Dan Holloway

This author has written 895 articles
BookTok Bestseller List Launches

News Podcast: BookTok Bestseller List Launches in the UK; Subscription Boxes Drive Charts; Have Special Editions Peaked?

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway examines three interconnected stories about how books get discovered and sold. He reports on the launch of the UK's first BookTok bestseller list, powered by Nielsen BookScan, and what its romance- and romantasy-heavy lineup reveals about how viral book conversations actually work. He also looks at two striking examples of subscription boxes driving books to the top of the charts — including Goldsboro Books' GSFF box and the fantasy service Fairyloot — and closes with the question of whether the special edition and deluxe edition market may have reached its peak, drawing a sharp parallel with the vinyl singles collecting craze of the 1980s.
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UK Comics Market Grows

News Summary: UK Comics Market Grows 14%; Survey Shows Creators Struggle Despite Industry Boom

I always enjoy reporting on comics and graphic novels. This is a huge part of our ecosystem, and one where indies can flourish, yet one that rarely gets the coverage it deserves. A new report on the industry has some very interesting findings. It suggests this is a market that is at once booming among readers (the market grew 14 percent in 2025) and driving creators to the edge.
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BookTok Bestseller List

News Summary: First BookTok Bestseller List Dominated by Romance; Publishers Sue Meta over AI Training

A few interesting pieces of news with which to end the week. The one I found most interesting is the long-anticipated release of the first (UK for now, following a trial in Germany) BookTok Bestseller list. In a shocking turn of events that no one could have foreseen, seventeen of the top twenty titles are romance and romantasy, with the likes of Rebecca Yarros, Chloe Walsh, and Sarah J. Maas dominating. It is also no surprise to see the ur-text of dark academia, Donna Tartt's The Secret History, standing proud in the chart.
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Audible Retires Legacy Royalty Model

News Podcast: Audible Retires Legacy Royalty Model; Oscars Rule on AI; Publishing Industry AI Survey

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway breaks down Audible's decision to retire its legacy royalty model by the end of 2026, explaining what the new model means for audiobook authors and the separate decision about whether to enter the All You Can Listen pool. He also reports on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' new Oscar eligibility rules requiring human actors and writers, and examines a Book Industry Study Group survey showing that concern about AI-generated books in the marketplace has now entered the top four worries for publishing industry professionals.
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Oscars Require Human Actors And Authors

News Summary: Oscars Require Human Actors and Authors; Canadian Publishing Survey Reveals AI Concerns

From time to time in the past few years, major, globally recognized red carpet events in the creative sphere have issued policies on AI and its eligibility for entry into their sanctum sanctorum. Most notable among them was the Grammys. Until now. The Motion Picture Academy of America has updated the rules governing eligibility for the Oscars.
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Audible To Discontinue Legacy Royalty Model

News Summary: Audible to Discontinue Legacy Royalty Model; All Creators Must Switch to New System by Year-End

The end of last week saw the latest in a string of announcements that's been ongoing over many years and that can all be basically summarized as "Audible changes its royalty model." You will remember that the last time this happened it was to announce a new model that effectively followed the Kindle Unlimited format (or indeed the class action settlement format!) of paying rights holders from a fixed pool (which might vary month to month but was fixed for each month). The so-called "new model" has had its fans and its detractors but has so far been a choice for rights holders to make.
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Decline In Children's Reading

News Summary: UK Study Shows Decline in Children’s Reading for Pleasure; Green Shoots among Teens

Are children reading less for pleasure than they used to? It feels like one of those "death of the novel" questions, the kind it's almost compulsory to ask at regular intervals if you are even semiserious about books. But in this instance, as I am fairly sure has been the case several times in the past when I've reported on the same annual report, the occasion for the question is a new survey of reading habits.
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BookCon Returns

News Podcast: BookCon Returns with a Welcome for Indie Authors; Anthropic Settlement Class Reaches 91%

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on the return of BookCon to New York after a pandemic-era hiatus, where the Indie Alley proved a genuine hit with readers — a sign that the established book world is increasingly making room for independent authors. He also has an update on the Anthropic copyright settlement, where 91 percent of eligible titles were claimed before the deadline, putting the expected payout per title at around $2,931, with a reminder that traditionally published authors may receive less due to rights splits with their publishers.
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Beehiiv Adds Webinars

News Summary: Beehiiv Adds Webinars and Metered Paywalls; Anthropic Settlement Reaches 91% Claim Rate

Beehiiv has been in the news again this past week. I want to report on the latest from the newsletter platform if for no other reason than an irresistible desire to say they have been busy little bees. A facility offering webinar capability will be of interest to some. But more interesting might be the so-called "metered paywall" capability. That's something many will be familiar with as readers, where you get a certain amount of content for free (say, three articles) before you have to pay to unlock more.
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Authors Guild Issues AI Contract Clause

News Summary: Authors Guild Issues AI Contract Clause; Character.AI Launches Interactive Book Platform

We end the week with two AI stories at very different ends of the news spectrum. First up is a statement from Authors Guild on AI in publishing and, as they put it, a "new model contract clause." The statement is an explicit response to the reports I noted previously that publishing professionals are uploading manuscripts to AI models to assist with editing tasks.
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Draft2Digital Introduces Fees

News Podcast: Draft2Digital Introduces Fees; Bookshop.org Reports Record Sales

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway examines Draft2Digital's decision to introduce fees for the first time — a $20 account activation charge for new accounts and a $12 annual maintenance fee for low-activity accounts — and considers both the rationale and the concerns. He also reports on Bookshop.org's record $70 million in sales last year, a 55 percent increase, and explains why the two stories are closely connected.
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