If you felt like the ground shifted under your feet this month, you aren't imagining things. October 2025 has been a chaotic, high-stakes period for anyone trying to sell a book. Between Amazon essentially gutting old algorithm rules and TikTok Shop turning into a billion-dollar beast, the old "set it and forget it" marketing plan is officially dead.
It's been a wild ride. Honestly, even seasoned pros are scratching their heads.
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The Amazon Algorithm Pivot: Ad Spend Isn’t Enough Anymore
For years, we lived in the "A9" era. You picked your keywords, you threw money at Sponsored Products, and you watched your rank climb. But according to reports from The Bookseller and Author Media this October, Amazon has phased in a massive change. They are moving away from the old system that prioritized pure sales volume and keyword relevance.
The new "A10" style logic (though Amazon doesn't call it that publicly) has a massive crush on external traffic.
Basically, if you send a reader from your email list or a social media post directly to your Amazon page, the algorithm rewards you way more than if that same reader found you via an internal search. Amazon wants new blood. They want you to bring people into their ecosystem. If you do, they’ll give you a "visibility boost" that money can't buy.
But there's a catch. This change has caused what indie authors are calling "volatility in visibility." One day you're on page one; the next, you're buried under a mountain of traditionally published titles. Why? Because the algorithm is now favoring organic engagement over short-term promo spikes. The "BookBub effect"—where a massive one-day sale rockets you to the top—is being smoothed out by a rolling average. Amazon is looking for steady, human-driven interest, not just a flash in the pan.
TikTok Shop Is the New Bookstore
While Amazon is busy tweaking its math, TikTok Shop is busy taking everyone's money. It’s not just for Gen Z anymore. By October 2025, the platform hit a staggering $1.1 billion in monthly GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) in the U.S. alone.
What’s crazy is that 45% of TikTok users in the U.S. are now making at least one purchase on the app. For authors, this is the biggest shift since the invention of the Kindle. Here’s why:
- The Funnel is Gone: In the past, someone saw a video, clicked a link in the bio, went to a website, and maybe bought the book. Now? They click a yellow basket on the video and checkout without leaving the app.
- Micro-Influencers Win: You don't need a creator with a million followers. Creators with under 50,000 followers are seeing the highest conversion rates because their communities actually trust them.
- Backlist is King: This is the best news for authors with older books. Hachette reported that almost everything "taking off" on TikTok Shop right now was published before 2020.
If you aren't looking at TikTok Shop as a legitimate retail channel, you're leaving money on the table. It’s basically a 24/7 infomercial that people actually enjoy watching.
The Rise of AI Scams and the "Author Assistant"
We have to talk about the darker side of book marketing news october 2025. Scammers have gotten way more sophisticated. Anne R. Allen recently flagged a surge in AI-generated "flattery scams."
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You’ve probably seen them in your inbox. They sound like a dream: "I read your book and it’s a masterpiece! Let me make you a Hollywood-quality trailer for $2,000." Or, "Our book club of 10,000 readers wants to feature you—just pay this small admin fee."
They use AI to scrape your book's blurb and insert specific details into the email to make it look like they actually read it. They haven't. It's a template.
On the flip side, legitimate AI use is becoming a "power drill" for authors. Tools like BookBlaster.io and StoryLab.ai are helping writers churn out 30 different versions of ad copy in seconds. The goal in late 2025 isn't to let AI write your book—it's to let AI handle the soul-sucking task of writing five different "buy my book" emails so you can get back to your next manuscript.
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Hard Truths from the October StatShot
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) released their October 2025 StatShot, and the numbers tell a specific story. Overall industry revenue is up 6.7%, but it’s not evenly distributed.
Religious presses are absolutely crushing it, with revenues up 10.6% this month. Bibles and spiritual guides are seeing a 21-year high in sales. Meanwhile, professional and reference books (business, medical, legal) took a 9% nosedive.
Why the drop in business books? Honestly, it’s AI. People are asking ChatGPT for a legal template or a business strategy instead of buying a $30 hardcover. If you write in the "how-to" space, your marketing now has to prove why your human insight is better than a machine's instant answer.
What You Should Actually Do Now
Stop obsessing over your hourly rank. It’s a waste of mental health. Amazon's charts only update once a day now anyway. Instead, focus on these three moves:
- Drive Outside Traffic: Use your newsletter or a cheap Meta ad to send people to your Amazon page. Even a small trickle of "external" readers tells the algorithm you’re worth promoting.
- Experiment with "Shoppable" Content: If you're on TikTok or Instagram, use the native shop features. Don't make people leave the app to buy. Every extra click is a chance for them to get distracted by a cat video.
- Audit Your Reference Content: If you write nonfiction, stop selling "information." Start selling "transformation" or "authority." Information is free now; your unique experience is what's valuable.
The "open web" is closing. AI is scraping everything. To survive the rest of 2025, you have to be more than just a listing on a site; you have to be a preference in a reader's mind.
To stay ahead of the next algorithm shift, you might want to start building a "direct-to-consumer" sales channel like Shopify or a dedicated Patreon. Relying 100% on a single retailer is becoming the riskiest move in the business.