Work happy; AI-powered romance; fearful book bans: Newsletter 26 November 2025

Work happy; AI-powered romance; fearful book bans: Newsletter 26 November 2025

Newsletter 125. When it’s time to change jobs, how AI destroys the writer-reader relationship, an AI-powered romance bookstore, plus three people to follow and three books to read. The pursuit of career happiness Should you be looking to change what you do for work? As the Thanksgiving break approaches (for US workers), it’s a time…

Post-bubble AI; mobile authoring; Epstein cries Wolff: Newsletter 19 November 2025
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Post-bubble AI; mobile authoring; Epstein cries Wolff: Newsletter 19 November 2025

Newsletter 124. When the AI bubble inevitably bursts, what happens next? Plus, a book written on a mobile phone while hiking, Epstein fallout in the book business, three people to follow and three books to read. And if you’re interested, join my webinar today (Wednesday) at 1pm ET on AI and the Writing Profession. After…

When it comes to writing, AI changes everything. And AI changes nothing.
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When it comes to writing, AI changes everything. And AI changes nothing.

AI has significantly influenced the types of clients I have now. But the fundamentals of what I help people with — clear, accurate, engaging communication — remain exactly the same. How AI has changed my projects These are the projects I’m working on right now and how AI has changed them. Writing workshop I’m conducting…

AI writer survey results; analyzing royalties; neuroscientific sneakers: Newsletter 5 November 2025
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AI writer survey results; analyzing royalties; neuroscientific sneakers: Newsletter 5 November 2025

Newsletter 122. A deep dive into what 1481 writers told us about how they use AI. Plus, AI is a better parrot than MFAs, demystifying royalty statements, three people to follow, and three books to read. And, I’ll see you next week at the Gathering of the Ghosts — let’s connect! Key results from the…

United Breaks Guitars. Wizz Air breaks Uzbeks

United Breaks Guitars. Wizz Air breaks Uzbeks

My friend Dave Carroll has done it again. He’s a fantastic musician, international speaker, hot-selling children’s book author, and all-around nice Canadian. But if you know him, it’s probably because of the irresistible 28-million view YouTube video “United Breaks Guitars.” United Airlines really regrets breaking Dave’s guitar and suffering decades of humiliation in return. Dave…

Don’t use AI to create things until you can tell treasure from trash

Don’t use AI to create things until you can tell treasure from trash

Call it Claude’s paradox. The best writers write better with AI help. The rest write worse. It’s not that mysterious, actually. If you give me some quality lumber, a power saw, a nail gun, and sandpaper and ask me to make a piece of furniture, I’ll produce something crappy, rickety, and ugly. I have no…

Tips for writing professionals working with rich, powerful people
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Tips for writing professionals working with rich, powerful people

As your editing and ghostwriting career grows, you may find yourself working with senior executives, CEOs, celebrities, or other rich and powerful people. This can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be, if you keep a few principles in mind. The key thing to remember is that although this is an asymmetric relationship, it’s…

What real writers say about using (or not using) AI
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What real writers say about using (or not using) AI

Most of what you read about writers using AI has a bias. It’s filled with writers who like to shout about what they think. Social media algorithms reward the shouting, and you get one of two impressions, depending on your friends: Everyone is using AI for everything, or AI is going to cause the downfall…

Announcing the world’s largest survey on writers’ use of AI. Make your voice heard.
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Announcing the world’s largest survey on writers’ use of AI. Make your voice heard.

Starting today, you can participate in the “AI and the Writing Profession” survey. This survey is a joint project of Gotham Ghostwriters and Bernoff.com. Dan Gerstein, the CEO of Gotham Ghostwriters, proposed this project to me and I enthusiastically agreed to become his partner in it. The web is filled with all manner of opinions…