Commentary on various aspects of publishing and marketing, primarily focused on books, magazines, and social media.
Blogs have been declared dead multiple times, mostly "replaced" by Twitter and then newsletters that are really just blogs with email and paywall functionally baked in. And yet, here I still am, blogging again consistently (but not too hard) for the past few years. And I'm not alone. But why? If you've known me for a while, you know a Cluetrain quote is coming!
The AI hype train is reaching predictably ridiculous extremes in a desperate attempt to force acceptance of its “inevitable” narrative, and it’s partly because credulous journalists who should absolutely know better by now happily platform the worst of this nonsense.
It was an excellent reminder that the industry is so much bigger than Amazon and the Big 5, and if we prioritize making progress among the willing, we can disrupt the industry for the better — from within.
Unfortunately, DBW is long gone, and nothing's really come along since to fill the gap. Is the Publishing Innovation Forum an event the industry needs right now? I think so.
One of the biggest reasons "AI" is gaining traction in marketing circles so quickly is most marketing is actually pretty bad already. Sorry, not sorry.
The truth is, we don't know any specifics about Authors Equity's model beyond a press release, a few vague interviews, and a range of hot takes. Their website has very little information, and they don't currently even meet several of IBPA's minimal Hybrid Publisher Criteria.
Meanwhile, libraries have generally proven reluctant to use their power to shape the demand curve and shift digital budgets away from expensive Big 5 bestsellers, even when it means sacrificing diversity and depth in their own digital collections.