ALLi Blog: The Self-Publishing Advice Blog

OpenAI’s GPT-4o Demo Features Emotional Reading of a Love Story About Robots: The Self-Publishing News Podcast with Dan Holloway

On this week’s Self-Publishing News, Dan Holloway dives into OpenAI's recent demo of GPT-4o, a new iteration of their ChatGPT technology. The demo showcased impressive real-time processing capabilities and emotional storytelling, hinting at a future where AI-narrated audiobooks might rival human voice actors. Dan also touches on the concerns raised by the UK Publishers Association regarding copyright protection in the face of rapid AI advancements and critiques Apple’s latest iPad Pro advert for its misguided metaphor on creativity.

Self-Publishing News: OpenAI Unveils New Features for ChatGPT-4 and UK Publishers Take on Government Over AI

This week’s big AI news is OpenAI’s demonstration of new features for its ChatGPT-4 platform, which the company emphasized does not yet amount to ChatGPT-5. The announcement of GPT-4o, available to all users, including free users, and as a desktop app, was particularly notable.

Inside the Audiobook Boom: Kevin Stillwell of Lantern Audio Talks Production on the Creating Better Books Podcast with Howard Lovy

In the latest episode of the Creating Better Books podcast, ALLi News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy interviews Kevin Stillwell, indie publishing producer for Lantern Audio. They explore the evolving landscape of audiobook creation, examining the options indie authors have, the costs involved, and how technology is reshaping the industry. Kevin shares expert insights on the essential decisions authors must navigate in audiobook production.

Self-Publishing News: Booksellers Pile on Amazon, Everyone Piles on Apple

It won’t have escaped your notice that Amazon is currently, as it regularly is, subject to an antitrust complaint from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The complaint, as it stands, alleges that Amazon uses its giant market share to squeeze out competition, damaging the business ecosystem and preventing rivals from competing with it through price manipulation. There is also an interesting allegation that its own price-cutting damages sellers by reducing their margins to wafer thin.

AI Guidance for Indie Authors: Practical Steps from the Alliance of Independent Authors

The Alliance of Independent Authors has been following closely ongoing developments regarding AI and authorship in recent months. We know just how important it is for all of us as authors to understand how to keep our work safe, and how to work alongside AI as it develops. So, in today's post we share seven practical steps to stay safe and stay ahead, based on our AI guidance for authors.

Boosting Author Incomes with Self-Pub 3: ALLi Campaigns Podcast with Orna Ross and Matty Dalrymple

On this month’s Campaigns Podcast from the Alliance of Independent Authors, ALLi Director Orna Ross and Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple discuss ALLi's ongoing campaigns, such as the Big Indie Author Data Drop and the Self-Pub 3 campaign, which focus on improving author incomes through business practices. They also explain how ALLi aims to increase accessibility and inclusivity in publishing through the Self-Publishing for All campaign.

Self-Publishing News: UK Online Safety Act’s Impact on Content and ByteDance’s Challenge to US Legislation

So far this month, we have seen developments in two stories I’ve covered before that sit together under the heading, “Laying Down the Law for Tech Platforms.” I’ll start close to home here in the UK with the latest in the ongoing saga of the Online Safety Act. This is the UK’s legislation that seeks to protect vulnerable people, especially children, while they are online, by stopping them from encountering material that is “legal but harmful.” The recently implemented act required technology firms to take steps to ensure children were better protected online than adults.

Exploring OpenAI’s Game Theory Model for Fair Author Compensation: The Self-Publishing News Podcast with Dan Holloway

In this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway discusses a new proposal from OpenAI that introduces cooperative game theory to determine compensation for authors whose works help train AI. This approach aims to calculate the specific contributions of individual creators to AI outputs and allocate earnings accordingly, similar to determining the mix of colors in a paint blend. Dan examines the potential of this system to fairly reward creators and its computational feasibility in revolutionizing how authors are compensated for their contributions to AI.

Self-Publishing News: Indie Author Marks New Book with a No-AI Guarantee

OK, bear with me. This no-AI guarantee story is the second AI story for the week. I hope I will round off with something completely different. But because of the unpredictable nature of the news, I cannot promise. Which is, of course, a ham-handed segue into the story.

Maximizing Impact, Minimizing Costs: Value-Based Marketing for Self-Publishing Authors — Publishing for Profit with Orna Ross and Anna Featherstone

In this episode of the Publishing for Profit podcast stream, ALLI’s Australian ambassador and nonfiction adviser, Anna Featherstone, and Director Orna Ross, focus on value-based marketing for your book without adding to costs. Learn tips and tools for lowering the costs of editing and marketing, in particular, without compromising on the quality or impact of your work.

Self-Publishing News: OpenAI Paper Hints at How it Plans to Compensate Creators

Remember last week when I virtually popped a champagne cork at having gone a whole seven days without an AI story? Well, er, the reverie is over. But I hope the absence has left you wanting because this is a story you really need to read. Find out more about the OpenAI paper.

What Do I Do When a Book Launch Is Over?

Congratulations on publishing your book! As an indie author, the journey doesn't end with hitting "publish." In fact, it's just the beginning of a new adventure. After a book launch, it's crucial to maintain momentum, build your brand, and lay the groundwork for future success. In this Alliance of Independent Authors blog post, we'll cover key steps you should take to make the most of your book launch and beyond.