Author Help

The Author's Guild has expanded it's "Human Authored" certification program. It is now open to any author whose books are published in the US.
https://authorsguild.org/news/human-authored-certification-expands-to-all-authors/

KU vs. Wide: What the Data Actually Says - Written Word Media This episode is about understanding how your backlist creates sustainable book sales even if your first book didn't take off.

Written Word Media has data about being Amazon-exclusive vs wide (podcast with transcript).
https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/ku-vs-wide-what-the-data-actually-says/

Not Simon & Schuster: Deconstructing an Impersonation Scam - Writer Beware For writers chasing a traditional publishing contract, an email from Big 5 publisher Simon & Schuster inviting submission might seem like a dream come true. Just one problem: major publishers like S&S, which acquire mainly via reputable literary agents and expect manuscripts to come to them rather than the other way around, don’t email randomRead More

Victoria Strauss deconstructs an impersonation scam to show how to spot them.
https://writerbeware.blog/2026/02/28/not-simon-schuster-deconstructing-an-impersonation-scam/

How to Create the Perfect Cover for Your Mystery Novel – Elizabeth Spann Craig This post outlines 4 steps to design a mystery book cover that attracts readers in a post by Juliet Allarton for Reedsy

How to create a suitable cover for a mystery novel.
https://elizabethspanncraig.com/uncategorized/how-to-create-the-perfect-cover-for-your-mystery-novel/

Embrace Quirky: 5 Benefits of Using Animal Point-of-View Characters | Jane Friedman By observing our own species through the eyes of another, something new just might be revealed to us.

How animal characters can help a story.
https://janefriedman.com/embrace-quirky-5-benefits-of-using-animal-point-of-view-characters/

How Readers Actually Search for Books (And Why Authors Sometimes Miss the Mark) Discover the surprising gap between how authors think readers find books and the real search behaviors that drive book discovery.

How to create keywords that help readers find your book.
https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/how-readers-actually-search-for-books-and-why-authors-get-it-wrong

Do BookBub Ads Work? Tips from Successful Advertisers Do BookBub Ads work? Yes — when you know how to troubleshoot and fix your campaigns. Learn how from 12 successful advertisers!

Tips on using BookBub ads.
https://insights.bookbub.com/do-bookbub-ads-work-tips-successful-advertisers/

AI generated book steals title of Cleveland based movie bringing up copyright concerns The creators of Lost and Found in Cleveland, a 2024 film starring Mark Wahlberg and Loretta Devine are raising copyright concerns.

Amazon took down an AI-generated book that had the same title as a film.
https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/02/25/ai-generated-book-steals-title-cleveland-based-movie-bringing-up-copyright-concerns/

Creating Buzz Through Author Readings - SFWA - The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association by Brenda W. Clough. Here's how to choose, prepare, and deliver engaging author readings. From selecting the right excerpt to mastering timing, presentation, and audience connection, learn how to make every live or online event memorable.

How to use author readings to create buzz.
https://www.sfwa.org/2026/02/24/creating-buzz-through-author-readings/

Authors, illustrators push for copyright owner class in case against Google AI Google insists it doesn't need individual permission to use content uploaded onto its engines and that litigating a class action would be overbroad.

Authors and illustrators are requesting class status in a case against Google's AI.
https://www.courthousenews.com/authors-illustrators-push-for-copyright-owner-class-in-case-against-google-ai/

The Reedsy literary prize is now accepting short story (2,000 to 5,000 word) submissions. The top prize is $1,500.
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/reedsy-literary-prize/

New Writers, Are you Making These 4 mistakes? New writers all tend to make the same mistakes. I sure did. Here are 4 mistakes to avoid if you want to keep writing.

Four mistakes to avoid when you're starting out as an author.
https://annerallen.com/2026/02/new-writers-are-you-making-any-of-these-4-mistakes/

Rounding Out Flat Characters – Elizabeth Spann Craig Learn how to identify flat characters and transform them into compelling, three-dimensional supporting players that enhance your story.

How to round out two-dimensional characters.
https://elizabethspanncraig.com/writing-tips-2/rounding-out-flat-characters/

Backlist Strategy for Author Sales: How to Sell More Books Beyond Your First Title - Written Word Media Backlist Strategy for Author Sales: How to Sell More Books Beyond Your First Title Your first book isn’t the finish line. Learn how to sell more books, grow author sales, and use backlist strategy and series math to build lasting income.

Why you should work on creating a backlist, and how to make it work for you.
https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/backlist-author-sales-how-to-sell-more-books/

What’s Working for Indie Authors on BookBub (with Examples!) What are BookBub readers looking for? See trending tropes and themes across romance, thriller, fantasy, and more genres with real examples.

