18 10, 2025

Book Trailer for ‘Portia & Otto’

By |2025-10-18T14:42:38-07:00October 18, 2025|Author Platform, BAIPA News, Book Trailer|Comments Off on Book Trailer for ‘Portia & Otto’

By Steve Rustad PORTIA & OTTO: LOVE AND RESTORATION IN THREE PARTS is a heartwarming tale about renewal and second chances. The story follows Portia, a once-glorious car, from her early days of speed and excitement to her eventual neglect and near destruction. As she faces the grim fate of being scrapped, Otto — a mechanic with a passion for restoration — rescues her and brings her back to life. Otto restores Portia to her former splendor, proving that love, dedication, and patience can breathe new life into something thought to be lost. Along the way, Otto finds his purpose, opening a shop to restore vintage cars and creating a community around his passion. The story celebrates perseverance, restoration, and the joy of finding a kindred spirit in an unexpected place. Available on Amazon. 

18 10, 2025

The Mistake That Cost Authors Their Share of $1.5 Billion (Anthropic AI Settlement)

By |2025-10-18T13:21:56-07:00October 18, 2025|AI, Copyright, Legal Issues|Comments Off on The Mistake That Cost Authors Their Share of $1.5 Billion (Anthropic AI Settlement)

Here's a report from Kindlepreneur's Dave Chesson about the recent $1.5 billion settlement with authors whose book the company scraped to build its AI model. Thanks to Chris Santilli Johnson for forwarding it to us. — Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model, scraped hundreds of thousands of books from pirate sites. When the case went to court, the judge ruled that using pirated books isn’t fair use. The result? About 465,000 books were identified as part of the case, and the rights holders of those books are now eligible for payments of around $3k per title. But here’s what most people missed: Not every impacted author gets a check. Only those with registered copyrights are eligible. That means thousands of writers (even some whose books were copied by Anthropic) receive nothing. You can check the official settlement website to see if your book is listed (and file a claim if it is) by clicking [...]

18 10, 2025

Indexing 101- October 20 on Zoom

By |2025-10-18T12:13:49-07:00October 18, 2025|Indexing|Comments Off on Indexing 101- October 20 on Zoom

  Indexing 101 with Elizabeth Bartmess and Michele Combs MONDAY! October 20 at noon (PT) on Zoom REGISTER Nobody can deny that indexes bring essential value to nonfiction works. An index is a book’s detailed “roadmap,” allowing the reader to locate specific information and transforming the book from a linear narrative into a functional, searchable reference whose content can be quickly retrieved and deeply explored. Achieving this goal requires the skill of a professional indexer. Rather than just plucking terms from a document, an indexer reads the entire book, analyzes and extracts substantive terms and concepts, chooses appropriate phrasing, and adds cross-references to help the reader effectively navigate the index. Indexing is both a craft that uses specific tools and an intuitive art that involves understanding, conceptualizing, and organizing access to a book in a way that’s true to the nature of the book. It anticipates where readers will look for information. Whether [...]

17 10, 2025

Anthropic Piracy Lawsuit: Status Update

By |2025-10-17T11:40:36-07:00October 17, 2025|AI|Comments Off on Anthropic Piracy Lawsuit: Status Update

  Anthropic Official Website In the BARTZ v. ANTHROPIC lawsuit, the company is accused of piracy by acquiring 500,000 author's books through library resources and using them to train A.I.  Anthropic and the claimants entered into a $1.5 billion settlement agreement on September 25, 2025 . The official website is posted above to search for your book(s) by author, title, ISBN, and publisher. If you find any of your works on the site, you can submit a claim form online. Claimants can qualify for up to $3,000 per title to be shared with the rights holders of the work or the publisher. If you do not want to file a claim online, authors involved in the settlement will receive an official notice in the mail on or around November 24, 2025. You can file the claim in paper form in accordance with the accompanying instructions you will receive in the mail. You [...]

11 10, 2025

Book Trailer by Stephen Rustad

By |2025-11-02T09:50:13-08:00October 11, 2025|Author Platform, Book Promotion, Book Trailers|2 Comments

https://youtu.be/37KxQaa_BQo?si=uyji2DRgwI1sM46M The year 2026 will be the 80th anniversary of Operation CROSSROADS, the first postwar tests of the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. My late hubby, Bill, was one of the 42,000 participants at Crossroads. In 2016 we published his eyewitness account for the 70th anniversary. I thought a refresh of the book was in order for the 80th anniversary. I did a light edit, being careful not to change more than 20% of the interior in order to call it a second printing with the same ISBN. And I got my marketing ducks in order for what I'm headlining "Countdown to Crosssroads" -- a month-by-month first person account from January to August 1946, and what came after. And I wanted a book trailer. Enter Steve Rustad, a fellow BAIPA Board Member with some pretty impressive credits from his "mad man" career in advertising. I supplied [...]

