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New crime imprint at Grove Atlantic

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Independent publisher Grove Atlantic has launched Atlantic Crime, a new imprint that will release 18–24 titles per year.
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New science imprint at Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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The mission: “publish books that illuminate and elucidate the central questions and fundamental ideas of modern science for readers.”
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On the List: The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan

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Kemper Donovan is a full-time writer and host of the podcast All About Agatha, dedicated to all things Agatha Christie.
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Can You Copyright a Work If You Used AI to Assist You?

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The deceptively simple USCO policy may not be so easy to enforce.
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How Much Do Blurbs Matter? A Look at All Perspectives

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Within hours of an essay by S&S’s Sean Manning, major media outlets started calling up industry insiders to get their reactions.
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Reader Asks: Is BookTok really responsible for selling one in 12 print books?

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Why is the industry attributing sales so directly to BookTok when it has never done so with other social media?
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Book sales update: dystopian novels enjoy sales boost

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Books by Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, and George Orwell enjoyed increased sales after President Trump was inaugurated for the second time.
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Cool tool alert: ISBN visualizer

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This online tool allows anyone to see all of the books published by a single publisher in a specific reserved block of ISBNs.
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IngramSpark increases printing prices, including its “global distribution fee”

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Anyone with an IngramSpark account has likely seen the news: The distributor will increase POD pricing in April of this year.
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Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: fastest-selling adult title in history of BookScan

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The publisher, Entangled, reports total sales of 2.7 million copies for Onyx Storm during the first week.
Bottom Line January 2025 bestseller lists

Bottom Line January 2025 bestseller lists

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The January 2025 bestseller lists are now available at the Hot Sheet website, free to everyone. Here are some points of interest.
January 2025 Bestseller Lists

January 2025 Bestseller Lists

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Three distinctive monthly bestseller lists: top 50 hidden gems, top 50 self-published ebooks, and top 50 self-published print books.
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Expect the Creative Process to Be Uneven and Messy

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Getting stuck is a lousy feeling, but a normal part of the messy and uneven creative process. Here are some tips for working through it.
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The Perfect Guide for Where to Submit Your Writing (Does Not Exist)

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We often long for perfect guidance about where to submit our writing, but there’s no substitute for getting to know the landscape ourselves.
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6 Tips on Writing Disabled Characters

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Writing characters with disabilities doesn’t have to be difficult. It only requires a little work to understand how things look from the character’s position.
Image: an opthalmologist holds a diagnostic device shaped like a pair of eyeglasses outfitted with adjustable lenses.

Free Yourself from Rewriting Paralysis

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When the revision process meanders off-course, leaving a project stranded, here are some tips for regaining momentum.
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Scene and Structure: The Wave Technique

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To keep readers engaged, build each scene toward a breaking point then reveal something new about the characters, their world, or the plot.
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Turn Your Short Pieces Into a Finished Nonfiction Book

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If you’ve amassed a heap of assorted essays, flash pieces, chapters, and ideas, here’s a step-by-step guide to shaping them into a book.
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Links of Interest: January 29, 2025

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The latest in bookselling, trends, traditional publishing, Amazon, legal concerns, media & the creator economy, AI, and culture & politics.
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New UK publisher: The River Light Press

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They will publish “heavyweight” nonfiction books written by academics, journalists, or writers who have developed a strong brand identity.
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New agent at George Borchardt

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Pronoy Sarkar has joined as a literary agent; most recently he was an editor at Little, Brown. He is focused on nonfiction.
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New agent at Massie & McQuilken

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Michael Taeckens has joined as a literary agent; he will continue as publicist at Broadside PR, which he co-founded in 2015.
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FairyLoot partners with PRH UK on new imprint

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Subscription box company FairyLoot will launch a fantasy publishing imprint in partnership with a division of Penguin Random House UK.
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On the List: Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik

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Lili Anolik is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a writer at large for Air Mail.
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Once a Stalwart, the Historical Romance Market Goes Soft

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While some historical fiction authors are pivoting to other subgenres, others may move toward self-publishing.