We don't often do book recommendations here at Evergreen Authors, but this one feels essential.

If you're going to read one book about creativity, technology, and the future of your author career in 2026, make it this one:

Enshittification by Cory Doctorow

Read This Book

We know what you're thinking. Huh? Why this book when there were so many other great books published this year?

Do you really want me to buy a book with the poop emoji on the cover?

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Here's why: it does a brilliant job of explaining what we've been talking about for years.

The products, platforms, and services we use as creative people are constantly shifting and changing—for the worse.

It's not personal. It's capitalism.

Knowing this, you have two choices: clutch your pearls and whine endlessly about the good old days of the internet, or understand what's happening and use that knowledge to make informed decisions for yourself and your creative work.

We sincerely hope you choose the latter.

What "Enshittification" Means for Authors

In case we haven't convinced you (or you're just too busy to read the book), here are a few key takeaways we got from Enshittification:

Tech Products Lure You In, Then Go to Shit

We all know how true this is. But it wasn't Facebook that started this trend, and social media is not the only culprit.

Virtually every tech product since the beginning of time has done this. Adobe, Google, Microsoft, IBM… all guilty.

The lesson? Quit romanticizing the good old days of your favorite tech product or platform, and see it for what it really is today.

Get rid of it if it's more work, headache, and cost than it's worth.

We Can't Keep Up with the Constant Changes (So Stop Trying)

We mere mortals can't keep up with the constant barrage of changes. But for some reason, we keep trying.

We think, "Hey, maybe today is the day I crack the Amazon code for good," or "surely this subscription service will be the exception and make me famous."

The answer to both questions is: you won't, and it won't.

All these changes from tech companies are made with one thing in mind: to get more money for shareholders, not to make the experience better for you.

Remember that every time you pay for any sort of tech product or service.

Google Is No Exception

While many of us can understand that Meta, Amazon, and others have all changed (or "enshittified," as Doctorow would say), we tend to think of Google as some sort of exception to the rule.

But it's not.

And even if it were, the internet itself is so saturated with content—and capitalism has so thoroughly enshittified the platform—that a simple Google search is not what it used to be.

This means that getting your book discovered isn't just a matter of throwing more money at the platform to elevate your search ranking.

Understand Google for its use and limitations today, not 20 years ago.

Let Your Creative Work Speak for Itself

As we've all been sucked into the online world over the past couple of decades, something has been lost.

The work we are doing is becoming secondary to the platform we are building, the tech products we are trying to leverage.

Lots of companies (not authors) have made lots of money with this shift in priorities.

It doesn't have to be this way.

The Real Message Here

If there's one thing we know after years of building community here at Evergreen Authors, it's this: much of what we are asked to spend our time on as creative people involves optimizing our public persona online.

But we aren't building those platforms with long-lasting, consistent products—we're building them with bits and pieces of technology that can (and will) become more expensive to use and a lot less helpful over time.

Please don't misunderstand—this isn't a message of gloom and doom.

Keep writing your books. Keep publishing them. Keep putting yourself out there in ways that feel authentic and fun for you.

And be liberated by the message of Enshittification: stop stressing over the next shiny tech object and instead focus on creating the best book you can create.

That's where the real work is. That's where the real magic happens.