Author Update

By Thomas Umstattd Jr.News News Commentary

Author Update episodes

August 15, 2025 The End of Rapid Release and the Advent of Breadgeist
This one was a doozy. We covered AI's shortcomings, how authors can maximize their output potential and how cowboy romances relate to bread making. Yes, sir, you can only get that kind of content here, on Author Update.
1 hr 11 min
August 09, 2025 GPT-5 Is Here
Come listen to Jonathan and Thomas discuss the latest advancements from OpenAI and what they mean for writers, as well as the cultural war between Texas and Australia.
1 hr
August 02, 2025 Audible Reduces Author Royalties, Trad Sales Plummet, Indie Sales Rise
Listen to this week's episode of Author Update as Jonathan and Thomas dive into Audible's royalty shenanigans, the woes of the trad pub world vs. the success of the indie scene.
1 hr 14 min
July 26, 2025 Substack, GoodReads and MORTAL KOMBAAAAAAT!!!
Solo episode with Jonathan as Thomas is on vacation. We're going into changes with Substack, GoodReads, Kindlepreneur's look into Amazon keywords, and much more.

27 min
July 19, 2025 Zeitgeist: The Age of Ruthless Heros
Feast your ears as Jonathan and Thomas discuss the direction fiction is taking, and how societies deal with major turns.
1 hr 5 min
July 11, 2025 Barnes and Noble, Bots, Bankruptcy and Beyond: The Big Beautiful Episode
Donate to disaster survivors at ADRN.org.

1 hr 15 min
June 28, 2025 The Case of Authors Vs. AI
Several court cases impacting authors, the NYT wonders if men read literary novels, and Jonathan starts a lawsuit against Thomas. All on this week's Author Update.
1 hr 2 min
June 21, 2025 How The Iran War Will Impact Authors
The Israel-Iran War, more AI impact on the workforce, zeitgeist discussion and more Patron Tools in the toolbox. All here with Author Update.
1 hr 4 min
June 14, 2025 Amazon Drops Printing Prices, Lays Off Kindle Staff, and Ends Hourly Rankings
Watch us on YouTube live!
1 hr 3 min
June 07, 2025 Is the AI Bubble Popping?
A new version of Vellum, Publisher Rocket ends its lifetime deal, and is the AI bubble going to burst?
1 hr

About Author Update

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Here’s what you can expect from Author Update:

Publishing News: Stay in the loop on what’s happening in the industry.
Advice That Matters: Learn how to make your book irresistible to…