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Stay up to date with the events and knowledge that are shaping the publishing industry.
Exploring the Forbidden Aisles of Banned Books!
Banned Books Week is “an annual event that highlights the value of free and open access to information.” Beginning in September of 1982, Banned Books Week was created in response to an unexpected surge in the number of challenges to books available in libraries,...
I’ll Give You Proof!
At first glance, copy editing and proofing might seem like very similar tasks—and they do, indeed, have plenty in common. But a copy editor with a sharp eye for detail will recognize that these are entirely separate processes with entirely separate skill sets. On the...
Can AI Be Responsible? The Case for Elsevier’s Scopus
If the scholarly publishing community has learned nothing else over the last 5 years, it’s that for better or worse, AI is here to stay. Peer reviewers are using it. Authors are using it. We’ve talked so much about the use of AI in scholarly publishing and the...
7 Tips to Overcome Writer’s Anxiety
After four years of political, social, and medical upheaval, stress is just a part of everyday life. If you aren’t feeling at least a little stressed, congratulations you’re probably a chatbot. The publishing industry is no stranger to stress. We’ve talked about...
The Ins and Outs of Short Story Publishing
Why Publish Short Stories One reason to publish short stories is to appeal to people who have less time to read. Because they are naturally shorter than novels, short stories get to the point faster than longer works. Stories also allow authors the opportunity to fine...
Book Review: Launch, by Jeff Walker
We love sharing books that really resonate with us, and that offer solid takeaways for authors. Launch, by Jeff Walker, is just such a book. If you're an author, entrepreneur, or just someone with a killer idea itching to hit the market, this book should be your Go...
Citation Manipulation Continues to Wreak Havoc on Publishing
One of the new buzz problems in scholarly publishing is the growing notion of citation manipulation by journals and publishing societies. We’ve previously written about the recent trend of “citation boosting services” selling fake AI-generated articles with citations...
Book Summary Apps are All the Rage, but Are They a Danger to Authors?
If you’re a millennial, you probably used SparkNotes at some point in high school to help summarize a book for English class. I fully admit that I tried my best to get through Jane Eyre, but Charlotte Bronte and I do not agree on writing style and pacing. The...
LGBTQ+ Books for All Age Groups
June is pride month, and with this, we wanted to present a collection of LGBTQ+ books for any preteen/ adolescent/ human who might be interested in this genre! LGBTQ literature explores LGBTQ+ experiences, history, relationships, and more. Queer literature can be a...
Feeling the Burn: How to Avoid Burnout While Writing a Book
For most authors, writing is far more than just a career—it’s a passion. The thought of starting a new book project is, at first, one that sparks rigorous motivation and enthusiasm. But all too often, that initial “get up and go” mentally quickly melts away into...
LGBTQ Books are the Most Challenged in America: Here are Some that Top the List
LGBTQ representation in publishing has grown exponentially over the last decade in a good way. We noted in a previous post that LGBTQ books have gone from being a niche subject in the back of bookstores to bestsellers that are helping to keep publishing alive and...
The 2023 Peer Review Week is Almost Here!
Peer review has always been an important, behind-the scenes piece of the publication puzzle. An annual week to celebrate and explore its complexities is well deserved! A couple of decades ago, academic and scientific peer review looked much different from today. Turnaround times were calculated by weeks and months rather than hours and days. Snail mail --...
Google’s New AI Search Changes the Game for Publishing
We may still be a few decades away from HAL 9000 and the Terminator wreaking havoc on the humanrace (fingers crossed!), but AI continues to infiltrate and change the publishing industry. We’ve already writtenabout how AI in the form of ChatGPT is changing all the rules for manuscript writing in every realm of publishing,but now AI is also changing the way...
What Exactly is Ghostwriting?
If you’re anything like me when you hear the word ghostwriter, one of two things pops up. First, there’sthe 1990s PBS television series where a literal ghost who writes helps a group of teenagers solve mysteries (sadly,we won’t be doing a deep dive into that forgotten gem). And the other is an image of a seasoned writer taking thedictated life stories of a...
5 Tips to Become A Better Writer
Are you a novice writer just starting out in the realm of digital content, or are you a seasoned expert seeking tips on writing better? As a word nerd who is currently working on her own book, here are a few of my favorite writing tips you can use to hone your creative art and increase readership. 1. Nurture Your Brain. Read More. I have been reading for...
Writing Prompts to Unlock Your Creativity
Ideas may seem hard to come by, whether you're attempting to start a new writing project or are experiencing writer's block in the middle of one. Writing prompts are invaluable. Use this list of creative writing prompts to flex your creative writing muscles as you search your life experiences, interests, and imagination for ideas for your next novel or...
Academic Journal Submission Tips
Many academics will submit their work to academic journals at some point in their careers. For those pursuing tenure, success in publishing may be the most important factor determining whether they receive promotion and tenure. Few will understand the thought processes that editors go through when deciding whether to accept or reject a manuscript, or...
What Does ChatGPT Bring to the Editorial World?
On March 16, 2023, ACES, The Society for Editing, hosted a webinar on ChatGPT, calling on the expertise of Samantha Enslen (former ACES board member and writer) and Corinne Jorgenson, COO of Redpoint AI Engineering and Consulting. Enslen and Jorgenson gave a general, succinct overview of ChatGPT (and language networks in general) and explained its benefits...
Getting the Word Out: Social Media Tips and Tricks for Authors
Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that in today’s world, social media is an integral part of how information is spread across society—and that very much includes authors who are looking to share their work with an audience. This opens the door for a flood of questions authors should be asking themselves about how to most effectively...
Hardbacks or Paperbacks: What’s the Right Choice for You?
While the common consensus is that publishing is moving further and further into the ebook market, physical media is still alive. Sales of physical books saw increases in 2020 and 2021 thanks to the pandemic lockdown, and while sales were overall down 6.5 percent in 2022, 788.7 million hardback and paperback books were sold in 2022. This represents a very...
How Long Should My Novel Be?
When you set out to write anything for publication, one of the key things you should ask yourself is “how long should this be?” There are several things that factor into answering this question, from age demographic to genre to narrative form. No matter what you’re writing, or for whom, knowing the average word count for publications and adhering to them...