On Nov. 25, Bob Dylan posted on Facebook that, owing to a combination of vertigo and the pandemic, he wasn’t able to sign art prints or his latest book, The Philosophy of Modern Song. “With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an autopen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is ‘done all the time’ in the art and literary worlds. Using a machine was an error in judgment, and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.”
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.
