Greetings summer warriors! Or vacationers – or whichever category you’re in this week. Seems like everyone is taking some time off which is why so many projects seem a little slow right now. Fear not! Your editors are hard at work developing content, talking with authors, and exploring projects, at least this one is.
In the meantime, lots of clients want or need finished projects, especially packaged books by the end of the year. If this is you, now is the perfect time to be setting schedules and working on content. Let’s go!
How were your mid-year goal assessments? Feeling on track or making some adjustments? No matter your direction, commit to it and, most importantly, have fun! I spent some time earlier this year not having much fun and harboring stress. And while my goals are still as important, I’m trying to breathe a little and enjoy achieving them!
Or as one quote I read recently said “I’ve finally found my rhythm when I realize that even the steps backward are part of the dance.” And I love the dance!
On to some insights from the world of publishing:
Libraries and Booksellers in Jail in Arkansas? It’s a lesson in how book banning laws can go horribly wrong. In July, a Federal judge ruled that Arkansas’ tough law criminalizing access to questionable content can move forward, and worse, “The law criminalizes librarians and booksellers for providing materials to their communities, resulting not only in a widespread chilling effect in Arkansas public libraries but also in the prosecution of librarians for doing their jobs.” The real wrinkle? The law “fails to define what constitutes ‘obscene’ or ‘inappropriate'” leaving it up to individual counties and school boards. It feels like ideology from Vonnegut’s book-related dystopias like Fahrenheit 451. Bookriot has more.
The Translator and The Odyssey: What happens when an author hates the movie adaptation? If they weren’t directly involved, they should understand that a director may interpret their work differently. But what happens when it’s Emily Wilson, translator of the latest version of the classic Odyssey? Can an author speak out? Of course! But there’s something ironic in lamenting that the director of this summer’s blockbuster just didn’t get it. You can also celebrate a new generation discovering this 2000-year-old classic and accept that your book has sold over 1 million copies. I’m excited to start on Wilson’s translation myself. And to attend the Good Riches Books virtual book club that starts Oct 1.
Publisher Withdraws Offer over AI Use: By now, many of publishing have heard the story of a major book offer withdrawn over suspected AI use. There’s a lot about this story that we don’t know, but what we do know is frightening enough. To recap, an author wrote a murder mystery. His agent loved it, publishers loved it, and ultimately, Macmillan US loved it enough to offer $2 million for it. Somewhere along the line, the agent began asking questions about AI use. The author says he used it for research only, not unlike James Frey in his novel published last year. From there, stories vary, or the agent didn’t trust him, or the publisher got spooked. We don’t know. But the offer was withdrawn. To me, the issue isn’t whether he wrote the book with AI, the issue is that no one could prove it, and the offer was withdrawn simply on the suspicion of it. AI checkers are unreliable right now. But do we trust intuition? Tells? Hunches? What happens when publishers and people are wrong. More on the whole mess from The Guardian.
For next time, I hope to have more on watermarks, metadata tags, and who says they’re using them, along with the problems they can present. (Some of them aren’t scrubbed when you fully rewrite or revise material.) And hopefully, we’ll have more on what’s going on with AI checkers which aren’t functioning from actual data tags, but sort of just guessing based on what they think AI writing is. The news that Claude is going to implement watermarks (and that Canva already does) is confusing and potentially problematic for creators who only use minor elements of AI. The news on AI “checkers” that are beginning to gain traction isn’t any better. None of them are better than that person you know who boldly declares “that’s AI” with no evidence or proof. All could be a real recipe for disaster in publishing.
Agents Association Updates Ethics Rules: Literary agent Jane Friedman has an interesting report from the American Association of Literary Agents (AALA) and updates they’ve made to what is ethically allowable for literary agents. It’s useful for authors to understand where money is changing hands and also useful for all parties involved to be transparent. The changes are healthy and reflect the reality of how many agents today are expanding their income streams with author services, referrals, and partnerships. She also, though, has thoughts on the long term effects of the business model and publishing.
Penguin Alerts Authors About Scams: Every published author I know is being inundated right now with scam emails purporting to be from publishers, book clubs, review sites, and media outlets. It’s just brutal. Penguin recently shared an author newsletter specifically on the topic of these phishing scams as well as those asking for money for reviews, book club placements, or manuscript reads. Check it out for practical tips and tricks for confidently identifying fakes.
Reading Maps: If you’re a big book nerd like I am, you’ve probably already thought through some of your favorite journeys, or even mapped them out via Reading Maps. Now, there’s a site where fellow book nerds have taken up the torch! The tagline is “Journeys from Fiction Drawn on the Real World” and you can browse the routes characters take in books they’ve mapped so far like The Odyssey or The Grapes of Wrath. You can even request a book for them to map!
I’m currently booking projects for the rest of the year and would love to help you with yours. Non-fiction proposals, fiction editing, non-fiction ghostwriting, coaching, and packaging. Drop me a line, even if it’s to ask a question. If you’re looking for an editor who can develop your manuscript, help you with titling, positioning, and the structure of your chapters, you want an editor who will work with you as a resource and share your vision. Let’s talk about your project!
Renee
Web: connectorcreator.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneewilmeth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feedmedrinkme/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/145293696-renee-wilmeth
What Am I Excited About Right Now? Have loved writing for Amy Willis at her substack (Good Riches Books!) about The Big Summer Read, then leading her inaugural online book club on The Count of Monte Cristo! Next up is the Odyssey!
What Am I Cooking? It’s been a comfort food summer with angel food cake, strawberries, hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, and mushroom gravy!
What Am I Writing? I’ve started a new personal writing project that I hope to finish by the end of the year! More to come!
Connecting. Creating. 
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