My Worst Takes & Mistakes Over 500 Episodes
Discover advice for authors that has stood the test of time (and always will) and what advice you can cast off like a crumpled first draft.
Price Fixing at Amazon
Amazon price-fixing emails unsealed by California’s AG, a banned-book campaign that backfired into a bestseller, proposed copyright fee hikes, the latest AI model drops from OpenAI and Chinese rivals, new cover design tools from Author Media, and surprising data on where the money and readers actually are. Here’s what it all means for your writing career.
Zeitgeist: What Do Americans Consider Immoral?
Pew Research Center Survey Exposes Deep Divides in American Views on Morality Thomas: A Pew Research study just came out about what Americans view as moral and immoral. This matters for authors because every novel has a moral system. Actions have consequences in...
Amazon Kills Store Access for 2 Million Kindles
Draft2Digital levies a tax against the “poors,” Amazon kills millions of old Kindles and the Windows 10 Kindle app, and Barnes and Noble Press drops three policy bombs that could wipe your books from sale. Plus, an AI artist just hit number one on iTunes without a single human voice, Ukraine’s robots won their first solo battle with zero casualties, and fresh Pew Research data maps exactly where your readers draw their moral lines.
Stop Guessing: How to Know If Your Book Marketing Is Working
Discover how to make your book marketing profitable by tracking your online and in-person marketing and advertising in a single dashboard.
Huge Legal Wins for Authors
The Supreme Court confirms you own your AI-assisted writing, a bestselling thriller author loses his entire YouTube channel to a copyright scam but gets it back, Amazon finally ends the practice that let counterfeiters slip fakes into your book sales, and for our zeitgeist segment we’ll analyze the new movie Project Hail Mary.
Zeitgeist: Project Hail Mary Rockets Past $226 Million at Domestic Box Office
Project Hail Mary has crossed $430 million worldwide at the box office. Find out what its success reveals about what readers and want and how authors can connect.
The Cultural Zeitgeist Shift That’s Making Indie Authors Rich
Discover the cultural shift in zeitgeist that reflects the changing preferences of American readers.
The Week Romance Died? Harlequin AI Deal + NY Times Bestseller Shake-Up
Harlequin’s AI micro-drama deal ignites author boycotts, a Wharton study warns of “cognitive surrender,” and the NYT bestseller list drops mass market for new audiobook charts.
Zeitgeist: Capturing a Shifting Zeitgeist of Paranoia, Betrayal, and Disrupted Domestic Normalcy
The March 2026 K-lytics report on psychological and domestic thrillers paints a picture of a genre in explosive transition. What was once a niche reflects profound changes in consumer demand and the broader zeitgeist.
Apple’s Cheapest Laptop Ever: Should Authors Buy the MacBook Neo?
Discover which laptops give authors the best value for the money in 2026.
Scientists Prove AI Is Rewriting Your Book When You’re Not Looking
Is your freelance editor secretly using AI? This week on Author Update, we break down Mia Ballard’s lawsuit against Hachette Book Group after they canceled her horror novel Shy Girl over AI allegations—she claims her editor introduced AI without permission. We analyze the Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision that just made it harder for authors to fight book piracy, examine two groundbreaking studies proving AI tools rewrite your voice even during simple grammar checks, and explain why OpenAI shut down Sora and what Google’s TurboQuant breakthrough means for the future of AI.
Zeitgeist: One Piece Passes Superman as Best-Selling Comic with 600 Million Copies
One Piece has officially hit 600 million copies in circulation worldwide, matching and effectively surpassing Superman’s nearly 90-year sales record in under 30 years.
Your Friends Lied About Your Book Cover
Discover how to find a good book cover that attracts the right readers and drives clicks that lead to sales across all platforms.
The Anti AI Jihad Has Begun: Major Publisher Yanks Novel Over Proven AI Use
Hachette just pulled a bestselling horror novel over AI writing accusations — and it’s sending shockwaves through the publishing world. In this episode of Author Update, we break down the “Shy Girl” controversy and what it means for every indie and traditional author, the explosive 4 million books flooding Amazon in 2025 (a 39% surge in self-publishing), Scholastic’s declining revenue and what it signals about the future of traditional publishing, the Bible reading boom led by millennial men, how to protect yourself from copyright troll shakedowns, and a deep dive into the K-Lytics Mystery/Thriller/Suspense report revealing techno thrillers are up 49% while assassination thrillers are crashing. Whether you’re self-publishing on Amazon, navigating AI tools like Sudowrite and ChatGPT, pricing your ebook for maximum profit, or trying to spot the next hot genre trend, this is the publishing news, book marketing strategy, and cultural zeitgeist analysis authors need to stay ahead in 2026.
