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Human Authored

Authors Guild Launches Human Authored Certification; Copyright Office Releases AI Report: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

You may have noticed that AI is back in the news in a big way, with new discussions about what it means to create "human authored" work. And while I am not, strictly speaking, writing a column about DeepSeek, the entry of another hugely competent and vastly hyped generative AI platform into the fray clearly has implications for us all—not least of which is the demonstration of the vulnerability of whole marketplaces to activities in a single tech sector. As if we needed reminding after the whole FTX debacle and many others before it.
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The Audies

Indie Authors Shine at The Audies; AI and Bookstore Events Make Waves: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

The Audies, run by the Audio Publishing Association, are the industry’s most prestigious awards for audiobooks. And they are of particular interest to us because they have no barriers to entry for indie authors. Indeed, as I have reported over the years, we are sometimes nominated and have even been known to win (2021’s Heroine by Mary Jane Wells). If I had ever been so bold as to proclaim, “The indies are coming!” I would be frustrated at the slow progress over the past few years.
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Reading Skills

Creative Thinking and Curiosity on the Rise, but Reading Skills Decline: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

Last week saw the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, which brought some concerning insights about reading skills. I wish I could report that publishing was front and center of the global agenda—or even that a swathe of AI discussions zoomed in on copyright-adjacent themes. Of course, that wasn’t the case. But it was the case that one of the key annual reports to accompany the event has some interesting (alarming or encouraging or both, depending on which side of the fence you fall—or, indeed, whether you prefer your fence ride to be astride) findings for us.
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TikTok Switches Off

TikTok Switches Off Then Back On (for Now): Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

As storytelling goes, the “what will happen with TikTok?” saga would probably get the editorial note, “one damn thing after another,” with a request to “slow down already. It’s been a more than busy few days. The long and the short of it is that, contrary to the expectations of many observers and the expressed wishes of both the incoming and outgoing administrations, TikTok did indeed “go dark” on Sunday.
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Created By Humans

Created By Humans Launches; Print Book Sales Rise in 2024: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

Created By Humans has launched. I will confess, I thought it had done so already—the hype around the AI rights site has been so great. For those who are unaware (though all readers here will be familiar), this is a site where authors can register their copyrighted works if they are interested in controlling and potentially monetizing the use of their copyrighted work. The site, founded by Scribd’s Trip Adler and Jen Singleman, is the rights partner organization for the Society of Authors.
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Romantasy

Hot Fae in Hot Water—Romantasy Runs Into Rocky Ground: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

You will remember just a week or so ago I was writing and talking about how I expected the Romantasy (inter alia) genre to continue to flourish and provide opportunities for indie writers and their voracious fans well into 2025. When I said I thought Romantasy would continue to make the news, I didn’t quite have in mind the kind of brouhaha I have seen over the past week.
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Piracy Websites

Authors Fight Back Against Piracy Websites: The Self-Publishing News Podcast with Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway covers the UK High Court’s decision to strengthen enforcement against piracy websites, Japan’s use of AI to combat manga piracy, and Spotify’s new partner program for podcasters. He also highlights authors recognized in the UK’s New Year’s Honours list and a new opportunity for contributors to the New Publishing Standard.
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Romantasy Trends

How Romantasy Is Shaping Reader Trends and Why Google’s AI Moves Matter: The Self-Publishing News Podcast with Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway explores Oxford’s Word of the Year shortlist, highlighting trends like "romantasy" and "lore," which reflect shifting reader and writer habits. He also covers Tumblr’s new community feature for creators, TikTok’s legal battle over its U.S. ban, and Harvard’s AI training dataset project, which raises questions about Google Books’ involvement and public domain use.
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Spotify Expands Audiobooks

Spotify Expands Audiobooks with Bloomsbury Deal; Amazon Adds Audible to Music Unlimited: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

I speculated for a while that Spotify was cooling its interest in audiobooks. That seems not to be the case. It has just announced a deal with Bloomsbury to make the publisher’s audiobooks available to “Audiobooks in Premium” subscribers and à la carte purchasers. These include stellar titles like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.
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