Bookish Issues Following Us Into 2025
2024's Been a Year for Indie Readers and Authors
TL;DR:
From TikTok’s uncertain future to book convention disasters, 2024 offered up a lot of stuff I’m keeping top of my mind in the book world as we go into 2025. Here’s a list of my thoughts and some attempts at being constructive in talking about them.
Social Media Platforms: Opportunities and Uncertainties
Twitter/X: A Double-Edged Sword
The Lowdown: Twitter/X remains a hub for genre discussions and spicy content, but its tolerance for right-wing extremism creates challenges for marginalized authors, artists, and readers.
Implications: While Twitter/X remains a place safe for spicy content, it is in the interest to seek out safer places like on Mastodon servers or Bluesky.
TikTok: #BookTok Offers Big Opportunity and Big Risks
The Lowdown: TikTok’s influence on book sales has been immense, even opening up retail options for indie authors. However, political and legal challenges put its availability in the U.S., a giant indie market, after January 2025 in question.
Implications: Both authors and readers relying on TikTok should be mentally prepared to diversify their platforms and look for alternative ways to engage.
Emerging Platforms: BlueSky and Mastodon
The Lowdown: Platforms like BlueSky and Mastodon are decentralized alternatives gaining traction, offering unique user experiences but smaller audiences.
Implications: Authors and readers can create tight-knit communities on these platforms, though growth may take time.
Check out some recommended accounts on Mastodon servers and Bluesky (apologies, the last one is somewhat older).
Industry-Specific Issues: Ethical and Logistical Challenges
Book Conventions: A Mixed Bag of Hype and Headaches
The Lowdown: Book conventions offer exciting opportunities for book community connection, but events like Readers Take Denver 2023 exposed serious issues that can occur, from stolen books to security concerns.
Implications: Authors and readers both should carefully vet conventions. Smaller or virtual events to avoid logistical chaos may be the way to go in some cases.
Project 2025 and Book Bans: The U.S. Is Just Getting Started
The Lowdown: Book bans targeting LGBTQ+ and diverse romance stories are on the rise in America. Project 2025 also has policy suggestions for the incoming Trump admin to block sexually explicit material. Apparently a queer couple just existing is “sexually explicit” in this document so one should assume the category is wide-reaching.
Implications: Readers should keep buying and supporting their favorite authors, regardless of genre, spice level, racial representation, or sexual representation. Make that revenue loss hurt if they take away our literary world.
Understand more about Project 2025 and its potential impact on books
Tech Tools and Market Dynamics: Innovations and Risks
Google Drive: A Risky Repository
The Lowdown: A locked account left a romance author in 2024 without access to their manuscripts, highlighting the dangers of relying solely on cloud services.
Implications: Authors should back up their work in multiple locations, and readers might experience delays if creators encounter tech issues.
AI-Generated Content: Giving Us All Trust Issues
The Lowdown: The market is seeing an influx of AI-generated books and book covers, often with questionable quality or coriginality. It often begs the question when someone doesn’t bother to put effort into something, why should others be bothered to consume it?
Implications: Readers should prioritize trusted authors and reviews, while creators must emphasize their authenticity to stand out. Authors should avoid AI generated content and book covers. At least in the American legal system, these are not generally copyrightable.
Amazon’s Dominance and Piracy Problems
The Lowdown: Kindle Unlimited exclusivity can penalize authors for piracy, while unpredictable algorithms affect visibility and income.
Implications: Readers can support authors by buying directly and leaving reviews, while authors should diversify distribution strategies.
Going Wide: Distribution Beyond Amazon
The Lowdown: More authors are choosing to distribute across platforms like Kobo and Apple Books instead of relying solely on Amazon.
Implications: Readers can support wide-distribution authors by exploring lesser-known retailers, and authors gain more control over their sales channels.
Here’s an author in the Monster Romance World whose killing the wide game (Which could be a pun given how much she plays with the size difference trope. I’m just saying.)
Housekeeping
For more information about this newsletter’s spice and star system, check out this newsletter’s About Me page.
Thanks so much for your newsletters throughtout 2024! 🫶🏼