Adventures in Publishing-land

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On this episode of AIPL, there isn't even a mention of AI! Instead, we talk about how a recent change to Agent ethics guidelines in the US are questionable at best, discuss how publisher's PR promises are often empty (and whether anything could be done to stop that), and dive into a debate about whether memoirs should be fact-checked or should be left to be almost fictional in some cases...

00:00 Intro

01:06 From the Slush Pile - Listener Comments

11:03 Pay to Play? US Agents Ethics Row

18:35 Marketing Myths - Publishing's Empty Promises

27:33 Memoir or Myth - Does Truth Matter?

43:32 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

50:20 The Final Chapter - Entertainment Catch-up

Links:

DGB resign from the Association of American Literary Agents

Who holds publishers to their promises?

Earl Spencer apologises to Piers Morgan for error in memoir

Fact checking doesn't apply to memoirs, says ex-Bloomsbury boss

What happened in the failed execution of Christa Pike?

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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On this week’s episode, we are talking about MrBeast & James Patterson’s apparent book flop, and wondering if publishers will learn that social media following doesn’t translate into book sales. Plus, we talk about the Self-Publishing Partnership’s collapse, and discuss how NOT to behave at conventions after stories of a very pushy author came out of WorldCon.

00:00 Intro

01:02 From the Slush Pile - Listener Comments

17:43 Self-Publishing Panic - Another Unbound?

26:09 WorldCon Drama - When the Hustle Goes Wrong

34:02 MrBeast Book Bomb - Is Publishing The Most Dangerous Game?

42:45 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

45:19 The Final Chapter - Entertainment Catch-up

Links:

Almost 100 authors affected by Self-Publishing Partnership collapse

Is There a Wrong Way to Chase Your Dreams?

Is MrBeast and James Patterson’s Novel Collaboration Headed for a Disastrous Debut?

South Korean police officer admits to closing missing person cases to avoid work

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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We're back after a short break, but it appears nothing has changed in publishing as we are still talking about our (least) favourite subject: AI! We go through some listener mail and comments on the subject before diving into Jerry Falade's collapsed $2.4m book deal, wonder if AI detectors are reliable, and have a talk about different methods of book marketing, wondering what works and what doesn't.

00:00 Intro

02:11 From the Slush Pile - Listener Comments

17:25 AI Hid the Body - $2.4m Book Deal Collapses

24:07 Claude & Pangram - Watermark My Words

39:54 Marketing Your Book - Book Tok or Book Flop?

51:12 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

55:57 The Final Chapter - Entertainment Catch-up

Links:

$2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use

Agents react to major book deal that collapsed over suspected AI use

Claude's new scarlet letter watermark is invisible—for now

I tested a popular AI slop detector. It felt empowering.

I spent $44,000 launching my book. Three of those dollars worked.

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Marco is in a bad mood this week, and doesn’t hold back when discussing the march of AI into audiobooks…! Plus, we chat about the depressing reaction to a book piracy site being taken down, and wonder if Canongate’s new approach to paying authors more regularly will catch on (we aren’t optimistic…)

00:00 Intro

00:54 Here Come The Robots - AI voices taking over?

20:21 A Pirate’s Life For You? How Piracy Hurts Authors

29:38 Opening the (Canon)Gates - Will The Big 5 Follow?

35:50 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

Links:

Bolinda creates AI cloned voice of Barbara Cartland

[Not linking to the Piracy story as it names the site]

Canongate moves to quarterly royalty payments

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

On this week's episode, we ask if the publishing industry is "blowing the bloody doors off" author rights. From Michael Caine's voice getting cloned for an epic audiobook to Hachette and Studiocanal's book to film deal, plus 250 UK publishers signing a massive AI licensing deal, we ask if any of this is good for authors.

00:00 Intro

01:04 Hachette/Studiocanal Deal - Good or Bad for Authors?

10:40 Blow Your Bloody Ears Off - Caine's Digital Odyssey

27:49 Collective AI Licenses - Selling Out Authors?

34:16 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

39.40 The Final Chapter - Level Up Writing

Links:

Hachette Livre and Studiocanal strike book to screen deal

Michael Caine licenses voice to narrate AI adaptation of The Odyssey audiobook

Over 250 UK publishers opt-in to collective AI-licensing scheme

Bungling career burglar caught after leaving passport photo at crime scene

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we discuss why the publishing industry is pointing fingers at libraries for declining author incomes, but we wonder about the reasons they aren't talking about. Plus, have you heard of Elias Thorne? We talk about AI's repetition problem and why that may be good news for authors. And we revisit the thorny issue of book lists - after we criticised the Guardian's first 'Best 100 books', is their Readers' list any better?

