MSI Press Blog

  One of the more practical uses of AI in publishing may not be replacing designers at all. It may be helping authors and publishers move past creative paralysis. Cover design can stall even experienced teams. Everyone may understand the content of the manuscript and even the audience, yet still struggle to identify the emotional tone the cover should communicate. A design can be technically competent and still fail to capture the heart of the book. This is where AI can become surprisingly useful. Used well, AI can function as a rapid brainstorming partner, generating visual directions that help clarify mood, atmosphere, symbolism, and tone. In some cases, a single AI-generated concept can help a team suddenly recognize what they had been trying to express all along. But that is only the beginning of the process. Professional designers still provide the essential work that transforms an idea into a publishable cover: typography, spacing, composition, branding awareness, production ...

  Most authors imagine their legacy as a shelf of books and a trail of readers. But the truth is more intricate: authors live on through the people who read them, teach them, and carry their ideas forward — sometimes long after the author’s own voice has gone silent. At MSI Press, we’ve seen this happen in ways that remind us why writing is an act of continuity, not just creation. 📚 When Readers Keep the Flame Some books continue to thrive because readers refuse to let them fade. Ekaterina Filatova’s Understanding the People Around You found new life years after her death, especially in Russia, where her insights into personality types have become part of the cultural vocabulary. Boris Shekhtman’s How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately — written by a teacher of diplomats and journalists — still circulates among professionals who never met him but swear by his methods. These books live because readers keep discovering them, recommending them, and passing them on. The au...

  Authors frequently confuse LIST and NET and, in this way, end up with contracts that pay lower royalties when they believe that they are getting a good deal. Often, they cannot negotiate in ways that benefit themselves because they do not understand this difference and its significance. Let's break this down. List refers to the retail price of the book. Payment on list means a percentage of the retail price of the book. If royalties are 8% of list (5-8% is typical), then on a $10 book, royalties would be 80 cents; if they are 10%, royalties are $1, on every book sold. Easy to calculate, easy to predict income, and always standardized, no surprises or overestimations. Net refers to what is leftover after expenses. Gross revenue gets adjusted by a number of expenses: printing costs, printer set-up fees, shipping costs, handling fees, distributor percentage of sales (typically, 40%-55% per book), distributors' initial and continuing catalogue listing costs (without which online ...