About that AI, Review of Meranda and the Legend of the Lake, Consortium Book Distribution, & Rex Murphy
But soft! What Light Through Yonder Subtitle Breaks?
Being the 18th edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.
Where We’re At
At first Donovan Street Press Inc. was just a crazy idea. Then it became something I thought might be worth trying. Now it’s something we’re actually doing. Still wasn’t feeling quite real, though, for a while, never mind that it was in fact real: actually incorporated, a real company in the eyes of the law, doing taxes and the whole nine yards.
Now the team is growing. It started with one author: me. Then my father. Then we signed Mark A. Rayner, who also co-hosts our podcast, Re-Creative. We’ve now just signed a fourth author, whom we’ll be announcing shortly. (Yes, that’s right: whom. We’re a bit prissy with our grammar here at Donovan Street Press.) There are at least three other authors waiting in the wings.
Donovan Street Press has a business manager, Jenn DeLagran. My daughters Keira and Erin have stepped up as illustrators. We utilise the services of Avery Olive of Bibliofic Designs for book designs, and have used others, such as Éric Desmarais, in the past. We work with superb editors such as Arleane Ralph and Robert Runte. We also employ a trusty AI sidekick from Taskade, Rupert. (We specialize in science fiction: of course there’s going to be robot types on staff. No taking jobs from real people, though, especially artists. More on Rupert later.)
And, as mentioned, we have a podcast, Re-Creative, over forty episodes strong, with more on the way shortly.
We’re getting there. Where? Exact destination to be determined. I hope you’ll join us for the ride.
About that AI…
As I mentioned above, I’ve been experimenting with an AI utility app called Taskade to help with the workflow of starting up a small indie press. Why? Cuz I’m crazy busy and there’s a lot to be done. There’s my own writing, marketing that’s gotta happen, editing upcoming books, podcasts to edit, lawns to fertilize, dogs to walk (wait, that’s real life creeping in), and so on. You get the idea.
Among the genres I write, and certainly the genre that Donovan Street Press will specialize in, is science fiction. So why not a science fiction-y solution? The book I’m writing now, Captain’s Away (almost done! I promise!) contains a subplot about what I call mechanical intelligence. And in this universe (which is the same universe that Barnabus J. Wildebear lives in, by the way, just a thousand years later) they don’t like mechanical intelligence much.
Kinda like here, now. There’s a real hate on for what we call AI, or artificial intelligence. It’s based on a few things. It’s based on fear (AI will kill us all!) (AI will take all our jobs!).
I understand this fear. Hey, AI MIGHT kill us all! And as for AI taking our jobs, that’s not even a might. AI WILL take some of our jobs. It’s already happening.
The distaste is also based on the fact that, increasingly, people are able to tell when something has been AI generated. Not always, but sometimes, it’s possible to identify AI imagery and AI generated text. It has a certain flavour. In a decade or two AI produced product might actually start to seem retro, and we’ll look back at it with a certain smarmy nostalgia, chuckling at our naive fears (either that or we’ll be enslaved by AI overlords; it’s basically one or the other).
And of course the bigger fear is that often we CAN’T tell when something’s been produced by AI, and it’s used to fool us, and it contributes to the destruction of democracy, and so on.
So there are a lot of reasons to be cautious about employing AI. But as with just about everything, it’s not all black and white.
The thing is, what we’re calling AI is not actually intelligent, not that way we understand intelligence. It’s not sentient (it can’t feel things) or sapient (wise) or conscious. (Mark Rayner and I talked to acclaimed science fiction writer David Brin on our podcast Re-Creative about this whole business. The episode is called Machines of Loving Grace and it’s worth a listen if you want to get into this more deeply.) The AI that we’re mostly talking about now, such as Chat GPT, is what is called “artificial narrow intelligence” that excels in a narrow or specific set of tasks. It can’t think, and it’s not going to take over the world (though it can and is changing the world).
Anyway, the point is, I write science fiction. Donovan Street Press publishes science fiction. As such, we can’t very well run screaming from emerging technology. We should be (carefully, cautiously, conscientiously) adopting it. Especially when we need help. So, any way that I can supercharge my workflow, I need to do.
Am I going to allow AI to write my fiction? No. Am I going to use AI generated art? Again, no. I don’t want to take work away from illustrators. Am I going to use AI to write my newsletters? No. That’s got to be in my own voice, written by me.
Will I use AI to summarize updates for my team? Sure. Will I use it to help generate ideas and content for social media? Definitely. Will I use it for research? Absolutely. Will I continue to explore how to use AI effectively in a socially responsible manner? Of course.
