Closing image: NPD BookScan, which tracks about 80 percent of all print book sales in the United States, keeps an eye on how big the bestsellers become as a percentage of the overall market as well as the fortunes of the midlist (titles that aren’t ranked in the top 100). Their infographic above reflects 6 percent sales growth for the top 100 titles over 2018, with declines for lower-ranked titles. Read more from Rachel Deahl 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.
