by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Mar 30, 2026 | Author Update
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.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Mar 23, 2026 | Author Update
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.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Mar 14, 2026 | Author Update
This week’s highlights: Authors have only 17 days left to claim up to $3,000+ per book in the $1.5B Anthropic AI copyright settlement. YouTube’s revenue now surpasses Disney, confirming the creator economy’s dominance, a trajectory indie authors are mirroring. Amazon ended its Book Club and excluded authors from new AI ad tools.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Mar 11, 2026 | Author Update
Week Ending March 6, 2026 In this week’s Author Update, we unpack how world events are impacting your author business, Audible’s aggressive response to Spotify, why Substack may be quietly hurting your Google rankings, and whether Apple’s new $600 laptop could be a...
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Mar 3, 2026 | Author Update
Traditional publishing posts a December surge in the latest AAP StatShot, even as the broader market stays flat. We unpack new 2026 reader data, major AI-driven layoffs at Block, Spotify’s audiobook charts, Julia Quinn’s Kickstarter success, podcast growth, and key AI updates from Google and Cloudflare.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Feb 23, 2026 | Author Update
Supreme Court tariffs ruling, Harlequin exits historical romance, BookFunnel adds digital signings, and major AI shifts from ElevenLabs, Perplexity Pro, and Google’s new Web MCP reshaping audiobook production and SEO.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Feb 17, 2026 | Author Update
TikTok is back, but its algorithm retrain may disrupt BookTok, the author-targeted data breach, Amazon’s new DRM download option, soaring Bible sales, ChatGPT ads, Sanderson’s “we are the art” speech, and what the Super Bowl halftime shows reveal about today’s book buyers.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Feb 9, 2026 | Author Update
AI shocks publishing and tech: Claude 4.6 vs GPT-5.3 spark a $285B selloff, layoffs hit a 2009 high, Amazon cuts 30,000 jobs, Spotify expands into ebooks and print with Bookshop.org, indie ebooks arrive, a massive Substack breach, new KDP download options, and OpenAI’s controversial IP revenue-sharing idea.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Jan 27, 2026 | Author Update
This week’s Author Update breaks down Ingram’s AI opt-out, Tor’s new imprint, a £50k Hachette prize, Amazon AI features, and why indie publishing is outpacing trad
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Jan 20, 2026 | Author Update
OpenAI’s announcement of ads coming to ChatGPT for free users (and what authors should do about it), a landmark federal court ruling that copyright termination rights now apply globally (potentially returning your foreign rights), record-breaking Bible sales that mask a crisis in Christian publishing, Julia Quinn’s new romance subscription box strategy, and the surprising political battle over fonts that affects book design.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Jan 14, 2026 | Author Update
Substack’s controversial move into sponsored ads, Audible’s new in-app video discovery features, scoring 2025 publishing predictions, the growing anti-AI movement, and major cultural zeitgeist shifts.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Jan 12, 2026 | Author Update
Stay ahead of the author news and trends of 2026. Learn how new public-domain characters, AI in publishing, audiobooks, direct sales, and market shifts will impact your writing career.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Dec 20, 2025 | Author Update
Why audiobooks now outsell eBooks, how AI is reshaping publishing, Barnes & Noble’s comeback, and the genre trends and tools authors need for 2026.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Dec 18, 2025 | Author Update
In this episode of Author Update: Book bans, AI in your Kindle, audiobooks outselling everything, and Amazon quietly rewriting the rules.
by Thomas Umstattd Jr. | Nov 8, 2025 | Author Update
Jonathan: Listen up. We’re starting with a situation report. An outfit called Claims Hero is telling authors to opt out of the 1.5 billion dollar Anthropic settlement. They promise a shot at a bigger payday, up to 150,000 dollars per title, but it means giving up...
