book Fairs alive, The United States of America struggled. Enter Book Con 2026 rising from the ashes and focusing on the young trend setters and readers of today. 

 

Publisher’s Weekly also reports on the mixed results to lawsuits trying to halt or reestablish the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This is of huge importance to libraries who rely on funding from this organization in the USA. 

 

Mark Williams looks at the partnership between Mattel (the toy brand) and Open AI. As a teacher and publishing commentator he is drawing some big links with childrens toys and the familiarity the next generation have with AI already. If you are a children’s publisher or writer keeping an eye on this is a must.

 

There is another audiobook award out there. Based in the United Kingdom it’s The Speakies. Dan Holloway looks at how to enter.

 

Staying in the UK, Publishing Perspectives writes about the upcoming UK Publishers Licensing Services conference and what the main topics are. The PLS collects and distributes money from copyright licenses. The 3 day conference is free.

 

Meanwhile, over in Europe there are meetings and summer schools happening for publishers about the new EU rules of accessibility in publishing. Can your books be read by the disabled community. How will you implement changes to your publishing program if you sell in the EU?

 

Recently I listened to Joanna Penn and Thomas Umstattd talking about book discoverability in the age of AI. This was so interesting I listened to it again and sent the link to a few people. Check out the transcript or download the podcast. Food for thought.

 

David Beer of 3 Quarks Daily has an interesting article entitled Will the fear of being confused for an AI mean that we will now write differently? This is an interesting article on deep learning and being human.

 

If you haven’t checked out the Indie author magazine you really should. Chelle Honiker is the programming director of the Author Nation conference and has been the driving force behind the indie author magazine for a few years now. They have great articles on all sorts of topics. Recently Chelle compiled a group of articles on mastering your writing time.

 

If you have been wondering how to get all your virtual events, merchandise sales, book talks, launches etc under one roof check out Benventi they may just have the solution. It’s always interesting to see how new teams approach working with author pain points.

 

Sara Hildeth has an interesting article on Literary Elitism and Literary Egalitarianism.

Why do people push the notion that to read Literary works they must be among the elite thinkers? Each side has entrenched views on the subject. Do we need to review the definitions again?

 

Kathleen Schmidt writes an interesting article on publishing imprints and the marketing budgets. The Vicious Cycle of Book Publishing. This is of interest if you are wondering why your book is not gaining traction. It could be that there just isn’t any money in the budget. For instance, this month is when publishers work out their Christmas promotion budget.

 

In The Craft Section,

How to prepare your manuscript for a developmental edit- Jenn Windrow- Bookmark

Character building – Dave King

Scene segmentation- C S Lakin- Bookmark

How long should a denouement be- September Fawkes- Bookmark

360 conference highlights-Debbie Burke- Super interesting!

 

In the Marketing Section,

7 ways to repurpose your book content- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

Disrupting book marketing venue by venue- Lynette Burrows- Bookmark!

How to get free book advertising- Brian Jud

Why I dropped the WordPress website for Payhip- Kris Maze- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Every now and then I wonder if anyone reads the blog. I have been writing it for over seventeen years. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged and think blogging or compiling my weekly roundup of publishing news, writing, and book marketing tips is old hat and no one is really interested. Then I remember the little comments and emails and my newsletter subscribers who take the time to flick me comments and encouragement and I put my head down and get back to work. This week Rachel Thompson had a fantastic article on why blogging is still relevant. Of course I haven’t followed all her fabulous tips. I should have been blogging about children’s books seeing as how I write them. Ah well. Maybe that’s something I could be thinking about starting. 

In the meantime, thanks for getting all the way to the bottom of another weekly blog.

 

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 Substack version.

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

 

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

Defending Literature Around The Globe.

In Publishing News this week,

 

Copyright received another blow in the United Kingdom this week, when the amended law supported by the Upper house was defeated again in the Lower house. That meant that the new bill will not have any transparency compliance from tech companies. Publishing Perspectives covers the implications and what publishing companies can hope for in the near future.

 

Canadian authors alerted the writing community to an AI scam that is happening on Amazon. Take a hot new title… change the cover a little bit with AI. Change the author name a little bit. Scrape the insides… and take advantage of the original books marketing push to make bucks. This kind of dupe gives authors a bad name and it’s not their fault! 

 

International tax and legal services firm, PWC has released a report on the impact of AI in the workforce. It’s surprisingly positive with employees who can use AI being valued more. Mark Williams looks at the report findings for the publishing community.

 

Meanwhile, Jane Friedman has written an article about What AI can’t steal from you which is your unique voice and perspective. 

 

Ingram Content Group has integrated AI tools into its marketing platform, Ingram iD. The tools will write blurbs and run campaigns across social media according to Publishers Weekly.

 

The Toronto Comics festival just wrapped up and the big talking points were how much the cross border attendance had taken a hit because of fear of gender challenges at the border. The festival has been a safe space for people from marginalized communities. Although comics are in good heart the people reading them may not be so confident.

 

The International Publishers Association’s World Expressions Forum (WEXFO) has just finished meeting in Lillehammer. The clarion call from the forum was the threat to Democracy from disinformation and censorship. They have released a report exhorting members to resist this. “World Expression Forum calls for resistance against authoritarian forces that undermine democracy and freedom of expression. Democracy is continuously under threat, and we (the undersigned) promise to strengthen our battle against disinformation, censorship and polarization–and improve literacy in our societies.”

Over in the middle east the Shajah Publishing Sustainability Fund has just helped 12 publishers to scale up their business and use new tools to make their publishing sustainable. They get so many business development goodies they must be the envy of publishers worldwide. Mark Williams dives into what is on offer for the lucky selected publishers. This is possible because of the countries commitment to literacy and education. 

 

Seth Harwood writes on Jane Friedman’s blog about the perils of Diminishing Returns in Revision. Do you know when it is time to let go. This is one of my biggest problems…if only I had another five minutes to put in that comma and take it out again four times before I’m finished… .

 

The fantastic Jami Gold is back with an excellent post on writing stand alones in a series. Yes, you can do it. It takes some creativity but we’re writer’s aren’t we? Jami has some great tips for thinking outside the series box.

  

In The Craft Section,

3 act analysis of Star Wars- Gabriele Pereira

Chekhov’s Gun- Anne R Allen- Bookmark

When the 2^nd draft feels like a step back- Janice Hardy- Bookmark

Different character arcs for the same character-K M Weiland- Bookmark

Dual Protagonists- Terry Odell- Bookmark

 

In the Marketing Section,

Conquering limiting beliefs- Kimberly Grabas- Bookmark

10 Free Book Promo ideas- Sandra Beckwith

Monitoring your author brand- Dave Chesson – Bookmark

21 marketing tips- Writing Oasis

How to define a strong marketing brand- Jenny Hansen- Bookmark

 

To Finish

It’s halfway through the year and my thoughts turn to the current novel and if I will ever wrangle it into submission. It didn’t help that I wrote out of sequence. Jenny Hansen has an excellent article on the non linear writing process. Some writers work best when the manuscript looks like a mess. 

How often do you start a writing project knowing who the audience for it is? Liz Alterman has an article on The Dynamic duo’s website about pitching the concept to yourself before you write the book. I can’t help thinking that if we did more of this we wouldn’t have half-finished novels in the bottom drawer.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It’s nearly time for my monthly newsletter of the best of my bookmarked links. You can subscribe here if you want to join our happy band.

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

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

 

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