In Publishing News This Week,
Publishers Weekly highlighted the changes that the Association of American Literary Agents have been making to their charter- namely allowing agents to start charging for editorial and publicity services. The association is calling it modernization to reflect all the hats agents are now wearing. There is a caveat from the association, they should not charge the author for representation. However, this could be a slippery slope warns Jane Friedman. She lays out her objections to this latest move.
Mark Williams highlights the court response in India to the Ani Media vs Open AI case that has been winding its way through the courts there. The judge has ruled that training AI on copyrighted works is fair use. However, Open AI’s argument that overseas laws don’t affect it because its business is on American servers was thrown out.
Mark examines the implications to publishers now that another court case has not backed up their claim.
Staying with court cases for a moment, Hachette have published their half yearly earnings reports Publishing Perspectives. They are predicting solid earnings based on the expected money from the Anthropic court case which is in the multi millions. They are the first of the big publishers to publish what they hope to get out of the settlement.
Simon and Schuster have opened a new imprint. Digital first, 50% royalties. Open to everyone to submit. Commercial fiction only. They are hoping to grab all those bestselling eBooks from independent publishers. If they get a winner, they will sign them up to print.
Having a family member in the research science community, I try to keep an eye on academic publishing. The academic publishers rake in money hand over fist. Researchers pay to get their article reviewed then pay for publication. Along the way they have to peer review for free. The academic journals are locked behind expensive paywalls that their own universities have to pay to access so they can see what their researchers have done. Cambridge University Press is changing all that. They are making their journals open source, Publishing Perspectives reports. This might be the first shot in the academic publishing revolution.
Karin Gillepie examines what the bestselling books of all time have in common and what authors can learn from them. No surprise that dystopia had the most bestsellers on the list. How can you bring a new twist to this genre?
Can you revise or retire a published book? Roz Morris answers this question with a great article on The Alliance of Independent Authors blog. When do you need to use a new ISBN? Roz links to other articles that explain what to do in more depth.
Edie Melson has a great list of guidelines that help her stay grounded as a writer. I was particularly struck by number 16. Refuse to write from fear. Edie lists the ways fear can derail us even when we don’t think we are afraid. Bookmark this article. Discuss it in your writing groups.
Terah Shelton Harris wrote an article on Writer Unboxed that resonates with every author. How To Write A Good Book. This is the core question every writer faces, along with How will I know when the story is good enough? We all have doubt when it comes to our writing. Terah has some interesting advice to help you. Lean into the ambitious idea- you might just be on to something.
When was the last time you read a book that gave you an emotional gut punch? Did you feel manipulated by the author? Kim Bullock writes about emotional turning points on Writer Unboxed. Ditch The Melodrama to Pack More Punch.
In The Craft Section,
Story landmarks to keep the reader engaged – Lisa Miller
Your first sentence makes the promise- Ines Johnson- Bookmark
Where to end chapters – September Fawkes- Bookmark
Writing flawed characters- K M Weiland – Bookmark
Manuscript surgery – Terry Odell- Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
10 Unorthodox marketing ideas- Dale Roberts - Bookmark
How inaccurate genre labels affect a books visibility- Ellen Buikema- Bookmark
9 signs it’s time to hire a publicist- Penny Sansevieri
How to be a successful children’s book author- Kim Norman
How to grow your newsletter without losing your creative soul- Rachel Thompson- Bookmark
To Finish
The Guardian has an article on Celebrity Book Clubs. Is it now cool to read? It seems to be cool to sell the merch with the book club branding. The celebrities are tapping into the book community. Finding your community and making space for them. Tasmina Perry writes about this in her article I Went to the Harrogate Crime Festival and Saw the Future of Publishing. Your greatest support are other writers and the fans of your writing. The most successful writers have created communities for their fans.
Last week I mentioned the explosive rise in Romantasy bookstores. Today reported in our national news was the opening of a Muslim bookstore. The first one of its kind in the country. The customers reported that it was a place of community where the children could see books that featured them. The importance of reader communities helps to keep book sales up, which fuels the writer to create, and inspires more readers. A beautiful loop of positivity.
I was sad to miss Trish Harris’s book launch, Out of The Box- 25 Deaf and Disabled Artists, Activists, and Adventurers from Aotearoa New Zealand. It is the first of its kind in New Zealand and the launch brought together so many people who had never seen themselves reflected in a book. The power of representation is immense and writers who build this community and make a positive difference are superheroes.
Maureen
@craicer
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