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Author Update: Judge Approves Anthropic $3K Author Payments, NaNoWriMo Replacement, & Scam Warning
Thomas: Welcome to Author Update. We have a massive episode packed with breaking news that could put real money in your pocket, especially if you have older books. We will also expose a dangerous book club and review scam that you may have already encountered....
How to Boost Sales With Permafree Books
Discover how giving a book away might actually boost sales. Learn to use a permafree book to drive sales, grow your list, or book events.
Amazon KU Books Allowed in Public Libraries, TikTok Deal, and Cancel Culture
Thomas: Welcome to Author Update! We have a major policy shift. Amazon KDP has confirmed that Kindle Unlimited books can be offered to public libraries. We covered this earlier, and now we have confirmation. We will also discuss what the TikTok deal from this morning...
Thomas’s Office Tour & 4th Wall Breach
Get the much anticipated tour of Thomas’s office, complete with a run-down of the books on his shelves that best absorb sound.
Audible Reduces Author Royalties, Trad Sales Plummet While Indie Sales Soar
Audible's New Royalty Model Thomas Umstattd Jr. welcomes viewers to Author...
Zeitgeist, Dystopian Fatigue, and the Rise of Ruthless & Noble Heroes
Explore the cultural vibe shift reshaping reader preferences and learn what sells now and where fiction is headed next.
How to Sell 1,000 Books a Month
Learn how to improve your book sales with proven strategies for selling 1,000 books a month through layered marketing, podcasts, and more.
How to Work With a PR Firm to Promote Your Book
Publicity has always been important for authors. Find out which media outlets are most useful to authors in 2025.
Platform
Platform
Read This Before Your Next Podcast Guest Interview
Learn how to sound like a pro during your podcast interview. Get tips on achieving good podcast sound without breaking the bank.
A Storytelling Revolution: Inside the World of Serialized Fiction
Learn how platforms like Royal Road and Ream Stories are revolutionizing serialized fiction and offering a path to building an audience.
Networking for Authors: How to Build Relationships Without Being Awkward
Many authors feel stuck. They're toiling away in obscurity, and none of their promotion efforts seem to go anywhere. Success in publishing is as much about who you know as what you know. And sometimes, the lack of knowing the right people keeps you from finding...
How to Build a Rejection-Proof Platform in 2025
To build an author platform, you need a method that works long term. Discover one method and five steps that will give you a solid author platform to stand on.
AI for Authors – The Good, Bad, and Ugly
Discover the evolution of writing technologies and find out how AI for authors in 2024 can increase your productivity and improve your skill.
How to use Reedsy to Independently Publish Your Book
Find out how Reedsy can help indie and traditional authors create beautiful, compelling, and marketable books.
How to Publish on a Budget: Your First Five Years as an Author
Becoming a professional author will cost you. Find out how much and when an author should budget for their writing career.
How to Write Emails That Readers Want to Read
Discover the three elements that make readers open your emails, which element is least important, and how to write good emails readers want.
Publishing
Publishing
Escaping the Procrastination Prison: A Guide for Tired Authors
Ten practical steps to help authors overcome procrastination, reclaim focus, and start writing and promoting books with confidence.
Book Promotion in 2025: How AI Gives Authors More Time to Write
Learn how authors can use AI to generate book marketing ideas, audience descriptions, and images so they can reclaim their time for writing.
The Sci-Fi Zeitgeist Has Shifted: What Authors Need to Know
Dive into the essentials of writing a sci-fi novel amidst evolving themes like population collapse and AI advancements.
Indie Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Indie or traditional publishing? Hear from one author who experienced both and made a surprising decision.
Are Pen Names Going Away?
There are several great reasons (and several bad ones) to use an author pen name. Find out which reasons still make sense in the age of AI authors and bots.
Why Your Book is Still Unfinished (Hint: It’s Your Phone’s Fault)
10 tips for using your smartphone to increase your productivity and limiting its ability to keep you from writing your book.
Printing the Future: Print-on-Demand with Offset-Quality by Bookvault
Learn how you can print high-quality hardbacks, outsource fulfillment, and sell directly from your author website, without using Amazon.
The Powerful Nonfiction Pitching Recipe That Works for Both Fiction and Nonfiction
Learning the formula for creating a compelling pitch that resonates with readers is key to selling your book. Learn four formats that can work for your nonfiction pitch.
Promotion
Promotion
How to Create Sales Optimized Book Pages for Your Author Website
Discover why a website book page is vital for authors and how to design an effective page that captivates and helps readers and AI alike.
Author Update: Is This the END of Google (for Authors)???
Major Shifts in Search and SEO for Authors Google's Market Share Slips Below 90% For the first time since 2015, Google's search market share has fallen below 90%, marking a potentially historic shift in how people find information online. This decline signals what...
Your Author Toolbox: Time-Saving Tools for Busy Authors
Discover this suite of innovative writing tools for authors designed to streamline your writing, marketing, email list, and sales efforts.
Genius Link: A Guide for Authors
Explore the benefits of universal book links for authors. Drive sales by linking to your book across multiple platforms worldwide.
101 Book Marketing Ideas That Will Change Your Life
We’ve compiled a list of book marketing ideas that will connect you to...
What to do When Book Sales Start Slipping
If you want to increase book sales after they’ve started to fall, check out this list of mistakes to avoid and strategies to try.
Marketing a Book Series with Kristina Stanley
Writing a series gives you marketing advantages if you do it right. Find out how to structure your series to maximize your marketing efforts.
Announcing the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference
Learn the details of the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference, how it will differ from last year’s conference, and what makes it unique.