In Publishing News this week
The closure of Baker and Taylor book distributors has ongoing ripple effects throughout the book publishing industry. As the biggest book distributor to libraries, publishers are scrambling to put together dedicated sites. Small publishers are left hanging and now the implications are being felt with other book distributors. Publishers Weekly reports on Lectorum Publishing’s closure. Lectorum, the largest independent distributor of Spanish language books explains that the hits kept coming and they couldn’t overcome them.
Spotify is expanding its reach again. This time into the Nordic countries home of Storytel. Storytel have just posted a third quarter profit. Europe and the American continent have been the preferred audiences to chase. I wonder which one will get to Asia or Africa first. Spotify reports that more than half of its listeners are under 35. With the younger demographic of Africa’s population, the struggle for the worlds ears between these two companies is just getting started.
November had three big conferences for the publishing community, Sharjah, Shanghai, and Author Nation and all of them addressed the AI conundrum. Do we? Don’t we? and How much is too much?
One of the keynotes of Sharjah was an address by Keith Riegert about AI tools. Publishers Weekly reports on this with the title When It Comes To AI, Adapt or Die. This is stark look at the AI tech disruption in publishing. Keith Riegert says we should treat AI as “a very intelligent but inexperienced assistant.”
Adding his ten cents into the mix is Mark Williams explaining that book sellers did embrace AI tools back in 2023 then walked back from it.
So where does that leave us at the end of 2025. Publishing Perspectives has an article on using AI for marketing, including the recording of a panel discussion at Frankfurt. Not using it is not an option, according to the panel discussion.
In my opinion, if you pass lots of junior publishing jobs to AI, how will the juniors know when AI gets it wrong or how to do the job without AI? We could lose a lot of knowledge if we let a computer do the thinking. In the publishing office it should be what is the best use of my assistant’s time? Do they understand enough about my business to use AI to my best advantage? The value of AI is speed in marketing, analysis, and productivity tools. But it is a very poor replacement for creativity. It’s the doubling down on being human that distinguishes us from a machine.
Publishers Weekly has an article on what’s happening in children’s publishing in China.
They are not having a fantastic year. The stats are reflected throughout the world as everybody is struggling to find children’s audiences. Where are they all and who is the competition? When I was talking to children at a recent market, they all said they read graphic novels. Producing a graphic novel is time consuming and expensive. A conundrum for the children’s publishers.
Joanna Penn is back from Author Nation the world’s biggest indie author conference. They had over 80 presentations and every major vendor was in attendance. Joanna gives a run down on the big topics of conversation.
Richard Curtis has an excellent post on the profit and loss statement. For many in the publishing world this is the most important piece of paper in the office. And one that is not talked about. Understanding this document is key to every publishing decision.
Rachel Thompson has an excellent article on subscribers and their importance in marketing. I was recently talking to a publisher about owning your audience and Rachel’s article explains how your free newsletter subscribers are just as valuable as your paid ones.
Michelle Barker (writing on the dream teams blog) has an excellent article on the qualities of a successful writer. It is not about sales.
Dave King has an interesting article on Writer Unboxed about Redshirts. This is shorthand in the writing community for the character that is only there to die. If you are thinking about killing off a character, are you using their death wisely?
In the Craft Section,
Microtension- a must in fiction- C S Lakin- Bookmark
Character layer by layer reveals-Patricia CrisaFulli- Bookmark
Crafting memorable sidekicks- Elizabeth Spann Craig
Is your protagonist the main character- September Fawkes- Bookmark
3 things silent movies can teach you- Janice Hardy
In the Marketing Section
Bookmarketing requires patience- Sandra Beckwith
Free Bookfunnel marketing guides- Bookfunnel- Bookmark
22 ways to grow your email list- Bookbub- Bookmark!
Strategies to get into libraries- IngramSpark
Author branding – Kindlepreneur- Bookmark
To Finish,
It’s that time of year where everywhere you look there are Black Friday deals along with Cyber Monday deals. It’s a sign of cultural capitalistic dominance when a holiday only relevant in America spreads around the world as an exhortation to spend money as a way of celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. Why not flip this on its head and show your thanks to your fellow authors by reviewing their books or subscribing to their patreon or buying them a coffee. If you are hanging out for Black Friday deals for writers then the dream team Angela and Becca have great website discounts. Katie Weiland has a discount on all her courses and books. Women in publishing has collected a long list of other writerly Black Friday discounts.
Go Forth and Give Thanks.
Maureen
@craicer
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