Bookshop.org includes several thousand local stores in the U.S. and the U.K. and is notable for its generosity to stores as well as writers. The more alternatives to Amazon, the better for those of us worried about its dominance of the ebook market and online bookselling in general.

One catch is that this doesn’t guarantee you’ll show up on a shelf. But the new arrangements could increase your chances somewhat. As for ebooks, Draft2Digital is less complicated than typical alternatives and has a large footprint among independent writers. Just now, I logged on D2D, consented to the Bookshop.org agreement for my ebooks—and that was it.

Bookshop.org doesn’t match Ingram in reach but is still worth it for writers without Amazon exclusives.

Below is the full Draft2Digital announcement, reproduced in full for reference, including the company’s brief summary of the key implications for indie authors.

Announcing Draft2Digital
Ebook Distribution
to Bookshop.org

We’re thrilled to announce that ebook distribution to Bookshop.org is now available! Our partnership expands your distribution reach into more than 3,400 independent bookstores across the US and UK. That’s 3,400+ new retail storefronts where readers can discover and purchase indie ebooks—directly supporting local bookstores all the while.

WHY THE BOOKSHOP.ORG + DRAFT2DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP MATTERS

Bookshop.org made headlines when it launched in 2020 as an online retailer that financially supports local, indie bookstores by giving them a way to compete online. Bookshop.org helps indie bookstores by allowing readers to choose the indie bookstore they’d like to support, and when that reader purchases a book at Bookshop.org, the reader’s preferred bookstore receives the full profit. If a reader doesn’t choose a store, their purchase still contributes to a profit sharing pool that helps all Bookshop.org bookstores. Bookshop.org has already generated over $44 million for indie bookstores.

Bookshop.org made headlines again in 2025 when it announced ebook availability from Big 5 publishers, first in the US and later in the UK, which readers quickly embraced. In 2025 alone, indie bookstores earned more than $9.5 million through Bookshop.org, including over 200,000 ebook sales via the Bookshop.org app. By bringing Draft2Digital’s catalog to Bookshop.org, we’re helping indie authors and indie bookstores support each other at scale.

When a D2D-distributed ebook is sold on Bookshop.org, the royalty paid to indie authors and publishers is 60% (the same as other major retailers in D2D’s retail network), while 100% of Bookshop’s ebook profit is passed directly to the affiliated indie bookstore.

HOW TO DISTRIBUTE YOUR EBOOKS TO BOOKSHOP.ORG

If you distribute ebooks through D2D, you can opt in to Bookshop.org today from your publishing dashboard.

The next time you log into your account, you’ll see a pop-up window notifying you that ebook distribution to Bookshop.org is now available. You will have the option to add all your eligible ebooks or add them one by one. You must manually opt-in to have your ebooks distributed to Bookshop.org.

If you publish print-on-demand paperbacks through D2D Print, your print books are automatically purchasable through Bookshop.org.

For more information, check out the official press release on our blog or click here to watch a live interview with the CEOs of Bookshop.org and D2D on Self Publishing Insiders at Noon Central/1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific on February 5.

Happy Publishing!

The D2D Team

Related: Bookshop.org Facebook page.

Caption: City Lights, a legendary bookstore in San Francisco, belongs to Bookshop.org. Photo by WGreaves via Wikimedia. Creative Commons.

Bookshop.org is a certified B Corporation, with validated social and environmental impact. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it was able to offer a revenue stream for independent bookstores when in-person shopping was difficult to impossible.

Bookshop.org still is required to implement DRM for those publishers that require it. For its own app, it uses Readium DRM. The app is a respectable generic ebook reading app comparable to many other popular equivalents.

Bookshop.org isn’t able to offer purchases through the app; these still have to be made on the website, thanks to Google and Apple’s commissions on in-app purchases. This may change in the UK at some point soon, but regrettably, Bookshop.org in itself isn’t likely to be able to shift their stance on this front, or of publishers regarding DRM. At least it also offers a slew of DRM-free titles, which users can transfer to the device and app of their choice. And buying new ebooks is simply a question of clicking through the app to your browser on your mobile device.

