The Codex Group recently surveyed about 5,000 book buyers and found that the percentage of adults who read ebooks has flattened, while ebooks have declined in their unit share of overall book purchases. Some interpret this as “digital fatigue,” but other factors are likely involved, such as high ebook prices, growth in digital audio, and other forms of entertainment taking time away from reading. Read more at Publishers Weekly—and be sure to review the comments.
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.
