Building a Sustainable Author Future Beyond GEO
By Deleyna Marr
In Part One, we explored how SEO changed the way we write. In Part Two, we looked at how GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is shifting how readers discover stories in an AI-driven world. But what comes next?
Let’s talk about what it means to build a sustainable future as an author, even as bots outnumber humans online and discovery tools keep evolving.
The End of the Open Web?
Once upon a time, the internet felt like a wide-open frontier. Authors built blogs, linked to one another, and hoped search engines would help curious readers stumble onto their words. For a while, that worked. Sometimes it was annoying and hard, took up too much of our energy, but it worked.
Now things are changing. GEO is here, and it’s reshaping how people use the Internet. Instead of browsing, they’re asking AI tools for answers. Those tools often summarize without ever pointing readers back to the original source.
Traffic is vanishing. Blogs with great content are seeing major drops in visits. Not because people aren’t interested, but because they’re not even seeing the page.
For years, authors played the SEO game. We stuffed in keywords. We blogged on tight schedules. We bent our creative work around what we thought the algorithm wanted.
And here’s the worst part: It didn’t really work well for fiction. It just burned us out.
I’ve seen the same thing happen in other industries. Ever looked up a recipe online and found what you needed, but had to scroll through ads, life stories, and endless paragraphs on the history of mozzarella before reaching the actual ingredients? That was SEO at work. Recipe writers padded their content to rank better and earn ad revenue. But now, with GEO, those same tactics are turning people away. And the ads? They aren’t generating nearly the income they used to.
It’s time for a new strategy.
Human Connection Is the New (or Original) Discovery Engine
Readers trust other readers. And that trust? That’s our new marketing secret weapon.
Word of mouth has always been gold, but now it’s the whole mine. Enthusiasm spreads faster than any search result. Connections like a book club email, a social post from a friend, or a chat in a fan group help stories get discovered.
Let readers become signal boosters and cheerleaders. When someone loves our work, they’ll talk about it. They’ll carry it farther than any algorithm could.
From Content to Connection: New Paths Forward
So what works now?
- Newsletters: Still the most direct path to our people. Talk to them like friends. Our email list may be the greatest asset for our careers.
- Fan spaces: Create or join reader communities on Facebook, Discord, or elsewhere.
- Voice-first platforms: Substack and Patreon are great examples. These are places where our unique tone can shine instead of being flattened by formulas.
- Collaboration: Bundles, co-author promos, group giveaways. We don’t have to do marketing all alone. Working together gives us strength.
These aren’t just tools. They’re ways to stay human in an increasingly automated space.
Your Brand Is Your Voice
You don’t need a fancy brand kit or logo. You need you.
In a sea of auto-generated sameness, your humanity stands out. Your sense of humor. Your turn of phrase. Your quirks and quiet moments. Those squirrels and plot twists that delight your readers.
That’s what readers remember. That’s what makes them stick around.
We don’t have to reach everyone. We just have to reach our people, our ideal readers.
The Future Isn’t in the Feed
Social media still has a role, but it’s definitely not what it used to be. Algorithms change daily. Platforms throttle reach unless you spend money on ineffective advertising. And soon, AI agents may bypass those feeds entirely.
But we don’t have to chase that chaos.
We can build spaces where people choose to come and find us. Where they trust what they see. Where they stay.
Keep Writing. Keep Loving the Work.
We’ve weathered SEO. We’re navigating GEO. And we still have the most important thing: a voice that can touch a human heart.
This shift isn’t an ending. It’s an opportunity. We don’t have to write for bots anymore. We get to write from our hearts, from our joy, and to our readers.
Keep going. Keep telling the stories only you can tell.
Build a future where fiction comes alive and readers are delighted to discover amazing new story worlds and websites.
What do you want your readers to feel when they finish one of your books? And how will you make sure they get the chance to read it?
* * * * * *
About Lisa
Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.
Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of No Stress Writing Academy. She also runs Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.
Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!
Top image from depositphotos.
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28 comments on “Building a Sustainable Author Future Beyond GEO”
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Thanks for this eye-opening post, Lisa. Yes, things are changing, but on the subject of newsletters, I had one for several years. I did everything one is supposed to do. I had an exclusive short story as a magnet, posted regularly, not just about my books, but also other, more fun and personal things, had a sign-up form on my blog, but over a number of years, by mailing list never got above 35. Only about 10 opened the email. And I saw no increase in sales. So I stopped it after telling my list I was doing so and they could contact me on my blog.
No one came over.
So I'm not a fan of the much-vaunted newsletter.
Your other points are good, though.
By the way, every time I come onto this site, I click 'Save my name, email, and website's but it never does.
Re: saving, for some reason your web browser isn't saving cookies? Or maybe our site isn't saving them? Thanks for the heads up on that.
Re: newsletter... There's a phrase you used that ties into one of my biggest pet peeves. You did everything the experts told you that you should do. That not working? That's not on you. I was recently exposed to more of that "should" advice. Made me so angry. You aren't alone in it not working or in it burning you out.