“We have over 1 million titles available in the UK,” Bookshop.org’s representative told Teleread. “We will continue to expand the catalogue across a range of larger publishers through to self-published authors.” In the UK, Bookshop.org handles physical inventory through its wholesale partner Gardners, and ebook inventory via Bookwire and Coresource, with potential future cooperation with Draft2Digital.

There’s no sign yet, at least, of a partner or own-brand ereading device for Bookshop.org. Given the wide range and choice of cheap tablets nowadays, though, that may be no bad thing.

A collaboration with Waterstones, the UK’s leading high street book chain, would be an interesting development. Waterstones has not had an ebook business since 2016. However, Waterstones could hardly be classed as an independent bookseller. It has been passed from one private investment fund to another since 1998, and is currently owned by Elliott Investment Management. Waterstones stores hardly need Bookshop.org contributions – but competing small bookshops certainly do.

To explain the name, gône is local Lyonnais slang for a kid, and especially a young girl. So OctoGônes translates roughly as “OctoKids”, or “Eight-Legged Girls”. Given the geek focus of the convention, that’s pretty appropriate. And it also echoes the convention’s focus on sheer fun.

The event filled two entire floors of the Double Mixt trade and convention center in north-eastern Lyon to capacity, as well as catering stalls outside. As well as 12 leading French authors of fantasy and imaginative literature, the convention hosted a roughly equal number of leading independent fantasy and imaginative fiction publishers. Cosplay and fan fun were everywhere.

Mnémos, just one of the key fantasy and imaginative fiction publishers exhibiting at the convention, has been in business for over 30 years, and publishes French translations of leading English-language F/SF authors like Lavie Tidhar and Gwendolyn Kiste, as well as classics like Frederick Pohl and Clark Ashton Smith, and a huge stable of local French authors. Leha Éditions publishes fantasy bestsellers like R.J. Barker and Brian McClellan, as well as, once again, a slew of French authors.

The spirit of the whole gathering was exemplified by the chief organizer, going around the tables of RPG players with a jug of coffee, dispensing refreshments. Whatever France’s reputation as a country of firm rationalists, the wilder regions of the imagination are clearly in rude good health in the Hexagon.

That was one of the most important points that Tony Marx, President of the New York Public Library, made in a recent podcast that Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger hosted on LinkedIn.

Marx apparently had in mind material that was trustworthy in the usual library sense. But what to do when lying authoritarians like Donald Trump run the country and can order librarians to offer propaganda, including racist content? Trump and his crew are lawless and eager to flout traditional library norms. Of course, omission might be an even greater risk than commission. For example, the Trump administration is especially keen on censoring certain positive mentions of minorities in American history.

In a comment, I’ve reproduced an AI-generated summary of the podcast. Meanwhile, let me emphasize that the thoughts on propaganda and censorship are my own, not necessarily Tony Marx’s, although I suspect he would share my concerns. Also note that the podcast covered other topics, especially library access for low-income people.

Podcast found via Bob Snyder.

Remember when ebooks were supposed to be the cheaper, greener alternative to print? “Buy a Kindle,” they said. “Digital is faster, more sustainable, and easy on your wallet.” Back then, a new ebook often meant $2.99 for an indie title, or $9.99 for a bestseller. It felt like a reader’s dream—frictionless access without the hardback price tag.

Well, so much for that dream. I now pay $15-18 for Kindle books. No paper, no ink, no warehouse, no shipping. Just bits and bandwidth. Case in point: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, currently listed for $17 in Kindle format on Amazon. That’s not a fluke—just one of several overpriced ebooks I’ve bought recently.At first, I assumed this was Amazon squeezing readers. But here’s the twist: it’s mainly the publishers driving the price increases.

The major publishers—the same ones who once touted ebooks as a budget-friendly format—are now the ones setting the high prices, thanks to what’s called the agency model. That means Amazon doesn’t control the retail price of most ebooks from big publishing houses. Publishers do. Amazon just takes its 30% cut.

Why the change? The big publishers argue they need to:

–Protect print sales, which still bring in strong revenue and help justify expensive print runs.

–Preserve the perceived value of books, fearing that readers will grow too accustomed to $2.99 or $4.99 pricing.

–Maintain pricing control, especially after years of fighting Amazon’s deep discounting strategy.

