News Archives

Substack Expands Publishing Opportunities in Bid to Value Creative Economy: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

This week’s first story comes at an opportune moment for me as Substack expands its offerings. I know I need a newsletter. I love writing long-form pieces that tie in with the topics I write my books about. But somehow, I have never gotten the hang of putting together a great—or even regular—newsletter. So I was very interested to read about a new development from one of the most popular newsletter platforms out there.

August 13, 2024
Dan Holloway
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New Projects Celebrate the Analog and Artisanal: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

If you have followed this column for any length of time, you will know that I am a huge fan of the “special edition,” the kind of premium physical product made possible by platforms like Kickstarter, and the focus on analog and artisanal creations. Beautifully crafted work, often in physical form, typifies the value for creators in finding a niche and building a deep relationship with true fans. It was at the heart of the 1,000 true fans right back at the start of the indie online revolution. And it’s at the heart of Self-Publishing 3.0.

August 10, 2024
Dan Holloway
News
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Amazon’s KDP Identity Verification and NO FAKES Act Protect Creators: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

You may remember that a few weeks ago, I commented on US legislators' enthusiasm for acronyms when I reported on the COPIED Act. Now they have outdone themselves with a piece of legislation with a similar intent. The NO FAKES Act aims to balance freedom of expression with protecting an individual's right to control how their distinguishing features, such as their voice and image, are used. As the title suggests, the primary purpose is to clamp down on deepfakes. That title stands, in typically verbally torturous fashion, for Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act.

Audio UK Survey Seeks Information to Push for Tax Relief: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

Audio UK is a trade body for UK producers of audiobooks and podcasts. It seeks to create a better environment for content producers, especially small creators, to thrive. The organization's particular concern is finding ways to help UK-based audio content producers participate in the wider global market. One way they want to do this is by increasing access to training in the skills necessary to produce high-quality content.

Self-Publishing News: KDP Launches Identity Verification

A short but very important piece today. Amazon has just launched KDP identity verification for author publishers. I will refrain from speculation about motives, particularly around timing, and simply cite Amazon’s stated reasons.

Self-Publishing News: E-book Sales Remain Strong and Spotify Increases Its Audiobook Offering Again

It’s always fun to read Mark Williams’s reports on ebook sales, not to mention informative. This week is no different. The spark for the report is the latest set of StatShot figures from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and what those figures say about the relative health of the market for print, ebook, and audiobook formats.

Self-Publishing News: Colin Kaepernick’s Lumi Will Use AI to Help Writers Create Graphic Novels

Colin Kaepernick has launched a new self-publishing platform called Lumi that will use AI to help writers create graphic novels. We’ll get back to that exciting development shortly, but first, let’s look at some new words added to the dictionary.

Self-Publishing News: Universal Basic Income for Creatives and Amazon Literary Partnerships Expand to Ireland

Universal Basic Income is at the center of one of the two stories I want to highlight this week, both of which revolve around supporting creative work. While this story isn’t directly about AI, it uses an AI angle in its original reporting because that is zeitgeisty. AI is currently seen as an existential threat by many, taking over jobs they rely on for their survival.

Self-Publishing News: New AI Platforms Aim to Balance Copyright Rights for Creators

This week’s selection of AI-related stories has an interesting common theme centered around new AI platforms. As we’re increasingly seeing, it’s a theme that reflects the fact that this technology is now settling into becoming a part of the landscape, and everyone concerned is finding ways to navigate that landscape. For some, these developments will be a welcome pragmatism and seriousness after endless hype. For others, they will be a worrying normalization of the until-recently unthinkable.

Self-Publishing News: Audible Has a New Royalty Model

“More opportunities for authors and publishers.” That’s how Audible describes its new royalty model in the headline of its press release. I have seen authors variously offer a cautious welcome for a model that claims to have arisen from discussions with ours and be part of a “creator-centric ethos” and scratch their heads to try and figure out what it actually means in practice. Before I get to that detail, I will say that the emphasis placed in the release on transparency is welcome.

Self-Publishing News: AI Research Reveals Impact on Creativity and New US Bill to Protect Copyright

AI has been quiet in the news of late. But this week, there is a suitably chunky round-up of stories related to a technology that is increasingly ubiquitous. There has been a lot of debate about whether generative AI is good or bad for creatives, and whether creatives should, and increasingly do, use generative AI in their practice. But there hasn’t been much discussion (as opposed to opining) about whether or not it actually makes you more creative. This is, of course, not surprising, as the technology is so new that there hasn’t been much time yet for accurate academic studies on the matter.

Self-Publishing News: 2024 Kindle Storyteller UK Launches and RBMedia Expands Audiobook Offering for Indies

It’s clearly Amazon competition time. Last week (reminder to enter!) they launched the first-ever Vellys, with $62,000 in prizes for US-based serialized fiction authors. Now in the UK, we have the flagship Kindle Storyteller Award. This has a £20,000 first prize and is open to books published through KDP between the start of May and the end of August. Books must be available as an e-book and a paperback, and must be enrolled in KDP Select until the closing date at the end of August.

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