Meta has paused proposed changes to its business terms while it consults with industry groups, according to Reuters’s October 28 report. The proposed updates to the platform’s terms of service for Business accounts would’ve allowed Meta to scrape data from those accounts, with no option for account owners to opt out.
The changes raised concerns about Meta’s access to content on publishers’ websites and whether the data collected would allow the platform to create competing products and services, “such as AI services that could compete with news publishers,” according to the Associated Press’s November 2 report. On October 30, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into whether the terms would unfairly disadvantage publishers and other businesses that rely on Meta’s services to reach their audiences.
For authors who use Facebook or Instagram for their businesses, the dispute concerns what permission those services could require to collect content from a business’s website. The update had already been delayed from October 30 to November 20 before Meta announced the pause. The CMA has not ruled on whether Meta has broken competition law, according to an October 30 announcement by the organization.
Meta says the update is intended to help it retrieve accurate product information from websites for advertising and content recommendations, and that it does not change how the company uses web crawlers. Its existing terms remain in place during the consultation, according to the Associated Press.
Note: Indie Author Magazine, Indie Author Training, and our other sister sites maintain a neutral stance on artificial intelligence. In our coverage, we seek to provide an objective, informative take on the technology, and we encourage authors to make decisions about whether to use AI platforms based on their personal values and what’s best for their business.
This Week’s Indie Author Magazine Articles
Finding a course on running an author business is often easier than finding time to put its lessons into practice. This week, IAM looks at how that gap has shaped Indie Author Training, its sister organization. In a conversation with Jim Azevedo on Draft2Digital’s Self Publishing Insiders, IAM publisher Chelle Honiker explained why IAT is building short summits around individual subjects, with workshops that give authors time to apply what they learn.
Indie Author Magazine
Starting book 2 brings the knowledge of how much work a novel takes, but it also means returning to a world you already know. In this week’s Author Inklings column, Susan Odev reflects on how familiar characters and an established setting can help her find the next story. She also considers the expectations of returning readers and how to give them a fresh story while writing at a pace she can sustain.
Susan Odev
After working as the chief marketing officer at Soundbooth Theater, Emily Labes-Royce finds herself stepping into a new role as the chief operating officer for Rev-Up Management, the company in charge of coordinating the success of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Yet although her role has changed, she says, the mission has not; at the center of both roles is the desire to give back to the community that loved the stories from the beginning. Read more about Labes-Royce’s thoughts on building relationships with readers in the latest article in IAM’s CEO series, getting to know the leaders at the helm of companies shaping the independent publishing industry.
Chelle Honiker
Teachings from Indie Author Training
If you missed last week’s webinar, the replay of “Finish the Book You Keep Starting” is available now. Writer, editor, and ProWritingAid brand manager Scarlett Sangster discusses the challenges authors face as they work toward a finished manuscript, drawing on her own experience and her work with other writers.
Watch the replay at https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/talks/stop-collecting-halffinished-drafts/.
Upcoming Webinar (November 18, 12 p.m. ET): “What's big, what's happening, what should you be paying attention to in your indie author career right now?”
Author Nation attendees can’t make it to every session, and authors following from home may want to hear what was discussed. In this webinar hosted by Karen Guyler, IAM publisher Chelle Honiker will share topics from the conference that authors may want to consider for their businesses in 2027. Honiker, a speaker at Author Nation and its former program director, will also take questions from attendees.
Upcoming Webinars
December 9, 12 p.m. ET: “From Word Count to View Count” with Bradley Charbonneau
Sign up at https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/talks/from-word-count-to-view-count/.
December 16, 12 p.m. ET: “Pace Your Social Media” with Ines Johnson
Sign up at https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/talks/pace-your-social-media/.
Indie Author Tools Directory
Have you visited Indie Author Tools lately? Our tools and services directory rounds up essential resources for indie authors at every stage of the publication process, from outlining to marketing and everything in between. Check out our listings in the following categories, or let us know which tools we’re missing at https://www.indieauthortools.com.
- Cover artists: https://indieauthortools.com/cover-artists
- Editors, from developmental through proofreading: https://indieauthortools.com/editors
- Marketing tools: https://indieauthortools.com/marketing-tools
- Audiobook production and narration: https://indieauthortools.com/sound-audio-books
Indie Author Tools Spotlight: Awesome Book Promotion
Awesome Book Promotion lets authors arrange promotions across five sites. Authors can spread those promotions over separate dates or schedule them all for the same day, depending on how they want to organize a campaign. Learn more at https://www.indieauthortools.com/promo-sites/awesome-book-promotion.
More Indie Publishing News
Here’s a look beyond our pages at the latest headlines and happenings in the publishing world.
- Reedsy has relaunched Reedsy Discovery as a professional editorial review platform, connecting indie authors with the publishing industry’s leading critical voices, according to a press release by the company earlier this week. For $299, authors can now receive an in-depth review from a professional critic, many of whom have written for Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, within thirty days. Authors are only charged once a reviewer picks up their book. Those interested can learn more at https://reedsy.com/discovery/author/submission-guidelines.
- IngramSpark has posted its recommended holiday order dates, as AuthorSupport reported November 2. US authors should order hardcovers by November 30 and paperbacks by December 7 for the best chance of receiving books before Christmas. These are recommendations rather than delivery guarantees, and printing and shipping time are calculated separately. Authors ordering copies for holiday sales or events can check the dates for their country and read the details on IngramSpark’s holiday ordering page.
- After formatting platform Vellum received backlash to its update released earlier this week, the platform released another update the following day, which removed the new feature from the platform. The original update, released Wednesday, allowed authors the option to link an AI assistant to their account to automate changes to existing books, such as updating back matter or reformatting works across a series. After a wave of negative feedback, the company released a second update to the platform Thursday, which removed the automation feature entirely. You can read more of Vellum’s statement about its decision here: https://blog.vellum.pub/2026/11/weve-removed-vellum-automation.
Anything we’ve missed that you think we should cover? Any topics or questions you’d like our team to explore? Let us know at feedback@indieauthormagazine.com. Your suggestion may just make it into an upcoming article.