A breakdown of what is currently doing well on BookBub.
https://insights.bookbub.com/whats-working-indie-authors-bookbub-examples/

What Is a Memoir’s Essential Question and Why Do You Need One? | Jane Friedman The first question is often some version of “What happened to me?” Understanding it helps craft a story that speaks to your readers’ needs.

What an essential question is, and why every memoir should have one.
https://janefriedman.com/finding-your-memoirs-essential-question/

Jessica Cage on Writing Urban Fantasy with Magic, Chaos, and Mature Heroines Bestselling author Jessica Cage shares her approach to writing diverse urban fantasy romance and balancing humor with emotional depth in fiction.

Jessica Cage on writing urban fantasy with magic, chaos, and mature heroines.
https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/jessica-cage-on-writing-urban-fantasy-with-magic-chaos-and-mature-heroines

Phillips UK Fediverse Server - GoToSocial Private fediverse server.

How to build your https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/author brand.
https://amarketingexpert.com/2026/02/17/the-ultimate-guide-to-building-your-author-brand-online/

Reedsy are launching a short story competition, with a first prize of $1,500.
https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/reedsy-literary-prize/

Genre-Specific Bookstores: How Indie Authors Can Reach Ready-Made Readers Discover how authors can leverage genre-specific bookstores to reach passionate readers, host events, and boost book sales in their niche.

How and why you should market to genre-specific book shops.
https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/genre-specific-bookstores-how-indie-authors-can-reach-ready-made-readers

Phillips UK Fediverse Server - GoToSocial Private fediverse server.

How objects in museums can spark inspiration for https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/fantasy and https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/scifi authors.
https://www.sfwa.org/2026/02/10/artifacts-of-alt-history-mining-museum-objects-for-sff-inspiration/

AI-Generated Text and the Detection Arms Race - Schneier on Security In 2023, the science fiction literary magazine Clarkesworld stopped accepting new submissions because so many were generated by artificial intelligence. Near as the editors could tell, many submitters pasted the magazine’s detailed story guidelines into an AI and sent in the results. And they weren’t alone. Other fiction magazines have also reported a high number of AI-generated submissions. This is only one example of a ubiquitous trend. A legacy system relied on the difficulty of writing and cognition to limit volume. Generative AI overwhelms the system because the humans on the receiving end can’t keep up...

Bruce Schneier on the arms race between AI text generators and detectors.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/02/the-ai-generated-text-arms-race.html

Give Your Bad Guy the Best "Why" – Elizabeth Spann Craig Create compelling villains by developing their motivations and backstory with these tips from mystery writer Shannon Symonds.

Your villain should have a reason why they've become a villain.
https://elizabethspanncraig.com/mystery-writing-tips/give-your-bad-guy-the-best-why/

The Big Mistake That Keeps Writers From Finishing a Novel | Jane Friedman One writer explains why you shouldn’t necessarily get feedback on your first draft—and what you should do instead.

If you're struggling to finish your book, make sure you're not making this mistake.
https://janefriedman.com/the-big-mistake-that-keeps-writers-from-finishing-a-novel/

Phillips UK Fediverse Server - GoToSocial Private fediverse server.

https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/bookbub has a https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/copyright primer for https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/authors .
https://insights.bookbub.com/copyright-for-authors-5-essential-things-you-should-know/

The Problem with Collecting CCB Damages Benjamin Bronner was one of the first to file a claim with the Copyright Claims Board. However, nearly four years later, he’s struggling to collect his damages.

The Copyright Claims Board (CCB) makes filing a copyright violation claim easier, but recovering the damages awarded can be difficult.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2026/02/02/the-problem-with-collecting-ccb-damages/

https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/sfwa have an interesting interview with a cover designer.
https://www.sfwa.org/2026/02/03/crafting-a-cover-an-interview-with-sff-illustrator-and-designer-jeff-brown/

Why KDP Marketing Fails (and How to Build Your Audience) You’ve done the hard work. You’ve prepared and uploaded your book to KDP. You’ve seen your book go live and then… Crickets. There’s no avalanche of sales. No magical algorithm fairy coming down to bless your rank in the search results. It’s just you and your lonely Amazon page. Sure, you may get a few […]

Why KDP marketing fails, and how to build an audience.
https://blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-promote-your-book/book-promotion/why-kdp-marketing-fails-and-how-to-build-your-audience

15 Ways to Sell Preorder Books You Need to See Discover 15 creative book preorder incentives and marketing strategies from successful authors, from reader magnets to targeted ads.

How to sell pre-orders.
https://insights.bookbub.com/ways-to-sell-preorder-books/

Bookshop.org and Draft2Digital Partner, Enabling Independent Bookstores to Profit from Self-Published Ebooks - Draft2Digital | Blog Bookshop.org, the online platform championing independent bookstores, announced a new partnership with Draft2Digital!

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/bookshop-org-and-draft2digital-partner-enabling-independent-bookstores-to-profit-from-self-published-ebooks/ [2/2]