💡 Creator News: The YouTube Oscars, a $100M Book Launch, and Most Popular Book Genres by State

From fake news marketing to the YouTube Oscars, and what’s actually worth paying attention to as we head into 2026.

Happy holidays, Sutoscientists!

I’ve been enjoying some time off this past week with family — I made some homemade gnocchi from scratch for Christmas! — but I’m also on the eve of my new book launch (!!!) for Write for Money and Power.

🎁 BTW, if you pre-order for $0.99 before the book comes out on January 12th, 2026, you get a free gift — details here.

Also thanks to Jessica Leibe for writing this incredible review of the book:

Book Review of Write For Money & Power by Amy Suto

It’s been so wonderful to hear the kind early reviews rolling in — thank you for your support. As an author, the lead-up to launch and the launch itself is critical for a book to get traction, so every review and share helps so much.

Now let’s get to the creator news roundup!

💬 Links I Sent My Fiancée

My fiancée (!!!) Kyle Cords is my co-founder which means DMing him links counts as productive work 💕

• We’re closer to living in a VR-powered future than we think.

• Business owners like this Pistachio cafe are using AI to generate fake news reports to drive business and it’s working.

🌁 Dispatches From the Bay

What to do and where to eat in San Francisco.

• Since I’ve been away from the city for the holidays this past week, I haven’t done anything cute in the city. But I did avoid the city-wide blackout that caused a bunch of Waymos to get stuck!

☕️ Content Trends

Trends in social media, content creation, and what’s going on here on Substack.

• The Oscars will be streamed on YouTube next year. The Creator Economy is more legit than ever — so when will you be joining it?

• What are the most popular book genres in your state? Check out this report by Reader’s Digest to learn more.

• The AI music app Suno signed a deal with Warner Music to use the likeness of musicians in the creation of AI music. Seems like the beginning of a wave of creatives getting royalties for what AI generates based on their work.

💰 What to Watch & Read If You Want to Make Money Online

Resources to make you smarter and richer in the Creator Economy.

• Jules Acree is one of my favorite YouTubers who makes lovely content about creativity and productivity — and finding the balance with it all. I love this post that kicks off her New Year's Reset. She also makes Notion templates that are very cute if you’re needing some extra resources for getting organized in 2026.

• It’s not too late for you to join our 6 Week Substack Sprint! Upgrade to Founding Member here at Sutoscience, join the chat, and catch up on week one here. Looking forward to helping you grow your Substack in the New Year.

• Rachel Karten crushes it yet again with an incredible Brand Social Report for Q4 that has some of the best social media trend analysis that I’ve seen on the internet. This is absolutely worth buying a paid subscription to Link In Bio.

• Alex Hormozi did a $100,000,000 book launch this year. Love him or hate him, but it’s still worth checking out his strategy for social media for 2026:

I know the Hormozis lean further on the “hustle bro” side of business advice, but I’ve seen noticeable jumps in my creative business when I’ve taken their advice. This video breaks down some really fundamental concepts of influence online that most creatives aren’t thinking about, so it’s worth watching.

Also, in the end of the video Alex talks about doubling down on live video. It’s worth watching what’s shaped his opinion here, but I’ve seen that my Substack Lives have been both really enjoyable and a way that has moved the needle for me when it comes to my metrics here on Substack.

I also believe that in 2026 you need to be going live on Substack specifically, since you “own” the email addresses of your audience here, so it’s more valuable to go live here. I’ll be creating guides for paid subscribers on how to go live on Substack soon so stay tuned!

🛍️ Add to Cart

Things that have made my life better or products I have my eye on.

• My brother gave me a Roomba robot vacuum for Christmas, and they’re 50% off right now if you want to gift one for yourself. The more you can automate the better, and I’ve had an off-brand Roomba in the past and it did a great job cleaning up little crumbs. A lifesaver for busy writer/creators!

Questions? Thoughts? Would love to hear what you’re thinking, reading, or making in the comments.

Happy creating,

-Amy