00:00 Intro

01:14 Declining Author Income - Libraries to Blame?

14:13 Thorne in the Machine - AI Running Out of Ideas?

23:38 Guardian Top 100 - Readers vs Critics

30:40 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

38.23 The Final Chapter - Horrifyingly Good

Links:

Authors Guild Looks at Why Author Incomes are in Decline

Chatbots Keep Telling Stories about Lighthouse Keeper 'Elias Thorne'. We Might Know Why

Wikipedia may have built the best AI writing detection guide

The Guardian Readers top 100 novels of all time

Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we're expanding on our discussion from the last episode about the depressing HarperCollins report on children's reading habits. Author and teacher Cailean Steed joins us to break down the underlying data and explain exactly how hyper-fixating on rigid literacy metrics is actively destroying the sheer joy of reading for kids. Plus, we talk about - of course - AI, as we talk about the Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner scandal, and discuss Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk response to the talk of AI involvement in her work. And we find time to talk about the Guardian's "Best books of all time" list - and make Tariq talk about football again.

00:00 Intro

01:08 Literacy vs Joy: Let Kids Enjoy Reading: Cailean Steed Interview

22:15 Snake Oil Award - Prize-winning Pile On

37:50 Tokarczuk Prize - An Ignoble Use of AI?

44:02 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

52.26 The Final Chapter - Who are books lists for?

Links:

Literacy focus ‘actively undermining’ reading for pleasure, HarperCollins finds

‘Obvious markers of AI’: doubts raised over winner of short story prize

Read The Serpent in the Grove and decide for yourself

Olga Tokarczuk has responded to the controversy over her reputed use of AI

The Guardian 100 Best Books of All Time

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

On today's episode of Adventures in Publishing-land, we congratulate Tariq on not one but two new Longlistings, and struggle to understand a story about new research that suggests a heavy focus on literacy skills in schools is actively undermining the motivation to read for fun.

Plus, the TikTok books charts have launched! What effect will they have on the industry? And as copies of Shy Girl sell for more than £100 on ebay, Tariq wonders if he should buy up as many copies as he can to fund his retirement (spoiler: he shouldn't!)

00:00 Intro

05:00 The Reading Paradox - Literacy Skills v Joy

16:52 Top of the Toks - TikTok Book Charts Launch

31:31 From Shy Girl to Prom Queen? Cancelled Book Sales Soar

41:49 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

Links:

Literacy focus 'actively undermining' reading for pleasure, HarperCollins finds

TikTok releases first monthly BookTok Bestseller List

Copies of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl listed online for over £100

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we’re diving into the unmasking of one of the world’s most successful authors. Freida McFadden, the bestselling author behind The Housemaid, has officially revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen. We wonder 'why now', talk about imposter syndrome, and discuss why authors use pseudonyms.

Plus, we of course chat about some AI-related stories: we go over some of your comments about our last episode on the Shy Girl scandal, talk about the allegation that editors are using LLMs to help them decide which books to pick up, and talk about scam emails again - this people pretending to be editors.

00:00 Intro

00:46 Shy Girl Fallout - Audience Comments

14:17 Chat G-P-Cheat? - Are Editors Using LLMs?

25:05 Something Phishy - Fake Editor Emails Spike

33:58 Not Just The Housemaid - McFadden's Secret Revealed

45:10 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory

50:57 Final Chapter - Stellar Adaptations

Links:

Some editors 'uploading confidential manuscripts to Chat GPT'

Scam emails impersonating editors on the rise

The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals real identity

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

This week, we lead with the scandal that has the industry in a frenzy, with Hachette pulling the release of Mia Ballard’s horror novel Shy Girl after viral claims that the prose was generated by AI. We discuss the YouTube video with 1.2 million views that started the fire, the author’s defense involving an "acquaintance," and what this means for the future of "human" storytelling.

Staying on AI (when don't we talk about AI?), we discuss the UK government's decision to axe plans for a broad AI copyright exception, and ask if this is a victory for authors. Plus, we chat about the announcement that NielsenIQ and TikTok are launching a monthly Top 20 chart in the UK that combines real sales data with social media engagement.

00:00 Intro

01:24 Victory for Authors - UK Scraps AI Exception

10:36 Not Shy of Shortcuts - Hachette Ditches AI Novel

22:46 Tok of the Pops - Official UK Chart launched

30:06 Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

36:42 Final Chapter - Pitt-Perfect Drama

Links:

Axed AI Copyright Exemption Welcomed By Book Trade

Hachette Horror Novel Shy Girl Suspended

Official BookTok Chart Set to Launch in the UK

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.