Amazon can still pressure publishers to change prices in specific situations, but basically this is a publisher’s game.

It’s the classic pattern: launch a disruptive new technology with low prices to drive adoption, then reverse course once the customer base is locked in. Reminds me of the early days of ATMs—pitched as a free convenience, until enough of us were hooked. Then came the fees.

Now the same is happening with digital books. We were trained to expect ebooks as a deal. Now we’re being told they’re a premium experience—and priced accordingly.

And what about audiobooks, the poor cousin in this digital triangle? Despite all the buzz about the booming audio market, they often get pushed as membership freebies or sit even higher on the pricing ladder. Everyone’s scrambling for revenue in a world where content is infinite and attention is scarce.

I’ll admit, I still buy hardcovers and paperbacks. I like holding a real book. But with my personal library downsized from 4,000 to 1,000 books (thanks to a wife who doesn’t enjoy dusting shelves), I’ve gone digital for most of my on-the-road reading. That used to mean Kindle. Now it means… hesitation.

Digital was supposed to scale well. No dead trees, no trucks, no returns. Just efficient distribution. Instead, we’re paying nearly the same—or more—than for print. It’s hard to see where the extra cost is going, aside from publisher margins.

I’m not saying publishers shouldn’t make a profit. But it’s fair to ask: are they honoring the original promise of digital publishing—or quietly cashing in on our dependence?

Bob Snyder is a high tech trade editor whose love of reading began with Ace Books’s “flippable” sci-fi paperbacks.” You first read one science fiction novel and then flipped the book over to read another (the “tête-bêche” or “dos-à-dos” format with two books bound back-to-back, inverted).

AI-assisted.

[Update: For US readers, this has now apparently been launched Stateside. https://newatlas.com/mobile-technology/us-launch-tcl-nxtpaper-11-plus/%5D

The ONYX BOOX Go 6 is basically a 6-inch E Ink tablet running Android 11. Looking behind the numbers, that should immediately explain its appeal. The form factor and weight is exactly comparable to the low-end 6-inch Kindle – in fact, the BOOX Go 6 is very slightly smaller than the 6-inch Kindle. The screen quality is definitely on a par with Amazon’s E Ink – ONYX quotes the screen technology as E Ink Carta Plus with 300 dpi pixel density and faster refresh than previous epaper screens. I won’t split hairs – or pixels – about the difference, but I do find in real-world reading conditions that the BOOX Go 6 is easily as comfortable to read with as the Kindle.

So what else do you get on top of an e-reading experience of Kindle standard? Well, for one thing, the Google Play Store and all the other apps normally accessible to Android users but not available – or suitable – for the Kindle. In principle, you can even use YouTube to play video on the BOOX Go 6, although I haven’t tried it and doubt that the experience would be especially grateful. You can certainly download and use most ereader apps, including the Amazon Kindle app, so you can have your usual Kindle experience and library, and a whole lot besides. The BOOX Go 6’s own ereading app is at least comparable to most of its Android peers, and makes short work of PDFs – always a stumbling block for the Kindle, in my experience. The user interface provided is basic but serviceable, but there’s no reason why users couldn’t download a different launcher from the Play Store.

As for the hardware, the BOOX Go 6 has Wifi and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as 32 GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot, so running a large library is no problem. It also has audio capabilities, though no speaker – audio has to be played via USB-C headphones, or Bluetooth peripherals. The USB-C socket is on the bottom of the device, while the power button is on the top, fixing a bugbear for Kindle users who find their devices switching off when placed on a stand. There is a screen backlight, perhaps slightly inferior to the Kindle’s, but certainly perfectly usable. Battery life is excellent for an Android device – I’m getting some 2-3 days of usage without a charge, although admittedly with a lot of ereading and less use of power-hungry apps. 

Be it understood, the BOOX Go 6 is not (yet) going to replace a full Android device. The screen refresh is still slow in certain use cases, such as taking handwritten notes – although I may just not have found the right refresh setting yet. A black and white E Ink screen is less than perfect for many websites and apps that lean heavily into shaded multicoloured graphics, although ONYX does its best to assist with that via app-specific optimization settings to fit them better to the device. But for text-based and word-heavy applications, it can even come close to being a productivity tool. I already have Wikipedia, the Google Keep notes app, and Google Docs installed on mine. I have a feeling that the 2GB of RAM will start to feel cramped soon, but that’s a measure of the number of apps I’m already putting on the device. 

