Weekly Newsletter
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Had a hard day today at hot air balloon piloting school. The instructor gave us a pop quiz.
Big news in the author-sphere this week, and some of it will directly affect readers pretty much immediately. Two companies, Barnes and Noble Press and Draft2Digital, made some heavy announcements. The long and short of it is that they’re cleaning house. Basically, content farming, partially due to AI and public domain, has bogged down the systems to the point of these companies not being able to do their jobs. There are some things going on here that authors certainly don’t like, but here’s one for the readers. B&N press will no longer accept indie paperback books priced below $14.99 as of next month. If author’s don’t raise their prices, the books will be kicked out of the system. You will either have less to choose from or will pay a little more for it. To be clear, I totally get why they’re doing this, though I don’t like it.
(The info above came from Wide for the Win, Dale L. Robert’s, and Ally.)
Before moving on, there is a silver lining for indie authors and readers. If it works out, and content farming is culled, then real authors will be more visible and discoverable. Readers will not have to doom scroll through so much “slop” to get their next fix. That’ll be better for everyone in the long run.
🌗MoonDom FiVe🌓 is my latest Sci-Fi/Fantasy book for middle grade readers. You can preview the first chapter in the podcast or library section of this Substack. (Paid subscribers have complete access to the ebook and audiobook.) If you haven’t yet claimed a free post, I recommend that one. There are plenty of free trailers about the story in the Trailer Park section as well. As always, no pressure, just giving you options. Shopping link is above and here’s a pic of the cover. 👇👇👇
On the writing front, we are halfway down page 31 of my current jokes for kids project. This is a little better than I believed it would go. Still looking at the end of the year for release. No new progress on Squash Light, but being a “Plantser,” I’ve made some unexpected discoveries. The story is going to revolve around accidental magic from an unsuspecting coven of witches. They don’t know they’re witches. They just like to get together and cackle a lot.
Until Next Time, God Bless!
