The wages of theft; Steamboat Willie freed; sex in Iowa schoolbooks: Newsletter 3 January 2024
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The wages of theft; Steamboat Willie freed; sex in Iowa schoolbooks: Newsletter 3 January 2024

Newsletter 24: Why Claudine Gay had to go, a Mickey Mouse horror film, Tolkien’s victorious ghost, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and how to successfully write your book in 2024. Reflections on the plagiarism that brought down Harvard president Claudine Gay Harvard president Claudine Gay has now resigned. She made the…

Presentists rule the future; Amazon omniview; fair use or ripoff? — Newsletter 20 Dec 2023
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Presentists rule the future; Amazon omniview; fair use or ripoff? — Newsletter 20 Dec 2023

Newsletter week 23: How to see around corners, Publisher’s Weekly editor looks back, how to see all your Amazon purchases at once, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a chance to see your favorite ghosts in New York City in January. Be a presentist, not a futurist When I was an…

Unhealthy competition; damned Spotify; invisible ads — Newsletter 13 December 2023
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Unhealthy competition; damned Spotify; invisible ads — Newsletter 13 December 2023

Newsletter week 22: Stop slagging other authors, will Spotify crash audiobooks?, AI copyright posturing, three people to follow, three books to read, and some very lame ad copy. The myth of personal market share A shocking and tragic story rattled the publishing world this week. Cait Corrain, a fantasy novelist who had secured a two-book…

Newsletter 6 December 2023: Problematic motivations; infinite suckage; TaylorSwift.ai?
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Newsletter 6 December 2023: Problematic motivations; infinite suckage; TaylorSwift.ai?

Newsletter 21: Challenges beat bribes to get problems solved, cheaper audiobooks, Michael Lewis’ antiheroes, woman of the year, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a holiday discount on the top manual for authors. How to motivate smart people I love to solve problems. I have always loved to solve problems. I’m…

Newsletter 29 November 2023: Fakery vs authenticity; nonfiction author ripoff; invest like a Munger
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Newsletter 29 November 2023: Fakery vs authenticity; nonfiction author ripoff; invest like a Munger

Newsletter 20. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year; suing Microsoft and OpenAI; stop checking your grades; plus three people to follow, three books to read, and the perfect gift for the author in your life. Inauthentic I always thought the advice and books on how to be authentic were a little silly. Who wants to be…

Newsletter 22 Nov 2023: The travails of Warner’s David Zaslav; obstreperous agents; form follows fashion
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Newsletter 22 Nov 2023: The travails of Warner’s David Zaslav; obstreperous agents; form follows fashion

Newsletter 19. How viewership evolves, media conforms, and finance destroys. Plus a survey finds AI all over publishing, an agent pokes the industry in the eye, an ugly electric truck, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Three painful lessons from David Zaslav’s Warner Odyssey I was fascinated to read Jonathan Mahler,…

Newsletter 15 November 2023: Text is best; Amazon’s predation; robot acquisitions editors
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Newsletter 15 November 2023: Text is best; Amazon’s predation; robot acquisitions editors

Why I love text more than other medium, how Amazon prices, a machine reads your book pitch, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and witty link. Why text is good and books are best There’s an explosion in content. Blogs, Substacks, Medium posts, Threads, Podcasts, vlogs, you name it. Which format is…

Newsletter 8 November 2023: The growth miasma; lying in Meadows; reading with friends

Newsletter 8 November 2023: The growth miasma; lying in Meadows; reading with friends

How growth destroys everything good; the end of bestsellers; if you tell truth under oath you can’t lie in print; plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a warm plug. Growth is the inverse of quality The idea of growth is baked into everything that happens in our capitalist economy. We’ve internalized…

Newsletter 1 November 2023: AI regulation fail; Scholastic reversal; blocking deep fakes

Newsletter 1 November 2023: AI regulation fail; Scholastic reversal; blocking deep fakes

Newsletter Week 16: The president’s executive order on AI is incoherent, plus Scholastic ends its book ghetto, attempting to outlaw image theft, three people to follow, three books to read, and my book makes the Inc. Non-Obvious longlist. What’s wrong with Joe Biden’s AI executive order Two weeks ago, I complained that Marc Andreessen’s “Tech-Optimist…