I Don’t Post Bad ARC Reviews. I Send the Author a Note.
If I can't give an advance copy five stars, I don't post a review. I send the author a note so they can fix the book, because a book can be corrected and a review is forever.
Category: Publishing
Guest appearances and interviews on publishing: self-publishing strategy, book launches, distribution, and what actually happens between finished manuscript and published book.
GhostwritingGhostwriting by the Numbers: Timelines, Word Counts and the First Call
The numbers behind a ghostwritten book: 50,000 to 60,000 words for a memoir or coaching book, about six months to write, 10 to 30 hours of interviews, and seven phases from the first call to launch day.
Book MarketingKindle Unlimited Is Now Kindle+. AI Audiobooks Just Joined the Buffet
Amazon renamed Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+ and added audiobooks, with AI-narrated Virtual Voice titles in automatically. Listening is paid by the page from the same fund as reading.
BusinessGetty Images Filed for Bankruptcy. Can You Prove You Licensed Your Book’s Images?
Getty Images filed for Chapter 11 to cut more than $500 million of debt. Your licenses are still good and so are its copyrights. What authors should keep for every image on their site and cover.
Artificial IntelligenceHuman-Written Book Labels Are Gatekeeping With a Fee
Publishers can now pay to stamp a human-written mark on their books. Readers want a good read, the writers and artists who care are the ones paying, and a label that ends up on everything will mean as little as…
BusinessHow to Register a Copyright for Your Book (and What Doesn’t Count)
Copyright is automatic the moment you write your book, but in the United States you can't sue a thief until the Copyright Office registers it. When to register, how to file, and why the WGA Registry, the poor man's copyright…
MemoirsShould You Query or Self-Publish Your Memoir If You’re Not Famous?
Memoirs from writers who aren't famous rarely sell to traditional publishers right now. Self-publishing gives you complete freedom and hands you every job in the process. Here's how to weigh it, hire help without getting scammed, and decide whether you…
Book MarketingFree Book Marketing: Seven Ways That Cost Time Instead of Money
Free book marketing costs nothing but time. Author events, collaborations, blogs and podcasts, guest interviews, PR, email and social media all sell books, but not at the same rate per hour. What has sold my books, and what never did.
BusinessWork-for-Hire Contracts: What the Asimov’s Cover Fight Teaches Freelancers
Donato Giancola turned down an Asimov's cover after the magazine's new owner sent a work-for-hire contract with free revisions, no original art and a fee-clawback NDA, all for a decades-old fee. Here's when work for hire is fair, and when…
Artificial Intelligence“You Are Utterly Disgusting”: A Book Festival, an AI Cover Ban and a Pile-On
An author who uses AI for research and covers, but not her writing, complained about a festival's AI cover ban. The thread ended with a stranger calling her utterly disgusting. Here's where preference ends and cruelty begins.
Artificial IntelligencePublishers Cancel Books Over AI While Using It in Secret
WIRED reports that HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette staff use AI for publicity copy, back-cover text, emails to agents and cover art without telling authors, the same year publishers canceled books over suspected AI use. The tool isn't the…
Book MarketingAmazon Is Blocking Real Readers From Book Reviews
Amazon is fighting bots that scrape its reviews, and real shoppers are getting caught: a handful of reviews, no one-star sort, and a days-long wait for access. Here's what that means for authors and their ARC readers.