Adventures in Publishing-land

STET Podcasts

Podcasts unite as Marco Rinaldi and Tariq Ashkanani from Page One - The Writer's Podcast and Nadine Matheson from The Conversation get together to chat about the latest news from the publishing world and give their honest and irreverent takes on the stories! New episodes every second Monday Brought to you by STET Podcasts - your one-stop shop for all your writing podcast needs! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Aug 17

    Publishing's AI Panic: Cancelled Deals, AI Detectors (Plus a $44k Marketing Mistake)

    Watch as a full video episode on YouTube We're back after a short break, but it appears nothing has changed in publishing as we are still talking about our (least) favourite subject: AI! We go through some listener mail and comments on the subject before diving into Jerry Falade's collapsed $2.4m book deal, wonder if AI detectors are reliable, and have a talk about different methods of book marketing, wondering what works and what doesn't. 00:00 Intro 02:11 From the Slush Pile - Listener Comments 17:25 AI Hid the Body - $2.4m Book Deal Collapses 24:07 Claude & Pangram - Watermark My Words 39:54 Marketing Your Book - Book Tok or Book Flop? 51:12 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory 55:57 The Final Chapter - Entertainment Catch-up Links: $2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use Agents react to major book deal that collapsed over suspected AI use Claude's new scarlet letter watermark is invisible—for now I tested a popular AI slop detector. It felt empowering. I spent $44,000 launching my book. Three of those dollars worked. Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here! Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Jun 15

    Are Libraries Killing Incomes? (Plus: AI Hits a Wall & The Guardian’s Readers’ Top 100)

    Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we discuss why the publishing industry is pointing fingers at libraries for declining author incomes, but we wonder about the reasons they aren't talking about. Plus, have you heard of Elias Thorne? We talk about AI's repetition problem and why that may be good news for authors. And we revisit the thorny issue of book lists - after we criticised the Guardian's first 'Best 100 books', is their Readers' list any better? 00:00 Intro 01:14 Declining Author Income - Libraries to Blame? 14:13 Thorne in the Machine - AI Running Out of Ideas? 23:38 Guardian Top 100 - Readers vs Critics 30:40 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory 38.23 The Final Chapter - Horrifyingly Good Links: Authors Guild Looks at Why Author Incomes are in Decline Chatbots Keep Telling Stories about Lighthouse Keeper 'Elias Thorne'. We Might Know Why Wikipedia may have built the best AI writing detection guide The Guardian Readers top 100 novels of all time Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here! Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. May 25

    Nobel AI Scandal, Silicon Serpents & The Children's Literacy Crisis

    Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we're expanding on our discussion from the last episode about the depressing HarperCollins report on children's reading habits. Author and teacher Cailean Steed joins us to break down the underlying data and explain exactly how hyper-fixating on rigid literacy metrics is actively destroying the sheer joy of reading for kids. Plus, we talk about - of course - AI, as we talk about the Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner scandal, and discuss Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk response to the talk of AI involvement in her work. And we find time to talk about the Guardian's "Best books of all time" list - and make Tariq talk about football again. 00:00 Intro 01:08 Literacy vs Joy: Let Kids Enjoy Reading: Cailean Steed Interview 22:15 Snake Oil Award - Prize-winning Pile On 37:50 Tokarczuk Prize - An Ignoble Use of AI? 44:02 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory 52.26 The Final Chapter - Who are books lists for? Links: Literacy focus ‘actively undermining’ reading for pleasure, HarperCollins finds ‘Obvious markers of AI’: doubts raised over winner of short story prize Read The Serpent in the Grove and decide for yourself Olga Tokarczuk has responded to the controversy over her reputed use of AI The Guardian 100 Best Books of All Time Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Apr 13

    McFadden Unmasked, Fake Editor Scams & Are Editors "Reading" with AI?

    Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we’re diving into the unmasking of one of the world’s most successful authors. Freida McFadden, the bestselling author behind The Housemaid, has officially revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen. We wonder 'why now', talk about imposter syndrome, and discuss why authors use pseudonyms. Plus, we of course chat about some AI-related stories: we go over some of your comments about our last episode on the Shy Girl scandal, talk about the allegation that editors are using LLMs to help them decide which books to pick up, and talk about scam emails again - this people pretending to be editors. 00:00 Intro 00:46 Shy Girl Fallout - Audience Comments 14:17 Chat G-P-Cheat? - Are Editors Using LLMs? 25:05 Something Phishy - Fake Editor Emails Spike 33:58 Not Just The Housemaid - McFadden's Secret Revealed 45:10 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory 50:57 Final Chapter - Stellar Adaptations Links: Some editors 'uploading confidential manuscripts to Chat GPT' Scam emails impersonating editors on the rise The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals real identity Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About

Podcasts unite as Marco Rinaldi and Tariq Ashkanani from Page One - The Writer's Podcast and Nadine Matheson from The Conversation get together to chat about the latest news from the publishing world and give their honest and irreverent takes on the stories! New episodes every second Monday Brought to you by STET Podcasts - your one-stop shop for all your writing podcast needs! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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