In this episode, we break down the publishing developments editors and agents are talking about right now and what they mean for working writers.

Overthinking Couch Topics:

• Why audiobooks are now a primary format, not a secondary rights stream
• The continued dominance of celebrity books and what it signals about the market
• The “hollowing out” of the midlist and what it means for author careers
• How Substack and newsletters are changing the path to traditional publishing
• Why publishers are acquiring fewer debut novels
• The blurred line between self-publishing and traditional publishing
• The rise of “aesthetic publishing” and visually driven book sales
• The Shy Girl controversy and what it reveals about AI in publishing
• A recent plagiarism ruling and what it says about tropes in fiction

• Court Rules Tracy Wolff Did Not Plagiarize Crave Series
• How a brutal BookTube review got Shy Girl removed from shelves
• The Big Five's Midlist Problem: Why 19% of Traditional Publisher Titles Sell 12 Copies or Fewer
• The Big Five's Midlist Problem: Why 19% of Traditional Publisher Titles Sell 12 Copies or Fewer
• 2026 Audie Awards Winners
• The Rise of Aesthetic Book Publishing
• Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.
• More Writing Tips

Music licensed from Storyblocks.

Comics, manga, and graphic novels combine image and word to tell stories in a way prose cannot. In this episode, we examine what actually changes when storytelling moves into panels, and why many writers struggle when they approach the form with prose habits.

Overthinking Couch Topics:

1. What defines a graphic narrative?
2. How do readers construct meaning across panels?
3. What changes in dialogue when images are doing part of the work?
4. Who is in charge of the story: the writer or the illustrator?
5. What does it take to excel in this genre?
6. What common mistakes should you avoid?

• Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.
• More Writing Tips

Music licensed from Storyblocks.

Elements of Western novels are infiltrating other genres and modernizing the mythology of the Wild West. In this episode, we head out to the frontier to explore how classic Western storytelling transformed into the modern neo-Western.

Overthinking Couch Topics:

• What are the core tropes that define a classic Western?

• How are neo-Westerns reinterpreting these elements in modern settings?

• Why has moral ambiguity replaced clear-cut justice?

• Should writers should blend in or stand out to be successful?

• What are the common pitfalls when writing Westerns and neo-Westerns?

• Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.
• More Writing Tips

Music licensed from Storyblocks.