I know I haven't talked a whole lot about the publishing business this year. On one hand, I've been a bit distracted. On the other, everyone seems to be holding their breath, waiting for the next big thing to hit.
There's a ton of indies bitching about slow sales. However, this year's midterms garnered the kind of attention reserved for the presidential elections. The drop in my own sales in October was expected.
Other than a few grumblings about government overreach, no one is saying much about Randy Penguins being blocked from buying Simon & Schuster. Paramount Global have been looking to unload S&S back when the company was ViacomCBS. I find it interesting that none of the big American corporations really wants to run a publishing company anymore.
Internet ads aren't bringing in the big bucks to anyone but the advertising agencies themselves these days. Hey, I block a lot of shit on my browser, so I'm with the consumers on this one.
AI is probably the most talked about new issue this year. From fake voices reading audiobooks to computer-generated cover art, questions are arising about copyright. But not fast enough in my opinion. Ever worse is when AI can generate art in the same style as a living artist. I mean, I'd love Meryl Streep to do the voice work for one of my novels, but I can't afford her (even if she'd agree to do it). It's not right to teach an AI to sound like Meryl though.
So these are the weird things floating through my head as snowflakes gently fall outside. Anyone want to add an issue in 2022 that I overlooked?
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