Dale’s Comments (group member since Sep 15, 2017)

Dale’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

My pleasure!

Theodore wrote: "Done"

Thank you!

I need a little help here. Goodreads has picked up the print and ebook editions of The Belt now, but the Kindle Vella edition is currently the default. According to info in the Librarian's discussion group, the default edition is the one shelved by the largest number of users. I really want the book, not the Vella, to show up as the default, so I need people to shelve it. Here's the link for the print edition:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

If you wouldn't mind, please go there and click "Want to read." That will shelve it. I probably only need a few people to do this to get that set to the default.

Of course, if you really don't want to read it and you don't feel comfortable doing this, I understand. I'm just trying to get the book to show first, because (a) more people are likely to be interested in it than in the Vella, and (b) it's a far more polished story than the Vella.

Thank you!

Eldon wrote: "Perhaps it's my sci-fi leanings here, but how is any of this AI? Artificial intelligence implies the ability of a system to think on its own. All I see here are algorithms created by people scrapin..."

Yeah, well, that's because of the history of the field, not what it actually does. ;-) Way back in the early days, the idea was, since the brain is just a meat computer, we ought to be able to figure out how to duplicate it with circuitry. Of course, it turned out to be a lot harder than that, but the dream was to create "artificial intelligence," and the name stuck. There are AI researchers who will tell you that even modern systems aren't really "intelligent" in anything like the way we are, but you don't hear that admission too often in public.

Coming late to this, but from what I've been able to figure out, it's likely to be trickier than that from a legal perspective. Myself, I think the issue would be does the output actually duplicate portions of the input in a way that would violate fair use. Basically, if a human author could be sued for plagiarism, it seems the owners/trainers of the system ought to be bound by the same rules.

However (and this is where it gets tricky), nobody would sue us for reading books and using information in them to produce a new work, so long as we wrote it in our own words. There's an argument to be made that training a system on an author's works is no different from one author reading another author's works. The input isn't illegal, it's only what happens on the output side.

I've been told that at least in ChatGPT 4, that isn't happening, although I haven't used it myself. (I had one weird experience with the prior version, 3.5, in which it got nearly everything wrong, but that's another matter.)

I've had a lot of trouble developing a blurb for The Belt. I think this works, but please let me know if you have any ideas for improvement. It's a complex novel. I've tried to capture the gist of it here.

-----

Only the rich and the ruthless survive.

Upon discovering a single rock bearing ancient microfossils, Dr. Miguel Hernandez needs a slice of Mars for further research. Lowell Colony Mayor Andre Rand covets the same plot for expansion. Neither man will give up his quest. Now, framed for sabotage he didn't commit, Miguel is branded an outlaw and must flee into the deadly Martian wilderness to escape Andre's wrath and, if possible, collect additional evidence before it's destroyed by construction.

But in a society driven by greed and ruled by corruption, Miguel stands to lose more than he knows. His top students face torture and death. His friends betray him. Even his secret weapon, Andre's duplicitous wife Carmen, turns on him. Driven farther and farther from his goal, Miguel discovers a truth more terrifying still: his private war with Andre Rand has been orchestrated by a shadowy figure hiding in the asteroid belt, a figure as determined as he and more powerful than Andre. And she doesn't just want Mars. She wants Miguel and his students.

-----

Thank you!

Thank you, all!

Thank you again! I'm going with #1 based on input from here and elsewhere.

Thank you, folks!

I've received from my artist 4 book cover options for my new SF novel, "The Belt." The story is set on Mars and in the asteroid belt. Please let me know which you prefer and why (if you know why). These links are to the images stored on my author website:

#1: https://www.daleelehman.com/wp-conten...
#2: https://www.daleelehman.com/wp-conten...
#3: https://www.daleelehman.com/wp-conten...
#4: https://www.daleelehman.com/wp-conten...

Thank you!

Anna wrote: "And been so helpful to others too."

I do my best. Thanks!

Magnus wrote: "Dale, looks like great things are happening for you. Congrats! We all know you've put in the hours so I'm very pleased for you. Fingers crossed it works out according to your wishes."

Thank you!

Carole wrote: "Book trib is great. Their audience is the people you want to see your book. Ask them for products(ads) or promotions that will fit your budget. They might have done worth your while that’s affordab..."

Okay, thanks for the input!

Anna wrote: "It's a bit like you wait for a bus to come along and then three come along together. And now you have choices to make!"

Something like that, yes. ;-)

Thanks everyone!

The story gets a bit more interesting. Late yesterday, I got an email from a representative at Rightscenter.com, a clearinghouse for film rights on books, asking if rights were available and who the contact would be (e.g., agent/attorney/myself). I had to check on them, as I'd never heard of them before, but they're a legit company used by the film and TV industries to find books for adaptation. Based on what I could learn about them, they contact authors when they get an inquiry about a book that isn't yet listed in their database. So I'm guessing someone in the industry noticed the review (they probably look at PW reviews all the time), made the inquiry, and Rightscenter contacted me to get the info. Which, of course, doesn't mean I'll be signing a contract anytime soon, or even ever, but it is interesting. I also noticed that I sold 1 ebook copy of all 4 books in the series yesterday on Amazon, which could be coincidental, but it does make one wonder.

I also got a cold-call email from booktrib.com congratulating me and asking if I wanted to pay $$$ for promotional services. They look legit, but they ain't entirely cheap.

I guess this is what a tiny bit of fame looks like...

;-)

It just keeps getting better! The PW review of A Day for Bones will appear on Feb 3, 2023, but it appeared in the BookLife newsletter today and can be read at this link: https://booklife.com/pwreview/262768. Best of all, it's been given a star, which means it's considered an outstanding title in its genre!

Thank you, everyone!

Publishers Weekly has accepted A Day for Bones for review! There is no definite timeline. The email says the review should appear "in a few weeks."

The timing is great. I really needed some good news this week, plus I've dropped all my ebook prices to $0.99 for a while in order to try to boost my readership.

Having run a couple of these ads now, I can say with confidence...I don't get it. :-P I'm shifting my focus, at least for now, to running BB promos with $0.99 ebooks in an effort to reach more readers.

One small victory, though. I submitted A Day for Bones for a PW review back in July. The other day, I got an email from them that begins:

"Our editors have looked at the BookLife project you submitted (A Day for Bones), and they are considering it for review. While this is no guarantee that your book will receive a Publishers Weekly review, you have cleared an important hurdle.

Remember, the reviews consideration process can take between six and twelve weeks...."

I'm pleased that I haven't been disqualified yet, although I wish the process was a tad faster. It's taken them 24 weeks to decide that they want to consider reviewing the book, now it will be another 6 to 12 weeks for them to give it thumbs up or down. And then, if it gets the green light, someone actually has to review it.

Still. Patience is a virtue. Right??

Anna wrote: "A worthy goal for a writer!"

I thought so. I hope I get somewhere with it!