This is a very good look at the recent developments in self-publishing and suggestions of how to manage them. The YouTuber is a successful self-publisher.
Something weird is happening in Self-Publishing.
Where is self-publishing going?
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Category Archives: Books
Another view about the quality of present-day books
This is a thoughtful analysis of the quality of present-day books. Significant is the number of books being published every year. This last year, according to Jared Henderson, 4 million books were published. This is an insane number compared with ten years ago. The reason for the number is the ease with which anyone can publish a book, a trend made worse over the last two years by AI. Naturally, there’s a lot of rubbish among that number. Indeed, Henderson claims the vast majority are slop. However, among that bubbling slop that good booksellers can clear away, he asserts good-quality books can be found. I’m happy to have my books examined in this regard.
New cover for The Counterculture Goddess
I have had covers for two titles in my Sixties Series professionally designed. One is for Love in the Counterculture, which is due for release at the end of June 2026. The second is for The Counterculture Goddess, published in 2025 and revised in 2026, which I have just received.
I have also provided a character and other information sheet for readers. My plan is to provide a similar information sheet for all my fiction titles.
3 types of writers in the AI era
There’s a revolution going on in writing. One must keep up.
Johnathan Franzen’s ten rules for novelists
John Matthew Fox, of Bookfox, critically runs through Johnathan Franzen’s 10 rules for novelists, which have apparently infuriated many writers, even some of the best-known. I agree mostly with him. He dismisses 6 of the 10. The only comment I wish to make is on the claim that ‘Substituting then is the lazy or tone-deaf writer’s non-solution to the problem of too many ands on the page.’ Even worse is using ‘and then’. I say rubbish, bunkum and piffle to that. Listen to the way English-speaking people speak.
Harsh but true writing advice
The video below, providing writing advice for new writers, has scored 1.4 million views since it was posted 7 years ago. Alexa Donne doesn’t mince words, gives brutal advice to new writers who may be fantasising about their work, but is hilarious in doing so.
Taking care of the first 20 pages
There are hundreds of YouTube channels giving advice about writing. The Bookfox channel is one of the better ones. In this video, advice for the first 20 pages of your novel is given.
*****
Unless you want your book to bomb, do THIS in the first 20 pages.
Self-editing for self-publishers
This is an edition of Joanna Penn’s highly regarded podcast. The section on self-editing begins at the 29-minute mark:
How can you improve your self-editing process? How can you find and work with professional editors and beta readers? How do you know when editing is done and the book is finished? With Joanna Penn.
A dark age of literature?
That’s the question that Joomi Kim asks in this excellent presentation of the modern novel. For years, I have only had to get a whiff of wokism in books, movies and television, and off they go. I haven’t bothered to delve into novels, for example, to justify my action. I was confident I didn’t have to. In this presentation, Joomi Kim does just that. She discusses a range of book titles, many of which are high on book award lists, showing that they are all in the same unexamined woke bubble. At the end of this video, I was inclined to answer yes to her question.
How Book Publishing Works (Macmillan CEO Interview)
This is an excellent interview that gives an accurate account of how traditional publishing works. It’s a long interview, but worth watching to the end.