More and more, most retailers are using large language models to categorize/classify/compartmentalize retail products.
I work for a company directly in the throes of this concept. LLMs are getting better and better and selecting categories. And, when there are millions of items to classify, finding a means to do this quickly & “relatively” accurately, is crucial.
Note that there are well-defined schemas that are targeted for pigeon-holing. Often there will be mapping performed in order to transform one schema to another. AWS has a comprehensive and sometimes bizarre taxonomy of item classifications.
I’m following a very similar conversation with the Story Empire folks. It seems that indie writers who don’t write naked torso books are at a crossroads with where their author career is going to go.
I’m embracing the idea that indie publishing is its own thing and can’t be expected to work the same as traditional publishing. At the least this attitude does away with the measures of success that are applied to trad publishing (numbers of copies sold, showing up on “bestseller” lists, etc.)
I agree that indie publishing shouldn’t have the same success measures as traditional publishing. I don’t mind having a small audience; I just want to break even financially. From hearing the same thing from other authors, I’m questioning whether breaking even is realistic.
It depends on what services you need to pay for: editing, formatting, cover design, publicity. It could certainly add up. Authors who can do some or all of these things themselves would save money, but it could be argued that the results might not be as good as if they invested in more expertise. But there’s a lot of uncertainty and no formula.
Writers Supporting Writers 
More and more, most retailers are using large language models to categorize/classify/compartmentalize retail products.
I work for a company directly in the throes of this concept. LLMs are getting better and better and selecting categories. And, when there are millions of items to classify, finding a means to do this quickly & “relatively” accurately, is crucial.
Note that there are well-defined schemas that are targeted for pigeon-holing. Often there will be mapping performed in order to transform one schema to another. AWS has a comprehensive and sometimes bizarre taxonomy of item classifications.
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I’m following a very similar conversation with the Story Empire folks. It seems that indie writers who don’t write naked torso books are at a crossroads with where their author career is going to go.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m embracing the idea that indie publishing is its own thing and can’t be expected to work the same as traditional publishing. At the least this attitude does away with the measures of success that are applied to trad publishing (numbers of copies sold, showing up on “bestseller” lists, etc.)
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I agree that indie publishing shouldn’t have the same success measures as traditional publishing. I don’t mind having a small audience; I just want to break even financially. From hearing the same thing from other authors, I’m questioning whether breaking even is realistic.
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It depends on what services you need to pay for: editing, formatting, cover design, publicity. It could certainly add up. Authors who can do some or all of these things themselves would save money, but it could be argued that the results might not be as good as if they invested in more expertise. But there’s a lot of uncertainty and no formula.
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You’re right about the costs adding up for paid services. I feel comfortable doing just about everything myself.
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So do I!
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