Some platforms, such as Wattpad, feel like a transition to publishing in waiting. But this week saw the launch of two publishing enterprises from tech firms that ranged from “interesting” to “really?” on my eyebrow-raising scale.
ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
Reading the headline “Microsoft launches imprint to speed up traditional book publishing” was a genuine “why would they do that?” moment. I mean, yes, the why is there in the title—to speed up traditional book publishing. But…why?
Microsoft’s 8080 Imprint: A Bold Entry
8080 (named after an Intel microprocessor) will focus on science and tech books (so, a bit like O’Reilly). It aims to cut down the wait between finishing the manuscript and getting the book out. At this point, I was rolling my eyes a little. Who doesn’t love a tech company that sees an issue with hundreds of years of history (that everyone on the inside knows is a problem and is working on relentlessly) and steps in as the savior? I was also anticipating a tech solution (probably involving AI) to a very human process.
And yes, here’s a quotation: “Technology has quickened the pace of almost every industry except publishing.” Wait for me to fetch my eyes from the back of my head where they’ve now rolled to. There we are. Another quotation says Microsoft wants to “accelerate and democratize” publishing.
There are many reasons why we might be wary of tech companies treading on creative toes with AI and copyright. I humbly submit that the gung-ho naivete about publishing demonstrated here is the most compelling evidence yet that we need the firmest of guardrails.
Bytedance’s 8th Note: TikTok Takes Print
Less surprising (and less ersatz) is the announcement that Bytedance (which, of course, owns TikTok) will be launching an imprint. It will be publishing, naturally enough, genres that are popular on TikTok. Print books will be in shops starting in February through 8th Note, the imprint that currently publishes ebooks. There will be a heavy emphasis on YA and romantasy.
AI in Publishing: A Shark-Jumping Moment?
Jumping the shark. The phrase describes a very particular moment—the moment something rides a wave (forgive the pun) so hard that it starts to think itself immune to critical, and sometimes rational, opinion and goes, frankly, too far. We may look back at this as the week AI in the creative industries jumped the shark.
Spines. What a clever idea for a book publisher. It would be too opinionated to say that’s where the brains end—and not true. The team behind Spines seems to have an eye for an easy penny. It is heartbreaking that venture capitalists have seen fit to throw $16 million their way when one considers what that could do for indie publishing houses.
So, what is Spines about? The company claims to be a service to transform self-publishing. They aim to do this by using AI to speed up the process of editing, cover design, and metadata. Their goal is to publish 8,000 books a year using this method.
The Spines team says they not only save self-publishers time compared to the 6 to 18 months it usually takes, but also save money, with a $1,200–$5,000 price tag compared to what they claim is the regular $10,000 spend.
It goes without saying that those are not numbers I recognize. The recent Written Word Media survey suggests the average spend of successful authors is $1,000–$2,000 at the upper end on the likes of editing and cover design.
Writers are not amused. And I have to say, the venture capitalists who fell for those figures should be ashamed of themselves. I fear, though, that we have not seen the last of this.
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