Getting Down to Business

Densie Webb's column on the Business of Fiction

March was weighed down with news about book bans and AI, both of which are unsettling, albeit in very different ways. The final word isn’t yet in on either one, but the conflict and confusion surrounding both is fully present. There’s plenty of other news to share about publishing, audiobooks, libraries, and TikTok. So, dig in!

Hopefully, this new look for Getting Down to Business makes it easier to decide which stories to click on and read. (Thank you Keith Cronin for your suggestion.)

AI

You can’t turn on a news channel or checkout a news site without something about AI. Well, here’s some more.

AI Narration of Audiobooks Is Coming

Is it Time to Hit the Pause Button on AI?

AI: The Hair-Raising Topic of 2023

Science Fiction Publishers Flooded with AI-Generated Stories

Google’s AI Doctor is Getting Better

Chat GPT: Genius or Fool?

Audiobooks Are Thriving, But Will AI Takeover?

Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I.

Publishers Worry A.I. Chatbots Will Cut Readership

Audiobooks

Aren’t all audiobooks “Original”? Read and find out.

Just What Makes an Audiobook “Original”?

Book Banning and Censorship

An increase in book banning and censorship is stimulating activism to make it stop.

Florida Screens Math Books for “Prohibited Topics”

Giving up Is Not an Option

Florida Teachers’ Union Sues over Book Banning

A Roundup of Book Banning News and Tips for Action

The Spread of Book Banning

Activists Figure a Way to Skirt Book Bans

Galvanizing the Public to Fight Back at SXSW

Mississippi Banned Book Festival

Shocking Increase in Attempted Book Bans in 2022

Libraries

Libraries need funding and library lending issues are front and center.

Coalition Forms to Battle Library e-book Bills

Library Supporters Urge Congress to Provide Funds

Internet Archive’s Scanning and Lending Program

Hachette v. Internet Archive

Publishing

Women now lead the publishing race, but there are some bad publishing actors out there.

How Bad Publishers Hurt Authors

The Lack of a Living Wage in Publishing

Women Now Publishing More Books Than Men

TikTok

TikTok is still the talk ov the town, where books are concern.

TikTok’s Influence on the Book Market Is Growing

How TikTok Broke Social Media

 

Anything else you’d like to see in future columns? If you have a great free source of news about books, publishing and the business of being an author, please share and I’ll check it out for next month.

 

 

 


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