About this episode

This episode discusses the evolving landscape of publishing for indie authors, the impact of AI in the book industry, and highlights from the American Library Association conference.

The difficulty in life is the choice. And every choice is a crossroads. This week’s Working Writer roundup covers three stories that land on the same square, plus an announcement I’ve been sitting on. 1. Simon & Schuster relaunched Pocket Books as a home for indie and hybrid authors. One of the oldest names in American paperback publishing, rebuilt around signing successful self-published writers to print deals. Their own words: “a home for forward-thinking writers, including bestselling indie and hybrid authors looking to amplify their reach.” Translation: New York is no longer asking who has a manuscript. It’s asking who has readers. The room you build around your work isn’t the consolation prize anymore. It’s the asset. 2. The industry is counting its robots. BISG and BookNet Canada opened their 2026 “AI in the Book Industry” survey (through July 17). Last year’s round found about half the industry using AI, almost entirely in the plumbing: admin, marketing, data. Not the voice. I talk about where Crossroads stands: machines in the machinery, humans in the writing, audiobooks narrated by human beings. The flood of machine-made content drowns the generic. It can’t drown a voice…

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