When one examines the evolution of human civilization, there are some key moments, like the invention of the wheel, the discovery of electricity, the invention of the printing press and the personal computer. The early books were expensive, but slowly, paper and ink began to be mass produced and printing became cheaper and easier. The availability of books ensured that knowledge was not just stored with a select few - information began to spread as did awareness. Several centuries later, the growth of the personal computer and the Internet created another knowledge revolution that made access to information easier. And today, we're at another point of inflection, led this time by Artificial Intelligence.
Let us look at how modern book publishing is being transformed by AI.
Predicting Demand Based on Patterns and Publishing Accordingly
You speak to any large publishing house and they will tell you that they prefer to publish ‘safe genres’ in fiction. Crime, romance, and horror sell. Self-help and non-fiction like travel and cooking has a select audience and unless it is an acclaimed author, taking a risk is a big NO. When Amazon launched its Kindle Direct Publishing services and gave birth to a whole set of vanity publishing companies globally, this changed the publishing model. Now, if you had some money, you could write anything that you wanted, get it published, and sell it globally.
The challenge for traditional publishing houses – both academic and non-academic publishing is to follow market trends, analyze available data, and commission and print books that the masses would love. This helps them cut down on costs and create a demand for book titles that they can meet with staggered publishing. Predictive analytics powered by AI plays a big role in helping publishers take such decisions.
Content Creation. Research, Editing, and Images
With every passing day, there’s yet another advanced AI tool for content creation or some new milestone that ChatGPT or Gemini has achieved. LLMs and GPT-powered tools are making the process of creating content easier. With a bunch of proofreading and grammar tools available, the editing process has become easier. Creating illustrations for books has become easier with DALL-E and MidJourney. The whole process of creating a book, from idea to execution, and publication has become much easier. Tools like - StyleWriter, ProWritingAid, and Hemingway have simplified writing and editing to a great extent.
Plagiarism Checkers
Dan Brown’s novels featuring Robert Langdon have been highly successful and also made into movies featuring Tom Hanks. But he had to appear in court multiple times as several authors filed cases against him for plagiarism. The court dismissed several cases but the amount of pressure that’s put on publishers and authors is huge. Kavya Vishwanathan’s novel - How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life came under extreme fire as her book had borrowed extensively from other works by Megan McCafferty. The book had been a success but the publisher was forced to recall the book after the plagiarism case and the suits filed by other authors and publishing houses. In such a scenario, it becomes increasingly important for publishing houses to ensure that the works that they publish are plagiarism-free. Enterprise-grade plagiarism checking software powered by AI is changing this scenario and helps publishers extensively. Copyscape remains a trusted plagiarism checking solution. Originality.ai and Grammarly’s plagiarism tools are also quite powerful.
Social Media Marketing of Books
Social media marketing of books is a crucial element to drive sales. Book clubs, book bloggers, YouTube videos by book reviewers, Instagram giveaways are all small but important parts of the larger project to increase the sale of books. Amazon reviews and GoodReads reviews make a major impact on book sales too. For content creators as well as publishers, using a variety of tools ranging from Canva to create posters, and CRM like HubSpot to send emailers, and post schedulers makes the job much easier for the marketing teams to get the job done. ChatGPT definitely helps extensively to come up with unique and different social media posts for book promotions.
STEM Publishing – Fact-Checking and Accuracy
Accuracy in academic content, especially in STEM publishing is of high importance. Getting something wrong damages the credibility of a publisher and forces mass recall of books. Hence using tools like PerfectIt, WordRake, SmartEdit, and Turnitin helps publishers ensure accuracy of content. The digital books revolution with interactive content happened a decade ago. Now the inclusion of augmented reality apps and QR codes to play videos on devices is making the whole learning experience even more engaging.
The Future is Bright
The future of book publishing looks bright. At S4Carlisle, we have been helping the world’s leading publishers get their books out on time with great quality. We now offer NINJA - an integrated suite of AI-powered tools that are designed specifically for the publishing and learning industry. From interactive content to accessible learning and adaptive learning paths, we ensure that all your publishing requirements are met with care and empathy. Write to us at sales@s4carlisle.com to learn more. Let’s make your next book a massive success together!
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