I will keep you posted on how all that goes.
Here’s an example of an AI at work. Rupert, my trusty AI assistant, wrote the following “Subscribe” button text. (I will have a word with Rupert on the subject of brevity):
More Marketing Shenanigans
So, I posted some content on Twitter or whatever they’re calling it these days. This after deleting my entire account in a huff a few months ago, so I’ve gone from 2000 + followers down to… 2?
Anyway, despite my current lack of followers, a marketer direct messaged me the following:
“Hi, We've been admiring your work and think it would be a great fit for a feature on our page. We believe our audience will resonate with your work. Will you be interested?”
Flattered, I said, Sure! I didn’t actually know it was a marketer at the time. I thought it was some writing group.
The marketer responded, “Here are our service packages blah blah blah…”
“Wait!” I said. “You want me to pay? Ha ha! Nice try.”
When they responded defensively, I told them, “You misrepresented yourself. I thought you were offering something mutually beneficial. I provide you content, you provide me exposure. I misunderstood or didn't sufficiently research you. No hard feelings. Good luck. :-)”
They replied:
“We provide you exposure. We have an audience of 104k followers who loves books, poetry, short stories etc it can be every beneficial for you. (And so on…)
“Here's the thing,” I responded (which was a complete waste of time, I know). “I know this is your business model. But from where I sit there are too many people taking money from writers. It is way too easy for writers to spend way too much marketing their books, which is one of the reasons writers' incomes have dwindled so much. I just wish you'd been upfront about wanting money from me rather than disingenously flattering my content to get my attention. I replied in good faith anticipating some free exposure based on your (now clearly disingenuous) admiration. It's just disappointing.”
(That’s been edited slightly for brevity and typos.)
I got a thumbs up for my trouble.
Review: Meranda and the Legend of the Lake
One day I was reading the Toronto Star (I used to love to read the paper edition of the Toronto Star when I lived in Toronto; now I read the electronic edition) and I happened upon an article about fiction books about kids with disabilities. One of the characters in Captain’s Away has a disability, so I wanted a reference work to help me understand how to write that character. I resolved to purchase one of the books in the list.
The last name of one of the authors was Mahoney, so guess which one I bought? I thought, maybe she’s related to me. You never know.
And guess what. Turns out the author of Meranda and the Legend of the Lake IS in fact related to me. She’s my first cousin Doug Mahoney’s wife. I did not know this at the time because the last time I saw Doug was just over twenty-four years ago, when he visited my wife and I and our brand new baby twin girls at McMaster Hospital in Hamilton, where Doug was interning (I think… he was doing something there anyway, dressed in scrubs).
Fast forward a few years and his wife, Meagan, whom I still haven’t met, has her own successful medical career and she’s written her first novel. Which I just read and thoroughly enjoyed. So here’s the review, which is not biased by the fact that I know her cuz I don’t, and which may be slightly biased because her last name is now Mahoney and she’s related to me by marriage, and also biased because I’m sympathetic to all writers. Anyway, here goes:
Isn’t that a great cover? I love it. It’s by a fellow by the name of Matt James. (I don’t know him and I’m not related to him either… that I know of.) It really captures the flavour of the book. Which features an eleven-year old girl named Meranda with cerebral palsy who uses crutches to walk because her legs don’t work all that well. Meranda travels back to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia with her parents when her Great Uncle Mark dies. It’s her first time back since the age of three, and she wonders what took her parents so long to bring her home.
The book quickly gets into Nancy Drew mode as it becomes clear that mysteries abound. Her parents have not exactly told her the whole truth about her past, which involves… you guessed it… mermaids!
Now, I’m not an eleven-year old girl, nor have I ever been (at least not in this life), but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s expertly written (and edited, as Meagan makes clear in the acknowledgments. Always good form to thank your editors.)
The Owl Kids hardcover edition I purchased is very attractive with easy to read font, a pleasure to hold and read. Meagan Mahoney doesn’t take long at all piling up the questions that linger in Meranda’s head (and those of her readers). Both Meranda and me wondered, okay, what the heck is going on here? What are you parents and grandparents hiding?
Fortunately, the local townspeople and sailors were quick (but not too quick) to gradually (but not too gradually) fill in the blanks. I suspect the book is pitched perfectly for its intended audience though other age brackets (such as 59 year old guys) will also enjoy it. The ending wraps up all loose ends nicely with a bit of excitement and although any hard SF components of my personality might quibble a bit with the denouement, I suspect the pre-teen crowd will have no problem with it at all, and expect, no demand, that it play out as it does.
