R. S. Breed Founder

Books by R. S. Breed

Posts

• Imposter syndrome doesn't seem to care how many books you've finished

  Writing & Publishing · 8 months ago

  Most writers describe some version of this, and it doesn't seem to care what stage you're at. First draft: who am I to write a novel. First release: people are going to find out. Good review: they're just being kind. Tenth release: the last...

• Radish has closed, plus a reminder on the new Smashwords and IngramSpark rates

  Industry News · 9 months ago

  Radish, the serial fiction app, shut down on 31 December. Good e-Reader had the details ahead of the closure: https://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/radish-fiction-is-shutting-down-soon-in-december If you had work there, now is the...

• KDP Print, IngramSpark or both for 2026?

  Writing & Publishing · 9 months ago

  Both print options have shifted this year, so it's a good time to redo the numbers before the new ones kick in. KDP Print moved first. In June, the print royalty rate on books priced under US$9.99 dropped from 60% to 50%. If you have a slim...

• Where do you actually find your next book?

  Readers' Corner · 9 months ago

  Summer holidays are close (for those of us south of the equator, anyway), which means a lot of people are about to go hunting for something to read. So, readers: where do you actually find books now? Not where you feel you should, where you...

• Kindle's Ask This Book feature, and the opt-out that isn't there

  Industry News · 9 months ago

  Kindle has added an AI feature called Ask This Book on iOS. Readers can ask questions about the book they're reading and get AI-generated answers. There's no way for authors to opt out, and the Authors Guild has objected. Writer Beware has...

• What the 2025 indie author income survey actually says

  Writing & Publishing · 9 months ago

  Written Word Media's 2025 indie author survey is out, and two numbers from it are already doing the rounds without the context. https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2025-indie-author-survey-results-insights-into-self-publishing-for-authors/ 1,3...

• Smashwords store royalties change from 1 January

  Industry News · 9 months ago

  Jane Friedman reports that the Smashwords store is changing its royalty rates from 1 January. Books priced at $2.99 and up will earn 75%. Anything below $2.99 will earn 40%. https://www.janefriedman.com/smashwords-store-adjusts-royalty-rate...

• That flattering book marketing email is probably a bot

  Scam Alerts · 10 months ago

  Writer Beware wrote in October about bot-driven "book marketing" campaigns. If you've got a book out, there's a fair chance one has already found you. https://writerbeware.blog/2025/10/20/army-of-bots-deeper-into-the-vortex-of-nigerian-mark...

• KU or wide, and how I'd decide

  Writing & Publishing · 10 months ago

  This one comes up constantly and the answers tend to be tribal. Here's how I'd think it through instead. Kindle Unlimited means making your ebook exclusive to Amazon as far as stores go. In return, subscribers can read it without buying it,...

• Do you DNF, and how far in?

  Readers' Corner · 10 months ago

  For the readers: do you finish every book you start? Some people push through to the end no matter what, almost as a point of principle. Others give a book fifty pages, or a chapter, or just the sample. I'd like to know where people land, a...

• Settlement opt-out pitches and fake famous authors

  Scam Alerts · 10 months ago

  Two things Writer Beware has flagged this month, both feeding off the news. **Anthropic settlement "opt-outs".** Writer Beware reports speculators pushing authors to opt out of the Anthropic settlement. Whether to stay in or opt out of a cl...

• A pre-publish checklist you can steal

  Writing & Publishing · 10 months ago

  Things to check before you hit publish, in no particular order. Not exhaustive, so add whatever I've missed. - Order a printed proof of the paperback and read it with a pen. Screens are bad at showing you margins, gutters and stray short li...

• Amazon's Kindle Translate beta offers free AI translation

  Industry News · 10 months ago

  Amazon has announced Kindle Translate, a beta, open to selected KDP authors for now, that uses AI to translate ebooks at no cost to the author. At launch it covers English to Spanish, Spanish to English, and German to English, and the trans...

• Confused about the Anthropic settlement? Start with this

  Industry News · 11 months ago

  If you've seen posts about the Anthropic settlement and can't work out whether it has anything to do with you, Writer Beware has put up an explainer written for authors rather than lawyers. It went up on 31 October: https://writerbeware.blo...

• Authors' class action against OpenAI gets past the motion to dismiss

  Industry News · 11 months ago

  Publishers Weekly reports that Judge Sidney Stein in New York has denied OpenAI's motion to dismiss the authors' claims that ChatGPT's output infringes their copyrights, so those claims go ahead. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic...

• The ISBN mistakes that keep coming up

  Writing & Publishing · 11 months ago

  ISBNs are boring right up until one causes a problem, and then it's often a problem you can't easily undo. These are the ones that come up most. **One ISBN for everything.** Each format needs its own. Paperback, hardcover and ebook are thre...

• Readers, what makes you try an author you've never heard of?

  Readers' Corner · 11 months ago

  What authors assume about this and what readers actually say rarely line up, so it seems worth asking directly. When you take a chance on someone you've never read, what got you there? The cover? A friend's recommendation? The sample? A pri...

• Why so many authors stop waiting for a publisher

  Writing & Publishing · 11 months ago

  Self-publishing used to be the thing you did once the rejections ran out. For a lot of authors now it's the first choice, and when you ask them why, the reasons are mostly unglamorous. The first is the waiting. The traditional route is slow...

• Baker & Taylor is winding down

  Industry News · 11 months ago

  Publishers Weekly is reporting that Baker & Taylor, the library wholesaler, is preparing to shut down. Staff were told at a town hall on 6 October. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/98777-bake...

• Is this email a scam? Post it here

  Scam Alerts · 1 year ago

  If you've had an email, DM or phone call about your book and something feels off, post it in this thread. Chances are someone here has seen the same script. **Before you paste anything, redact your own details.** Your name (and pen name, if...