There are obvious areas for improvement in the BOOX Go 6. The device could be faster, especially for screen refresh. Android 11 is still an older-generation version of the OS, and I hope the company – or some hacker – works out how to upgrade it. And E Ink technology as a whole is still an area where we hope to see improvement. Nonetheless, the BOOX Go 6 is basically comparable with, and priced similarly to, a Kindle Paperwhite, but with far greater versatility, flexibility and usability. The only areas where it feels limited are the Android-based experiences that the Kindle can’t do at all. It’s hardly left my hands since it’s arrived. Form your own conclusions based on that, but I’ve certainly had a very happy birthday.

Before going ahead with this Colorsoft review, let me mourn the passing of another “deluxe” reader, the Kindle Oasis. My 2017 model came with the right weight and size, good comfort lighting, waterproofing and a crisp seven-inch screen. And those page-turn buttons! No accidental swipes, no jumping to random sections. I’d hoped Amazon would snazz up the Oasis with a color screen and maybe even add native ePub and robust text-to-speech for non-blind users.

Instead, while marching on to the Colorsoft, Amazon has axed the Oasis, at least for stateside customers.

Meanwhile, more than a few readers have forsaken Amazon devices for Kobo’s Libra Colour, thanks partly to its page-turning buttons. “Kobo girlies” act as if their plastic slabs are the Beatles in 1964 and gush out their love.

Listening, Amazon? Why does your long-awaited Colorsoft lack physical buttons, an inexcusable flaw for a premium device priced at $280—a full $60 above the Libra Colour without the Libra’s stylus. I suspect you could have absorbed the costs. Kobo did.

Screen glitches

Furthermore, the Colorsoft’s display has a yellow band affecting some units. Amazon is working on a fix, but you can see why some users are disappointed.

Also, due to the inherent limitations of the color tech in use, the Colorsoft’s hues are softer and less saturated than LCD or OLED displays, though it’s slightly less muted than Kobo’s Libra Colour. Its black-and-white text mode comes close to the Paperwhite in quality. With monochrome reading in mind, I ultimately returned my Libra due to its lower contrast, but the Colorsoft held up far better in this regard, even if I am still sending it back and relying on a Paperwhite instead.

In a related vein, I had to boost the brightness nearly to max, which drained battery life quickly. The battery on the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite officially can last up to 12 weeks, but the Colorsoft only manages around eight weeks due to the color filter, with results varying based on brightness settings.

On the plus side

–The Colorsoft offers improved speed for page turning, navigating a book, browsing, annotating, and wandering around the Kindle store. Its browser is still underpowered but no longer quite so “experimental”—it’s functional.

–The annotation feature lets users highlight in multiple colors—pink, blue, orange, and yellow. Imagine marking quotes in one shade, plot points in another. This will resonate with readers who prioritize organized reading over pure contrast.

–And if manga is your thing, the Colorsoft’s seven-inch screen suits it well enough, assuming your eyes can handle smaller text in the balloons. But for vivid color graphics, traditional tablets like iPads still provide better visuals.

–The Colorsoft is waterproof, like the Paperwhite and Oasis.

–It has wireless charging.

–Keep in mind this is just a first-generation color reader from Amazon. I’m 100 percent certain the tech from there and elsewhere will get much better, and I can even see schools and libraries purchasing many thousands of color readers to lend out to manga fans and others. The color may especially draw in children. It can happen if Amazon and others drive down the costs and increase the ruggedness and improve the tech in general. Remember, ereaders don’t come with the usual distractions of cell phones. This is a very child-friendly technology, and I’m certainly cheering for Amazon and the others to succeed. I see colorful manga as a gateway to traditional reading in many cases, especially if parents, teachers and librarians guide them. I feel the same about text to speech in E Ink Kindles. May that come, too!

The verdict

Once Amazon fixes the glitches, the Colorsoft could be a niche hit among manga fans, meticulous annotators, and readers who value illustration-heavy genres. However, as noted, pure text readers might want to skip the color and opt for the Paperwhite. And, of course, readers who miss the page-turn buttons on the Oasis will keep waiting or maybe start browsing the Kobo site.

