The recent run of new offerings from audiobook platforms keeps on going. It's reached the stage where even TechCrunch (who are, as the name suggests, more a tech than a publishing outlet) are openly calling this an open battle for market share between Audible and Spotify. And are suggesting that Spotify's remarkable growth in the short time (four years) since they launched their audiobook offering has got Audible flustered.

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Howard Lovy speaks with Cameron Sutter, founder of Plottr, about how visual planning tools can help authors organize ideas, structure their books, and move more confidently from concept to finished manuscript. Sutter explains how Plottr’s timeline, scene cards, templates, and series planning features allow writers to see their stories at a glance, spot gaps in plot or character development, and rearrange scenes as their ideas evolve. The conversation also covers tools for capturing ideas on the go, integrating with writing software like Scrivener and Word, and maintaining consistency across multi-book series.

London and Paris. The eponymous cities of the Dickens classic that haunted many a schoolday of mine. Paris, in the throes of a bloody revolution. London, checks Cliff Notes and memory alike and utterly fails to remember. Two and a quarter centuries later, and as book fairs loom in each of those great cities, we again have news from both.