Page One - The Writer's Podcast

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This episode of Adventures in Publishing-land dives deep into the battle for the "human soul" of the industry, featuring a frontline interview on the newest weapons in the author’s arsenal. We sit down with Anna Ganley and Sam Blake from the Society of Authors to discuss their new "Human Authored" scheme which launched at the London Book Fair. We explore the strategy behind the new logo and the message behind "Don't Steal This Book," the empty protest volume signed by thousands of authors including Kazuo Ishiguro and Richard Osman.

Speaking of the London Book Fair, we also tackle the "Six-Figure Fever" that grips the industry every spring. If the headlines about massive advances are making you feel disheartened, we discuss why you need to ignore the hype and focus on your own journey. Plus, we look into the class-action lawsuit facing Grammarly and Superhuman, and discuss the latest legal action by publishers against a pirate books site.

00:00 Intro
00:53 The LBF Hype Cycle - Run Your Own Race
07:24 Human Authored - Our interview with the Society of Authors
36:12 Walk the Plank - Suing Anna's Archive
44:20 Grammarly's Gamble - Not So Superhuman
51:57 Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction

Links:
Human Authored - learn more about the scheme and how to sign up
Thirteen US Publishers Bring Suit Against Anna's Archive
Grammarly Superhuman Expert Review Article
And why they are being sued

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!

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Watch as a full video interview on our YouTube channel

In the final of our cross-over interview episodes with Narrative Damage, we chat with the brilliant Mike Mason!

Mike Mason is an award-winning game designer and writer, and the creative director for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. As well as being the commissioning editor and lead writer for the line, Mike also works closely with artists and cartographers to shape the look and art for Call of Cthulhu.

It was great speaking with Mike and hearing how his love for storytelling and Call of Cthulhu led to him landing his dream job. He tells us about how he writes scenarios and campaign books, and how that differs (and doesn't differ) from writing other forms of fiction. Plus, we talk about writing effective horror, and discuss why mystery fiction of all kinds is so popular.

Links:
Follow Mike on Instagram
Visit Chaosium's website
Watch the trailer for our actual play of Loki's Gift

Follow Narrative Damage on YouTube or its own podcast feed to get more interviews with TTRPG writers, creators and more, plus actual plays with some of your favourite authors: https://linktr.ee/narrativedamagerpg

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

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Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video interview on our YouTube channel

Dennis Detwiller is an illustrator, writer and designer who has worked in the field of video games, card games and tabletop roleplaying games. He worked on Magic: The Gathering, and is a co-creator of the award-winning TTRPG, Delta Green, including being author of the legendary Impossible Landscapes campaign.

We loved having the opportunity to speak with Dennis, who told us how he stumbled into and then out of the world of video games, and how he created Delta Green. We talked about the impact of his philosophical views on his TTRPG writing, and discuss the whole 'railroading v sandbox' styles of storytelling in TTRPGs. Plus, he discusses why reading TTRPG books can help writers of all kinds, and we discuss how to make horror have an impact in writing.

Links:
Follow Dennis on Bluesky
Buy Delta Green now

Follow Narrative Damage on YouTube or its own podcast feed to get more interviews with TTRPG writers, creators and more, plus actual plays with some of your favourite authors: https://linktr.ee/narrativedamagerpg

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook
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Follow us on Bluesky
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Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video episode on YouTube

On this week's Drafting Notes, we are discussing whether professional editing/critique services are useful to first-time authors. On the one hand, you are getting professional feedback on your writing, but on the other, they are often very expensive! So is the reward worth the cost? We discuss our own thoughts and experiences!

Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!

Drafting Notes episodes are available early if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!

Watch this as a full video episode on our YouTube channel!

On today's episode of Drafting Notes, we are talking about the dreaded imposter syndrome - what is it and why do so many writers feel it? Is it only writers starting out, or do all writers continue to feel like they are imposters? Plus, we discuss dealing with comparison to other writers' successes - how do you stop the envy getting to you when another writer is getting a big deal and you are not?

Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!

Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

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Drafting Notes is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video on YouTube

This week on Adventures in Publishing-land, we’re heading to San Francisco to look at Bindery Books. This startup is turning "bookfluencers" into acquiring editors, letting communities choose their own bestsellers. Is this the "Taylor’s Version" of publishing, or a risky bet on "tastemakers"? Plus, we discuss top literary agencies sounding the alarm on "formulaic" and "flattened" AI-generated queries, and also return to the topic of genre snobbery, and why fantasy is making everyone think again about it.

00:00 Intro
01:17 Facile & Formulaic - Agents Ban AI Queries
12:21 The Tastemaker Model - BookTok Becomes The Editor
21.39 Myth-understandings - Fighting Genre Snobbery
34:35 - Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction
39:53 Final Chapter - A Wonderful New Take on Superheroes

Links:
Literary agents urge writers to avoid AI as they see ‘change in nature of submissions’
Bindery Books Influencer-led Publishing Model
Myth, monsters and making sense of a disenchanted world: why everyone is reading fantasy

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
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.