So that’s my take. Is the lack of page-turning buttons a downer for you, too? Or does the color outweigh the flaws?

A statement from Amazon on the yellow band: “A small number of customers have reported a yellow band along the bottom of the display. We take the quality of our products seriously—customers who notice this can reach out to our customer service team for a replacement or refund, and we’re making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that new devices will not experience this issue moving forward.”

For one thing, the scale of the event was daunting. Attendance figures are hard to quantify, given the number of no-shows and the added complication of virtual attendance categories, but this year’s convention was definitely one of the largest Worldcons ever held in Europe, and even one of the largest Worldcons, period. Over 8,000 attendance badges were sold for the convention. The last couple of European Worldcons – Helsinki and Dublin – were both criticized for venue overcrowding and queues, although I attended both and didn’t find my own experience suffering. Glasgow’s SEC had few such problems, with a wide variety of spaces that were almost always rightsized for the events – though yes, there were queues. Half-hour intervals between panels and sessions also allowed people to take a break, grab a bite or a coffee, and find their way to the next location in good time. The space and versatility of the venue was also welcome when dealing with weather that swung wildly from baking to traditional Scottish smirr, with cold grey drizzle in mid-August. 

Feedback from the myriad dealers on the trade floor, and the publishers who were both presenting their wares and participating in the panels and launches, was very positive. “Congratulations to Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Meg MacDonald, and everyone involved in staging the event. It was a triumph,” said Ian Whates, speculative fiction author, co-founder of the independent publisher NewCon Press, and a director of the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA). NewCon had its own launch event during the convention, including the first collection for 18 years from writer Guest of Honour Ken MacLeod, illustrated by artist Guest of Honour Fangorn.

Much comment settled on what a job the con did to put the Hugo Awards and other controversies behind it. Xiran Jay Zhao, recipient of this year’s Astounding Award for Best New Writer, was one of the writers censored out of eligibility for the award at the Chengdu Worldcon, and had her eligibility extended to make sure she still got a chance to receive her due. Statements before, during, and after the Awards ceremony affirmed how determined the organizers were to address issues such as the attempted voting fraud this year, and tackle them directly and transparently. Reform of the voting procedures is a question for future conventions: the organizers of this one certainly did all they could, openly and pro-actively, with the current system.

There was plenty of activity to involve the local writing community and the Scottish public at large. Spinoff events included an organ recital at Glasgow’s celebrated Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, with a performance of the score from the movie Interstellar. There was also music from the Worldcon Philharmonic Orchestra, an actual philharmonic orchestra with local musicians, and a premiere of a science fiction opera, Morrow’s Isle, with a libretto by Ken MacLeod. The Hunterian Collections at Kelvin Hall also held an exhibition of artefacts and artworks by Alasdair Gray – another modern Scottish speculative fiction legend.

“Of course, with any event of this magnitude there are bound to be hiccups (including a few caused by the rules imposed by the venue, the SECC), but whenever such arose, the organisers responded swiftly and effectively, ensuring that things continued to run smoothly,” Whates continued. “I hope that in the afterglow of the convention everyone who worked so hard to produce it can look back with satisfaction and pride; they certainly deserve to.” 

Worldcon Glasgow 2024 has probably had one of the most important outcomes it could – a fresh shot in the arm for Scottish speculative fiction writing, and a lot more recognition for that work when it appears. Sláinte!

Image credit: Photo by Olav Rokne for Worldcon Photos.

There was definitely a mood of assertion, even defiance, about the organizers’ response to the earlier voting upsets around the Hugos. As one presenter said, “we have committed to administering them with transparency and integrity.” The voting figures were very carefully logged and shared: 3,813 final ballots (3,808 electronic and 5 paper) were cast and counted. The 377 not cast by natural persons were noted and removed. The remaining 3,436 (3,431 electronic, 5 paper) represented the third highest total ever, as well as some hairsbreadth results. As the organizers explained, 4 out of 20 of the Awards were decided by a margin of a single vote.

