Weinstein's take cuts against the usual instinct: before publishers even think about technology, they need to settle something far more fundamental – what rights they're actually sitting on. "The big obstacle is what rights does the publisher have," he argued. "Are they acquiring global rights, all formats, everywhere? Or do they really specialize in a handful of countries and languages? That actually dictates the formats and the distribution strategy that they have".

That starting point changes everything downstream. Once a publisher knows exactly what it owns, every other decision – business models, partnerships, distribution strategy, profit expectations – becomes easier to frame. It all traces back to that.

There's also a shift in how success gets measured. Rather than judging each format on its own, publishers increasingly need to think about how it feeds into the overall value of the intellectual property as a whole.

"It's getting easier on the format side," Weinstein said. "But it's getting more complex on everything else. You've got to think about rights. You've got to think about your P&L. You've got to think about your business models. You've got to think about who you're partnering with". Technology may be simplifying production, but the commercial ecosystem around each book has grown considerably more complex.

AI may be making content easier to produce, but that convenience comes with its own trap: just because you can create more doesn't mean you should.

Srivastava didn't shy away from that tension. Today's tools, he acknowledged, make generating new content easier than ever - but speed, he warned, can't be allowed to replace editorial judgment. "As it becomes easy to create different kinds of content, it becomes very easy to create a lot of slop," he said. "You as a publisher should be proud of what you are planning to distribute. If you are not proud of whatever you have created, then there is nobody else who will be willing to buy it."

That isn’t a call to ignore the market, though. Commercial demand still plays a role in deciding which projects get greenlit. But once that call is made, quality is what publishers have left to protect - arguably their most valuable asset.

Dashverse's partnership work offers one of the clearest illustrations of that principle in action, particularly through microdramas – short, vertical video series built for mobile screens.

Working with publishers like Harlequin, the company has taken existing books and adapted existing books into episodic productions distributed across TikTok, Instagram and dedicated microdrama platforms, putting familiar stories in front of audiences would likely never pick up the original book.

The formula, according to Srivastava, comes down to structure. "What we are looking for is every episode starts with a bang," he explained. "Every episode ends with a cliffhanger. If you are able to find five to seven peak moments within a story, then you can create something that works as a microdrama."

Not every story bends that way, though. Fast-moving narratives built on momentum and cliffhangers translate naturally into the format; slower, more descriptive works do not. It's a small but telling detail - one that echoes the panel's broader point: adapting to new formats is an editorial decision first and a technological one second.

Weinstein came at the same question from a different direction: not the format, but the audience behind it. "Where's the customer? How do I reach that customer?" he asked. "And then what format do I need to deliver to my partners that actually gets to those customers and helps me monetize? That's really the challenge."

What publishers with limited budgets could realistically do next? According to Weinstein and Srivastava, publishers should try small, measurable experiments that generate real-world evidence before larger commitments are made.

"Spend some time on one of these AI tools. It will not take more than $100. Try and create a five-episode microdrama from one of your books. Put it out on TikTok. If the numbers are good, send that proof of concept to every platform you can find”, proposed Srivastava.

"Address your fears", Weinstein reinforced. "Are you worried about quality? Cannibalization? Whether there's an audience for your content? There is really no financial barrier right now for you to experiment."

As AI continues to lower the barriers to production, that may prove to be the industry's biggest competitive advantage. The future of publishing won't be defined by who creates the most formats, but by who makes the smartest decisions about where - and why - a story should find its next audience.