Staying Hopeful Despite the Evidence.

 In Publishing News This Week…

 

Anthropic.

 

The settlement letters came out and there was an immediate outcry. So much that Writer Beware was documenting in real time as authors discovered publishers had claimed 100% of the payout share or were claiming for books whose rights had reverted. One sad author found a scam artist had laid claim to all of hers and she wasn’t the only one. These were not isolated instances. It almost looked as if it was deliberate. Widespread panic dominated social media. Claims need to be signed off by the end of this month so disputes have to be resolved fast with publishers. If you have an Anthropic claim check your correspondence carefully, even if it looks ok. Check in with Authors Guild on what you need to do. Drop in to Writer Beware for the latest updates including the new ‘helpful’ companies which will make this problem go away. (SCAM) 

 

Rolling up behind the Anthropic claim is the Open AI, Microsoft claim. Based on the previous lawsuits Authors Guild have asked the judge for a summary judgement, however much of the claims evidence has been redacted, reports Publishers Weekly.

 

On the other side of the fence, Chelle Honniker, who has a business teaching authors about AI has written an article explaining that authors signed up for AI Indexing. You are misguided about putting a line in your copyright notice about AI training. It is too late. 

Authors have missed a crucial understanding. The Anthropic case was about piracy, not training.

 

Kevin Kelly (of 1000 true fans fame) has written an interesting article, Arguments In Favour of AI Fair Use.  This is what the judge decided. Now how can we make it work in our favour. Kevin has always advocated a direct relationship with your readers as humans make connections with other humans. 

 

There is a backlash demanding that AI not be used in any image creative work. Illustrators who use digital illustration techniques are being branded as using AI- even when they haven’t. Glossy children’s book illustrations are being panned. Illustrators are now using more texture brushes to their work so they won’t be lumped in the AI slop basket. Recently I saw a claim that the digital texture brush tool makers are demanding in their sale contracts that they can’t be used in AI illustration. As news media reports another scary claim from the computer scientists who created AI, it is obvious that it is almost too late to put in safeguards. 

 

 Audible is pushing hard in the translated audio market with original audiobook titles they are translating into English. This used to take a long time and happened only if the books won print awards. Now Audible expect their Original to English translation market to grow to 25% of their English language audiobooks by the end of the year.

 

Publishing Perspectives reported on a white paper from Frankfurt Bookfair on AI narration. Who is narrating our future? The white paper had input from across the industry. However they noted that they were only able to write this paper if they assured the respondents that they would be anonymous, such is the sensitive nature of the subject in publishing. It is worth reading the article to get the facts and figures. 

 

Jami Gold has an interesting article on procrastination. She examines cognitive theory ideas for ways to help authors break out the blocks to productivity. There is great ad vice in here about mindset hacks.

 

Jane Friedman has an excerpt from M Stevenson’s book, It Depends: An Authors Practical Guide to Debut Year. The excerpt is on partnering with bookstores to run pre orders. This breaks down what you need to do with examples.

 

Rachel Thompson is known for her practical marketing advice and encouragement to authors around the web. Her latest article -8 Writing And Publishing Lessons I learned From Writing 8 Books is full of great advice. These 8 maxims about writing and marketing are timeless. This is a Print Out and Put on Your Wall post! 

 

In The Craft Section,

Serials – Start with a finished manuscript or write on the fly? - Simon Jones- Bookmark

Delivering backstory with setting- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

10 standout tips for writing- Randy Susan Meyers- Bookmark

The Villains Journey-Debbie Burke- Bookmark

What should you write next- James Scott Bell-Bookmark!

 

In The Marketing Section

Honesty in book marketing- Sandra Beckwith

Paid Newsletters -Smart income stream or expensive 

distraction- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Marketing without panic- Susan Odev- Bookmark

Maximising free book downloads- Bookbub- Bookmark

10 social media platforms for authors- Alliance of Independent Authors

 

To Finish

 

There are so many demands on your author business that often the way forward seems to be obscured. This week I was listening to Joanna Penn’s podcast interview with Tracy Cooper Posey on redesigning your author business for the environment that actually exists. It was a hopeful episode. Check out the transcript or listen when you can. No matter how small your actions are, they contribute to your author momentum forward. 