Newsletters do work, but the experts have made that such a loaded word that we need to throw it out and start over. I believe that you did to what they said. And THAT is why it didn't work.
I'll me writing another post about newsletters either in September or October, but here's a comment: I'd never want you to go back to doing it the "right" way.
In the time since you shut it down, have you found better ways to connect with your fans? What's working for you now?
It does feel much more difficult to find and reach readers these days. And if you do have a list, to engage them. Thanks for this article.
It is more difficult. People's attention is stretched. But readers are still there and still eager for stories. The trick is to throw out a lot of the expert advice and just be ourselves. But that's hard when we're bombarded with "should" from so many angles!!!
Nice action items! Although I agree with V.M. Sang about the email list (didn't have mine for as long but I had similar results) it's good to see that human interaction is once again the focus. Wonderful series. Thank you!
Thanks, Amy. It is all about being human and getting to know the humans who love us.
Throw out everything you know about newsletters. When you send an email to a friend, do they open it? Why? I'm betting no formula is involved. No fancy lead magnet.
Now if you sent a carefully formatted and formulaic email to that friend twice a week... How good is your friendship? How long until they stop opening them?
The key to making a newsletter work isn't in the "should" list. It is in the connection.
Like I said to VM, I'm working on a new post about this because the "shoulds" really aren't working these days.
At the same time, what brought you to WITS today?
Reading this reminds me that I am the worst marketer of all times. I stopped doing anything and everything, besides Amazon ads to sell my books. I really need to get back to it one of these days.
I'm right there with you, Jenn. It's like I can either be writing or I can be promoting. It's a struggle. For now, though, I'm concentrating on the writing. I want to feel guilty but I don't. LOL
See, there's no guilt here. You're doing the best thing you can be doing: writing!!! Books sell other books!
"Marketing" feels like an uphill chore to most writers...so don't do it. Do "reader interaction" instead. Do events with other writers you like hanging out with. Do things that are fun FOR YOU.
I believe when you throw fun and joy into the universe, it attracts the people you want.
THIS. This is 100% truth.
Jenny! Please write a post about this.
I would throw fiction author blogs into the - causes burnout without any gain pile. Ugh. I'm glad to see no one seems to be recommending that. I saw so many aspiring authors slogging away on a blog and run out of juice to actually write the fiction!
There's nothing wrong with that, Jenn! You are one of the best I know! You go to live events where people love you and they buy all the books you can carry!!!
You also: write for WITS, and do advertising in places that work. You rock!!!
It's so interesting for me to see all the ways people go about building email lists and then interacting with them. For example, our own Kris Maze started her list on BookFunnel. It was a minimal cost compared to having a website, and she went to 200 pretty quickly with author cross-promotion and a few free stories.
I talked to her a few days ago about her post that's coming out next week, and she's up to THREE THOUSAND.
Clearly there are things that work, but I agree that all the old ways have mostly proven themselves unhelpful and unreliable.
There are so many amazing tools now. And yes, her post for next week is GOLD.
Love this perspective. I need to acquire more marketing skills
Think more about Jenny's comment. You have the only skills you need: the capacity for joy and a love of what you do. The rest... It will come as you find the organic ways you can connect.
One more thing I CAN'T do, on top of adapting quickly to change, which is also IMPOSSIBLE.
It takes me YEARS to write a book, two days to compose an email to a potential reviewer.
I CAN 'write a good book'. I can't compete.
Today, I've promised my body either a shower or teeth-brushing; the birthday card to a daughter-in-law I don't know very well will probably supersede either.
The extras take too much effort - a newsletter is a joke for someone like me, and a regularly-published one, a comedy special.
I push on - not writing isn't an option. But it is becoming more difficult by the day to do the rest.
It gets depressing, because those hard-earned reviews are golden, and I have permission to use their words. Even the finally acquired PR person is going to have to do something different.
You'd think it would be more and more possible to be an individual!
Alicia, please know that the point of this series was to say that it is okay NOT to do these things. The world has changed, Keep writing. And keep writing that thank you note. Love your family and enjoy the things in life that bring you joy.
One of the most effective Tik-tok promos was done by a daughter for her father.
Write your books. And get rid of anything that triggers guilt, because those negatives drain us, and we really don't have space for this.
Spoiler for an upcoming post I'm working on: those newsletters on schedules? NOT what you want to be doing. A quick note to fans to say you love them or you're having a great day with your next story? THOSE are much more interesting. No newsletter at all is often better than those formulaic ones.
Enjoy your day, and definitely... BE you! You are awesome!
Oh, and also - I personlly don't think authors need to compete. I think we need to hold each other up. There are enough readers in the world!!!
Amen, sister!
Wonderful information-thanks so much Lisa. It seems everyday we hear more negative news about trying to make it as an author. Thanks for this uplifting, terrific advice!
You're welcome, Christine! It is easy to focus on the negatives of the changes, but with each change comes positives, too. We just have to find them.
This is a great time to be an author!
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Great reminders, Lisa! Love this encouraging post.
Kris
great information.
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