Spread your marmalade, pour your tea and find the latest Authortunities at authortunities.substack.com. Sorry, not sorry for the cheeky (or maybe cheesy) introduction. This week there are nearly 100 author opportunities to get your name seen, plus all my love. 🧡 Here’s a brief recap:
Amazon Opens AI Voiced Audiobooks Beta
The biggest news for me this week was Amazon’s announcement of “an invitation-only U.S. beta” so KDP authors can create audiobooks with just a few clicks “using virtual voice narration, a synthetic speech technology.” This is a game changer as many artists haven’t been able to join the lucrative audiobook market because audio production is time consuming and costly. More on this, including how to sign up for beat, in this week’s Authortunities.
Last week I asked readers how they felt about AI and most take a wait and see approach. I think it’s too early to say if AI is going to run rampant and destroy us all… but it’s always good to be aware of the responsibility we have for our creations. Nobody wants to be a Dr. Victor von Frankenstein, right?
This week’s poll asks what readers think of literary contests that charge a fee? Is that okay with you, or something you avoid? Go tell me what you think in this week’s Authortunities.
Sherlock Holmes and The Arcana of Madness: A Horror Mystery from Crystal Lake Entertainment just released! Featuring a story from myself, and Sherlock aficionados Naching T. Kassa and John Linwood Grant, it’s three adjacent tales involving Holmes, Watson and “the mystical allure of tarot cards, designed by the renowned, yet infamous artist, Richard Dadd.” On Amazon 🔗https://amzn.to/40lc9n7
As always, there is a free issue of Space and Time magazine! This week’s issue is #14 from February 1972 and will be free from Sunday, November 5, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT to Thursday, November 9, 2023, 11:59 PM PST. Get yours at 🔗https://amzn.to/3u0x16S
Have you had work published in Space and Time at anytime? I’d love to share what you’re doing now. Send me a message at authortunities@substack.com.
Message from a Reader
By Laura Kester Duerrwaechter:
As an author, you can lead by example. You can connect at a level which is comfortable for you. I traveled to my high school (class of ’74) and donated my books to the school library. They were thrilled! Exposure to literature does not have to be limited to or focused toward the classics and/or well-known authors. Your unique observation of the world will broaden the mind of a young person exposed to your writing. Now that I’m back, I have just ordered blank journals and will gift them to the high school. The school district received monies for grants to build Wellness rooms in several of the schools. My high school was selected as one of the recipients of the grant. In this safe space, students can recharge and know that the chaos they are tethered to, through their social media accounts, does not define their potential in the world.
Do what you can to inspire, mentor and support those that are growing up behind you. It’s an opportunity to change the world.
Thank you for writing in, Laura!