And the Hugo winners themselves? In the leading categories, Best Novel went to Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. Best Novella was Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Naomi Kritzer had an exceptional year, winning both Best Novelette for “The Year Without Sunshine” and Best Short Story for “Better Living Through Algorithms.” Best Series went to Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie. The Lodestar Award for Best YA Book went to To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer went to Xiran Jay Zhao. Winners in the other categories are all available online.

Another Worldcon, another Hugos—and at least, on a very hot evening, the clouds around this year’s awards were dispelled. Meala-naidheachd! Congratulations!

As officially announced during Worldcon 2024, “the LA in 2026 Bid Committee have won the right to host the 84th World Science Fiction Convention in 2026… The convention will be held on August 27th to 31st, 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center and the Hilton Anaheim and Anaheim Marriott hotels in Anaheim, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is the fifth Worldcon convention to bear the ‘LAcon’ name, the most recent having been held at the same location in 2006.”

LAcon V, as it’s been dubbed, has also already announced a guest slate of celebrity authors, illustrators and experts, including Barbara Hambly, Ronald D. Moore, Colleen Doran, Dr. Anita Sengupta, Tim Kirk, Geri Sullivan, Stan Sakai, and Ursula Vernon. Further developments no doubt await.

In fact, after the earlier ructions over attempts to hack the Hugo Awards, this Worldcon appears to have run pretty smoothly. One or two events have been packed to capacity, but the organizers have made many of the most significant tracks available online. With multiple sessions, workshops, and speciality themed panels running simultaneously, one of the very, very few exasperations of this Worldcon is being literally spoiled for choice, with the plethora of fascinating options. Book vendors and dealers on the very extensive trade floor have said that the whole show has really exceeded their expectations—both in terms of sales, and just the ease of dealing with the venue and its facilities.

One sobering aspect of this Worldcon is the lingering legacy of COVID, still not entirely dispelled. Many attendees are wearing masks, especially those over from American conventions where COVID cases have been reported. The SEC Centre itself was briefly turned into a COVID-19 treatment centre during the pandemic, and my last visit here was for COP-26 in 2021, when attendees went through a double layer of screening for security and contagion testing. That’s no longer necessary, but the memory lingers—like something from a suitably science-fictional apocalyptic disaster movie.

Another sobering legacy is that of the mighty Iain Banks; but there will be plenty of space to write more on him, and the other great Scottish writers who have followed in his wake, later. Meanwhile, Scotland has a Worldcon it deserves, and Worldcon has a venue whose literary heritage enriches it.

The Glasgow 2024 Hugo Administration Subcommittee promptly issued a full statement on the incident, and to my knowledge, this relates the full facts known to date. According to the statement, “A large number of votes in 2024 were cast by accounts which fail to meet the criteria of being ‘natural persons’, with obvious fake names and/or other disqualifying characteristics. These included, for instance, a run of voters whose second names were identical except that the first letter was changed, in alphabetical order; and a run of voters whose names were translations of consecutive numbers.”

The statement further explained that many of these false votes “favoured one finalist in particular, who we will call Finalist A.” Furthermore, “we received a confidential report that at least one person had sponsored the purchase of WSFS memberships by large numbers of individuals, who were refunded the cost of membership after confirming that they had voted as the sponsor wished.” The UK Guardian newspaper calculated the cost of the 377 memberships reportedly purchased in order to skew the votes, and came to a figure of at least £16,965 (US$22,000).

The incident raises few questions about the organization of the Glasgow Worldcon as it stands. The irregular pattern of voting was spotted promptly. The organizers then announced their findings just as promptly, in the interests of transparency. That looks like exemplary efficiency, and openness. Furthermore, the statement revealed that Finalist A showed no sign of knowing about the vote-rigging, and was not disqualified from the Awards—but still did not win in their category once the illicit votes had been disallowed.

“We believe that it is important for transparency that we inform you now about what has happened,” the statement reads. “We want to reassure 2024 Hugo voters that the ballots cast were counted fairly. Most of all, we want to assure the winners of this year’s Hugos that they have won fair and square, without any arbitrary or unexplained exclusion of votes or nominees and without any possibility that their award had been gained through fraudulent means.”

The incident does raise questions about the voting procedure for the Hugos, but that is outside the jurisdiction of the Glasgow organizers themselves. And the identity of Finalist A will almost certainly be a hot gossip item among the attendees at Worldcon 2024.