Available wherever fine books are found.
Book Distributor
Regular readers will know that I’ve been exploring book distributors the last few newsletters, the better to understand how that side of the business works. And we are actively seeking distribution. Before I start approaching distributors, though, I want to be able to compare them all. There aren’t that many, certainly not may that tailor to small outfits like ours, so I’ve been tackling them one by one.
Today we look at this company:
Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
The first thing you see when you visit their website is:
Where Independent Publishers Live
The first and most important thing to know about them is that they’re a part of Ingram Content Group. So that whole “independent” thing is misleading. This is not a little guy, and although they may try to look out for the little guy, they’re not likely to be able to do it the same way from the same perspective as some of the other actual indie distributors we’ve been looking at. It does mean that they can offer a lot to publishers who can play at this level.
They represent 125 “dynamic and daring independent publishers from across the globe.” They started business in 1985 in St. Paul (Minnesota, I guess). Their website boasts a bit about all the big prizes the books they’ve distributed have won. They list twenty staff on their team page with titles like Marketing Specialist, Sales Manager, couple of VPs, Ops and Metadata.
They promise “comprehensive sales representation, marketing development and support, robust data reporting, warehousing and inventory management.”
To work with these folks you need to commit to submitting 8 or more titles a year. You need to provide one or more samples of your books along with “an overview of your company and current distribution…(a) brief overview of your current or prospective publishing program including a list of frontlist and backlist titles, publication dates, and author and promotional information” and a current catalog.
They do claim to want to hear from new publishers as well as established ones.
Rex Murphy
Writer, broadcaster, political commentator, former host of CBC Radio’s Cross Country Check-up (and probably a whole lot more) Rex Murphy passed away this week at the age of 77.
I only met him a handful of times, and worked with him briefly twice. On each occasion he would introduce himself.
Once I said, “We’re actually met a few times before,’ and he apologetically explained that he crossed the paths of so many people that he couldn’t be counted on to remember them all. I understood completely and told him so; it hadn’t been my intention to embarrass him (not that he was) but simply to explain that we had in fact met before. Such was the nature of my work as an audio techncian or (later, slightly less so) recording engineer that I was usually about as memorable as a chair to anyone other than a regular host or producer.
I know that in recent years folk have decried Murphy’s apparent hard turn to the right. The fact that he apparently opposed climate change science is weird. I confess I haven’t read him in a long time. But when I was much younger, I greatly admired his wit and eloquence. He was right up there with Douglas Adams and Bill Bryson in my books. And one can’t deny his intellectual fearlessness.
On a personal level, the few times I found myself in his presence I found him unfailingly professional and polite, if a tad aloof.
My condolences to his friends and family.
Donovan Street Press Books (So Far!)
Adventures in the Radio Trade
"In dozens of amiable, frequently humorous vignettes... Mahoney fondly recalls his career as a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio technician in this memoir... amusing and highly informative." ~ Kirkus Reviews
A Time and a Place
“Entertaining, chaotic adventure.” ~ Publishers Weekly.
A note as well that the hardcover version of A Time and a Place now features the new cover, and is available at a much less expensive price than before.
Other Times and Places
“ …a lovely little collection of sci-fi and fantasy short stories, fun and well written.” ~ Charles P. Kelly
The Deer Yard and Other Stories
“Partly memoir, partly fiction, The Deer Yard is more than merely a good read …well-written, gentle stories, well worth reading.” ~ Ottawa Review of Books
Coming Soon
The Gates of Polished Horn by Mark A. Rayner. We are well into the editing process and the cover is being designed as I type.
And we’re excited to have just signed another author to the Donovan Street Press Inc.stable. More on that in the next edition of Assorted Nonsense!
Re-Creative: the Podcast
Our podcast Re-Creative (hosted by the author of this newsletter, Joe Mahoney, and author Mark A. Rayner) is currently on a brief hiatus, but will resume shortly.
Appearances
I’ll be at the Mother’s Day Market in Richibucto tomorrow Saturday May 11th from 9am until 2pm. It’s at the Imperial Kent North Centre 33 Rue Morgans, Richibucto. My sister Susan Rodgers will be there as well! And maybe even my Sheltie Wendy. Drop on by!
This has been the eighteenth edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.
I have to second your feelings about Rex. "Cross Country Checkup" got way less interesting as a show when he left. And his columns for "Definitely Not The Opera" were always...interesting...