Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

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!

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Instagram

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Olivie Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of speculative fiction for adults, including The Atlas Six trilogy, Alone with You in the Ether, Masters of Death, the short story collection Januaries, Girl Dinner, and her most recent novel, Dreamland. With Little Chmura, she is the co-creator of the graphic series Clara and the Devil. As Alexene Farol Follmuth, she is also the author of the young adult novels My Mechanical Romance and Twelfth Knight. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

We loved speaking with Olivie about her writing career, hearing how she started with fan fiction and self-publishing, what really happened when The Atlas Six took off, and why trad publishing was always her ultimate goal. We talk about how writers need to be both resilient and adaptable, talk about books as art vs books as products (and when you should think about them as each), and chat about her new book, DREAMLAND.

Links:

Buy Dreamland now

Follow Olivie on Instagram

Visit Olivie's website

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Ian Green is a writer from Northern Scotland with a PhD in epigenetics. His biopunk eco-terrorism thriller EXTREMOPHILE was one of Financial Times’ Best Science Fiction Books of 2024 and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Dragon Awards. His debut fantasy trilogy THE ROTSTORM began with the Sunday Times bestseller THE GAUNTLET AND THE FIST BENEATH. His short fiction has been widely published and he won the BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines competition, the Futurebook Future Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the British Fantasy Awards.

It was great to get Ian back on the podcast and hear about what he has been up to since he was last on back in January 2023. We talk about whether he wishes he had followed Extremophile up with another cyberpunk novel given its success, why he likes trilogies, and what influenced his new fantasy book, THE DEEP AND THE DROWNED.

Links:

Buy The Deep and The Drowned now

Follow Ian on Instagram

Visit Ian's website

Watch Ian play Call of Cthulhu with us on Narrative Damage

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Corissa Hollenbeck is an associate agent with Janklow & Nesbit. She grew up in Massachusetts and attended Phillips Academy Andover, King’s College London, the University of Freiburg, and the Columbia Publishing Course. She has worked at VICE, Marie Claire, and The Guardian. Corissa has worked with a broad range of prize-winning and bestselling authors whilst assisting literary agent and Managing Director Will Francis, and is now building her own list of authors.

We had a really interesting chat with Corissa, hearing about how she first got into agenting, and how every part of the query package is important when submitting to agents. She also tells us about how she sometimes works with authors BEFORE she signs them, and talks about the impact of AI on the amount of queries and what that means for the future.

Links:

Query Corissa now

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Camilla Bolton is a literary agent at Darley Anderson, having joined the Agency in 2007 and was named as a publishing Rising Star by The Bookseller in 2013 and shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year in 2022. She has built the fastest growing new commercial brands in the thriller market with five of her authors having sold over a million copies in the UK alone. Her list includes many Sunday Times, New York Times and No.1 ebook global bestsellers. Her authors have been picked for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club, BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club and she’s had five Richard & Judy Book Club Picks. Multiple of her books have been adapted for the screen and shown on BBC 1, Channel 5 and Netflix.

We loved having the chance to speak with Camilla about her career as an agent, hearing about how she deals with so many queries (over 200 a week), what matters and doesn't matter to her in a query package, and whether authors should write to market when trying to find an agent.

Links:

Query Camilla now

Follow Camilla on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

Rhiannon Grist is an award-winning Welsh author of Weird, Speculative and Dark fiction, living and writing in beautiful Scotland. Her novella, The Queen of the High Fields (Luna Press), won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella 2023. Her debut novel, Home Sick, is out now.

We had great fun chatting with Rhiannon about her writing journey, starting with handwritten stories in A4 ring binders, all the way through short stories, prize-winning novellas and now her debut novel, Home Sick. We also talk about how prizes can (and can't) help grow your reputation as a writer, and talk about why marginal gains are important on the long writer's journey. Plus, we chat about horror's recent resurgence and the possible reasons behind that. (There is also a very, very minor spoiler about the movie Obsession near the end, but we give full spoiler warnings before discussing it!)

Links:

Buy Home Sick now

Follow Rhiannon on Instagram

Visit Rhiannon's website

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Aki Schilz is the Director at The Literary Consultancy (TLC), where she co-ordinates partnerships and programmes. She launched the Editing Skills Training Scheme in partnership with the Publishing Training Centre, which trained over 100 aspiring editors from under-represented communities. She has been named as one of the FutureBook 40, a list of people innovating the publishing industry, and was also nominated for an h100 Award for her #BookJobTransparency campaign, as well as being shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize for women in publishing, and has featured in the Bookseller 150 list of the most influential figures in publishing twice. In 2020, Aki launched the Being A Writer programme at TLC, a membership platform she co-devised with novelist and coach Julia Forster, which focuses on providing a space for writers to cultivate their creativity, and build emotional resilience. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

We had a great time chatting with Aki and hearing about her work with TLC, discussing what they can offer, as well as talking about whether such consultancies are right for everyone. We also talk about her support of writers away from the page, and chat about how to take the pressure off querying.

Links:

Follow Aki on Bluesky

Visit The Literacy Consultancy

Our Drafting Notes episode discussing editoral consultancies

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

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!

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Instagram

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Chiara Bullen is a Scottish writer and academic living in Glasgow. She spends most of her days researching literature and her evenings writing novels. When she isn’t exploring hills across Scotland, she can be found wandering the fictional mountains of D&D with her party. The Inn At The Foot Of Mount Vengeance is her debut novel.

We had a great time chatting with Chiara, hearing about how she started out writing more grimdark fantasy, before switching to literary fiction while on the Faber Academy course - and how the idea for the cosy fantasy of The Inn At The Foot of Mount Vengeance grabbed her and wouldn't let go until she had finished it. We also talk about what the term 'cosy' means in terms of fiction, and chat about what other types of stories she would like to write.

Links:

Buy The Inn At The Foot Of Mount Vengeance now

Follow Chiara on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Bob Bookman is a Hollywood manager and producer who has worked with some of the biggest authors in the world and helped turn their novels into award-winning movies. He has represented Michael Crichton, Tom Stoppard, Bill Broyles, John Irving, Jojo Moyes, David Nicholls and Peter Moffat along with many others and has been responsible for bringing movies such as Jurassic Park, Hannibal and A Complete Unknown to the big screen.

We loved having Bob back on the podcast (check out his first episode chatting about his career here or listen here) and getting an update on what he has been doing, and how the Hollywood landscape has changed since we last spoke. We hear about changing trends, talk about the success of movies like Obsession, and much more!

Links:

Visit Bob's website

Follow Bob on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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