“There are proposals to institute a system of independent audit for Hugo votes,” the statement continues. “But at present such a system does not exist, therefore the raw 2024 voting data cannot and will not be shared outside the Glasgow 2024 Hugo team.”

The broader question, or consideration, for future Worldcons is how far the whole structure of the convention series needs to be revised in the light of its growing size and worldwide significance. There has been a long and jealously guarded tradition, dating back to the first Worldcon in 1939, that the World Science Fiction Convention, a.k.a. the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), “is organised by a different group of dedicated volunteers who participate in a bidding process that is open to any group that meets a small number of technical regulations,” as the wording on the Worldcon website states. The only permanent standing committee of the WSFS, alongside the ad hoc committees convened around the separate Worldcons and for other business, is the Mark Protection Committee (MPC), which controls and protects the WSFS’s brand names, trademarks, domain names, and other IP.

Does the whole Worldcon structure need more structures and more persistent oversight in future? Should there be more standing committees than just the Mark Protection Committee, to ensure continuity, and to support the volume and sheer turnover of a convention series that regularly counts at least “an average attendance of 4,000-5,000 fans”? The Glasgow Worldcon 2024 team undoubtedly exhibited exemplary professionalism in their handling of the votes issue – but those questions still have merit.

The convention will be held August 8-12.

Consider the unauthorized use of a Scarlett Johansson-like voice, for example, or all the flashy, endlessly touted bots that fall short of their hype.

But what if a humble little $14.99 AI service could help you market your next book—cranking out everything from drafts of plot summaries to keyword recommendations for online stores? It could even identify popular tropes and compare your book with existing titles.

The Manuscript Report site does it all and more. Despite the name, the site is more of a marketing tool than a service for editors who are wending their way through massive piles of slush.

Can beat most human-only brainstorming

Granted, the site is no substitute for a smart, experienced human—beware of AI-ish prose and a formulaic approach for items like press releases. But it provides a handy starting point, particularly in regard to comparative titles and keywords you can use on Amazon and elsewhere.

The keyword function isn’t as sophisticated as a specialty app like Publisher Rocket. (Check out Rocket developer Dave Chesson’s latest Amazon tips to appreciate the complexities here.)

Still, the bot’s keyboard suggestions can help you beat most human-only brainstorming.

Autopilot marketing, kind of—but don’t rely on the bot alone

Manuscript Report is easy for those who want a quick, highly structured approach. You fill out forms covering such basics as your book’s title, feed in a PDF of your book, pay your $14.99, and in less than an hour, you see thousands of words:

“Back of the book summary

“Synopsis

“Sales Pitch

“SEO-Optimized Keywords

“Target Audience

“Genres

“Themes

“Tropes

“Comparisons with recent bestsellers

“Narrative crossroads with books and movies

“Press Release Template

“Ad Copy Template.”

Manuscript Report in action

I tried out ManuscriptReport.com on two novels of mine, The Solomon Scandals and Drone Child. Your results may vary. But a summary from the service did an overwhelmingly good job of capturing the essence of Scandals and Child—despite AI-ish prose in places. Perhaps I’m overlooking something, but I didn’t encounter the hallucinations that many AIs come up with.

Here are the first three paragraphs of the D.C. novel’s synopsis:

“‘The Solomon Scandals’ by David H. Rothman is a richly textured narrative that delves into the murky waters of political and journalistic corruption in Washington, D.C. Set against the backdrop of the 20th-century newsroom, the story follows Jon Stone, a reporter for the Washington Telegram, as he navigates a labyrinth of deceit involving media, government, and business.

“The plot ignites with the mysterious suicide of Wendy Blevin, a prominent gossip columnist, and the subsequent cover-up by the Telegram. Stone’s investigation into real estate mogul Seymour Solomon uncovers a web of corruption involving shoddy construction practices, political paybacks, and potential building collapses. Key figures include George McWilliams, the hard-nosed editor torn between loyalty and ethics, and E.J. Rawson, the national editor and Stone’s immediate superior.

“The narrative is rich with detailed character backgrounds and the socio-political landscape of Washington, D.C. Stone’s complex relationship with Donna Stackelbaum, a lawyer with ties to the nuclear power industry, adds personal stakes to his professional quest. The story is interspersed with Stone’s musings on his career ambitions and personal life, reflecting his disillusionment with the system he navigates.”

