Audible’s New Royalty Model Screws Authors | Self-Publishing News (Aug. 18, 2025)

In this week’s self-publishing news, we cover Audible’s controversial new royalty system that leaves authors earning pennies on the dollar, Amazon’s broken AI book summaries, and a major class action lawsuit against Anthropic over pirated training data. We also spotlight new free author courses from CraveBooks, sales from ProWritingAid and MailerLite, and ALLi’s latest contest for indie writers. Plus, Author Nation 2025 is coming fast with sessions from James Patterson, Andrew Davis, and more. Stay informed on the biggest changes shaping the future of publishing, and make sure you don’t get left behind.

*** TO BE VERY CLEAR, THE AUDIBLE ROYALTY STRUCTURE IS STILL IN BETA AND NOT OFFICIALLY ROLLED OUT TO ALL AUTHORS. ***

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Sources:

• Daniel Greene - Audible Is Broken - https://youtu.be/xhTmMv_s578?si=kFIw2kvQXcAqtkyS 
• Convince Audible to revise it's New Royalty Model - https://www.change.org/p/convince-audible-to-revise-it-s-new-royalty-model
• Amazon displaying AI summaries that are inaccurate (anecdotal)
• Writer Beware: Bartz v Anthropic: Find Out if You May Be Part of This Class Action - https://writerbeware.blog/2025/08/15/bartz-v-anthropic-find-out-if-you-may-be-part-of-this-class-action/
• ProWritingAid (limited time offer) - https://DaleLinks.com/ProWritingAid (affiliate link) 
• ProWritingAid Community - https://community.prowritingaid.com/ 
• MailerLite (limited time offer) - https://DaleLinks.com/MailerLite (affiliate link)
• CraveBooks: Master The Art Of Book Promos - https://cravebooks.com/courses/promotion-readiness-course
• CraveBooks: Master Your Author Newsletter - https://cravebooks.com/courses/author-newsletter
• ALLi presents: Free “Write Your Why” Competition - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/conference-2025/write-your-why/ 

Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding!

- Dale L. Roberts