The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Shooting the Shit About High Brow vs. Low Brow and Editors Who Hate Their Jobs
9 snips
Mar 16, 2026 They riff on industry gossip and announce a live Calgary recording. They unpack a viral Reddit confession from a weary editor and discuss why people are quitting publishing. They debate highbrow versus commercial fiction and whether awards or readership define success. They also touch on AI, London Book Fair buzz, and what really makes books sell.
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Copyright Only Covers Human Creation
- The US Supreme Court left intact a ruling that copyright protects only human-created art, reinforcing legal limits on claiming IP for pure AI-generated work.
- Carly and CeCe emphasize this as a major reason writers should avoid relying on AI for original creative work that they want protected.
Anonymous Editor's Confession Of Disillusionment
- A Reddit editor post went viral describing deep disillusionment: spending a decade in publishing and feeling they "have not published one book worth caring about."
- Carly reads the post aloud and both hosts react emotionally, calling it heartfelt and symptomatic of broader burnout.
Sales Are The Business Measure Of Success
- Bloomberg framed modern publishing success by sales and earnings, not prizes, using James Patterson as the example of scaling via collaborations and massive readership.
- CeCe argues sales equal readership and reach, and celebrates models that get more people reading.
