I saw these 10 reasons why an e-book isn't selling on a screen that flashed by me today. Maybe it applies to only one person, or maybe it applies to all e-book authors. It makes you realise what hard work it takes to be a successful author and actually make money these days. 

At first it all seemed really good for authors but Amazon realised they were being too generous and made some changes. Now they are making money but I doubt most authors are. Maybe it's time to give up?

1. 1)    You’re up against millions
2. 2)    You’re not considering the direct competition
3. 3)    You haven’t thought about the audience at all
4. 4)    You’re trying to draw from an empty well
5. 5)    You haven’t built your personal platform
6. 6)    Your book cover is not good enough
7. 7)    Your pricing strategy is incorrect
8. 8)    You have unrealistic expectations
9. 9)    You’re not marketing yourself
10. 10)  Negative reviews

Where did TikTok go?

 

TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese-owned ByteDance, was directed to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner by January 19 or be banned in the U.S. After ByteDance failed to meet the deadline, TikTok vanished for Americans.

After his inauguration on Monday, Trump gave TikTok 75 days to seek a new solution. The app remains operational in the U.S. for the time being, but if TikTok can disappear so quickly, what’s to stop it from happening again?

No one knows what’s next for any platform. The best advice is Diversify. Start a YouTube channel they say, Invest in Instagram Reels. Launch a Substack newsletter. 

Seems a self-pubbed author needs to be or hire a PR expert these days . Also required is an intuitive knowledge of how to use the new programs. I find it difficult to use the few platforms I do know and wish they were all as simple as Facebook.

Dictatorial forms

 It has been a while since I posted, mostly because I was tied up with Amazon. They had been sending me notices to refresh my Tax information, which I duly did, received a verification in the shape of a big green tick and sent it back to them. A few days later the request appeared again, so I went through the same steps and returned it. This happened four or five times and then I needed to fill in a different form. This one requested my Unique Tax Reference Number (UK) and I didn't have one. 

Ah! The steps I went through! It took days and much pulling of hair and then to crown all  after I received said Tax Number, they said I could use my National Insurance Number. Duh! I could have used that the first time. 

Dealing with online forms is difficult. Put a letter where a number should be, or where there should be a space and the equivalence of red ink springs up all over the screen. Invalid information! It repeats the same information endlessly until by lucky chance you hit the correct format/information. If they really want AI to work, then the red ink should have politely informed me I had  allowed a space in the answer I gave and they didn't want the space but a number. Perhaps one day, all forms will be helpful instead of dictatorial!

The pic is of York. Evidently the town is considering charging a Tax on Tourists who stay overnight.

Less than helpful

 Twice since Christmas I've tripped into conversation with AI masquerading as a person.

In both cases I had contacted a helpline.

One with my bank, and the other with Amazon.

In both cases AI could not answer my query.

How many more firms/businesses out there have installed AI instead of a human being to supposedly answer questions? If all you want is the store opening times, then its probably fine, but anything with a  hint of complexity and I doubt you will be satisfied.

The sad thing is we don't know that this is happening until we have reason to contact a helpline.

Problems ahead.

 

23% of US authors reportedly used AI in their work during 2023

47% of them used AI as a grammar tool

29% used AI to brainstorm plot ideas and characters.

"It’s just words," one is reported as saying. "It’s my story, my characters, my world. I came up with it. So what if a computer wrote them?"

The US author quoted above claims using AI has made her writing faster, therefore increasing her output and presumably earning her more money in sales. I'm reading this and wondering How far can this go? 

If I asked a programme to write three paragraphs on a particular event or subject, in the style of a particular author, could it perform well enough to fool readers? If so, would it be considered a form of plagiarism? If Lee Child finds books coming out recognisably written in his style, can he do anything about it? Authors like Dunnett, Mantel, Seton, Christie – are they fair game? 

Seems to me that this is rather like letting a fox loose in the hen house because there are going to be Problems ahead. Massive problems.

Temptation

 

I asked Copilot (otherwise AI)

why Reading as a hobby was good for me and these are the answers it gave me:

1.      Mental Stimulation: Reading keeps your brain active and engaged, which can help prevent cognitive decline as you age.

2.      Knowledge Expansion: Every book you read opens up new worlds and ideas, broadening your understanding and perspective.

3.      Vocabulary Improvement: Regular reading exposes you to new words and phrases, enhancing your language skills and communication abilities.

4.      Stress Reduction: Immersing yourself in a good book can be a great way to escape from the stresses of daily life and relax.

5.      Improved Focus and Concentration: Reading requires concentration, which can help improve your attention span and focus over time.

6.      Better Writing Skills: Exposure to well-written content can influence your own writing style and improve your ability to express yourself clearly and creatively.

7.      Entertainment: Books can be a source of endless entertainment, offering stories and adventures that captivate your imagination.

8.      Empathy and Understanding: Reading about different characters and their experiences can enhance your empathy and understanding of others.

In essence, reading is a hobby that not only entertains but also nurtures your mind and soul.

Not bad, eh? I can guess which people are going to start using it on a regular basis.

What hope is left?

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are revolutionizing the publishing industry. That is the polite term for what is happening. There are other, less polite views from those who object to any sort of software doing all the work in a fraction of the time it would take an actual cover artist to do it. There are fears it will put a lot of software artists out of work.

In 2025, these technologies will play an even more significant role in content creation, editing, and distribution in various ways as the algorithms grow more and more sophisticated and generate content indistinguishable from human-written text. Used in journalism it can and probably begin to produce more news articles, reports, and summaries.

These algorithms study our behaviour online. This allows them to “provide personalized content recommendations” or, as some see it, plague us with ads of what to buy next. It is claimed publishers will be able to provide more of what we actually like. Tools like  Grammarly  already assists writers with editing. I've used it myself and wished it were swifter. By 2025, such tools will offer more suggestions and reduce the time required for manual editing. 

It will be tempting. I can see that. But I also have fear that if authors turn to using AI to “write” six books a year for them, what hope is left for the struggling author who can manage to hold a job and write at night and perhaps publish a title every two years?