People familiar with AI will notice such bot-favored phrases as “murky waters,” “web of corruption,” “richly textured” and “labyrinth of deceit.” Still, the results are probably better than most humans could achieve.

ChatCPT 4o grades Manuscript.com

Just for fun, I plugged ManuscriptReport.com’s full synopsis of Scandals into ChatGPT 4o and asked it to evaluate the document for use by editors. The score was 8 out of 10; ChatGPT especially liked the synopsis’s details on “the book’s literary merit and market potential.”

For movie and TV people on the prowl for books to adapt, the synopsis itself rated 7. ChatGPT wanted the synopsis to focus more on such cinematic requirements as strong “virtual and dramatic elements.”

The synopsis was deemed too long for book sales people and received a score of 7. For booksellers, the document rated 8: “The detailed description of the setting, plot, and characters helps booksellers position the book to the right customers, especially those in political thrillers and journalistic narratives.”

Overall effectiveness came in at 8, according to ChatGPT.

Was the synopsis absolutely on the mark about my book? Remember, a mere bot was speaking. Highly subjective! But the AI deftly zeroed in on the criteria that I, as author of Scandals, considered important.

The bot and I disagreed a bit on genre. The service played down Scandals as a historical novel (10 percent). I’d give it 10 or 15 percent more in that category. Scandals is a roman à clef set in the 1970s and inspired by my experiences as a reporter, even though it’s far from an actual memoir.

I was pleased to see Scandals assessed as 30 percent satire. The service rated my book as 20 percent mystery and 40 percent political thriller.

Yes, many publishing houses favor titles focused on fans of specific genres. But I wrote the book I wanted to read, and who knows—Scandals may yet find its audience of like-minded people.

The service’s target markets: Please focus again on manuscript evaluation

In fairness to ManuscriptReport.com, developer Florin Bulgarov is now talking up the product more for publicists, marketers and others than for editors. Publishers and writers have balked at the idea of quantifying assessments; what if writer X gets a score a point below writer Y? Oh, the horror!

Here’s my rebuttal. Smart publishers and writers should understand that bots are just a rough and highly fallible gauge of commercial and literary merit. Fret not over decimal points.

Yes, I would hate for bots to preside over slush piles. Instead I think of ManuscriptReport.com as just another voice, not the be-all and end-all.

But let’s face it. So often publishers and literary agents fail to identify the most promising manuscripts, as these pros would be the first to admit. Many large houses automatically reject unsolicited works, but what about those evaluated by agents and smaller publishers? The classic method is to read the first pages and perhaps the first chapters of a manuscript. But what if the material isn’t representative of the rest? And how about issues such as the structure of a book as a whole?

Even with the flaws and the current focus on marketing more than editorial evaluation and development, ManuscriptReport.com could be a godsend for writers, not just editors. In many ways it’s the book equivalent of the Greenlight Coverage, a service for scriptwriters and those who buy scripts.

Greenlight costs $55 for a writer with one or two projects a month, and rates go up from there. ManuscriptReport.com’s current prices are more reasonable and I hope that the site either will keep them the same or limit the size of increases.

Of course, rather than using either ManuscriptReport.com or Greenlight, you could run your material through ChatGPT or another service yourself. However, ManuscriptReport.com will be so much simpler for many.

A great value despite the AI-ish flaws

Top professional publicists and marketers could be wonderful for writers and others who can afford deluxe services. But if you’re cash-strapped and want good a value, ManuscriptReport.com is a useful starting point to help understand your manuscript and market, just so you keep in mind the limits of today’s AI.

I expect it to get much better in this application and countless others. Already Florin Bulgarov is talking about the use of prompt engineering so his bot’s prose is more humanlike.

That said, bots can go only so far as marketing and publicity tools.

Will the day ever come when ChatGPT can single-handedly get you on the Today Show?

Related:

—Build your own chatbot to promote your book: Lessons from my ScandalsBot

—Solomon Scandals Chatbot: Ask it anything. You can reach it directly at ScandalsBot.com.

Image credit: Manuscript Report.