Welcome to this week’s Author Update, where we break down what’s happening in the world of publishing, AI, and tech—so you can write better, market smarter, and keep ahead of the curve. In this episode, we covered sweeping changes at Amazon, unexpected shifts in how books are ranked, the evolving role of AI in writing and publishing, and what the TikTok publishing failure tells us about chasing trends.
Let’s dive into the biggest takeaways.
📉 Amazon Lays Off Book Division Staff—But It’s Not All Bad News
Amazon has laid off fewer than 100 employees in its book divisions, including staff at Goodreads and Kindle. While this sparked worry in the author community, the reality is more nuanced. Amazon’s revenue is still strong—Kindle sales surged 30% in Q4 of 2024, and overall company revenue rose 64% in Q1 2025.
The likely reason for the layoffs? AI automation. Many roles eliminated appear to be customer-facing—jobs easily replaced by chatbots or digital assistants. While layoffs are unfortunate for the affected workers, this shift may streamline KDP support and reduce communication delays for authors.
Bottom line: Expect more AI handling your KDP support queries. Faster responses—yes. More nuanced help? TBD.
🎨 Color Printing Gets Cheaper: Introducing Standard vs. Premium
Amazon now offers two tiers of color printing—standard color and premium color. The new standard option is about half the cost of premium (e.g., ~\$4 vs. ~\$8.80 for a 120-page book) and retains about 90% of the quality.
So who should use it?
- Standard color is ideal for nonfiction with visual flourishes—like charts, graphs, and callouts.
- Premium color is still your best bet for coffee table books, children’s books, or art-heavy devotionals—but if you want true photo quality, you’re better off with IngramSpark or local printers.
Pro tip: Use premium color for your show copy or event display, even if readers buy the standard version.
✍️ New KDP Book Description Editor Makes Formatting Easier
KDP has finally updated its book description editor—no more copying and pasting HTML from Kindlepreneur’s free tools.
Now, authors can write, format, and preview descriptions in a WYSIWYG editor right inside the KDP dashboard. It also lets you toggle between visual and code views, making formatting far more intuitive.
Why this matters: This is huge for authors who don’t know HTML. Better descriptions = higher conversions. This update also signals that Amazon is finally paying more attention to author tools.
📈 Amazon Ditches Hourly Bestseller Rankings
Big news: Amazon is ending hourly sales ranking updates. Rankings will now update just once per day.
This changes a lot:
- No more gaming the system with 2 a.m. mass purchases to hit #1.
- “Bestseller” will mean more, with longer-lasting chart visibility.
- Sudden spikes will matter less—Amazon will favor consistency.
Strategy shift: Instead of launching with a single big day, aim for steady momentum over weeks. That means consistent sales, reviews trickling in, and long-term ad spend.
As Jonathan put it, “You want momentum, not just a nuclear strike.” Build the tail.
💡Amazon Ads Become Even More Important
With spike tactics losing their edge, long-running Amazon ads and sustainable marketing become even more essential. Amazon is incentivizing authors to stay in the game with consistent, low-key ad performance rather than trying to ride the algorithm to the top.
Facebook ads? Great for bursts. Amazon ads? Ideal for maintaining tail momentum.
Author action items:
- Plan spaced-out promotions.
- Keep ad campaigns running to stay visible.
- Layer your outreach to extend your post-launch tail.
🍏 Apple’s AI Play: A Missed Opportunity (So Far)
At Apple’s 2025 WWDC, they announced new naming conventions (macOS 26, iOS 26, etc.) and a unified interface called “Liquid Glass.” More relevant for authors: they introduced native AI writing tools on all Apple devices.
You can now:
- Highlight text → rewrite, proofread, or summarize it using Apple Intelligence.
- Translate phone calls and texts live, à la Babel Fish.
Sounds great? The catch: Apple’s AI still lags behind ChatGPT and Claude. Siri remains underwhelming, and the writing tools lack nuance.
Recommendation: Use better tools (like GPT or Claude) for writing help. But expect Apple’s integration to normalize AI-assisted writing for new users.
❌ TikTok’s Publishing Arm Reportedly Shuts Down
Eighth Note Press, TikTok’s own publishing imprint, is reportedly shutting down. The idea was to capitalize on BookTok success by producing titles directly for the TikTok-driven market.
So what went wrong?
- Viral success is lightning in a bottle. You can’t manufacture it.
- TikTok didn’t control the algorithm and couldn’t reliably make their own books go viral.
- The company underestimated the complexity of running a publishing house.
Lesson: Just because a platform can promote books doesn’t mean it can publish them well.
🔍 Real-Time Translation Is Coming
On the more sci-fi end of things, live AI translation during calls is rolling out. That means you’ll soon be able to speak to someone in another language and get a real-time translation in your ear.
This development is exciting for global authors, translators, and those who attend international events. While nuance and metaphor still trip up AI (especially in languages like Arabic), the progress is undeniable.
🧠 Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?
Probably not. Despite doomsayers, OpenAI just hit \$10 billion in annual revenue, doubling from the previous year. Yes, they spent \$15 billion, but their trajectory shows a quick path to profitability.
Key differences from past bubbles:
- AI has clear, simple monetization models (monthly subscriptions and API fees).
- Many companies are already profitable or close.
- Unlike social media or e-commerce, AI’s usefulness is immediate and practical.
Conclusion: Not a bubble—just a rapidly maturing industry.
📚 Book to Blurb: A Tool Worth Trying
Thomas highlighted a new Patron Toolbox tool called Book to Blurb, which generates back cover copy, one-paragraph pitches, and one-sentence pitches—just by pasting in your entire manuscript.
Unlike other tools that ask a bunch of questions, this one scans your actual content. It uses a different model (Gemini) for unique outputs and doesn’t require summaries or metadata.
Best use case: Paste in your draft and see what pitch comes out. Then revise or polish as needed.
🚨 Learn from This Author’s Mistake: The AI Prompt Scandal
An indie fantasy author, Kate Seager, accidentally left AI prompt text in her published book. A reader screenshotted the mistake—and the author threatened legal action.
The backlash was swift:
- The screenshots were taken down.
- Seager deleted her Threads account.
- She left behind a passive-aggressive note.
What should she have done instead?
Proofread. Own the mistake. And most importantly—don’t sue your readers.
As Thomas put it: “Love your reader more than you love your book.” Your audience is eternal. Your book is not.
🎯 Final Takeaways: Write for Readers, Not for Ego
If you take one lesson from this episode, let it be this: write and market with your readers in mind. Not your ego. Not your desire for status.
- Build slow and steady momentum.
- Invest in marketing, yes—but also in your craft and your humility.
- Don’t let your desire for virality or validation override your service to readers.
Want to win long-term? Stay disciplined. Be patient. And above all, love your reader.
📺 Watch & Subscribe
You can catch new episodes of Author Update every Friday at 4PM CT on the Novel Marketing YouTube channel and clips on the Author Update YouTube Channel.
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