Last year, reports surfaced that Dreamspinner Press was not paying royalties on time; in late December, they alerted authors to a financial restructuring to help them pay all past-due amounts, with reassurances it’s not a bankruptcy situation. In fall 2019, according to Publishers Lunch, authors began requesting reversion of rights, and agents were no longer doing business with the publisher. However, the publisher continues to have open calls for submissions under various imprint and brand names. For the full story and periodic updates, see Writer Beware.
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.
