Year to date, traditional publishing revenues are up 7.8 percent, according to the latest report from the Association of American Publishers. Religious publishers in particular have seen huge gains. Meanwhile, across the globe, fiction sales are increasing as nonfiction decreases. According to Nielsen: “The decline in nonfiction can partly be attributed to the absence of top titles like Prince Harry’s biography, Spare, which sold in huge volumes in many territories last year.” A successful title that represents hope, according to Nielsen? James Clear’s Atomic Habits, published in 2018.
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.
