Some writers are confused about the so-called "watermarks" that companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are adding to AI-generated text. There are two types of watermarks being used. One is metadata, which is in the file and can be easily stripped out (for example, by copying and pasting text from one file into a new file). The other "watermark" is the authorial voice or style of the generated text, which can be detected based on word choice, so that if you simply copy and paste (or even retype verbatim) the generated text, it can still be detected because the text hasn't changed. Re-writing AI-generated text in your own words and your own authorial voice can destroy this so-called "watermark." Here is Anthropic's explanation: How Claude marks AI-generated content For a technical explanation, read: A Watermark for Large Language Models

I have noticed something with authors: we spend so much time writing and polishing the book that when publication day gets close, we suddenly realize there’s a whole other side of the process we haven’t prepared for. The last 30 days shouldn’t be about scrambling. They should be about making sure everything is ready. I like to think about it this way: 30 days out: Get the foundation right. Final editing, proofreading, formatting, cover, title, and subtitle. 21 days out: Look at the book through your reader’s eyes. Does the cover communicate the genre? Does the description make the right reader curious enough to click? 14 days out: Get your marketing ready. Know who you're trying to reach and what you're going to say to them. 7 days out: Prepare your launch content, emails, social posts, review strategy, and everything else you’ll need. Last 48 hours: Check everything one more time metadata, pricing, categories, keywords, links, formatting, and retailer pages. But here's the part I think authors often overlook: Don't make your entire plan about launch day. Your book needs a strategy for the weeks and months after publication too. A successful author career isn't built from one launch. It's built by consistently getting your books in front of the right readers and giving them a reason to come back. Publishing the book is an achievement. Being prepared to help readers discover it is the next one. For those who've already published, what's one thing you wish you'd done differently in the 30 days before your first launch?

Last year, my books had only a small number of reviews and ratings on Goodreads, and I didn’t pay much attention to how much that might affect visibility. This year, I started experimenting more with Goodreads promotion, and I’ve noticed quite a difference in how my books are being discovered. I even created a reader account so I could look at Goodreads from a reader’s perspective instead of only looking at it as an author. One thing really stood out to me. When I finished looking at a book, Goodreads seemed to show me other books from authors whose books had a lot of reviews and ratings. That got me thinking about how much reader activity and engagement might influence which books get more visibility on the platform. I’m not saying I’ve figured out exactly how the Goodreads algorithm works, but after watching it for myself, I definitely see a connection between books with a lot of reader activity and the books that seem to get more exposure. It’s been an interesting experiment, and now I’m paying much closer attention to what happens when a book starts building more reviews and ratings.

Is anyone here a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, or planning to join, or has anyone considered becoming a member but decided against it?

Pardon my ignorance, but has anyone heard of the annual writer's conference at Cove Burgh Hall in Scotland? ... It may also be known as the Cove & Kilcreggan Book Festival. Out of the blue, I've been invited to participate.