“AI and I … need to talk?”

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SillWill Land #34

As my journey as an Indie Author and Artist continues, it has become apparent the greatest challenge is keeping up with all the changes in the field. With AI, (Artificial Intelligence), in both writing and design/illustration, making distressing waves, it feels as though staking out a place of relevancy becomes more and more difficult. The current Movie and Television Writers’ Strike sets up these questions as even more immediate. It’s daunting enough to compete with other talented writers/artists but an algorithm? AI and I need to … talk?

Below kind of summarizes my feelings about technology. You just know there’s a plot unfolding somewhere. See if you can relate.

On one hand, technology is a tool to be used by an enterprising person. On the other, it can usurp the creative person by, seemingly, pushing them to the side. I do a lot of digital illustration but use the software in a rather traditional way. Other people aren’t so restricted. It’s in the space between those two approaches I believe we’ll see the ultimate effects of the latest AI technological advances.

In the future, people may want certain illustrations, books or films labeled as being from an AI or an actual person’s imagination? That scenario was proposed by a young man I had a chat with at my last book signing. Gotta say it has potential. Would you prefer a story written by a person or an algorithm? We’re all going to find out over the next five to ten years in my opinion. And the Writers’ Strike in the film production industry will have a huge impact on that outcome.

In my novels, The Witch’s Foundling and The Secret Cage, I purposely chose the 19th century as the best setting for my Gaslamp fantasy. Technology and magic exist side by side in Sally and Samdriel’s world but the emphasis is on the supernatural. Besides having a deep love for the gothic vibe of stories like Jane Eyre, Frankenstein and Dracula, I wanted my protagonists to mainly rely on their own wits. No Google for them. Or AI to consider. Perhaps I’ll write a story examining that question but not today. For now, more adventures of The Witch’s Foundling will follow.

As a point of interest, 60 Minutes Australia did an interesting report on AI. Find it here on YouTube.

For our Feature Design of the Month say “Good Day, Milady,” to the Steampunk Sorceress. A mysterious woman has claimed a power that will challenge the world. Now, technically, my novels classify as ‘Gaslamp Fantasy’ meaning they feature a Victorian Gothic Vibe while true Steampunk is all about a Victorian Science Fiction aesthetic. Think, Frankenstein/Dracula vs. War of the Worlds/The Time Machine as a way to distinguish the difference. However, there’s a lot of overlap. For now, you can join forces with the Steampunk Sorceress on our Redbubble shop. She looks forward to your collaboration in her plans for world domination.

If you would like more up-to-date news be sure to follow SillWill Studios on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“Print On Demand and the Indie Artist”

SillWill Land #33

So, sticking with the title of this blog you can guess what’s been my focus for the last month. Things are progressing with the release of my second novel, The Secret Cage. This has been amidst an eye-rolling surprise from Redbubble, the POD company who is our main provider for our merchandise. That’s mugs, t-shirts, stickers and more. In between that and trying to push for reviews for The Witch’s Foundling and The Secret Cage, it’s been a busy month.

This might be why I came up with our latest design for our store: Not today, Bear! Not today! If you’ve heard of the old saying, “Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.” Well the latest design deals with sounding off about that struggle. It will be available (for now anyway) at our Redbubble Store.

With this new change, SillWill Studios is a bit better off than a lot of accounts in that, under the new Tiered system, we qualify as a Premium Account. It means we’re exempt from most of the new fees. Many creators will not be. This has prompted many artist to leave Redbubble. It’s a tense time and another example of the challenges faced by Indie artists.

So, what does this mean for SillWill Studios? Partly, that we’re looking into offering our designs on a variety of platforms. Whenever we get things sorted out, we’ll let you know here or in newsletter. While P. O. D. has been a complete game-changer by opening up avenues for artists and authors to get their designs and stories in front of an audience, there has been a foreseeable downside.

With everyone getting a kick at the can, the marketplace for designs and stories can be immense. That’s where the challenge of marketing comes in. With the limited budgets faced by Indie artists and authors taking the potential pay-cut represented by Redbubble‘s changes will leave many people scrambling even more to grab a piece of that audience-pie.

Speaking of Marketing, in a broad digital landscape, sometimes the personal touch means a lot more. So, if you happen to be in London, Ontario on May 20th, come and say Hi at The Bread and Roses Bookshop. It’s on the second floor of the Western Fair Farmers’ Market. We can talk novels and illustration and how to get your work out there. It would be great to hear what you might be working on too.

I plan to discuss Print On Demand in more detail in a further blog but if anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to shoot us a question. You can do it here or reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram. It would be great to hear from you. Until then, when you see that Bear coming at you just say: