According to NPD BookScan, the 10 biggest book markets in the United States have seen their sales performance decline relative to the overall market. However, smaller book markets are outperforming and driving overall growth. Analyst Kristen McLean says the biggest factor is the migration of people away from big cities, which raises questions about how independent bookstores in smaller markets like Cincinnati, Phoenix, or San Antonio might benefit from the shift and how publishers might need to adapt. Read Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
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.