 

Go forth… even with small steps, you can reach your destination.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

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

 

 

Photo by Ryan Fleischer 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

Standing Out

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The Sharjah Bookfair is on. As Publishers Weekly explains it centers on the Global South, Africa, Asia, India, and the Middle East. That’s a fair chunk of the world catering to a young demographic. Over 118 countries and over 2,300 publishers represented. It’s a networking extravaganza.

In an interesting side event at Sharjah the PublishHer- Women In Publishing, networking event was held over three days. Publishing Perspectives reports that the mood was upbeat. ‘What a time it is to be a publisher,’ said Gvantsa Jobava, president of the International Publishers Association.

 

Dan Holloway reports on the European and International Booksellers Federation’s new AI charter. They have a list of 11 points that they want to make clear to the technological industries. Dan makes a good point about the confusion between assistive AI and generative AI. The 11 points are easy to understand and a good guideline for the publishing industry.

 

Everybody seems to be launching a website company for authors. Publishers Weekly reports that Tertulia book discovery platform is launching a website building platform for authors that will instantly populate their books and sell them using Ingram for shipping. It’s in Beta at the moment, but with the current move to direct selling it looks like a good solution to an author problem.

 

A while ago (Before Covid) I delivered a big speech on the future of publishing where I talked about the potential of blockchain technology. At the time many people shook their heads and muttered that it was all too much for them to understand. It was interesting to come across this company who want to take the concept of books on the blockchain and run with it. Publishing Perspectives writes about the Written site. It’s a pity that their website is so horrible though. 

 

Writer Beware has the best guide to the Anthropic AI case. This is a what you need to know, all the links you need to claim compensation, timeframes etc. If you still are wondering how to claim your $3000 from the settlement this is required reading.

 

Kevin Kelly, of 1000 true fans fame, has an interesting take on AI. Paying AI’s to read my books. This is a completely opposite idea to the prevailing concerns in the publishing industry. If AI is going to be the search engine for everything don’t you want your books and ideas inside the box being discovered? A fascinating point of view here.

 

Gabriele Pereira has a great article on DIYMFA- Two Things AI Can’t Take Away From You. This is a good reminder that the importance of your voice and how you write is what distinguishes you from every other writer out there.

 

Agent Richard Curtis has an interesting article on the Droit Moral clause and what happens when you waive it in a contract. This is eye opening. This is a clause that is in contracts for film rights. If you waive the clause – the film can do anything they like to the story.

 

Rachel Thompson has a great post on writers block. If you are settling in for Novel November this is the last thing you need. Rachel writes that it’s not your muse that has gone missing but something else in your life.

Ellen Buikema continues this theme with a look at writer self doubt. She has some great tips to get over your fear of not being good enough.

 

Chelle Honniker of Indie Author magazine has a sideline in devising author automations. She is an expert at streamlining author business with innovative uses of software. I was intrigued with her post on branding. She dives into things I never thought of before on author branding. 

 

Cathy Yardly writes on The Art of Propulsive Fiction for Writer Unboxed this week. This is the fiction that sits between pure commercial and literary. Is it plot driven or character driven? Cathy writes that this is the wrong focus. It’s about the goal of the main character. Sometimes that gets lost in the story.

 

In The Craft Section,

Five commandments of Storytelling- StoryGrid- Bookmark!

Connecting points keep the story moving- K M Weiland- Bookmark

6 tips for creating great character chemistry- Becca Puglisi- Bookmark

Crafting real relationships between characters- C S Lakin

The fastest way to make a character sympathetic- September Fawkes

 

In the Marketing Section,

3 common book marketing tactics that are useless- Sandra Beckwith

Book marketing Blueprint- John Kremer- Interesting

Author event ideas that sell books- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Adventures at book signings- Terry Odell- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

Elizabeth Spann Craig has been writing great articles for years on her author blog. It’s a great blend of her cozy mystery books and her articles for writers. Recently she had an interesting article on the importance of author promo instead of book promo. She writes “Readers remember the author who taught them something or made them laugh, not the author who just posted cover reveals.” This is a great mantra to remember as we head into the Christmas selling season.

Maureen

@craicer

 

It's nearly time for my monthly newsletter? You can subscribe here to join our happy band and get the best of my bookmarked links.

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 Bob Jenkin on Unsplash