1 10, 2025

Five Easy Steps to Update Your BAIPA Profile

By |2025-10-01T10:27:05-07:00October 1, 2025|BAIPA News, website|Comments Off on Five Easy Steps to Update Your BAIPA Profile

To Complete Your BAIPA Profiles Did you know that only about one-third of BAIPA members have uploaded their author headshot and finished their profiles? If you haven’t yet, it’s quicker and easier than you might think. Why Are Your Profiles Important? You’ll look more professional, connect more easily with other members, and make the most of your BAIPA membership. And some members just need to upload their headshot. Below are those instructions. If you want to update any other part of your profile (your Public Profile), you can do that at the same time. Every member has two profiles— Forum Account (visible to members only) Member Directory (visible to the public and members) Five Easy Steps Log in to BAIPA.org. Start with your Forum Member Profile:  Go to Member Portal Under Forum Account, click “View/Edit My Profile” Click “Profile Photo” to upload or change your author headshot Click “View” or [...]

27 09, 2025

How to Post Your Published Book(s) on the BAIPA ‘Bookshelf’

By |2025-09-27T19:29:56-07:00September 27, 2025|Author Platform, BAIPA News, Book Promotion, independent bookstores, IngramSpark, Spotlight on BAIPA Members|Comments Off on How to Post Your Published Book(s) on the BAIPA ‘Bookshelf’

by John Byrne Barry   We now have 22 books published by BAIPA members on our BAIPA Bookshelf, but that's only a fraction of what it could be. My guess is that if we included all of the books published by all BAIPA members, the bookshelf would include hundreds of books. We would love to be able to showcase all our authors and all our books. If you would like your book(s) to be included, it's easy. It is self-service. You have to fill out a short form and upload your book cover. Go to baipa.org/baipa-author-book-submission/ or fill out the form below. (Your book won't go live immediately. One of the webmasters has to approve it before it appears on the bookshelf.)

27 09, 2025

‘Sausalito Houseboat Wars: What Really Happened?’ — Great Valley Bookfest, Manteca, October 11

By |2025-09-27T19:25:01-07:00September 27, 2025|Author Platform, BAIPA News, Book Events, Book Signings, Public Speaking|Comments Off on ‘Sausalito Houseboat Wars: What Really Happened?’ — Great Valley Bookfest, Manteca, October 11

by John Byrne Barry   There are likely to be few BAIPA members who live in or around Manteca, but just in case: I'll be giving an author talk at the Great Valley Bookfest on October 11, 2 pm at the Writer's Nook. The Great Valley Bookfest, at the Bass Pro Center at Orchard Valley, right off Highway 120, is free and includes author readings, cookbook authors demonstrating their recipes, and plenty of author and arts and craft booths. I was a featured author seven years ago and they invited me back again this year. I'll be promoting my most recent novel, Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery, a colorful retelling of true events in the late 1970s in Sausalito. My author talk is about the history the novel is based on. I'll be sharing slides of photographs and videos from back then, as well as reading accounts from houseboat [...]

27 09, 2025

Copyright vs. Trademark (What’s the Difference?)

By |2025-09-27T14:27:00-07:00September 27, 2025|Copyright, Legal Issues|Comments Off on Copyright vs. Trademark (What’s the Difference?)

by Kelley Way There is a lot of confusion when it comes to copyrights vs. trademarks. I’ll have prospects say they want a trademark when they actually mean a copyright. Or they want a copyright, and it becomes clear they are talking about a trademark. Let me explain the difference between copyright vs. trademark and when they apply. Copyright protects creative expression. Artwork, books, movies, and music are all examples of things that are covered under copyright law. The purpose of copyright is to encourage people to create and to make sure people profit from their creations. If you want to protect your work and make sure no one sells unauthorized copies or spinoffs, you want a copyright. (Note: it’s important to remember that copyright only protects the expression, it does not protect facts or ideas. Two people can both write biographies about the same person without infringing on each other, [...]

27 09, 2025

‘The Long Red Hair,’ a New Book by Nancy Martin

By |2025-09-27T14:19:28-07:00September 27, 2025|Author Platform, Book Promotion|Comments Off on ‘The Long Red Hair,’ a New Book by Nancy Martin

by Nancy Martin I’ve recently published a new book, The Long Red Hair and Other Short Stories. Writers are always reminded to listen and take note of conversations that they might hear in a cafe or on a bus. I've found this to be excellent advice for mining info for future stories. I slightly fictionalized two of this book's stories gathered in that manner, adapting true stories unwitting storytellers shared with me. Each time I heard those stories, I raced home to write them down. Other stories are flash fiction, which I enjoy writing, others are memoir pieces, and I added a couple of essays for good measure. I am indebted to the many good folks taking part in various writing groups who have included me over many years. We shared our work, listened to others' writing, and offered writing prompt suggestions; some of the fiction stories here originate from these [...]

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