Building Your Business As An Author [Interview]

Last week, I was delighted to be a guest on Stephen Campbell’s podcast, The Author Biz.

Some of the topics we cover in our 50-minute chat:

Why I usually discourage authors from blogging
My perspective on building author platform
Whether it’s important to build a Facebook following before you publish your first book (in short, no)
Why building a direct connection with your readers is an investment in your future sales and career growth
The challenge of measuring sales and marketing results with social media

Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.

Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.